Bloody procrastinitis struck again, but mercifully, Divisional Weekend turned into Three Blowouts And A Funeral Procession In San Diego. So given the storylines for this Conference Championship Weekend, I felt compelled to come out days in advance looking at each one and why each team should feel they're going to win...topped off by my telling you who will win and why.

AFC Championship Game
#1 Indianapolis Colts vs. #5 New York Jets

Indy's Storyline: We Were Right In Not Killing Them When We Had The Chance, Weren't We?
- Regardless of whether they win or lose, the answer to this question is NO. They weren't. Week 15, the Colts were sitting on a lead in the 3rd quarter when coach Jim Caldwell pulled his starters. All of them. Curtis Painter's first snap from scrimmage was a fumble that turned into 6 points for the Jets. The rest as they say, was history. Colts end the year 14-2, the Jets are now back on their doorstep like Benny Blanco from Carlito's Way ready to pop em' one time for the great time.

Still, why shouldn't the Colts be confident? The last AFC Championship game they hosted was against an AFC East team and they won then, they assume they'd have won Week 15 and ended the Jets' season. So what's to go against it? They've got Peyton Manning, the game's MVP for a 4th time and his motley crew of receivers that nobody heard of until Anthony Gonzalez went down with an injury for the year and Marvin Harrison's services were no longer required. Their defense is better than most thought or presumed and well...they're the Colts. Did I mention they've got Peyton? Alright, great.
NYJ's Storyline: You Should've Killed Us When You Had The Chance...
- Of all the movies I could think of, where this sort of thing comes back to haunt a person, Carlito's Way best fits here. Carlito took mercy on Benny Blanco from Da Bronx and just as he was heading out, Benny got him unsuspectedly coming off the train. The Jets had two teams that had the same chance Carlito had to take out Benny before Benny could become a critical issue later on. The Bengals are at home and Marvin Lewis is looking at his Coach Of The Year award wondering what could've been, if he only gave a shit to let his starters do their thing. Jim Caldwell's hoping he can be the exception and not "the rule".

The Jets have only this to hang their hat on and simply put at this time of the year, it's better than any QB who can give you 300 yards and 2 TDs to boot. Why? Because if you've got the league's #1 rushing attack and you boast the #1 defense in the NFL...you're in great shape. Defense does win championships after all, doesn't it? They ran Cincy and San Diego into a long Winter break. They made the most of the opportunity Indy gave em' and remember...

They could've lost that game just as easily as they won it. The Giants faced Carolina's second team and lost 44-9. What? That wasn't their second team, just their second stringer? See? Case in point.

Len's Verdict
- After reviewing both side and every intangible imaginable, here's my ruling. The Jets win. As much as many will feel the Colts will be justified if they win this game, we shouldn't even be talking about a rematch between these two teams. The absolute last thing you want to do is give a team like the Jets the notion that even with a healthy team, they can beat you. The Jets have a great running game and a 1-2 punch of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene, along with a very underrated passing game with Cotch, Braylon and D-Kell. (Say, anybody conveinently notice how this trio isn't even mentioned? Yet another thing to look out for.)

But this game reeks of a cautionary tale waiting to be told for years and seasons to come. Plus, as badly as the NFL wants Peyton to get there, trust me Iron Hand Goodell...as Shawn Michaels told Vince McMahon a few weeks back before Bret Hart returned to WWE television.

"Only great things can come with the New York Jets back in the Super Bowl."

Especially with Rex Ryan as head coach. :-)

NFC Championship Game
#1 New Orleans Saints vs. #2 Minnesota Vikings

NO's Storyline: It's Our Time, Now.
- 2006. Three men arrived in New Orleans at around or about the same time. Coach Sean Payton, former Parcells disciple. Drew Brees, deposed in San Diego once the Chargers got fleeced for Phillip Rivers (say, how's that working out for ya?) and some guy named Reggie Bush. Got drafted out of USC, mulligan for what was Ricky Williams if ya will. The rest as they say, is history or has become it. They got to the NFC Championship after returning home since Katrina made them drifters for a year, only they were beaten by Rex Grossman and Da Bears in the NFC Championship game in frigid Soldier Field. The Saints since then have been quietly humming along, getting their song just right...

