I've pretty much thought all year that the top five teams were ALL AFC teams, and that the NFC was pretty weak sauce for the most part, and one does not have to go much further than Seattle winning a division with a losing record to prove it. (And I'm a 9er fan, so I know how much that NFC West just sucked, it was all those NFC West 'teams' could do not to stink up every venue they played in to the point of having to air it out for a week after the game just to get the stench of failure out of the place.)
No surprise that on the best weekend of football, the 4 game Divisional playoff weekend, where you can usually count on getting at least 2 of the best games of the year, that the two best games were the AFC games and not the NFC blowouts.
Now, for sure it's going to be way cool to watch Green Bay go to Solider Field and play the Bears for what? The 182 time or something? It's old school and tradition and it should be good. However the two things that Chicago gets in terms of home field advantage are both a wash. Green Bay is just as accustomed to playing in the cold as Chicago is, and they have played over 40 games in that venue (since the move from Wrigley, yikes I'm old) so they are not going to be upset by the loud, highly partisan, very loyal and extremely drunk Bears fans. But Jay is not good under pressure, and GB has some good D, and awesome corners so they are going to pick him, Rodgers on the other hand, well, he might be the best QB playing, and pressing him just changes the game even more in his favor. As long as they can keep the kicks away from Devon Hester it's the Packers game to lose. So, Packers by 7.
God, I've love to see the Jets win since I think the Jets/Packers match up would make for an electric game. And I love that trash talk and swagger, particularly when they can back it up. I'd give this game to the J-E-T-S if they were playing at home. But in Pittsburgh? Well the Steelers don't have the wimpy fans that both the Colts and Pats have (did you see all those empty seats at the end of the Jets/Pats game? Fair weather fans indeed, bunch of M->-bleeped-<-s). They have sold out over 300 straight games and won more Super Bowl titles (six), won more AFC Championship Games (seven) and played in (fifteen) and hosted more (eleven) conference championship games than any other AFC or NFC team. It's going to be a madhouse in there, far different from Indy or Boston and that's advantage Steelers. Moreover, if Rodgers is the best QB, then in all my years I've never seen a defensive back as game changing as Troy Polamalu, Sanchez is not going to have the time he did against the Colts or Pats, and that gives the game to the Steelers. I'm a huge Jets fan, have been since Namath, and I'll be cheering for them, but if I was betting, I think its the Steelers by 3.
