NFL Conference Championships and the Redskins are done

So after 6 straight weeks, I finally got a Redskins pick right. The Redskins finished their season in a rather familiar way. The defense starts off well while the offense struggles, the defense finally cracks and the offense eventually starts to click but it turns out to be not enough and too late. As cliched as it sounds, it was a microcosm of the season.

I would say it was a disappointing end, but that would detract from a pretty darn good season. Although I thought the Redskins were a 10 win team back in September (In fact, I said: "Now I'm not saying the Redskins are going 11-5 this season, but I seriously don't think 10-6 is out of the question"), I was still surprised when they rattled off 5 wins at the end of the season to get into the playoffs. It was fun to say the least.

So they finished in the top 8 and did better than the Bears and Colts (at least the Skins got 1 playoff win... on the road even) and did about as well as Patriots (but the Redskins didn't get the advantage of a home playoff game). So in my book they're at least the 6th best team in the league. And I don't want to hear any talk about the 120 yards of offense in the win against the Bucs, they were heavily depleted and injured from those grueling 5 straight wins. Plus they weren't playing to rack up points, they were playing to keep a lead.

Which brings me to the addition of Al Saunders to the coaching staff. I'm hesitant because I am a strong believer in the idea of less chefs in the kitchen, but what has me believing is Joe Gibbs. I trust that he can keep everything (and everyone) in check.

Anyways more on that later... now on to the teams that remain in the Super Bowl picture:

Pittsburgh Steelers - First I need to repeat what everyone has already said: The Steelers were royally screwed by the botched instant replay call and had they lost that game, they would have every right to stab someone. Having said that... I still (and I've been saying this all year, just check the link above) question the Steeler's offense. That offense combined with a good/great defense won them the game at Indy, but the Colts were obviously not the same team that won 13 straight. They were the same team that has a history of choking in the playoffs. Plus the week before that, they got "lucky" when Carson Palmer got hurt.

Denver Broncos - The Broncos are another one of those teams that I've questioned all year. Although while I did a Top 10, I usually had them in the top 3 or 4, I still called them "not all that good." (Like when they beat the Redskins, but that was more of a response to how they played against the Skins.) But my misgivings about the Broncos aren't as much as they are about the Steelers.

Carolina Panthers - I'll admit, I have slept on the Panthers all year. I had only seen them play in highlight shows (I don't remember if I saw them in their MNF appearance), so I knew they had Steve Smith but the rest of the team seemed pedestrian. Plus, they were in a division I felt was weak because there was no clear good/great team. In fact, every team seemed just below average. So Tampa Bay and Atlanta proved to be that, but the Panthers have stepped it up. The only thing is that they've been pretty fortunate in these playoffs. The Giants (who should have been a formidable opponent) layed down for them, and then they had to go to play a weak Chicago Bears team from what was, I thought, the worst division in the NFC.

Seattle Seahawks - I saw the Seahawks and Bears play the Skins back in September, and it was CLEAR the Seahawks were a better team. The Bears defense wasn't as good as people would later say, and the Seahawks offense was about as good as billed. So although, record-wise, they started off bad, I thought they were a good team. (Actually both the Bears and Seahawks fatten up their records on weak opponents, but the Bears had a tougher time of it.)

So here are my picks:

at Denver OVER Pittsburgh - As I said, my misgivings about Denver aren't as big as they are about Pittsburgh. Everyone loves saying that Pittsburgh is the "hottest" team in the NFL because of their 6 game winning streak, but no one says in the next sentence that Denver has their own 5 game winning streak. As I have mentioned Pittsburgh, like the Panthers, have gotten lucky on the road. First Carson Palmer's leg gets broken, along with the Bengals fragile hopes and then the Colts choke away a gift from the NFL refs and then Jerome Bettis.

at Seattle OVER Carolina - I'll say it one more time... the Panthers have gotten lucky in the playoffs. And I don't mean "lucky the other team fumbled" or "lucky they won on a Hail Mary." I mean lucky their opponents haven't been playoff quality, either because of a young QB (Giants) or just not a good team in general (Bears). Seattle didn't exactly inspire me in their win against the Skins, but they moved the ball on a good defense.

Finally, the only thing that scares me about these picks? Oddly the Panthers and Steelers are better road teams then home teams... they were both 5-3 at home and 6-2 (8-2 including the playoffs) on the road. They both had the best road records in the league. But hey, Seattle and Denver were the only teams that went undefeated at home? Sounds like fun to me...