Every season the AFC seems to be the favorite over the NFC to have the future Super Bowl Champion. In 2014, the pundits seem to be thinking the same way. With teams like the Broncos, Patriots, and Colts, the AFC will look to regain its dominance that the conference has held for so many years. Like their NFC counterparts, these teams are quietly good. Here is a breakdown of all 16 AFC teams and how the standings will look like when the season is all said and done:

Peyton Manning and the Broncos are the kings of the AFC, but will they make another appearance in the Super Bowl? By United States Marine Corps/Sgt. D.R. Cotton [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Denver Broncos: As football fans, we can all hope that Peyton Manning and the Broncos put the beat down they received in the Super Bowl behind them and get back to playing Bronco football. Denver especially revamped their defense with additions of DeMarcus Ware and Aqib Talib. They lost Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno but this gives Montee Ball time to shine. The Broncos will be strong contenders once again next year.

Record: 12-4, division winner

San Diego Chargers: After making some noise in the playoffs, the Chargers are primed to try and build on that success, but 2014 isn’t the year for them. The AFC is so strong and even with the addition of Brandon Flowers, which I really like, the Chargers will barely miss the playoffs. Keenan Allen is an absolute stud and will help the Chargers offense but their defense is still weak which will be their downfall.

Record: 8-8

Kansas City Chiefs: I really hope I am wrong about this one but I don’t see the Chiefs repeating their 2013 success. I still can’t get over the epic playoff fail where they blew a 28-point lead to the Colts. Personally, I love Jamaal Charles but aside from him who is going to score or be a real offensive weapon? Look for the Chiefs to take a step back in 2014.

Record: 7-9

Oakland Raiders: The Black Hole should get excited this season and it isn’t because of the playoffs. The Raiders have built a semi competitive team for the first time in what seems like forever. Additions of Matt Schaub, Justin Tuck, James Jones, LaMar Woodley, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Khalil Mack will make this team interesting. If they could only get another WR or two, this team could be a playoff team. Plus this may be one of their last years in Oakland, so their fans better appreciate this team before it’s gone.

Record: 6-10

AFC East:

New England Patriots: With Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the Patriots will again be a top team in the AFC. I am just worried about their offense. They get Rob Gronkowski back, but they lost Legarrette Blount to Pittsburgh. Blount provided them will a large spark of offense. I’m sure they will find a way to do it yet again; I mean they are the Patriots after all right?

Record: 11-5, division winner

Miami Dolphins: After almost making the playoffs last season, I see the Dolphins being hungry for the taste of the postseason. They seem to have put the whole bullying situation last season behind them and will look to bring Miami back to the postseason. Adding Knowshon Moreno will give them some extra spark to their offensive attack. I look for the Dolphins to win a wild card spot in the playoffs this season.

Record: 9-7

New York Jets: J-E-T-S. JETS JETS JETS! After adding Eric Decker and Chris Johnson to their offense and adding rookie Calvin Pryor to a defense that puts out Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson and Calvin Pace, the Jets defense is in good shape. While they are close, I still think they are a year away from the playoffs.

Record: 8-8

Buffalo Bills: IF the Bills can stay healthy they could an annoying matchup for some teams. They are still a few years away from really contending. I love the drafting of wide receiver, Sammy Watkins for them and they still have CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson at running back. I look for them to win a few games they shouldn’t win but they will end up in the lower-middle of the AFC standings.

Record: 5-11

AFC North:

Cincinnati Bengals: I understand that Andy Dalton has struggled during the playoffs but during the regular season, he has been pretty good. What I don’t understand is why everyone is so down on the Bengals this season. They are coming off an 11-5 record with a division crown. They drafted Darqueze Dennard out of Michigan State whom will vastly help their secondary, which was the weakest part of their top 3 ranked defense. Losing Mike Zimmer will hurt but losing Jay Gruden, as the OC will help them. Hue Jackson taking over means a more balanced offense with smarter play calling so no more throwing the ball at the 1 yard line. A second straight division title is in store for Cincinnati.

