
The Divisional picks were pretty bad. I went 1-3 ATS and had my (only) second Mega Bet loss of the Bowl Season/Playoffs. The good news is that my Super Bowl picks both survived even if they didn't cover.
I'm going to stick with my betting slips this week, going with:
New Orleans -3.0 vs LA Rams – Like the KC New England game later today, it’s another rematch in the Championship game. Back on the GO JUMBO weekend, New Orleans beat LA 45-35 taking the lead for the #1 seed, a lead they never gave up. It also won the Doofus a nice double Mini Mega bet. Thanks Drew.
The offenses combined for 970 yards in the shootout, with Brees (346 yards, 4 TDs) and Jared Goff (391, 3) putting up fantastic numbers.
The Rams will try to establish the ground game today but star RB Todd Gurley’s production dipped toward the end of the regular season. He is dealing with a knee injury that caused him to miss the last two games. Before that he failed to gain 50 rushing yards in Weeks 14 or 15.
Gurley’s injury opened up an opportunity for C.J. Anderson, who the team signed following his release by Carolina. He’s a power back. The Rams list him at 225 pounds but he looks to me like he is a few beignets shy of 235.
I'm going to stick with my betting slips this week, going with:
New Orleans -3.0 vs LA Rams – Like the KC New England game later today, it’s another rematch in the Championship game. Back on the GO JUMBO weekend, New Orleans beat LA 45-35 taking the lead for the #1 seed, a lead they never gave up. It also won the Doofus a nice double Mini Mega bet. Thanks Drew.
The offenses combined for 970 yards in the shootout, with Brees (346 yards, 4 TDs) and Jared Goff (391, 3) putting up fantastic numbers.
The Rams will try to establish the ground game today but star RB Todd Gurley’s production dipped toward the end of the regular season. He is dealing with a knee injury that caused him to miss the last two games. Before that he failed to gain 50 rushing yards in Weeks 14 or 15.
Gurley’s injury opened up an opportunity for C.J. Anderson, who the team signed following his release by Carolina. He’s a power back. The Rams list him at 225 pounds but he looks to me like he is a few beignets shy of 235.

Anderson made the most of his second chance going for nearly 300 yards in the final two games of the regular season. He then led the team with 123 yards in the Divisional Round win over Dallas. By rotating Anderson they lighten the load for Gurley. Gurley responded by rushing for 115 yards against Dallas, averaging a robust 7.2 yards per carry.
As the Rams have incorporated Anderson, the Saints must adjust to the absence of defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, who tore his Achilles tendon in last weekend’s win over Philadelphia. Rankins, was the Saints second-best pass rusher in terms of sacks (8) and quarterback hurries (15).
And the running backs hang on to the ball. Incredibly, Los Angeles did not lose a fumble from a running back on a rushing play this season.
As the Rams have incorporated Anderson, the Saints must adjust to the absence of defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, who tore his Achilles tendon in last weekend’s win over Philadelphia. Rankins, was the Saints second-best pass rusher in terms of sacks (8) and quarterback hurries (15).
And the running backs hang on to the ball. Incredibly, Los Angeles did not lose a fumble from a running back on a rushing play this season.

But these are not the defenseless Saints of old. New Orleans allowed just over 80 yards per game on the ground on 3.6 yards per rush, second in the NFL on both accounts. In the week 9 matchup they held Gurley to 68 yards.
Conversely, the Rams are a sieve versus the ground. The Rams run defense was historic, and not in a good way. Their 5.05 yards allowed per carry marked the first time an NFL team yielded at least five yards per rush since the 2013 Chicago Bears conceded 5.35 yards each time an opponent toted the rock.
New Orleans took advantage with Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram combining for 115 rushing yards in Week 9.
The Rams defense relies on their tremendous DL featuring Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh putting pressure on the quarterback. But New Orleans was superb in keeping Drew Brees upright. He was sacked a mere 17 times this year. At just 3.4 percent of his pass attempts it was the second-lowest rate in the NFL even though Brees attempted nearly 500 passes.
Conversely, the Rams are a sieve versus the ground. The Rams run defense was historic, and not in a good way. Their 5.05 yards allowed per carry marked the first time an NFL team yielded at least five yards per rush since the 2013 Chicago Bears conceded 5.35 yards each time an opponent toted the rock.
New Orleans took advantage with Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram combining for 115 rushing yards in Week 9.
The Rams defense relies on their tremendous DL featuring Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh putting pressure on the quarterback. But New Orleans was superb in keeping Drew Brees upright. He was sacked a mere 17 times this year. At just 3.4 percent of his pass attempts it was the second-lowest rate in the NFL even though Brees attempted nearly 500 passes.

With a clean pocket, Brees was merciless against the Rams in Week 9, going 25-of-36 for 346 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. That may be harder to do today as the Rams' secondary will get back cornerback Aqib Talib who was out for that game with an ankle injury.
How much of a difference will Talib make? In the nine games (including last week's playoff win) Talib has played this season, Los Angeles is giving up 206.3 passing yards and 17.7 points per game. Without him, those numbers jump to 272.6 and 30.8.
With Talib out in the first meeting Michael Thomas went nuts. He had his best game of the year, catching 12 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. Thomas' won’t have those kind of numbers with Talib shadowing him so Brees will have to look elsewhere. It's a good thing he'll have Ted Ginn at his disposal; Ginn wasn't around for the first matchup either. Expect to see a lot of Kamara as a receiver out of the backfield. He has a big edge against the Rams' mediocre linebackers.
How much of a difference will Talib make? In the nine games (including last week's playoff win) Talib has played this season, Los Angeles is giving up 206.3 passing yards and 17.7 points per game. Without him, those numbers jump to 272.6 and 30.8.
With Talib out in the first meeting Michael Thomas went nuts. He had his best game of the year, catching 12 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. Thomas' won’t have those kind of numbers with Talib shadowing him so Brees will have to look elsewhere. It's a good thing he'll have Ted Ginn at his disposal; Ginn wasn't around for the first matchup either. Expect to see a lot of Kamara as a receiver out of the backfield. He has a big edge against the Rams' mediocre linebackers.

