Bring on the Bowl

KRTCAMPUS / Jerry Lodriguss Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb dissected Chicago.

The road to the Super Bowl now goes through the Golden Arches of St. Louis.

That's right, you heard it here — I'm declaring a Rams victory in Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3. But before I jump the gun, let's analyze this weekend's conference championship games.
For those of us who don't wake up on the weekends before it's too late to use a meal punch, catching all of the AFC title game will be virtually impossible. The Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots will kick off around 12:30 p.m. This is the third time in the last six seasons that these teams have met in the postseason, but this time there is much more on the line. Can unlikely hero Tom Brady and his team expect to be the benefactor of another controversial call with a Super Bowl bid at stake? My sources say no. The Steelers won convincingly against defending champion Baltimore last week, and some could argue that the Pats don't deserve to be playing for the AFC title. Both teams are hot, with only one combined loss in their past 10 games.

This game's outcome could easily be decided by how effective Pittsburgh quarterback Kordell Stewart is against an underrated Patriot defense. "Slash," as he is informally called, needs to continue to put up MVP-caliber numbers in what could be the biggest game of his tumultuous career. Powerful running back Jerome Bettis has announced he'll return from a seven-week hiatus due to various injuries, and you might as well clear the tracks because he's diesel. If Stewart can run the ball on occasion and find his talented receiving core highlighted by Plaxico Burress (he's better than his name suggests) and Hines Ward, Pittsburgh could find itself in good position to play on Super Bowl Sunday.

New England won't go down easy. Brady's Patriots have won an impressive six straight games, and they'll look to ride that momentum into Pittsburgh and continue the heroics they used to win the AFC East division. But the Steelers are 7-1 at home this year, thanks in large part to a stifling defensive unit that led the league with 55 sacks. The Pats came out victorious the last time these two teams banged helmets, but the Steelers have won six of the last seven meetings.

In the end, this game could be very low scoring and may come down to which squad's special teams units play better. My prediction: Steelers 17, Patriots 10. Then again, you can ignore all this insightful analysis if the Patriots get another bad (oops, I mean, accurate) call in the game's waning moments, like they did against Oakland last week. Poor Raiders.

This season's NFC championship game may be more of a blowout than its AFC counterpart. At approximately 4:15 p.m. on Sunday (my personal estimated time of awakening), the St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles will go at it for the other spot in the Big Dance IN the Big Easy. If you think you're the only one who finds it unfamiliar that the Eagles are in the NFC title game, you're not. Most of us weren't even born the last time they made it this far. Nonetheless, they soared above the rest of the NFC East division and flew past the favored Chicago Bears in Soldier Field last weekend. Star quarterback Donovan McNabb is evolving as the game's most elusive passer, and he's certainly got a formidable supporting cast around him. McNabb was more than efficient against the Bears in the divisional game on Sunday, amassing one yard shy of 300 total yards and three touchdowns. No one questions the former Syracuse standout's ability, but he's virtually untested in a game of this magnitude. McNabb needs to have the game of his life for his team to come away with a win. My only reservation in saying that is, he's capable of making the big play that could deliver a "W" to a Philly contingent starving for a berth in the Super Bowl.

Everyone knows how potent and explosive the Rams' offense is, with all-everything quarterback Kurt Warner leading the charge. Marshall Faulk, the NFC's offensive player of the year, has defensive coordinators scratching their heads on a weekly basis. If Philly's defensive unit concentrates too much on Warner, No. 28 will find a way to make them pay. (Note to Eagles: Just because you're not the star of a Chunky soup commercial too doesn't mean you can't win.)

But the St. Louis defense can definitely hold its own; they intercepted future Hall of Famer and Green Bay Packers gunslinger Brett Favre six times last week in a 45-17 rout that left many wondering how the Rams can be stopped. Big plays by the team's defense, which led the conference in total defense, preserved an overtime win in these two teams' matchup in the season opener. Unless half of the Rams' starting unit happens to break a bone in the next three days, the Eagles will struggle to stop them. And no, I don't have Tonya Harding disease.

Philadelphia coach Andy Reid will look to blitz the Rams early and often, as his talented secondary will try to disrupt the backfield and force Warner into some errant passes. Both teams won going away in the divisional playoffs, and the game could come down to which of the superstar quarterbacks delivers first—or possibly last. McNabb is a major threat running the ball, while Warner does most of his damage in the pocket. I just think the Rams have too many weapons on offense, and if they limit their turnovers, should be in New Orleans playing for the Lombardi trophy for the second time in three years. Final score: Rams 28, Eagles 17.

The games this weekend have more than enough subplots to get even the laziest of us up to turn on the television and salivate in one of America's great pastimes, the pigskin. Can "The Bus" drive his team to the Super Bowl? How will the Brady Bunch respond on the road? Will Warner & Co. put up 100 points? Will Eagles running back Duce Staley run wild? On that note, someone give me a wake-up call when the Super Bowl starts.

Khalil Garriott is a sophomore SMAD major who, despite being a huge North Carolina fan, just happens to be asleep during every UNC basketball game so far this season. Coincidence?