Record: 10-6, division winner

Baltimore Ravens: After missing the playoffs in 2013, the Ravens spent the offseason making sure they get back in 2014. Adding Steve Smith and drafting CJ Mosley out of Alabama are moves that will help them do so. Look for Joe Flacco and the Ravens to return to the playoffs where they rightfully belong.

Record: 9-7

Cleveland Browns: Johnny Manziel will dominate the headlines for the Browns this season and for good reason. If the Browns are smart and start him over Brian Hoyer, the Browns might have a chance to contend. Their only problem is that they don’t really have any receivers since Josh Gordon is too busy smoking pot to play football. Their defense is stacked with Paul Kruger, Justin Gilbert, Donte Whitner, and Joe Haden. The Browns are a season and a wide receiver away from actually contending again.

Record: 7-9

Pittsburgh Steelers: After making a strong push for the playoffs last season, the Steelers fell short on a bad call by the referees. The Steelers are one of the best organizations in all of sports but that won’t help them in 2014. They are an older football team that will fail to make the playoffs again in 2014. They could surprise everyone and have a resurrection but I personally just don’t see it.

Record: 6-10

AFC South:

Indianapolis Colts: Too many times, people get caught up in what happens in the playoffs and they put players on pedestals because of it. I am a huge believer in Andrew Luck but the Chiefs lost the playoff game last season more than he brought his team back and won it. It was a 28-point comeback so that is a major failure by the Chiefs, but I am not trying to take anything away from Luck and the Colts. They benefit from being in the worst division in football and will again make the playoffs and look to build on their success again.

Record: 11-5

Tennessee Titans: It seems that each season the Titans have an average season yet don’t really do anything about it. They lost Chris Johnson and cornerback Alterraun Verner and Jake Locker has potential but has yet to do anything with that potential. The Titans will have another lackluster season and miss the playoffs again.

Record: 7-9

Houston Texans: Outside of their quarterback situation, which is extremely important, the Texans if they can stay healthy are just a piece or two away from making the playoffs again. Their defense is scary-good with Jadeveon Clowney and J.J. Watt on each side of the ball. They still have Andre Johnson and Arian Foster but both are just getting older so the Texans need to try and find a quarterback, and fast. Hopefully they can win some games this season and then try and fix the holes in the team during the next offseason.

Record: 6-10

Jacksonville Jaguars: This is a team that I really like in about two-three years. I hope Blake Bortles gets a chance this season as he has tremendous upside but for some reason, the Jaguars management doesn’t seem to want him to play in 2014. Marqise Lee was a great second round pickup for this team. The Jags will be back in the lottery of the draft but are only a few seasons away from making the playoffs if everything pans out.

Record: 5-11

Playoff Standings:

1. Denver Broncos
2. New England Patriots
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Cincinnati Bengals
5. Baltimore Ravens (won tiebreaker with Dolphins)
6. Miami Dolphins

In contention: New York Jets, San Diego Chargers, and Kansas City Chiefs

Jason Kidd and Mike Tomlin. I don’t think I ever thought I’d write a post that included both of them. I am today.

The coaches of the Brooklyn Nets and Pittsburgh Steelers respectively, Kidd and Tomlin have both had moments in games over the past 28 hours that should have been embarrassing and definitely have been disrespectful to the games they coach.

The Water Spill

Kidd went first. Last night, on Thanksgiving Eve, Kidd’s team was down by two points and had no timeouts remaining with 8.3 second remaining in the game.

You watch the video and decide what you think:

Today, it was reported that Kidd was fined $50,000 for his transgression. The Nets still lost the game to the Lakers. At 4-11, they have been a huge disappointment this season after acquiring both Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce this offseason.

That's an expensive spill… Report: Jason Kidd to be fined $50,000 for drink 'timeout' – http://t.co/G3wtIziwEn (via @EyeOnBasketball)

— CBSSports.com (@CBSSports) November 29, 2013

With relatively high expectations in New York this year, Kidd has a lot of pressure on him to start winning. Losing to the Lakers, who weren’t supposed to be very good this year, he made the desperate move of a coach who doesn’t see any other options.

