AFC Road to the SuperBowl
AFC Conference match-ups
Indianapolis Colts vs New England Patriats
Payton Manning has had a career year, in the much publicized breakinf of Dan Marino's single season TD record. While that stat is impressive, it is not a surprise. Everyone already know that the Big 3 of Manning, Harrings and James brought back memories of Aikman, Irving and Smith. But the Colts are not the Cowboy's. America's team had defence. The Colt's have more offense, with 3 of their receivers topping 1000 yards this season.
New England has relied on a team philosophy. No one (except maybe Brady) is indispensible to this team. With interchangeable parts, the Patriots can be hard for four quarters. That being said, there secondary has suffered so much injury that it might be even too much to overcome. When you have to insert a career linebacker to fill your vacant safety position, you are in trouble. Unless Payton has a bad game, look for them to when by 10 points
New York Jets vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Bill Cower must be in heaven right now. After years of major quaterback controvery, then finding two premier wide receivers but not having anyone to take them to the next level, Bill closed his eyes and made a wish. When we looked up, he saw Big Ben become the pivot of his dreams. A new stud named Roethlisberger had stepped up and led the Steelers to 14 straight victories. Even the game he lost, the score was 13-10 for the Steelers after he replaced Maddox. The only knock they have on this kid is that he may have rookie jitters. We say, even if he did, he still won 14 straight. Even when he was not superhuman, he teammates believed. The Steelers now believe that and does not bode well if you are a Jets fan.
Of course, more hype is about Chad Pennington. His detractors points to the sub-par season he had, with most of his stats coming from dinky passes no more than a few yards away. His supporters will point to the Wildcard game as his breakout game. That his critics should now step down.
Not gonna happen. Steelers will win big and win easy.
AFC Championship Match
Indianapolis Colts vs Pittsburgh Steelers
If there is one team that can stand up to Indy, it has to be Pittsburgh. Steelers are an offensive powerhouse themselves, but have a very capable defense to back them up.
Manning, for all his "greatness", is very hard on his players. If Pittsburgh can force some mistakes on the Colts offense, they have the firepower to take advantage and make the Colts pay.
We are going to go out on a limb, and predict a Steeler upset over the Colts.
About the Author
Gary Whittaker is the editor of T.E.N Magazine, a social and sports commentary webzine with balls! Check out more articles at http://www.tenwebzine.com