NFC Championship

So last week was a little bad. Okay really bad. Alright awful. 1 correct 3 incorrect. But you know, we persevere around here. We pick ourselves up, we dust ourselves off, and we go out there, we recap last week, and we pick the championship rounds.

Cardinals at Panthers

Arizona did it again. Seriously Carolina? You couldn't beat the {freaking} Arizona Cardinals at home. Not only did you not beat the Cardinals, you got smoked by the Cardinals. And by the way, did anyone have the Cardinals? No they did not. I certainly didn't but I mean they came out of nowhere.The {freaking} Cardinals. They have burned me twice. Kurt Warner is something like 245 years old and he is just playing pitch and catch with every single weapon he has on the field. And Larry Fitzgerald is a stud - just amazing. Not only was the Cardinal offense clicking but what happened to Jake Delhomme? Five interceptions? 5? Cinco? How does this happen? But it's not all Delhomme's fault, the Cardinal defense is playing incredibly. They are playing about as well as possible - they are forcing turnovers (see above) and just playing really solidly. And Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is a playmaker. He is a super star in the making.

Eagles at Giants

Pants it is acceptable to place a loaded, unlocked gun in:
1. Jeans
2. Khakis
3. Chinos
4. Wool trousers
5. Tuxedo pants

Pants it is unacceptable to place a loaded, unlocked gun in:
1. Sweatpants

Players who would have helped the Giants win this game who shot themselves in the leg after violating the rules above:
1. Plaxico Burress

The Giant offense was so pedestrian without Plax, and it especially showed against the Eagles. They couldn't muster a touchdown, Eli looked average, at best. They just weren't that good. On the other side, McNabb made the plays when he had to, he kept hitting 3rd down throws, he ran for a touchdown and more-or-less willed his team to a victory. So that leaves a NFC Conference Championship game of the Eagles traveling to Arizona to take on the Cardinals.

Lines current as of 1:30a mst on Sunday January 18th, 2009 and from oddsmaker.com

--Eagles (-3 1/2) at Cardinals

The Cardinals have have burned me twice so far. I want to pick them, I really do. I want to say they won me over, I want Kurt Warner to get back to the Super Bowl and then ride off into the sunset to save underpriveladged youth. I want a warm weather team to win a Super Bowl. I want a team with an offense to win. I want the cliche of defense wins championships to be shut up for at least a year. I want the NFC West to be vindicated for being the punching bag of the NFL. I want the national media to remember that their are teams that are good, interesting, and worth talking about west of the Mississippi. I want it so bad. I don't think it will happen. The Eagles should win this game. I don't know how Kurt Warner will be able to handle the pressure the Eagles will bring. I think the run game will be slowed up which will put even more pressure on Warner, and I think that will let the Eagles be more aggressive. On the other sideline I think McNabb has a whole no one believes in me thing going. He got benched, he didn't know there was a tie rule and he hasn't been to Super Bowl without Terrell Owens. He wants to vindicate himself on all fronts and really prove himself as an elite quarterback. The Cardinals will get their points but I don't know that it will be enough. Westbrook was tame last week but I think he makes a few big plays this time and McNabb does enough to get the Eagles back to the Super Bowl. Eagles 30 Cardinals 24