Screwed over by 2 backdoor covers today. 0 and 3 for the day. 22 games below for the season. I feel like I'm being coached by Jason Kidd.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) November 29, 2013

In the way

Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin is someone I respected so much before tonight. Coming into the game, he was 68-39 as the head coach of the Steelers. His team has been to two Super Bowls and won one during his tenure. I always loved his demeanor, attitude, and the way his teams played.

On a kick return during which the Ravens’ Jacoby Jones looked like he was going all the way, Tomlin got in the way. Go here and check for yourself. It was a ballsy play — the officials could have awarded the Ravens the touchdown anyway and I’m pretty sure they could have also ejected Tomlin. Instead, Jones cut inside and was tackled. Instead of the possible touchdown, the Ravens only managed a field goal on the ensuing drive. In essence, Tomlin might have saved his team an important four points.

Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin Nearly Collides With Ravens' Jacoby Jones During 73-Yard Kickoff Return (GIF) http://t.co/yhIGpPqjmT

— NESN (@NESN) November 29, 2013

As a fan of Tomlin, who I thought was so stand-up, I was very disappointed. I would be really surprised if the NFL didn’t fine him.

Mike Tomlin's reaction: http://t.co/UskmQ5wgja

— Smart Football (@smartfootball) November 29, 2013

After going 8-8 last season and missing the playoffs, Pittsburgh is in danger of missing the postseason for the second year in a row. Like Kidd, Tomlin was desperate in a rivalry game that looked like it might have been getting out of hand. It was a level of desperation I would expect from a rookie like Kidd. But, for a seasoned, Super Bowl-winning head coach to do something like that was disappointing.

In the end, both Kidd and Tomlin lost games they really needed to win. Their teams just didn’t have enough on the respective nights. Kidd and Tomlin are both intense competitors. When neither of their teams were good enough, they just couldn’t help themselves. It’s safe to say neither the Steelers or Nets are going to end up matching their beginning of the year expectations. Desperation in professional sports is a heck of a thing.

The year is 2013.

But some things still haven’t changed and I had hoped it would have by now. I am talking about gay rights, racism and equality for all, regardless of sexual orientation, skin color, or race. While I will admit that there has been obvious progress made in these areas, it isn’t enough.

Discrimination because of race or sexual orientation is stupid. My motto is judge a person by their personality and that’s all. Many people will ask where I am going with this since this is supposed to be a sports article but this is much more than just sports.

Recently Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper was caught on tape at a Kenny Chesney concert using a racist phrase and it has brought up much anger and sadness within the sports world and just society as a whole. Like many others, I was disgusted at what Cooper said and the aftermath, but for different reasons then people might think. In no way shape or form do I support Cooper’s comments because they were completely inappropriate and uncalled-for — I want to make that clear before I proceed.

Riley Cooper said some stupid things. He’s not the only one. By By Matthew Straubmuller (Flickr: Eagles vs Redskins), via Wikimedia Commons

In the aftermath of the comments, the Eagles have excused Cooper from team activities so that he could go to counseling for his actions and get help. While I have no problem with his counseling, my question and whole point is this: Why is he going to counseling for a racial slur but in the past when players use a gay slur all they do is get fined?

To me, and I think many others, using a gay slur is just as bad as a racist one so why is it that we as a society is making such a huge deal out of this situation but the same can’t be said when a gay slur is used? I wonder if Cooper had used a gay slur instead of a racial one, would it have been seen and dealt with differently? There have been many occurrences of gay slurs being used in recent years by other athletes but all that I’ve seen happen is a quick fine and people move on. Some notable slurs and insensitive comments include but are not limited to:

Roy Hibbert of the Indiana Pacers earlier in 2013

Amar’e Stoudemire of the New York Knicks in 2012

Roddy White of the Atlanta Falcons in 2012

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011

James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011

Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls in 2011

Above are just six different occurrences of athletes using a gay slur but I don’t remember anybody making as a big deal about it as they are currently with Cooper’s situation. Isn’t using a gay slur is just as inappropriate and disgusting as using a racial one? Recently NBA center Jason Collins came out as a professional athlete and was greeted to much love and support which was very nice to see but then that goes back to my point.

