NFL Conference Championships Preview

      The NFL Conference Championships open this upcoming weekend with 2 Games on tap. These third round games should be very interesting and entertaining. The first 2 round of playoff games have been pretty boring except for the Packers last second win over the Cowboys and the last 4 minutes of the Steelers and Chiefs game. The carousel of Head Coaching vacancies has finally been filled and teams not in the playoffs are looking towards the NFL Draft and also potential Free Agents. We will also be swearing in the 45th President of the United Stated today, President elect Donald Trump. Here is a quick breakdown of the games this weekend.
      In the first game Sunday, it is the Green Bay Packers at the Atlanta Falcons.   This game has every indication of a high scoring who has the ball last shootout. But as we have seen in the past, sometimes games like this are a relatively low scoring game. Injuries will play a big role as both WR Jordy Nelson and WR Davonte Adams appear to be out and the Packers defense is heavily banged up especially in the secondary and a couple of starters on the OL too. The Falcons appear in much better shape although WR Julio Jones has been battling a sprained toe and missed most of the 2nd half of last weeks win over Seattle. This game also features 2 of the hottest and best QB's in all of football. Aaron Rodgers for Green Bay and Matt Ryan for Atlanta.  The running game will play a big part in this game and the edge goes to the Falcons. Turnovers and penalties will also play an important role in this game. I expect a barn burner repeat of earlier this season when Atlanta edged the Packers 33-32 on this same field. This is will also be the last game ever played in the Georgia Dome as the new Mercedes Benz stadium will be ready for next season.
      The second game on Sunday features the New England Patriots hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Another game which should feature a potential shootout although the run game is very important for both teams as it sets up play action passing. This game also features 2 of the best QB's in all of the NFL in the Patriots Tom Brady and the Steelers Ben Roethlisberger. New England cruised through their Divisional game while Pittsburgh put up a lot of yards but failed to score a TD in their game. Injuries do not look like they play a major factor in this game but reports have the Steelers this week having more than 15 players on its team fighting the flu bug. This could cause issue late in the game when players need to be hydrated and not fatigued. These teams played earlier in the year in Pittsburgh and the Patriots won that game 27-16. This game also is mired in controversy as Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown sent live video out of the Steelers post game win over the Chiefs last Sunday that captured Head Coach Mike Tomlins speech and his bashing of the NFL and favoritism towards the Patriots as well.  These 2 teams have a huge dislike for each other and the team that keeps their composure and limits the turnovers and penalties and can run the ball the best should come out the winner and move onto Super Bowl 51 in Arizona
      Cooper the NFL Analyst was 189-65-2 in his picks during the season, he was 1-3 in the Wild Card games and also 3-1 in the Divisional Games and is 4-4 overall. We will record his picks and how He does throughout the NFL playoffs.   twitter; @cupofjoeinthed    email; cupofjoeinthed@gmail.com

Cooper NFL Analyst relaxing after making his NFL Conference Championship Picks

	NFL Playoffs Conference Championships  Cup of Joe Cooper Green Bay at Atlanta ATL ATL Pittsburgh at New England  PIT NE