Sunday, January 20, 2013

AFC AND NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PREVEW

We have the final four in the NFL. Atlanta, San Francisco, New England, and Baltimore all playing for the shot to get in the biggest game of the year the Super Bowl. Lets take a look at what the Spinzz Sports crew thinks will happen.
 Spinzz
Falcons vs 49ers
 The top two seeds in the NFC face off in this one. Atlanta comes into this one with momentum off of a improbable win vs Seattle. While San Fran cruised over the Green Bay Packers lead by Colin Kapernick. These two teams have well rounded offensives with San Fran having the better defense and special teams. I still do not think that the Falcons are forreal. I think their time is up this week vs a very good 49ner team. They have had trouble with the run game and most notably with the option vs Quarterbacks such as Cam Newton and Russel Wislon. I also feel that the San Fran D will be to much for Matt Ryan and all his wepons. I think it will be close early be then San Fran will pull away at the end.
49ers 30 Falcons 17
Patriots vs RavensThe AFC Championship game that I predicted at the start of the season.The game of the day a rematch of last years AFC Championsip game. These two teams will be meeting for the 3rd time in 2 years on Sunday so they know each other very well. Both teams though are coming in not a 100% will the Ravens missing Ladareus Webb and the Patriots missing Rob Gronkowski. Both teams have play makers on both sides of the ball. One difference being that on one side the Patriots have Tom Brady and the Ravens have Joe Flaco even though Flaco these last two postseasons have stepped up including last year when he outplayed Brady. With the defense I think the Ravens D is peaking and are motivated for Ray Lewis. This is also going to be only the 3rd game they had Suggs, Lewis, Reed, and Ngata. Ray Rice is a big factor if the Ravens can give him the touches he should get they have a great chance of winning Rice has a history of running on the Patriots in the playoffs. For New England its finding a way to move the ball without Gronk. They are 5-1 without him this year but this is a different animal with the Ravens and this game. This game is also big on legacys. For Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck to get to a 6th Super Bowl and to be 6-1 and AFC Championship games. For the Ravens to get Ray Lewis to have his last game on Super Bowl Sunday and to have guys like Ed Reed,  Ray Rice,Terrell Suggs, and Haloti Ngata play in their first Super Bowl. All this being said. As good as the Patriots have looked and they do look like the best team in the league right now. I gotta stick with my pre season prediction Ravens beating New England and letting Ray Lewis go out the right way
Ravens 27 Patriots 24

Raff
NFC Championship

49ers vs. Falcons

In the first game of championship Sunday the San Francisco 49ers travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons. The Falcons have a high flying offense led by Matt Ryan and his two recievers Roddy White and Julio Jones. They have a tough test this week though as they face one of the better defenses in the league in the 49ers. The 49ers are coming off a big win against the Packers where QB Colin Kaepernick went off for 181 yards rushing, 2 rushing TD's, and 2 TD's in the air. While I've been a Kaepernick advocate since he's started, there's been a lot of questions regarding the decision to play him over Alex Smith. It's pretty obvious that Kaepernick gives them a huge offensive threat which is something they lacked when Smith started. Smith is a game manager. Nothing more, nothing less. He's not a guy who's going to turn the ball over but he's not somebody that's going to win you a game. That's the opposite of Kaepernick. Killer Kap can make all the throws while looking like Michael Vick on steroids. He can singlehandedly win you a game. And that's the biggest factor of this game. The Falcons can score points on the 49ers as good as that defense is. It's the Falcons defense that won't  be able to stop Kaepernick. I think Vernon Davis will be more involved in this game then he's been in a long time. I look for him to find the endzone in this game. With the 49ers new ability to put up points in a hurry, Matt Ryan might be throwing more then usual. Julio Jones could find himself behind the defense a few times this game and if he does Ryan better hit him. With that said, I think the 49ers win this one by two scores.

Final Score

49ers 31
Falcons 14


AFC Championship

Patriots vs. Ravens

In the second game the New England Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens. Personally, I don't think the Ravens stand a chance in this game. Their defense has been suspect all year and their facing the most lethal offense in the league. Tom Brady will throw it down their throats. When he does the Ravens will have to throw to stay in the game which is not something Flacco is suited to do. The Patriots have a bunch of ball hawks on defense and if Flacco makes a mistake or two....or seven because it is Flacco, the game will be over. If this was the old Ravens defense I'd like this matchup a lot more but Brady is going to have a field day and will send Ray Lewis and the Ravens packing back to Baltimore. 

Final Score

Patriots 38
Ravens 17























Mueed
NFC Championship
Ryan and Kaepernick had big performances over the weekend, experiencing playoff success for the first time in their young careers.
Besides playing on the road against the team with the best regular-season, the 49ers are expected to win. The San Francisco offense looked dominant on Saturday, scoring six touchdowns. Kaepernick proved that he can make big plays in the postseason, having one of the best individual games in playoff history. His 181 rushing yards set a record for a quarterback, and he finished with four touchdowns.
The Packers scored 31 points and their defense held Rodgers in check, giving him very little time in the pocket. Justin Smith played as if he was unaffected by his injury, recording five tackles.
The Falcons blew a 20-point lead in their win, and needed a drive in the last minute to pick up the victory. Atlanta struggled against Wilson, allowing him to pass for 385 yards and run for 60 more. That doesn’t look impressive for them when having to face another mobile quarterback in Kaepernick.
Atlanta proved they can score on the best defense, putting up 30 points against a team that allowed half that per game in the regular season. The 49ers were directly behind the Seahawks in points allowed.
Playing at home, Atlanta should keep the game close. Ryan leads one of the best offenses in the league, and is very hard to stop on the turf.
However, the Falcons offense did struggle in the second half against Seattle, and might not score enough to keep up with the 49ers. I predict that Kaepernick should be the biggest difference-maker in the contest.
Prediction: San Francisco 34, Atlanta 27
AFC Championship
Patriots and Ravens know eachother well; moreover, New England beat Baltimore in last year’s AFC title game, and the Ravens were victorious in their Week Three matchup.
The Ravens road to this game hasn’t been as easy as the Patriots’ obstacles. Baltimore came dangerously close to losing on Saturday, needing a 70-yard touchdown pass with 31 seconds remaining in regulation, and two overtimes to beat Denver.
The Patriots cruised in their matchup with the Houston Texans. They scored 41 points and totaled 457 yards on offense. The game was essentially over at the start of the fourth quarter, when New England took a 38-13 lead.
Tom Brady passed Joe Montana with his 17th career playoff win and had another strong performance. He threw for 344 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. With Manning and Rodgers, once again, failing to advance to the championship round, is it possible that Brady may be proving that he is the top quarterback in the NFL?
It will be difficult for the Ravens to slow down the Patriots enough to make the Super Bowl for the first time since 2001. Baltimore’s defense wasn’t dominant in 2012 like it has been in years past. They were 17th in yards allowed, and gave up 35 points in their first postseason game. It won’t be easy for them to stop an offense that scored 34.8 points per game, in the regular season.
I was going to pick the Patrioits in this matchup but Joe Flacco’s recent postseason play has made me think otherwise. His 116.2 passer rating this past weekend was better than Brady’s. In Flacco’s last four playoff games, he has thrown nine touchdowns and just one interception.
You could imagine that New England is a heavy favorite. The last two matchups between these teams have come down to the wire, and I have a feeling this game will be no different. With both quarterbacks playing well, I predict that the Ravens superior defense could be enough to give them the win.
Prediction: Baltimore 31, New England 30

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