Why isn’t the use of gay slurs made into more of a big deal then they are?

In my opinion, the use of both racial and gay slurs not just in sports but in society as a whole should be dealt with in a much more strict manner so that in the future, people won’t be as ignorant and use them.

What do you think?

The Tom Brady “window” for success continues in New England, amazingly. By Mongomez93 (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

It’s never too early for predictions, especially when it comes to the pre draft NFL. In the upcoming draft, each team will make selections to try and help their current rosters in order to make a run at that coveted Super Bowl ring. Although the rosters for the start of the season won’t be complete until much later in the year, it’s still fun to look at what each team has done up to this point and make predictions for what will happen. Here are my predictions for the upcoming NFL season, pre NFL draft:

AFC North:

1. Cincinnati Bengals: This is the team that I believe right now will win this division next season. They have gotten better in each of the last two seasons with stellar performances by their duo Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. Plus have one of the youngest and best defensives in the league. It will be difficult for the Bengals, as they have now made the playoffs in consecutive years so they won’t be underdogs anymore. With Pittsburgh and Baltimore on the decline, taking nothing away from the Ravens since they just won the Super Bowl, but I’d expect this division to be the Bengals to lose although it will be a dogfight throughout the year.
2. Baltimore Ravens: The defending Super Bowl champions lost a lot of experience and leadership with the departures of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Anquan Boldin but they added some talent back with the signing of Elvis Dumervil. I don’t think the Ravens will win the division but a wild card spot doesn’t seem too far-fetched.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers: The one time dominant Steelers team of the last seven or so years isn’t the same team and like the Ravens it’s the age factor. The lose of Mike Wallace is a big factor since he was a huge part of their offense but I think the defense who was ranked near the top of the league will keep them in games. Ben Roethlisberger is still a two-time champion and he won’t go down without a fight. That being said, they can still contend for a wild card spot just like the Ravens.
4. Cleveland Browns: A good young team that needs to find a quarterback and an identity. The Browns showed some promise last season by fighting and playing hard in their games but like this league has proven time and time again, you can’t win without a good quarterback. It will be another long year for the Browns as they try and improve the team.

AFC East:

1. New England Patriots: What else can you say about this team? This division is easily theirs and barring a huge injury or anything unpredictable like that, it’s almost a lock. Tom Brady is Tom Brady and will have the Patriots back to the playoffs with another division title.
2. Miami Dolphins: The addition of Mike Wallace to the offense instantly makes them more of a force in the AFC especially since they lost Reggie Bush. They went 7-9 last season but I look for them to improve and make a run at the playoffs as a wild card type team. Tannehill has this team looking good and he can only improve.
3. Buffalo Bills: I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the Bills finish ahead of the Jets in the standings this year. The Bills went 6-10 and I believe just need a few pieces to actually become a contender. The addition of linebacker Manny Lawson should help out a poor line backing core and adding Kevin Kolb might just be what the doctor ordered for the Bills.
4. New York Jets: This will probably be Rex Ryan’s last season as the head coach of the Jets unlike a miraculous playoff run occurs which is unlikely. The Jets have talent, they really do, but for some reason they don’t know how to combine it and turn it into wins on Sundays.

AFC West:

1. Denver Broncos: With Peyton Manning running your team, it’s almost a guarantee that you will make the playoffs. They had one of the best offenses and defenses in football last year and I expect that to continue even with the departure of Elvis Dumervil. Until Manning retires, the AFC West is the Broncos to loose.
2. Kansas City Chiefs: I am taking a long shot here that I actually believe in but I say the Chiefs despite their horrid season last year, finish second in the AFC West. I really liked the signing of Andy Reid as the coach because I believe it will rejuvenate his career and give him motivation again. Also trading for Alex Smith was a major move as it gives them a leader that has playoff experience. They had six pro bowlers selected despite only winning two games, and they have the first pick in the upcoming draft so what’s not to like about the Chiefs? They won’t contend just quite yet but they won’t be at the bottom of the standings either.
3. San Diego Chargers: I am not quite sure what happened last year with Phillip Rivers but I don’t think it will happen again in 2013. With basically the same team and the addition of Danny Woodhead, I think it makes the Chargers the third best team in their division. It won’t be as miserable for Charger fans next year, but it won’t be as good as recent years suggested.
4. Oakland Raiders: With the trade of Carson Palmer and departure of Heyward-Bey, at least pre-draft; I believe that the Raiders will have the worst record in the NFL next season. The only reason they won four games last year was because Palmer, despite his struggles, can still throw the football and put up points. The defense wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t good either. I may be wrong but I think it’s going to be a tough season again for the Black and Silver faithful.

