Online Franchise Conference Championship Preview

The Pastapadre Madden 10 Online Franchise has now reached the Conference Championships. On one side it is the rematch of the real life NFC Championship from last year with the Eagles @ Cardinals. In the AFC it is the undefeated Raiders hosting the Ravens. For those of you who have expressed interest in joining the franchise keep an eye out for a post in the next week or so regarding that as there will be a handful of openings. Continue on for a preview of the two games.

NFC Championship: #3 Eagles (13-5) @ #1 Cardinals (15-2)

It was expected to be a shootout and it was just that. In the highest scoring game of the season the Eagles topped the Saints 73-51 to advance to the championship game. Donovan McNabb threw for five TDs while Drew Brees threw for six. However the difference were in the turnovers. Two fumbles and an INT returned for TD did the Saints in…that and the inability to stop the Eagles offense.

In the other divisional game it was the Cardinals winning easily over the Packers 42-14. Arizona’s defense was stifling as they limited Ryan Grant to 17 yards rushing and Aaron Rodgers to only seven completions on the day. Kurt Warner went 20-26 and hooked up with Larry Fitzgerald for two TDs.

This makes for an interesting NFC Championship game. The Cardinals have been the most consistent team this season in the NFC, while the Eagles were a question mark going into the playoffs. Don’t expect the same result from the Eagles-Saints game as the Cardinals are much more disciplined on defense and have shown the ability to strike on special teams as well.

Line: Cardinals -5

AFC Championship: #3 Ravens (15-3) @ #1 Raiders (17-0)

The undefeated Raiders fought off the Chargers for a third time this year winning 38-24. Oakland got three TDs on the ground (two from Darren McFadden and one from Michael Bush) along with a pick for TD by Nnamdi Asomugha. McFadden ran for 210 yards in the game which eased the pressure off the passing game which was efficient. Reggie Wayne caught three TDs on 159 yards for the Chargers.

The closest game of the weekend was the Ravens topping the Jaguars 31-28. A Brian Westbrook one yard TD run with 33 seconds remaining sent Baltimore to the AFC Championship. The Jags actually held a 16-3 lead with only a few minutes remaining in the third quarter but within the span of 2:08 had two fumbles returned for TDs. The lead switched four times in the fourth quarter showing what a battle this game was. Brian Westbrook rushed for 107 yards for the Ravens while David Garrard threw for 318 and three TDs.

These two teams faced each other in week 17 with the Raiders winning handily 35-10. Joe Flacco struggled completing only eight passes and throwing three picks. JaMarcus Russell wasn’t much better but the Raiders ground game finished with 209 yards and four TDs.

All season long the Raiders have shown that they are the toughest team in the league and it will take the perfect game from an opponent for them to knock them out. They aren’t going to beat themselves. Baltimore needed defensive TDs to top the Jags. They probably won’t have those opportunities in this game.

Line: Raiders -7.5