Ed Reed is the most important part of the Ravens defense, not Ray Lewis.

If you had the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, and Philadelphia Eagles as your final four teams and have put money on it, you might as well retire right now. The roads that each of those four teams have taken are each filled with twists and unlikely turns.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the the only team that we saw being a Super Bowl contender, they had a tough defense all season long and and offense that did just enough to win. When quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down with a concussion the last game of the season, there was a sense of panic in the Steel City. It’s a good thing the Steelers had a first round bye or else they might not be in the position they are in right now. The Baltimore Ravens also had a tough defense, but a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback from the University of Delaware raised some eyebrows of the Ravens chance to be successful this year. Head coach John Harbaugh and QB Joe Flacco were both nothing short of amazing in guiding the Ravens to the AFC Championship Game. The Arizona Cardinals were simply the Cardinals, the team that always stinks and nobody expects to win. The fact that they not only won their Wild-Card game at home, but also went on the road and stunned the Carolina Panthers is enough reason to believe that these Cardinals could make it to the Super Bowl. Finally, the Philadelphia Eagles, the most unlikely road of all. Because of the “1″ in their tie column, the Eagles needed a lot of help the last week of the season, and they got it! Not only did the team in front of them lose, but the Eagles also held up their end of the bargain by spanking the Dallas Cowboys at home. Fresh off their second win in the Meadowlands this year, humbling the former Super Bowl Champions, there is no reason to doubt the Eagles can make it back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2005. All the teams left have proven they can win at home and on the road, so location means nothing in this weeks Championship games. Location, however,  may impact the outcome of this week’s games. Pittsburgh is expecting six inches of snow at kickoff and cold weather while Tempe will be sunny and beautiful.

Last year was the most watched Super Bowl in NFL history, despite the intrigue of all the teams trying to make it this year, more people might be watching this year’s game for the commercials and not the football. With the economy struggling, it’s yet to be seen which companies are able to fork out millions for 30-second commercial spots. Maybe this is the year that we are spared from another horrible “Go-Daddy” commercial! Expert picks have meant very little this post-season, ESPN NFL experts were 0-4 last week, JIB Sports was 1-3. This year’s Super Bowl will not showcase two bird teams, or two Pennsylvania teams. When we give you are pick, think of reverse psychology, this year’s Super Bowl will showcase the Baltimore Ravens and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Tags: NFL

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