Round 3

I ended up 3-1 in my Round 2 picks; here are my choices for Round 3.

In the NFC:

Packers over the Giants:
The Giants are battered and bruised, and when you compare Eli Manning to Brett Favre... well, in my mind, there is no comparison. Manning is good, but Favre is a legend. They'll be playing at the notoriously tough Lambeau Field, where players fight it out on a snow-covered field and Packer fans in cheese heads will be out in full force.
The Giants have been great on the road thus far, however, so I expect a good game. But in the end, the Packers will win the NFC title.

In the AFC:

Patriots over the Chargers:
How the Chargers beat the Colts, I still don't quite know, but I doubt their winning streak will last beyond this victory. The Patirots are in fantastic shape - the Chargers are hanging on by a thread, with both Rivers and Tomlinson currently sidelined by injuries. Golden Boy Brady looked sharp (as much as I hate to admit it) during the game against the Jaguars, and his team is converting even his questionable passes into unbelievable plays for him. Even if the Chargers were at full health, I'd still doubt their ability to stop the 17-0 Pats. But with L.T. and Rivers both suffering? The Pats will take the AFC.

That, of course, means the Packers and the Patriots would meet in Arizona for the championship game on February 3 - a potentially historic game. Pretty Boy Brady and the Patriots versus Grizzly Farve and the Packers? Incredible action on both sides? Tom Petty at halftime?

Actually, I'm not too thrilled about the latest in humdrum halftime shows, but the prospect of a Packers-Patriots Super Bowl XLII is otherwise incredibly exciting. And the prospect of the Old Man taking down the Chin? Words fail to describe how thrilled I'd be.