Conference Championship Prediction: Giants vs Packers
January 17th 2008
by Special K

Green Bay Packers -7 vs NY Giants

The fairy tale season is going to end at Lambeau Field this weekend for the NY Giants.  The Giants have put together an amazing run of road victories and they probably feel like they can beat anyone but Brett Favre will not be laying down for Michael Strahan this weekend (remember the sack record).  The Packers will be headed to Arizona to take on the undefeated New England Patriots.  It is destiny that we will be seeing a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI.  Of course, Brett Favre is probably the only active player around that remembers that game.  Favre threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in that game as the Packers won their first Super Bowl in 29 years.

Both the Packers and Giants met in week 2 of this season with the Packers winning easily 35-13.  That game really has no meaning or bearing on the outcome of this NFC Championship game.  It is important to note this because the Cowboys beat the Giants twice this season and look what happened to them last weekend.

One of the biggest edges in this game goes to the Green Bay Packers wide receivers.  Look for the Packers to exploit the Giants banged up secondary.  The Cowboys failed to take advantage of this mismatch last weekend.  Favre may be hooking up more with Jennings in this game than Romo ever will with Jessica Simpson.  Favre is also the master of the slant and quick throws which will keep the pressure of the Giants front four off of him.

Another major factor going against the Giants is the weather. Eli Manning still needs to prove that he can play in the cold with the wind.  The Packers secondary with Al Harris and Charles Woodson manning the cornerback spots are licking their chops at the opportunity of picking off some of Manning's fluttering passes. 

Finally, as if just playing in the NFC championship game wasn't enough to get a player fired up, Ryan Grant has some extra motivation this weekend. Many of you may not know this, but Ryan Grant was traded from the Giants to the Packers this season for a sixth round draft pick.  Grant will get his chance this weekend to prove what a mistake that trade was.