AFC South:

1. Indianapolis Colts: The Colts showed us last year that it is possible to have the worst record one year then completely turn it around the next and make the playoffs. Andrew Luck is a stud and I normally don’t say that about young quarterbacks. The 11-5 surprise team got even better by adding Darius Heyward-Bey from the Raiders and LaRon Landry from the Jets. Ina addition they signed veteran Matt Hasselbeck, which I think will play a crucial role in Luck’s development in the coming years. Look for the Colts to win the division for the first time in a long time without Peyton Manning leading the way.
2. Houston Texans: Many people will question my pick of the Colts over the Texans and I understand why but I have my reasons. Yes they signed Ed Reed to help boost the already stellar defense but the fact that they had the best record in the league at one point last year and then fell to not having a first round bye in the playoffs tells me something, they lack mental toughness. In football, like any sport, you need to have both physicality and mental toughness and that is something I don’t believe the Texans have. With that being said though, I still believe that they will compete but just not win the division again.
3. Tennessee Titans: At least the debate over which quarterback will start for the Titans is over, this is now Jake Locker’s team. The signings of Bernard Pollard and Shonn Greene will help this team but I don’t think it makes them a threat in the AFC. It will be at least a few more years until the Titans reach the playoffs again I believe.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars: Many would argue that Jacksonville was the worst team in the league, not Kansas City. There are so many holes on this team to fix and it will take awhile for all of them to be put together and make the Jags relevant again. Receiver Justin Blackmon is a nice building piece for them but they need more than him on offense. Jones-Drew is a nice running back but lets face it, he is very injury prone. The Jaguars will be back at the bottom of the lottery again come next April.

Division Winners:

AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals

AFC East: New England Patriots

AFC West: Denver Broncos

AFC South: Indianapolis Colts

Wild Card Teams: Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans (Notable other teams: Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins)

Playoff Bracket:

1. New England Patriots (12-4)
2. Denver Broncos (12-4)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (11-5)
4. Indianapolis Colts (10-6)
5. Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
6. Houston Texans (9-7)

6 Houston Texans @ 3 Cincinnati Bengals: (Bengals 31-24)

5 Baltimore Ravens @ 4 Indianapolis Colts: (Ravens 27-14)

5 Baltimore Ravens @ 1 New England Patriots: (Patriots 31-28)

3 Cincinnati Bengals @ 2 Denver Broncos: (Bengals 20-17)

AFC Championship Game:

3 Cincinnati Bengals @ 1 New England Patriots: (Patriots 38-31)

AFC Champions: New England Patriots

If one takes the time to read a little bit deeper, they will find a couple of classic match-ups that both the seasoned and greenhorn NFL fan can get excited about.

In recent years, the NFL has bragged about having the most competitive and encompassing parody in the circle of major professional sports leagues. While this parody is evident amongst the league’s elite, an even playing field amongst the entire league is severely lacking.

This lack of competitiveness as a whole and the evidence of parody only among the elite is the reason why these final conference clashes, that may look like mismatches on the cover, are so intriguing.

I am advising everyone to spit the seeds out when judging the quality of the teams remaining, due to a number of factors occurring over the course of the NFL season that all were both as much surreal as they were anticipated.

This playoff season saw a wildcard winner with a record of 12-4 and a division winner with a record of 7-9. Two of the other wild card teams had records of 11-5. The fourth and remaining wildcard team this playoff season finished with a record of 10-6. The New York Giants missed the playoffs with a 10-6 record, three games better than the NFC West division-winning Seattle Seahawks.

