Sports Saturday: Goin' to the 'ship

To clarify off the bat, "goin' to the 'ship" is short for, "We are going to the championship." It's a phrase that players use when they've won a game that gets them into a championship game. This weekend, four NFL teams are going to play in two conference 'ships for a chance to get into the big 'ship itself: the Super Bowl. Although, because Sports Saturday is a day late, it's also going to be a dollar short. Don't worry, I'll explain later in Story Sunday. It's a twofer!

I'm not a huge fan of predicting games, well, more specifically, predicting scores, because it's next to impossible. Quite frankly, I don't know how Vegas does it, but they nail the over-under and the spread 90% of the time. It's incredible. That being said... I'm going to give my run down of the championships today (and yes, I'm aware that one of them has already started).

New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts

Oh my, oh my, this is poetic justice at it's finest, ladies and gentlemen. Part of the reason that the Jets are in the playoffs in the first place was mentioned in that week's Sports Saturday in my rundown of the Colts. When the Colts were a perfect 14-0, they had everything regarding the playoffs sewn up: the number one seed and homefield advantage throughout. So, halfway through the Week 16 game against the Jets, they laid down. They laid down like a sacrificial lamb and had to endure the insatiable boos of the homefield crowd, and justly so. They were going for perfection. They were going for history, and they threw it all away for a chance to keep their starters healthy for the playoffs. I've never necessarily agreed with resting starters since they tend to get out of rhythm when they finally get back on the field, but the Colts brass decided long before they reached 14-0 that, if the time came where they had nothing left to play for but pride, they were going to sit the big guns. So, Manning, Wayne, Clark, Brackett, Addai, and the rest of the gang had a seat and watched as the "JV" squad let the Jets run all over them en route to a pretty ugly loss in the end. That victory propelled the Jets to the game against the Bengals who also decided to lay down and, in the process, let the Jets into the playoffs. You know what happened the next week? Those same Bengals played their entire starting roster, and got beat. The week after that, the Jets handled the San Diego Chargers in a fashion that nobody thought was possible, and wouldn't you know it... Now they're facing the team that gave them life, hope, and a chance to go to the 'ship.

Most people are saying that the Colts will handle the Jets in much the same fashion that they handled the Baltimore Ravens. They look at the Ravens and see a very similar team to the Jets: stifling defense, powerful running game. I look at the Ravens and a see an aging squad with a decent bevy of running backs that throttled an undermanned Patriots team that's likely on the decline. I look at the Jets and a I see the number one defense in football that shut down Rivers, Jackson, Gates, Tomlinson, and Sproules. I don't think the Colts are going to easy handle the Jets, but I also don't think the Jets are going to completely shut down the Colts. We have to look at whether or not the Jets will be able to score enough to match what the Colts will, sooner or later, be able to put on the board. This will be close... but I think that the Colts are going to play tight, pressured football. They have to make up for what many considered just straight criminal in throwing away a chance at history. I don't think they will.

Jets 24, Colts 21. (OT)

Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints

This will be an awesome game to watch. I firmly believe that whoever wins this game has the inside edge to win the Super Bowl. After seeing what the Vikings did to the Cowboys and what the Saints did to the Cardinals, you have to imagine that this game will be as tight as any could be. We had three snoozers and an upset last week in the playoffs, and this week promises to have two excellent match-ups in the conference championships. When it comes to the Vikings and Saints, you have two fantastic defenses and two offenses that could push 35+ points across the board against nearly anybody. When those two facets collide, you have to wonder what's going to win out. Typically, it's defense. The old adage rings true most every time: defense wins championships. So you have to ask, when two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL come against each other, what's going to give? On one hand, you have Brett Favre, who has seen just about everything. On the other, you have Drew Brees, who has about the best accuracy you could ever ask for out of a QB. Honestly, I'm just thrilled to see this game. I have no idea what's going to happen. Jared Allen could break through the Saints line and give Brees hell all day. On the flip side, the Saints could run play action, screen passes, and mix up the Vikings with every different crazy formation that they've got in their arsenal.

All of that doesn't even take into account the fact that Brett Favre had the best game of his career last week. That's ludicrous in and of itself. The man has been playing about 20 years, and he's just now having the best game ever? That's scary. That, combined with Adrian Peterson, makes you wonder just how the Saints are going to stop the Vikings at all. As much as I love defense, I'm kind of hoping for an absolute barn burner in this one. That'll be my prediction. That, and the fact that the Vikings aren't going to roll into the Superdome and take what promises to be the most emotional game in New Orleans' history.

Saints 42, Vikings 35

Of course, all this will probably be way off base. But hey, I don't work for Vegas, so you can't put much faith in what I've got to say on the matter in the first place.