My picks for the NFL's Conference Championship games...winners go to the Super Bowl!

    Okay, everyone. I broke even (2-2) on my picks last week. The teams that many thought would be in the conference championship rounds in August/September is here. We will have two hard fought games.  My thoughts are below.  Enjoy Championship Sunday!!!! Super Bowl XLVIII is two weeks from Sunday evening!

NFL Conference Finals:

AFC: New England (2) at Denver (1)

   This game is branded as Brady versus Manning 15, but this game comes down to a lot more than two future HOF quarterbacks facing each other…possibly for the last time (in the playoffs...maybe). These are the bottom lines. Both teams have shaky to poor defenses. Some of it is due to injuries, some to lack of talent and some to otherwise dumb **** that the team had no control over. Both teams can run well (at least lately). This game will come down to the little stuff. Turnovers. Special teams making (and/or preventing) big plays. It is projected to be unseasonably warm in Denver on Sunday so the “Peyton cannot win in the cold” thing is moot. Denver has the better overall offense, but even with the injuries and so on, the Patriots have an slight edge on defense.  But seriously, can you believe that Denver coach John Fox is In the same paragraph as New England coach Bill Belichick? Right. Yes, I know Belichick has never been in (or may ever will be) a Madden game (but there IS a good reason for that. Google it and read the story).  The little things and the other 52 players on these teams will decide this game, not the two golden arms. Despite their offensive advantages, Denver is going to run out of gas versus a team who 1) doesn’t fear Manning 2) can find ways to slow/stop Manning, even with (allegedly) inferior players on offense. Brady is going to find a way to win…again over Peyton. Pats win.

New England 30 Denver 24

NFC: San Francisco (5) at Seattle (1)

       Everyone talks about the home-field advantage Seattle has. It is nice to have, but home field alone is not enough to win this game. Seattle has the tools to win this game with QB Russell Wilson RB Marshawn Lynch, the great secondary and so on. Losing WR Percy Harvin (concussion) for this game is too bad, but he wasn’t am major factor anyway. Next year, he can try again. The defending NFC champion Niners are also feeling pretty good. All of their major offensive pieces are back in place for QB Colin Kaepernick. The defense is very strong and it will not break easily. They were tested for a bit at Carolina, but the Seahawks are better. This is the third and final meeting between these two teams. All or nothing. Winner take all. Each team won at home, Seattle by a bit larger margin early in the year at home. Here is the bottom line. Seattle is awesome at home, but they haven’t looked so great in the second half of the year. San Francisco looked shaky for the first half of the year, especially after the Seattle loss on the road, but in the last 6-8 weeks, including the two playoff wins, the Niners have looked like the defending NFC champs that they are. Momentum is a big thing, and the Niners seems to have a lot more of it than Seattle right now. They also have the experience edge, having been in the Super Bowl last year. For all the bluster and BS that has been spewed, all that matters is what happens Sunday night. I do think the Seahawks, if they stay their course will be in the Super Bowl soon. But not this year. I am taking the Niners in an upset.

San Francisco 31 Seattle 28 (OT)

Think my picks suck? Send me a reply and tell me why! Good luck to everyone.

NFL picks: 135-118-1 regular season, 5-3 in the playoffs; 54-44 on bonus picks; Total: 194-165-1 overall (as of January 18, 2014).