0 for 11!!

After I published my breakdown yesterday for the NFC Championship, I heard an interesting stat. A team that beats the defending Superbowl champ in the playoffs and then plays a regular playoff game the next week (i.e. not the Superbowl) is 0-11. That is the exact situation that the Eagles are in this week. They beat the Giants on Sunday who were the defending champs and are playing the NFC Championship this week. Here in Philadelphia, Mike Missanelli on 950 ESPN radio has been quoting this stat ad nauseum for the last two days now.

What does it mean? It means that the team that beats the defending champ in the playoffs is so emotionally spent that they don’t have enough for the next game. This would seem to mean that the Eagles are trying to overcome a rather daunting trend. So, am I changing my prediction? No! This is a year that trends are being broken. Consider this: before this year a #6 seed never beat the #1 seed in the NFC. The Eagles were a #6 seed when they beat the #1 seed Giants. Also, before this year, the lowest seeded team to ever host a Conference Championship in either the AFC or NFC was a #3 seed. The Cardinals are hosting this year as a #4 seed. One other final trend to break: no Conference Championship Game has ever had two teams with less than 10 wins (except in a strike-shortened season). The Eagles and Cardinals both only had 9 wins this year. By the way, despite the fact that he keeps quoting the stat, Mike Missanelli is still picking the Eagles too.

It does mean that I think the Eagles have to be very conscious of having a let down though. It will be very interesting to see how the Eagles come out & start this game. As we get closer to the game, I’ll try and post some things I’ll be watching for as the game progresses, so check back prior to game time.

On another note, Simeon asked me what I thought of the AFC game between the Steelers & Ravens. In the two games these teams played during the regular season, the Steelers won two close defensive matchups. I never bought into the concept that it is hard to beat a team 3 times in one season. If you beat them twice, you were obviously better than them, so why can’t you beat them a third time? With these teams, defense will remain supreme again. They weren’t the top two defenses in the league for nothing. Don’t look for a lot of scoring. Unfortunately for the Ravens, they are very banged up and two of their main defensive starters (CB Samari Rolle and Pro Bowl LB/DE Terrell Suggs) will probably miss the game. This does not bode well for them as it will let the Steelers move the ball a little easier and in a defensive struggle, that’s all you need. All in all, I think the Steelers win so that we will get our Keystone Superbowl & the Parrish household will be ripped apart as the lead up to the big game will pit brother against brother. Final score on the AFC game: Steelers 17, Ravens 6.