Official NFL Conference Championship Games-Patriots beat Chargers 21-12; Giants beat Packers 23-20

http://www.nfl.com/scores ^

[mainepatsfan]

OFFICIAL FR NFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SUNDAY LIVE THREAD

JANUARY 20TH, 2008

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

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3:00PM ET - CBS

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

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6:30PM ET - FOX

[The KG9 Kid]

That's really it in a nutshell, just as you described.

What would worry me if I were a Giants fan is that the Giants' far more impressive stats from this game compared to the Packers didn't translate into points accumulation. They'd make great strides, then fizzle. Packers played terribly and the game went into overtime that the Giants honestly were a blip from losing.

Gonna have to do worlds better than that to beat the Patriots.

[gruna]

The Pats are just too good for the other teams in the league. Brady had an off game and they still won.

Favre just can’t resist the temptation to make a difficult throw. That’s long been his major flaw.

[Reaganite1984]

By the same token, I don't think The Patriots can repeat the lackluster performances of their AFC playoff wins against a team that has a perfectly healthy QB, TE and running game and expect a similar result.

[Cvengr]

I felt the same way. I was rooting for GB, but except for a few lucky turnovers, their offense didn’t seem to be able to make first down throughout the second half. It’s not as if they didn’t get enough lucky breaks...

[TeleStraightShooter]

Can you name the last Superbowl where a team was favored by 14 points?

IIRC it was the 2001 season when the Rams were favored by 14 despite barley winning in NE against their SB opponent.

And we all know how that game ended.

[Reaganite1984]

They kept flashing the stats on how many times Favre had led his team back in the playoffs, or in the regular season, in the fourth quarter on Fox, but the truth is that this isn't the same Bret Favre.

The Seahawks were a paper tiger, not a real barometer of how effective Favre was, IMO.

[Reaganite1984]

I don't understand why The Pats keep getting this ridiculous odds.

How many times have they actually covered these absurd spreads since week 10 or 11?

[The KG9 Kid]

I didn't want to get Patriots fans riled up, even though I think they'll win handily in the Super Bowl, but I did make a similar point to the one you just made some weeks ago before playoffs began about their regular season AFC performance.

Patriots had a relatively light schedule this season and took great advantage of it. The majority of the opponents they faced ended up being more likely to have more losses than wins at the end of the season. We saw the Pats murdering the 1-15 Dolphins twice and the hapless 4-12 Jets twice. They had two squeaker wins against 'good' teams and one close game against the Eagles who went 8-8. They did beat the other 'good' teams handily though: Cowboys, Chargers, and Steelers.

In spite of that, I don't see them losing the Super Bowl. Yes, I am sure that it could happen.

[Cyropaedia]

Well... I'm glad you brought up that unusually good performance by Dilfer in that SB.

If you'll recall, that Giants team absolutely demolished the number one offense (Minnesota) in the entire league, 41 to zero, in the NFC Championship game. Yet they simply could not stop Trent and his teammates. They were almost starting to make Mr. Dil look like Johnny Unitas. What happened...??

There rumors running all over the league that the Giants staff had found a way to "eavesdrop" on the Vikings training facility and ascertain what kinds of shemes they were going to use. Supposedly, that was the actual reason the Giants dismantled the Vikings offense but wound up being embarrassed by the Ravens mediocre squad.

[free me]

The Pats have never “blown out” anybody in a superbowl, idiot.

[Reaganite1984]

The Ravens also had a ridiculously good defense, which probably accounted for some of it.

I've always found it funny how Dilfer is continually cited as the chief illustration of how pointless it is to have a good QB when you have a great defense and/or running game.

Not that Dilfer isn't embarrassing to watch as a QB, but there are a ton of mediocre QBs who've led teams to Super Bowl victories in addition to Dilfer.

[Reaganite1984]

I think their exceptional offense masks some of their more glaring deficiencies, e.g. Belichick hasn't been able to rebuild the NE defense that excelled in previous years, and at times that side of the ball has looked embarrassing.

It's a phenomenal team-the best in history if The Pats win their next game-but it's not as if they're a Madden Football video game creation.

When they had to face real opponents in the NFC East they weren't trying to pad statistics, but simply trying to win the game.

[Cyropaedia]

As a Bay Area native, I can tell you that Dilfer had his roughest season ever as a QB.

Everyone is wonderin' why in the hell we didn't see Shaun Hill sooner.

Oh that's right, I now remember why : N - O - L - A - N.

[steelyourfaith]

The Pats have never “blown out” anybody in a superbowl, idiot.

LOL. The Pats have won three Super Bowls by 3 points each. Not exactly a "blow-out" victory in the real world. Which raises the legitimate question: "How many points per game is cheating worth?"

However, more consistent with the definition of a SB "blow out" occurred when the Bears beat the Pats 46-10 in 1986 and the Pack beat the Pats 35-21 in 1997.

[The KG9 Kid]

"... I think their exceptional offense masks some of their more glaring deficiencies, e.g. Belichick hasn't been able to rebuild the NE defense that excelled in previous years, and at times that side of the ball has looked embarrassing."

His illegal camera-work was obviously aimed at constructing a crushing offense, then it seems. Good work, detective!

[free me]

now those were blowouts !!

[Reaganite1984]

I'm surprised he managed to keep his job.

You wonder how long his lease is for next season, or if he's going to get canned.

[Berlin_Freeper]

I watched the first game with my wife, then it was midnight and we were tired and went to bed. But then about 4:30am my wife woke me up to see the last 6 minutes of the game which then went to sudden death. What a finish!

How cool is that? She is not even American. Do you know how many girlfriends I had States side that would have tore my head off for waking them at 4:30am to watch football? All of them, lol!

[9YearLurker]

It’s because everyone wants to bet on the Pats. The bookies even it out by giving points to the opposition.

[chessplayer]

It was`nt all Favre`s fault. The defense gave NY a free TD in the 3rd quarter with 4 straight penalties. After that I stopped watching and went to bed, because the way things were going, I knew the Packers were going to lose. They stunk the place up last night. Oh, well. On the bright side, they won`t lose to the Patriots in the Super Bowl.