@nategrayzone (4-4) Championship Weekend Picks, 49ers / Baltimore; Ravens Will Stop Brady
Facebook: Nate Gray Zone
Championship Weekend
San Francisco 49ers
(2) @ Atlanta Falcons (1)
Sunday 1/20/13 3:00PM
EST
@nategrayzone picks: 49ers-33 Falcons 27
This was a great and interesting season of football. I am
4-4 on my playoff picks, and I have noticed that the numbers matter, but they don’t.
It all depends on what the players will do on game day. Anything can happen.
@nategrayzone analysis is based on what I have seen with my
own eyes from these NFL teams. Here are
a few facts and numbers just for the record.
49ers: 5-8 all
time in NFC championship game
Randy Moss: 986
career catches
Falcons: Last
Super Bowl appearance, Super Bowl XXXIII.
The Atlanta Falcons are a team with an aggressive passing
defense attack. They have the ability to rush the line and sack the
quarterback, and their secondary can get hot with picks. Colin Kaepernick (SF)
will have to make a mental note of this and be careful with his timing and
where and he throws the ball.
Atlanta has a run and gun offense and their quarterback,
Matt Ryan, know how to make plays. He is number five amongst the top
quarterbacks for the postseason with a 93.8 passer rating. Of the remaining
quarterbacks in the playoffs, he is number three behind his potential Super
Bowl opponents Joe Flacco (BAL 1), and Tom Brady (NE 2). Ryan has shown if he
has the ball in his possession with a close score in the final minute of the
game, he will make a winning drive. Falcons tight end, Tony Gonzalez said in a
press conference shown on NFL Network’s morning show “@NFL_AM,”
“I can play this game for another three years, I think, if I
wanted to, at a high level! It comes a point in your career…I’ve gotten
everything I wanted from this game. The only reason I’ve played the last couple
years, to tell you the truth, is for an opportunity like this, and now it’s
presented.”
He sounded confident and as if he had an epiphany that this
is the year for him and the Falcons.
The 49ers are the definition of a complete team. They have
it all on both sides of the football. Their defense and offense is stronger than
the Falcons. Atlanta has nice receivers, running backs, and Matt Ryan, but the
49ers have the advantage in all areas except QB. With the dominant defense and
pounding running attack of the 49ers, they will win this game and advance to
the Super Bowl for the first time since 1994, when they defeated the San Diego
Chargers, in the first Super Bowl played by two teams from California. 49ers
are also the only multiple Super Bowl winner and has never lost (5-0). They can
add to this record and shoot for six by first passing through the Georgia Dome
Sunday in Atlanta. Follow @nategrayzone
Baltimore Ravens @
New England Patriots
Sunday 1/20/13 6:00PM
EST
@nategrayzone picks Ravens-31 Patriots-28
Quick Facts and Numbers
Tom Brady: 5-1 in AFC title games, 73.8 QB rating with over 60% passing completion
Joe Flacco: First
QB in history to win playoff game in five seasons.
Quarterbacks Tom Brady and Joe Flacco are the two QB leaders
in the playoffs and will be facing each other head up in the AFC Championship
in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Tom Brady has been Tom Brady since he took over for the
Patriots after Drew Bledsoe’s injury. This means, all I can say about Brady is
this: New York Giants retired defensive end, @michaelstrahan said it best on
@NFLN show, ‘America’s Game.’ “If we want to win this Super Bowl, we got to get
to Tom Brady!” The Giants did just that in their first meeting of the last two
versus Pats in the Super Bowl. If the Baltimore Ravens can do that, they will
win this game. An emotionally charged, Ray Lewis will be doing everything in
his power to ensure this for his team.
In addition, Joe Flacco has a rocket arm. His team will need
to keep up with the Patriots offense especially if they can’t slow their
scoring production. If they are able to contain the Pats, they will still need
the offense to produce consistently to avoid room for a Pats high charged
offense comeback.
Bill Belichick and the Patriots offensive scheme and options
are deep, and they are especially effective in the tight end area. Tom Brady
said he is not worried about missing injured TE, Rob Gronkowski (forearm). The keys
for the Patriots to win this game are to execute offensively, slow the Ravens
running game, and disrupt the receivers and Joe Flacco.
New England has won 11 regular season games and only lost 2
since losing to the Ravens in week 3. They have also played better than the
Ravens since that loss. Flacco is hot in the playoffs right now and the Ravens
are riding their momentum into the title game.
This is a tale of a high offense versus a Ray Lewis led
defense. Baltimore does not have the best pass rush defense, but I think coach
John Harbaugh will have some tricks in his defense package to stop Tom Brady.
Follow @nategrayzone
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