NFL Playoffs: Conference Championships!

The conference title tilts take place this weekend in the NFL playoffs. Weather certainly won’t be a factor in the AFC championship game, being played inside the RCA Dome. However, the Saints/Bears game will be outdoors in chilly Chicago.

The early Sunday forecast is an icy mix, with a high of 35 degrees, and wind at 16 MPH Certainly that sounds like a game for rugged defense and good ground attacks. Unfortunately, the Saints have their most talented players on offense while the Bears defense has been shaky the last month because of injuries.

The Bears' leaky secondary desperately needs some sense of a pass rush that hasn't been there the last month the way it was earlier. And the Saints may have beaten the Eagles over the weekend, but if you watched the game there were numerous breakdowns in the New Orleans secondary.

Another question to ask is: If Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander can run for 108 yards and an average of 4.2, what might Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister do?

Have these teams met before? Not this season, but a year ago the teams met in Baton Rouge with the Bears winning 20-17, Nov. 6, 2005. Chicago won on Robbie Gould's 28-yard field goal with six seconds left dealt Saints fifth consecutive loss and dropped them to 2-7. Bears improved to 6-3. Chicago QB Kyle Orton (remember him?) completed 12 of 26 passes for 137 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Of course, Drew Brees was in San Diego, Marques Coltson was at Hofstra, Reggie Bush was at USC and coach of the year Sean Payton was an assistant with the Cowboys.

In the AFC, the Patriots head to Indianapolis. This is the best chance Peyton Manning has had to get to that elusive Super Bowl, home field in the AFC title game (a first). New England will have to play a lot better, after getting outrushed by the Chargers 148-51 and turning it over 3 times. Which begs the question: Why did MVP LaDainian Tomlinson touch the ball 17 times in the first half, and then only 8 times in the second half? It seemed like OC Cam Cameron was auditioning for a head coaching job.

The Colts defense has done a 180 in the playoffs, going from the worst rush defense in the NFL to the 2000 Ravens. They will get their toughest test here as the Patriots have the type of balanced offensive weapons and quarterback to both run and pass effectively. Expect to see plenty of Corey Dillon and rookie Laurence Maroney.

The Colts won 27-20 at New England on November 5th, as Manning was terrific: 20-of-36 for 326 yards. Brady was awful: 201 yards, no touchdowns, 4 interceptions! The total yards were almost even (354-349) and the Pats had the edge in rush yards 148-53, but lost the turnover battle 5-2. Manning is 4-10 against the Patriots, though 2-0 SU/ATS the last two meetings.

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