Conference Championship Preview With Andy Benoit
Andy Benoit with Sports Illustrated joined the Scott Garceau Show with Jeremy Conn to talk about the NFL Conference Championship games.
Scott Garceau talked about how historically a strong defense and running game were the formula to success in the playoffs. The Patriots have gone against that notion as they have substituted a short passing game over a running game. Andy talked about how the health of Julian Edelman has effected the Patriots style of play. "When they have Julian Edelman back in the lineup, that quick passing game returns. If he's out they lose a lot of dimension but with him back they get back to their spread formation. When they spread out that means they can start aligning personnel in different spots which makes them extremely hard to match up against. So they're a totally different offense with Edelman in there and their offensive line becomes a moot point since the ball is out so quickly and they aren't running the ball."
Looking at the NFC Championship game, the Cardinals will head to Carolina to face the Panthers. Scott Garceau talked about the Cardinals sub-par performance last week against the Packers. He then asked Andy about the Cardinals chances this weekend, "I don't mind picking them going into this game. If Carson Palmer didn't make some uncharacteristic poor decisions in the red zone in that game, the score is probably totally different. That's a very well schemed offense in the passing game. They are very timing and rhythm based in the passing game. So now that they have had a week to get going and they did win when they played poorly and that to me is the sign of a good team. You're going to play poorly some weeks so I'm not worried about them going into Carolina."
Listen to the full interview here and don't forget Scott, Jeremy and Andy on twitter: @ScottGShow1057, @JeremyConn1057 and @Andy_Benoit.