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The School Newspaper of Franklin High School

Pantherbook

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The School Newspaper of Franklin High School

Pantherbook

The School Newspaper of Franklin High School

Pantherbook

The Last Step Before The Super Bowl

Here we go it is time once again for the NFL’s conference championship weekend is almost upon us and we have two games that will excite us all. The New York Football Giants stunned the world with a victory last week on the frozen tundra that is Lambeau Field. And the Baltimore Ravens used turn overs to beat an inexperience Houston Texans team.

The Ravens will travel to Foxborough to take on Tom Brady and the Patriots. The last playoff meeting between these two foes saw the Ravens run all over the Patriots and pummled Tom Brady from start to finish. That was in 2009, and the Ravens are still lead by the dangerous Ray Rice and the maneater Ray Lewis.

The Patriots will need a good run defense in the football game, trying to stop Ray Rice is a tough task. Rice in the meeting back in 2009 started the game with an 80+ yard run. Stopping Rice will be tough, the Patriots defensive line will need to be better than they have all season in this game.

The Ravens will need to stop not just Tom Brady, but the twin tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Stopping Gronk is a tough task, but Ray Lewis has stopped guys just as tough as Gronk. Seeing Hernandez out of the backfield may be th toughest for the Ravens. Hernandez has the speed and the moves to beat Ravens defenders while carrying the ball.

Now to the west coast, the 49ers take on the Giants in a game that will be a surprising finish no matter who wins. The 49ers and Giants both pulled off upsets last week withg wins over the Saints and the Packers.

The G-Men will need to rely on a balanced rushing and passing attack led by Eli Manning who showed us that he can be one of the elite QB’s in the game. The New York defensive line is maybe the toughest in the NFL and will be all over that offensive line of the 49ers.

The 49ers need Alex Smith to play abpout 5 times better than he played last week, and he played his best game in his NFL career last week. Smith will need to hit Vernon Davis as much as possible to be successful in this game.

Now its time to pick these games. History will repeat itself in Foxborough, as Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will be Tom Brady’s nightmare, as the Ravens will fly to a 31-24 victory. Out west, Alex Smith will show that he really was worth that #1 overall selection, as the the 49ers will squeak out a 28-24 victory.