Four of the division winners had a 10-6 record, or worse. That’s half of the division winners having no better of an overall record than the wildcard team with the worst record. Wait a second. Read that again – not for a spelling or grammar check, but for a reality check. I’m half-expecting Moe or Curly to come club me over the head with a skillet as I sit here flapping my lips with my finger.

The winners of the the four divisions who featured only a division winner and no wildcard participant averaged a record of only 9.25 wins and 6.75 losses. The second-place finishers of those four shallow divisions averaged a record of only 8.5 wins and 7.5 losses, and finished a full two games out of a wildcard berth – collectively on average.

In other words, half the divisions are exceptional, those half that are exceptional are extremely top-heavy, and the other half of the divisions flat-out reek of inferiority, book-end to book-end.

However, I digress from this tirade of attacking the current structure and overall parody, or lack thereof. The fact that gets spit out of this unprecedented equation becomes: any team that received a wildcard berth this season definitely earned it, as they ended up with records that would win divisions in any other season. It seems evident that the number six seeds that are challenging the number two seeds this weekend might as well be number two seeds themselves, and therein lies the hidden allure.

* * * * * * *

The oldest and arguably most bitter rivalry in the NFL, which boasts a combined twenty-one NFL titles (including four super bowl titles) all-time between the two teams, reconvenes Sunday afternoon at the new Soldier Field in Chicago. Dating back to 1921, this bitter duel amazingly has only occurred in the playoffs one other time, a whole seventy years ago, in which the Bears defeated the Packers in 1941 on their way to the NFL title.

Their clash on Sunday will be by far, the most penultimate contest this storied rivalry has ever seen in the one hundred eighty-one times over the past ninety years it has been celebrated. The rarity and significance of this game is the equivalent of being able to see Halley’s Comet, only having to wait an extra fifteen years on top of the already anticipated seventy-five.

This upcoming chapter of course, will be the third between the Packers and Bears this season. The Bears prevailed in a late September Monday Night affair in Chicago, 20-17. The Packers eked out a 10-3 win in the last game of the regular season that was highlighted by less than perfect weather conditions, as well as the Bears supposedly not putting their best foot forward in order to preserve health, seeing as they had already clinched the two seed with no way to obtain the one seed or fall to the three.

On Sunday, the weather man calls for a game-time temperature of 15 degrees with a windchill of zero or slightly below. The wind factor is what will dictate the course of this game. When it’s calm, its bearable – but when it gets whipping off of Lake Michigan, Chicago in January might as well be the surface of Mars.

If it stays cold and calm, expect the Green Bay-weathered Aaron Rodgers to come out firing, as his arm will set up the running lanes later on in the game for rookie playoff standout James Starks. If this occurs, expect Mike Martz to counter with a desperate pass-first approach, throwing caution to a deliberate Matt Forte running attack and playing right into the favored Packers’ hands.

If the wind picks up significantly however, expect a closer, field position battle that is more conducive to the efficiency of and puts less pressure on ‘feast or famine’ Jay Cutler. This could shorten the game undoubtedly, favoring the Bears and their home crowd.

Don’t count out these two underrated defenses either. Brian Urlacher is as equally one of the league’s best leaders as Lance Briggs is a surprise play-maker. The Bears do have a few worries on the back-end however, and if Julius Peppers and company up front don’t get a consistent and discomforting pass-rush on Rodgers, you could see the Packers run up some substantial yardage through the air.

The Packers bring to the table a stout 3-4 scheme that has potential defensive player of the year, Clay Matthews III flying off the edge and tossing his body around with reckless abandonment. This front also features the hand-on-the-ground inside presence of Cullen Jenkins taking up two blockers, with A.J. Hawk lurking behind him stuffing the run. I would be remiss not to make note of “Mr. Do-everything” Charles Woodson, as you can bet he will come up with either a key interception, a key fumble forced or recovery, or a key sack.

