LCB NFL Picks: Conference Championships

New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts @ 3:00 on CBS:
As you know, I have been watching Cold Pizza. Throughout the week there was a good amount of the analysts jumping on the Jets bandwagon, claiming their running game and blitz heavy defense will be the deciding factor against the Colts. They added to their argument using flawed reasons to pick the Jets. Since these analysts were being countered by Skip Bayless, they won the discussion. So instead of criticizing Skip, I'll just tell you how I would have reacted to these comments.

The Jets had the Colts on the ropes when Indy pulled out their starters, they were only down by 5 and surging.

• Sure that game was pretty even. But throughout the season the Colts put away their opponents in the fourth quarter. They also replaced one of the best clock managers in the game with Curtis Painter. If the Jets really think there isn't that big of a difference between Painter and Peyton, they are as delusional as Skip. 

The Colts time and time again fail to play their best in the playoffs.

• While the past failures have been many, they did win a Super Bowl not that long ago and the 2009-2010 Colts have yet to lose a game where their starters play the entire game. 

Revis will shut-down Peyton's safety net, Reggie Wayne.

• Along with Charles Woodson and Nnamdi Asomugha, Revis is one of the top three corners in the game. But when has Peyton ever locked into a receiver? Not to mention that Indy is loaded with receiving threats (Dallas Clark, Austin Collie,  Pierre Garcon, and Donald Brown), making it that much easier for him to spread the ball around.

 The Jets are coming off a game where they beat the hottest team in football, one that mirrors the Colts; good passing game, no running game, and an average defense with above-average pass rushers.

• The Jets won the game, there is no denying that. But if Kaeding makes his kicks, we have a different team playing the Colts. The same could be said with the Bengals. With Matt Stover kicking inside the dome, I wouldn't count on the Jets being able to rely on missed field-goals to win the game. Also aren't the Jets made from the same mold as the Ravens; no passing game, blitz heavy defense, and great running game. And didn't the Ravens only score 3 points against the Colts?

Now I'm not saying the Colts are definitely going to win. After all, this is the NFL playoffs and weird things happen. But when weighing the two QB choices, it becomes clear that I'm taking the Colts. Indy 21, Jets 10.

Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints @ 6:40 on FOX:
Thanks to Teach, you already know that Prince used the Black National Anthem "Lift Every Voice" to make his abortion of a fight song. But he's not the only one using his musical skills to try and vault his team to victory, The Neville Brothers and dozens of lesser known musicians from the two fair cities have created their own dedications. Thankfully both of the local paps did the leg work by gathering all of these fight songs and arranged them in playlists for us to peruse. The different musical stylings cover various genres including hip-hop, metal, polka, jazz and country.

Now, if we were judging this game solely on these songs, the city of New Orleans would surely win. Thankfully they have to settle it on the field, where each team has a slight upper hand over the other; the Saints on offense, the Vikings on defense. But with Robert Meachem on the mend and most of the Vikings front seven battling injuries the two teams seem to be on equal footing, making this a great match-up and an even tougher game to pick. So I'll take the Saints, since the Superdome is one of the few NFL stadiums where home-field advantage actually has an effect. New Orleans 42, Minnesota 38.