The trends favor the Saints as the home team has won the last six meetings since 2010. Also, the home team has won five straight NFC Championships with the #1 seed beating the #2 seed in four of those games.
New Orleans will be motivated too after the stunning Minneapolis Miracle loss in last year’s championship game.
The Rams are making their first conference championship game appearance since “The Greatest Show on Turf” led by Kurt Warner defeated Philadelphia at home in St. Louis in 2002 before losing Super Bowl XXXVI to New England. That upset kick-started the rise of the as the greatest NFL team of this generation.
I'll take the Saints and lay the points for a Mega Bet.
New Orleans will be motivated too after the stunning Minneapolis Miracle loss in last year’s championship game.
The Rams are making their first conference championship game appearance since “The Greatest Show on Turf” led by Kurt Warner defeated Philadelphia at home in St. Louis in 2002 before losing Super Bowl XXXVI to New England. That upset kick-started the rise of the as the greatest NFL team of this generation.
I'll take the Saints and lay the points for a Mega Bet.

Kansas City -3.0 vs New England – Is it the end of and era? Or perhaps, more poignantly, the changing of the guard. Brady wasn’t ready to head to the pasture last week, but at 41, time is not on his side.
To make it to an unprecedented ninth Super Bowl appearance he’ll need take down his heir apparent, the emerging superstar Patrick Mahomes. Is the GOAT ready to step aside for a QB who may define it for the next generation?
And it goes beyond just the QBs. Rob Gronkowski is playing on fumes. Word is that he will retire after the season. Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is ready to displace the Gronk as the best at the position.
To make it to an unprecedented ninth Super Bowl appearance he’ll need take down his heir apparent, the emerging superstar Patrick Mahomes. Is the GOAT ready to step aside for a QB who may define it for the next generation?
And it goes beyond just the QBs. Rob Gronkowski is playing on fumes. Word is that he will retire after the season. Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is ready to displace the Gronk as the best at the position.

I missed it bad last week. Brady, after reading the BBofG and a week of to hear about how he is washed up, playing at home in FU mode blew out the Chargers. Very nice Mr Bunchen, but can you do the same on the road? History, again, is not on his side.
Brady is 0-3 SU and ATS on the road in AFC Championship games. And it's not only in championship games. The Pats were awful on the road this year too. They went 3-5 SU losing to some bad teams. They lost to the Jaguars, Dolphins and the Lions. The Lions!
Brady is 0-3 SU and ATS on the road in AFC Championship games. And it's not only in championship games. The Pats were awful on the road this year too. They went 3-5 SU losing to some bad teams. They lost to the Jaguars, Dolphins and the Lions. The Lions!

The stats back up that they are a different team away from Foxboro. The Patriots average a full half-yard less per play (5.6) than they do at home (6.1), and allow more than a full yard more per play (6.3) than they do at home (5.2).
Those numbers also came against the dregs of the league too, as New England faced only one playoff-bound team on the road this year – Chicago.
And while New England struggles on the road, Kansas City plays much better at home. Defensively, they allowed 5.3 yards per play at home vs 6.4/play on the road. And even though they were were less explosive away from home (7.4/play), the 6.2 yards/play they put up in Arrowhead was still tied for 4th best in the league.
New England already beat the Chiefs this season, winning in week 6 43-40 in an instant classic. It was the first time Mahomes had played New England against Brady and Belichick on the road no less. The pressure on a nationaly televised Sunday night game was immense.
Those numbers also came against the dregs of the league too, as New England faced only one playoff-bound team on the road this year – Chicago.
And while New England struggles on the road, Kansas City plays much better at home. Defensively, they allowed 5.3 yards per play at home vs 6.4/play on the road. And even though they were were less explosive away from home (7.4/play), the 6.2 yards/play they put up in Arrowhead was still tied for 4th best in the league.
New England already beat the Chiefs this season, winning in week 6 43-40 in an instant classic. It was the first time Mahomes had played New England against Brady and Belichick on the road no less. The pressure on a nationaly televised Sunday night game was immense.

Mahomes struggled early throwing two fatal picks. The first led to 7 points for the Pats, the second cost the Chiefs a TD just before the half.
He settled down and played much better in the second half, rallying the Chiefs from a 24-9 hole to tie it 40 all.
rady then did what he always does and led a final drive which ended with a walk off FG. Never did like the bastard.
But if Mahomes can do that under all the pressure of the first game, imagine what he will do without the nerves at home.
It's not often you get to watch the end of an era live. Thie week you will. It’s been a great run for New England but this is the end of the road. Away from home in the bitter cold, the mantle of the AFC’s best will be handed over to Mahomes and the Chiefs.
I’ll take KC and lay the points for a Mega Bet.
He settled down and played much better in the second half, rallying the Chiefs from a 24-9 hole to tie it 40 all.
rady then did what he always does and led a final drive which ended with a walk off FG. Never did like the bastard.
But if Mahomes can do that under all the pressure of the first game, imagine what he will do without the nerves at home.
It's not often you get to watch the end of an era live. Thie week you will. It’s been a great run for New England but this is the end of the road. Away from home in the bitter cold, the mantle of the AFC’s best will be handed over to Mahomes and the Chiefs.
I’ll take KC and lay the points for a Mega Bet.