Posted
on 01/18/2008 3:55 PM
By: CappersPicks.com NFL Football Handicapping
Staff
Bet on NFL - Conference Championships: Rematch revisions
Both the
NFC and AFC Championship games will be
rematches from the regular season. However,
none of the teams playing on Sunday will
be fielding the exact same team they
went with back in Week 2. Here’s
a rundown of some of the noteworthy changes
between Week 2 and this weekend that NFL
betting fans will want to know about before
placing their wagers.
In the AFC,
the New England Patriots won’t
look much different than they did back
in September when they hammered San Diego
38-14 as a 3.5-point favorite. The only
noteworthy difference appears to be in
the backfield. When the season started
New England split the rushing duties between
Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris. Against
San Diego, Morris rushed for 51 yards on
10 carries with a touchdown while Maroney
tallied 77 yards on 15 carries. Most of
the carries will end up in Maroney’s
hands this Sunday, with Morris sidelined
since Week 7 with a chest injury. Maroney
has put up decent numbers in the last couple
of weeks and with the Pats focusing more
heavily on their lethal pass attack, the
absence of Morris this time around likely
won’t be felt.
San Diego’s changes on Sunday could
have much more of an impact. With LaDainian
Tomlinson, Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates
all hurting and not even guaranteed to
take the field, the Chargers’ offense
could look very different this time around.
In addition, since Week 2 the Chargers
have added a dangerous receiver and found
a defensive standout from within. Since
being acquired from the Miami Dolphins,
speedy wideout Chris Chambers has caught
44 passes for 743 yards with five touchdowns
in 12 games. Meanwhile, former nickel safety
Antonio Cromartie has blossomed into a
standout shutdown cornerback for the Chargers,
and he will draw the tough assignment of
eliminating touchdown-maker Randy Moss
from the Patriots’ attack on Sunday.
Over in the
NFC, both the Packers and the Giants
will have a number of noticeable differences
from their Week 2 clash. The Packers’ main
changes are on offense, where they were
missing two of their biggest weapons
back in Week 2 and still came away with
a 35-13 win as a 2.5-point underdog on
the NFL odds. In that victory the Packers
were starting DeShawn Wynn in the backfield,
while Ryan Grant was a third-string backup
who hardly saw they field. Now Wynn is
out for the season with a shoulder injury
and Grant has run away with the starting
RB job. The performance of Grant (who had
three TDs last week against Seattle) gives
the Green Bay offense a whole new dimension
on the ground, especially when you consider
they ranked last in the league in rushing
before he took over. One other important
piece that was missing for Green Bay back
in Week 2 was wide receiver Greg Jennings.
In 14 games since then, Favre and Jennings
have hooked up for 14 touchdowns.
The Giants
also made some backfield changes since
Week 2. In their first matchup with the
Packers, Derrick Ward got the start at
RB while Brandon Jacobs was out with
a knee injury. This time it will be Ward
who’s sidelined and Jacobs will get
the start. Also missing for the Giants
in the rematch will be tight end Jeremy
Shockey, who led the Giants in receiving
yards back in Week 2. Also notable was
that Giants QB Eli Manning played through
a shoulder injury in that early-season
blowout loss. Manning is healthy, confident
and now gunning for a third straight playoff
upset.
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