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| The two best players of a generation on respective sides of the ball will meet for one last time on Sunday. |
Austen: I really, really hope I am wrong. Having to watch the Pats go to yet another Super Bowl might be too much for me, unless they blow it for a third straight time in the big game. I do hate John Harbaugh, so this game is pretty lose-lose for me.
That being said, I still do not trust Joe Flacco. That long touchdown to send the game into overtime was a fluke. Ninety-nine percent of the time, that ball is being picked off and the Ravens' season ends. Rahim Moore made one of the worst defensive plays I have ever seen in the NFL, showing off all that he learned playing football at UCLA.
Tom Brady on the other hand, always takes care of business. He will be great. How his teammates play will be the factor in this game. Stevan Ridley could end up being the biggest factor in this game because the Ravens' run D is porous and there will be holes for the young running back. It should be a great game, but I cannot imagine a world in which Flacco out performs Brady on a big stage.
Score Prediction: New England 41, Baltimore 27
Stally: I hold similar feelings. As a New England fan, I know that Balitmore is the one of the few teams that is unphased in playing Tom Brady and the Patriots. It's a tall task to ask them to come into Gillette Stadium and win such a high-stakes game, but they nearly did just that last year in the AFC Championship.
The difference is that I feel like this year's Patriots team is better than last year's and I would say the opposite about the Ravens. At no point this year did I feel like Baltimore was a team even capable of making it this far and I do still think that Joe Flacco is more of a liability than an asset. I just can't see Brady and Belichick letting this game get away from them.
Score Prediction: New England 31, Baltimore 24
Stally's Twelve-Point Pick - San Francisco over @Atlanta
Stally: This game is a tough call. On one hand, the Falcons have seemed vulnerable as a No. 1 seed all season. Yahoo is listing the 49ers as a four-point favorite. On Bill Simmons' "B.S. Report," he and Vegas-expert Chad Millman couldn't find a time when a number one seed was ever such an underdog. Even going back to the late 1990s, they could only find one instance where a one-seed was an underdog. (Interestingly, it was the home 49ers giving a point to the Packers in 1998). The point being that people are not into the Falcons.
I don't think it's fair to disrespect them and my pick is more for the 49ers than against the Falcons. I certainly think Atlanta has the weapons to win this one at home, but this 49ers team is very complete. They have a stifling defense, strong running game and young, mobile quarterback. Sure, the Falcons beat a team that fills the exact same description in the Seahawks, but that wasn't a convincing win. I question whether the Falcons can slow down Colin Kaepernick, who ran wild on a solid Green Bay Packers team. If they can't, it's going to be up to Matt Ryan and the passing attack to find a way to score points on the vaunted Niners defense.
Score Prediction: San Francisco 34, Atlanta 27
Austen: This is why I picked the Pats first. I am siding with the Falcons and had a strong feeling Stally would lean the other way. I think this will be a dog fight until the end. This Falcons' defense might actually be playing better than the highly thought of 49ers' D. Justin Smith is not at 100% and his injury is having a huge impact on the play of everyone around him. Aldon Smith is a pure pass rusher and does not have the skills to makeup for (Justin) Smith's injury in the run game. There are plenty of other playmakers on this defense, but they will have their hands full with Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez.
Michael Turner has been coming on strong lately as well, which gives the Falcons the edge in my opinion. Much like Ray Lewis' effect on the Ravens, I believe that Tony Gonzalez will have a similar effect to help the Falcons put their A game on the field. Colin Kaepernick will have to play lights out again for the 49ers to keep up in this one.
Score Prediction: Atlanta 28, San Francisco 24
Divisional Scoring Recap
Austen missed both his picks (Denver over Balitmore and Green Bay over San Francisco) to give the week to Stally. Stally won his eight-point pick of New England over Houston, so missing Seattle over Atlanta (four points) did not hurt too badly, as those were the only four points Austen received on the weekend. Stally won 20-4 and went 2-2 in Pick 'Em. Austen correctly picked the Patriots, but struggled with a 1-3 Pick 'Em record.
For the playoffs, Stally leads the head-to-head 32-16. In Pick 'Em, Stally is 5-3, Austen is 3-5.
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