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As we await the the Sunday NFL playoff schedule to kick off, I have a few thoughts on the results from yesterday with the Pittsburgh Steelers beating the Baltimore Ravens and the Green Bay Packers beating the Atlanta Falcons as well as today's games between the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears and then the New York Jets playing the New England Patriots. I also pose a very important question to you about cooking chicken wings.
I want to see Packers vs. Patriots in the Super Bowl. After watching the Green Bay Packers dismantle the Atlanta Falcons, I firmly believe the Packers and Patriots are the two best teams in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers was simply incredible completing a Tom Brady-esque 31-of-36 passes. What's even better is that their defense is really the strength of the team. This is a very, very good team and they have me picking Packers vs. Patriots for the Super Bowl.
In 40 years, the Steelers have been in the AFC Championship game 15 times. In the last decade, they have been there five times. They are 12-1 at home in the divisional round since 1970 while home teams in the divisional round were 10-10 in the last five years entering this season. That is simply incredible. This team has six Super Bowls and they've got a quarterback and a defense who could lead them to a few more in the next decade. They are the model franchise. The Patriots have been doing it for a decade. The Steelers have been doing it for the last four decades.
The Jets trash talking will work against them. The Jets spent the week talking a lot of trash to the Patriots -- from Antonio Cromartie calling Tom Brady an "a--hole" to Bart Scott saying Wes Welker's days in a uniform are numbered, they talked. A lot. I think that would work against some teams but not the Patriots. Somehow they're able to bottle all that stuff up during the week and unleash it on Sunday. I thought the Patriots would win by two scores on Sunday. With the Jets trash talking, it may be three scores.
The Seahawks are why the NFL playoffs are so great. Entering the NFL playoffs, folks were complaining that a team like Seattle, at 7-9, won the division and hosted a playoff game. Well, they beat the New Orleans Saints and now they have a chance to beat the Chicago Bears. And, you know what, the Seahawks beating the Bears is more believable than the Seahawks beating the Saints. But the Seahawks shot at hosting the NFC Championship game is why the NFL is so great. Right when you think you have it figured out, you realize you have no idea how these games will go. All underdogs should find hope in the 2010 Seahawks.
Without a deep fryer, your chicken-wing-making-ability is limited. Listen, I've made a lot of chicken wings in my day. You can throw them in the oven, sauce them before or after they cook, and it's a good meal. But you can't take your wing-making abilities to the next level unless they're fried. And when you live in an apartment, that's a difficult thing to do. Perhaps we grill them outside, or maybe we go to the oven. But unless they're fried, I can't be the best chicken-wing-maker I know I can be. I'm open to suggestions on how to cook the best chicken wing.
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