If Green Bay can make ‘Jay-kyll and Hyde’ Cutler look away from his go-to red zone tool, tight end Greg Olson, and force him to have to earn his paycheck on 3rd and long, Chicago fans are in for a long, cold day of sitting on their hands.

All-NFL returner Devin Hester could make a significant impact, that is, if Green Bay decides to even kick to him. Kicking to Green Bay’s poor-man’s version of Hester, Tramon Williams, isn’t a good idea either. Expect both punters to have worked on their directional kicking extensively throughout this week of preparation. Punting with the accuracy of a marksman may prove vital in this game, taking into account both the danger of both punt returners and the danger of the swirling winds that may arise.

My pick: Packers 21, Bears 17.

On the other side of the bracket, the gum-flapping, ‘look at me’ Jets travel to Heinz Field on Sunday night to face the Pittsburgh Steelers and 65,000 terrible towels. While the Jets have earned back-to-back AFC Championship game appearances, I have a feeling they are going to get this far only to fall just short of the super bowl for the second year in a row.

Yes, they beat Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh less than a month ago, 22-17. Yes, they squeaked by the Colts in Indianapolis albeit on the heels of a botched time-out call by Jim Caldwell. And yes, they took it to the evil Belichick and Brady empire in Foxboro with brash bravado and confusing defensive scheme. However, I see three major differences between the two teams they beat to get here and the team they have standing between them and the Jerry Jones Bowl in Dallas.

One, the meeting on December 19th between the two included four flukes that all favored the Jets: an opening kickoff return for a touchdown by Brad Smith, a late safety by Jason Taylor, a turnover-fee game by Mark Sanchez; and most importantly, the best player on the field when he’s healthy, Troy Polamalu, sat the game out with a bum ankle. The game was also decided on a goal-to-go situation for the Steelers, who failed to produce a winning touchdown inside the ten yard line in the closing seconds. All of these key factors turned out right for the Jets and wrong for the Steelers, something considered extremely against the odds and that any logical investor should not bet on to happen the same way again.

Two, Big Ben is anything but an immobile, standing pop-up dummy the likes of Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. He is known league-wide as not only being able to avoid sacks by breaking head-on tackle attempts with his defensive lineman frame, but also being able to avoid them by getting outside the pocket with his surprising fleet of foot. These are two predominant dynamics that Manning or Brady could not even dream about doing.

You can guarantee the Jets will bring pressure and be in Ben’s face, due to the fact that the Steelers’ average running game featuring Rashard Mendenhall won’t be much of a deterrent – but you can also guarantee that Roethlisberger will be able to avoid at least some of the pressure with his mobility and toughness, creating more and different offensive opportunities the likes of what New York hasn’t had to contend with the past two weeks.

And most notably, three, Pittsburgh’s Defense makes the defenses of Indianapolis and New England look like rank amateurs. Versus the Jets the past two weeks, the Colts defense was undermanned due to injruy and the Patriot defense was young and inexperienced. The Steelers defense features the best and most experienced line-backing core in the league, lead by docket-fined and notorious head-hunter James Harrison, a factor that could turn the Jets bread and butter running game into toasted char.

The bottom line, if Ben Roethlisberger has time or can at least make a few plays with his feet, the Steeler offense will at the very least break even with the Jets defense. I see this push creating an actual advantage for Pittsburgh overall, as the weakest link in this game, the predictable and vanilla Jets offense, will be at a disadvantage and have trouble staying ‘on schedule’ in their down and distances versus the top-level Steeler defense.

My Pick: Steelers 17, Jets 13.

The battle of the Midwest and the battle of the East – when the dust settles, you end up, in my mind, with the Packers and Steelers meeting in Dallas. What a feature – the team of the 60’s versus the team of the 70’s, as well as both being super bowl champions again in the past fifteen years. Which one of these classic franchises will become their organization’s championship version, 3.0? Who could start this decade off with a Lombardi and lay the foundation for a dynasty of the teens?

However it plays out, make sure to spit out the bubble gum and strap on the leather come Sunday, because both of these epic collisions will exceed expectations.

-Andrew Stevens