League Championship picks

So far if I had been picking against the spreed, I would be a sterling 8-0 for the playoffs. But since I've been picking exact scores I am 0-8. Or, more precisely, 0-16. That's one perfectly inept football season. So it's like I'm starting over this week. Full of hope.

New Orleans at Chicago
While I had been inclined to think of the Saints as a finesse team, the power in the trenches they displayed last week has changed my perception. Without much help from their linebackers, the Saints' front four was able to consistently beat the Eagles' well-regarded offensive line and meet, quickly, at the quarterback. On the other side of the ball the Saints' offensive line effortlessly opened holes for their thunder and lightning backfield duo. So it seems the Saints are now what the Bears were at the beginning of the season -- only New Orleans just did it against a really good football team. The Bears' identity has also gone through a seasonal metamorphosis: Around week six their defense was being mentioned among the greatest units of all-time, but after a suffering a few key injuries the Bears' current defense is -- dare I say -- below average. No longer the new Monsters of the Midway, these Air O'Hare Bears go the way of their inconsistent signal caller Rex Grossman. Recstacy is considerably better than his critics and his worst games suggest, and his match up against the Saints secondary -- the one kink in an otherwise complete football team -- will be enough to keep this game from being a laugher. But not enough to give Chicago a chance.

Destiny rides 31-20

New England at Indianapolis
Do you realize the key play in the Patriot's upset win over the San Diego Chargers was a perfectly timed Brady interception? In the press conference afterwards Brady practically implied he did it on purpose. If so, I'm inclined to believe him. There is nothing Brady can't do. Even when he's lousy he finds a unique way to win. Now he is dating arguably the world's most famous supermodel. And his "classless" coach has whipped out the scissors and introduced his own, rather unique take on men's outerwear. If this football thing doesn't' work out, the dreamboat and the genius could team to open a fashion house. Of course the football thing will work out -- just not this week. This is the Colts' week. They won't even need Vinatieri to be the knife-twisting difference maker. Why . . ? RCA Dome. Indy is a completely different team on their home turf. A near unbeatable one. All of their famous playoff flops at the hands of the Patriots have been in the cold and wind of Foxboro. There's no place like dome. Say it three times, click your heels and prepare yourself for New Orleans-born-and-bred Peyton Manning against the New Orleans Saints in the Katrina Bowl.

Colts win 27-21