Previewing the NFL playoffs: Can anyone stop Tom Brady?

By Andrew Marcus
Sportswriter

Follow me on Twitter @amarcus515

I bet Tom Brady has not had a complete night sleep in years. The reoccurring nightmare of a no-name receiver David Tyree and the lesser-Manning spoiling perfection has to haunt his nights. But Brady, who will in my opinion easily win the MVP this season over Mike Vick and others, does and great job of hiding his hurt and playing at a hall-of-fame level.

The biggest question in the 2011 playoffs is will anyone be able to beat the Patriots. Brady has not lost a home game in almost three years and once they arrive at the Superbowl is there really a NFC team that can take down  the hooded coach and his long-haired signal caller.

The best chance to knock off the Patriots goes to....
Pittsburgh Steelers - The best defense by far goes the 2010 steel curtain led by Troy Polamalu and James Harrison. If the Steelers can avoid falling behind against the Patriots they can expose the defense for the weak unit it was described as in the first few weeks of the season.

The Colts and the Jets are shadows of their 2009 selves and the Patriots should not have any trouble with either of them. Mark Sanchez will have to be coddled so much Manning and the injured Colts should be able to dial up enough offense to run away with the win on wildcard weekend.

The Colts would then be paired up with the Steelers and that is where the injuries to Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders and others would be exposed. The Steelers can win games in multiple fashions and I'll chalk this one up to a Big Ben winner.

The Ravens were my pre-season pick to go to the Superbowl from the AFC, and while I think they will take care of the inexperienced Chiefs at Arrowhead, they will struggle to play with the Pats. The Chiefs' Jamaal Charles will be able to find running room against the aging Ravens defense, but Flacco will show he will one day be holding the Lombardi trophy.

I think the NFC best chance at beating the Patriots happens to be my home town Eagles, but as a fan I bite my tongue at actually winning a NFC Championship game, especially on the road, which it could be if they face the Falcons.

The best chance of the Falcons falling would be against the fresh Saints, who cruised to a win over the undeserving NFC West winning Seattle Seahwaks. But are the Saints really going to beat Matt Ryan at home for the second time this season? No repeat for NOLA this season.

Maybe I'm underestimating the NFC North, but the Bears are the most flawed two-seed in a while. The Packers, who I picked to win it all in the pre-season, will be a tough test for Philly in wildcard weekend, but I think Vick is a man on a mission to make all the money back he lost in the dog-fighting ring. The best way to do that is win playoff games and get a contract of insane amounts of dough.

While Vick and the Eagles should hold off the Packers without a running game in a lower scoring affair than you make think, they should just destroy the Bears secondary if #7 can get away from Julius Peppers and company.

What a story if Vick returns to Atlanta for the NFC championship game. I think this is very possible and I really want to take the Eagles here, but Andy Reid has to show me he can win in this game before I ever pick it.

The Eagles team speed could actually take down any team in the NFL, but I'll take Matt Ryan to reach the Superbowl this season thanks to his home field advantage throughout. The Superbowl is a nice reward for the Falcons great season, but a win in Dallas seems like a tall task for Hotlanta.

The fan in me wants to see Eagles over Steelers...
The realist in me expects to see Patriots over Falcons...

Bottom line is Tom Brady and the Patriots should win another, I'm just excited to see teams try and stop them.