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Thread: Early Lines on Championship Games and SB

  1. #1
    BostonBlackie
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    Early Lines on Championship Games and SB

    Here are the early lines on those title games, with a trip to Super Bowl XLII at stake.

    AFC Championship Game

    Sunday, Jan. 21
    3:05 p.m.
    PATRIOTS -9.5 Jaguars

    NFC Championship Game

    Sunday, Jan. 21
    6:40 p.m.
    Vikings -4 EAGLES

    Odds to win the Super Bowl:

    Patriots 6/5
    Vikings 3/1
    Eagles 6/1
    Jaguars 20/1

    Odds to win NFC Championship

    Eagles 7/5
    Vikings 5/4

    Odds to win AFC Championship

    Patriots 2/1
    Jaguars 10/1

    http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2...ots_vs_ja.html






  2. #2
    BostonBlackie
    Guest

    Re: Early Lines on Championship Games and SB

    Resetting NFL playoff bracket: Who has edge in Jags-Patriots, Vikings-Eagles?

    The Vikings punched their ticket to Philadelphia for a chance at the NFC title with a late game-winner while the Jaguars earned a chance against the Patriots for the AFC crown.

    Here's an early look at the championship round:

    AFC Championship Game


    No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 1 New England Patriots

    When: Sunday, Jan. 21 at 3:05 p.m. ET | Where: Gillette Stadium | TV: CBS | More: Game HQ
    Jaguars' best chance to win: Straight talk here -- I didn’t wake up this morning planning an argument for how the Jaguars might win the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. But here we are. The Jaguars are by far the most physical team remaining in the playoffs. They're perfectly capable of pushing back the line of scrimmage, hitting Tom Brady often and hard, and keeping the Patriots off balance on both sides of the ball. If Jacksonville can use that physicality to cajole a few well-timed mistakes, and tailback Leonard Fournette can get up a head of steam to minimize the pressure on quarterback Blake Bortles, then why not? Ream more on the Jaguars from Michael DiRocco.
    Patriots' best chance to win: If I had to pick one NFL coach to cook up a game plan that would thoroughly scramble Bortles' brain, it would be Bill Belichick. The two have only matched up once, and in that game Belichick’s team squeaked by with a 51-17 victory. You could envision the Patriots following a similar game plan to the one that stifled Marcus Mariota in the divisional round. New England stacked against the Titans' run, holding tailback Derrick Henry to an average of 0.8 yards per carry before contact, then got after Mariota on the obvious passing downs that ensued. The Patriots sacked Mariota eight times and had him under duress on 31 percent of his dropbacks. Sounds like a plan against the Jaguars as well. Read more on the Patriots from Mike Reiss.
    Stat nugget: The Jaguars are 1-10 against the Patriots in their franchise history. For what it's worth, the one victory came in the playoffs, in Jacksonville, after the 1998 regular season.
    Bottom line: The Jaguars are a tough, physical and still very inexperienced team. They'll need to punch the Patriots in the mouth and then play a near-perfect game thereafter to pull the upset. The chances of that turn of events seems low.
    NFC Championship Game


    No. 2 Minnesota Vikings at No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles

    When: Sunday, Jan. 21 at 6:40 p.m. ET | Where: Lincoln Financial Field | TV: Fox | Game HQ
    Vikings’ best chance to win: Minnesota’s defense is better positioned than the Falcons’ was to stop what the Eagles cooked up in the divisional round. The Vikings led the NFL by holding opposing runners to 1.38 yards per carry after first contact and ranked ninth in average yards allowed after the catch (1.37). In other words, they’re great tacklers. That will make it more difficult for the Eagles to turn short passes into big gains like they did against Atlanta, when Philadelphia averaged 4.9 air yards per throw and had a season-high 164 yards after the catch. The Vikings also have a decent chance to limit tailback Jay Ajayi, who managed a career-high 64 yards after first contact against Atlanta.


    Eagles best chance to win:Philadelphia's home-field advantage matters more than you might realize. The past eight NFC/AFC title games have all been won by the home team. Just as important: Consider that the Vikings have won only three road playoff games in the 35 years since they moved into an indoor home stadium in 1982. Every team is different, of course, but a clear trend over that long of a timeframe -- three victories in 15 total road playoff games over that span -- is revealing. This season, two of the Vikings’ three losses came on the road on grass outdoor fields. The grass at Lincoln Financial Field was noticeably slippery in the Eagles' divisional-round matchup with the Falcons. These are not trivial matters.
    Stat nugget: The Eagles are 4-0 as home underdogs in franchise history, having defeated the Falcons (2018), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2000), Detroit Lions (1995) and Dallas Cowboys (1980). They’re likely to be underdogs, again.
    Bottom line: The Eagles’ home-field advantage is real. The Vikings, on a neutral field, are objectively a better team. This is why they play the games!

    http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/p...pionship-games





  3. #3
    1 at a time Array title="Count Steeler has a reputation beyond repute"> Count Steeler's Avatar

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    Re: Early Lines on Championship Games and SB

    Little surprised on 2/1 for the Pats* to win AFCGG. Thought it would be lower. I don't see the Jags beating the Pats* and the refs.

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    Re: Early Lines on Championship Games and SB

    Probably won't watch either, three "meh" teams and one team that I loathe (and will win with the Ref's help)... no thanks.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Array title="Born2Steel has a reputation beyond repute"> Born2Steel's Avatar

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    Re: Early Lines on Championship Games and SB

    The ONLY interest left for me is that 3 of the 4 teams have yet to win a Lombardi. I would love to see the Jags play the NFC champ. Just so we are guaranteed a new winner this time.

  6. #6
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    Re: Early Lines on Championship Games and SB

    I have no desire to watch either game. I can't think of a pair of less interesting championship games in NFL history. A classless organization and the NFL referees rooted on by a bunch of classless bandwagon fans beating another classless organization with a bunch of shit talkers rooted on by a small number of trashy fans and then a game between two chokers to see which choker will hand the Patriots their 6th Super Bowl win in Super Bowl 52. I am actually considering not watching the Super Bowl and may end up force myself to watch it just because it's the Super Bowl. This entire NFL season has been awful. Season ending injuries to numerous star players which completely watered down the competition, numerous blowouts, officiating seeking to new levels of futility, the whole national anthem bullshit being taken to the next level. Even a 13-3 Steelers season managed to be less fun than it should have been thanks to a seemingly endless string of off-field drama more fitting of a daytime TV soap opera, a ridiculous number of prime time games, and numerous close wins against shitty and mediocre teams that they should have blown out. Hopefully the 2018 season will be better

  7. #7
    Senior Member Array title="cubanstogie has a reputation beyond repute"> cubanstogie's Avatar

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    Re: Early Lines on Championship Games and SB

    I love playoff football, even if Steelers out of it. I would love to see Jags and vikes in SB. But steelers made Bortles look like an all pro, pats probably get 2-3 turnovers out of him and he looks more like Blake Bortles. I pray cheats don’t win it all, but that’s all it is , a prayer.

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