For this year. Their offense was smashing EVERYONE for weeks. Nobody stopped them. They bolted to 13-0 before they were snuffed out at home by Dallas. Unlike the Colts, their first loss came with the starters in play. They stumbled down the stretch, losing their last three games and were fortunate that the Vikings stumbled otherwise...this game might be in the Homerdome. Still, their offense has been prolific to the point where scoreboards go out when these guys take the field. They've got good, but not exceptionally great receivers. They've got a running back by committee and oh yeah, they've got that Drew Brees kid. He's pretty good I hear. Their D of the four teams left is probably the least daunting of them all, but they've gotten the job done. For the city, this is what they've waited YEARS for. If you took the D that Jim Mora coached in the late 80s and early 90s, replaced them with what's presently on the field when Drew is not...this game is a formality. Seriously. If not for how strong the NFC were back then, it's easy to think that we'd be talking about this being NO's third or fourth trip here instead of just their second. But for a town that's still rebuilding after Katrina...this is going to be nuts. If they win, Mardi Gras starts early. If they don't...guess there's always next year, right?

Minnesota's Storyline: One More...For The Favre Guy.
- For the past year or so, I've maintained that Favre wasn't the scapegoat for what went wrong last season. Perhaps now, with the Jets in the AFC Championship Game and Favre in the same spot different conference, folks will listen. Minnesota came into the year with two backups fighting for the starting job and more than enough talent to win the NFC. Unfortunately, it needed something extra to put it all over the top.

It needed Favre. Favre however, maintained it was done. He was through and after how the Jets ran him out of town on a bullet train, who could blame him? But Childress flew to Mississippi to make one last empassioned push to get Brett on board. He may have boarded that flight to Favre Country solo, but he ended up getting Brett to come back with him to Minnesota. (Or something like that.) The Vikes started fast, going stride for stride with the Saints before stumbling against the Steelers. The Vikes never regained ground and managed to stave off a very late charge by Philly for the 2nd spot, earning themselves a bye and homefield for one game. Brett Favre stated this was the best team he has ever played on, even better than those two Packer teams he willed to the Super Bowl in 1996 and 1997 respectively. This isn't even up for debate people, it really isn't. Minnesota has the ground game that those Packers, didn't. Their defense overall is better than Green Bay's, if for no other reason, there's more balance than just one really great end on the line.

Fact is, Favre was your MVP this year in the truest sense of the word. Yes, Peyton threw for over 4,000 yards and reeled off 14 straight before Caldwell called off his horses so to speak. Yes, he got by without Marvin Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez, while making Austin Collie & Pierre Garcon household names. But if you took Brett Favre away from the Vikings, they're probably not winning the NFC Norris, Green Bay does this year. Brett Favre gave this team the edge that neither Sage or Tavaris could. COMBINED. Brett Favre has added swagger to a team that was entirely too dependent on the legs of Adrian Peterson and trust and believe...he's got one great game in him. Adrian does I mean and that's this Sunday. :-) Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice hit a level they would not have reached with either Rosenfels or Jackson playing pitch and catch with them.

Len's Verdict
- Offensively, this could be off the page and for NO's sake, it better be. A game that stays in the teens to low 20s is built for Minnesota to win with its ground game and Favre controlling things. This is Foreman at 45 taking on Moorer for the Heavyweight Title and yeah, NO's Moorer. New Orleans needs to come out fast and end this as quickly as possible. Force Favre to make a ton of mistakes and have this one over by halftime. If this is a game by halftime and NO's up by no more than 3 or 7, 14 the most...ya heard it here first folks.

Minnesota will be your FIVE TIME! FIVE TIME! (Does the Booker T head shake) FIVE TIME! NFC Champions! Yes, we're still awaiting word on when All Day will actually show up at some point to grace us with his presence. For that reason and maybe one other I can't think of at the, oh wait, that's it. Brett Favre. Last time I checked, he's from Mississippi and that's not too far away from the Superdome. Brett Favre's not going to be running for his life, because he has a great offensive line in front of him. He's not going to be compelled to chuck it all over the place, because he has a ground game behind him that can get yards in bunches. Defensively, this is the staunchest test Drew will face. Leslie Frazier cooked up a package that turned Tony Romo into Tony Ruh-Roh a week ago. Their front seven should neutralize the ground game of New Orleans, putting this game in Drew's hands. Can he win this on his own if absolutely necessary? Stats say yes, I say no.

I said Minnesota would win the NFC and I'm not going off that. So your Super Bowl will pit Brett's last team (The Jets) against his current team (The Vikes). And I'm out this mofo.