The Red Zone Report

I don’t have a wealth of time to post an in-depth preview of today’s conference championship games, but I will give a short prediction about both.

I haven’t exactly had a ton of success with my picks so far, but I’m feeling pretty good about today. True enough, two #6 seeds are taking part in today’s conference championship games, and the NFC winner will either be the #4 or #6, but the way things have gone thus far shows that when you’re hot, you’re hot, and when you’re not, well, you’re going to go home early.

The Titans and the Giants both went into the postseason on cold streaks, and those cold streaks carried over into exits at home against teams who came in hot and confident in Baltimore and Philadelphia. The Cardinals also came into the having had a slump prior to the end of the regular season, but they did come in off the heels of a win, and they’ve really turned it in on the postseason.

As for the Steelers, they are the best team left, but that doesn’t mean anything’s guaranteed for them. Their two showdowns against the Ravens in the regular season were close, with the first going to overtime and the second being decided in the last minute, so

Anywho, I’m impressed by how well the Eagles have played thus far, and they’re unsurprisingly the favorite going into Arizona. They have more postseason experience, and after winning at New York last week, they can win anywhere. But, the Cardinals really showed last week in their demolition of the Panthers that experience or not, they’re a pretty good team, and getting the chance to play for their first Super Bowl trip in front of the home fans will really fire them up for a victory. I know this is an opportunity that Kurt Warner will revel in, and he’ll be eager to erase the memories of his last Super Bowl trip with the Rams, so look for him to rise to the occasion.

In the AFC, Pittsburgh-Baltimore has the looks of a tight one, and as hard as it is to beat the same team twice in one season, beating them three times in one season is a tough task, but the Steelers will be up to the task.

So, if it goes that way, Ken Whisenhunt will have his Cardinals in the Super Bowl in only his second season at the helm, and he’ll get the chance to earn his second Super Bowl ring with the team that he won his first one with in 2005, as the team’s offensive coordinator for their Super Bowl XL run. Considering that he missed out on the Steelers’ head job after Bill Cowher retired, and all of the familiarity he has with the team, you know he’ll be looking forward to that one. But hey, he’s got to get there first, and so do they.

And if you want to check out the latest odds on today’s conference championship games and action from other sports, check out Doc’s Sports extensive collection of updated sports odds, which includes updated odds from the NFL, NBA, college basketball, NHL, and more.