Playoffs: Super Bowl Preview

Here we are, our thirteen championship game! These two opponents last met in 2008 during Super Bowl VIII, when Battle Angel snuck out a 113-104 victory. Since then they've both been to the conference championships a few times, with Chunky Monkeys winning a title in 2010. (Fun fact: Monkeys went to five of six Super Bowls between 2005-2010, winning two.) After ceding dominance of the division to Buffy the past two years, Chunky is back in a heavily favored game to go for a third ring, which would tie them with Buffy. As for Battle Angel, if they can pull off the upset here, they'd join Fat Jubas, Dirty Birds, and Gang Green as two time champions. Let’s take a quick look at those match ups.

Chunky Monkeys (10-3) vs Battle Angel (8-5)
QB: Drew Brees versus Russell Wilson. We have it on good authority that Evan tried to move for another QB prior to the playoffs starting, wary of Wilson’s performances. It looks like he won’t have to worry as Wilson has been steady if not always spectacular. As for Brees, Mr. Always Spectacular has bounced back fully from a few under-20 point games. Brees always has the potential for a huge game, something Vu has to be praying for. EDGE: Battle Angel

RB: Is Jamaal Charles worth two other running backs? Yes! While his amazing weekend won’t likely be duplicated, Charles has been spectacular so far and will continue his post-season success.  It looks like Reggie Bush is semi-healthy again but he can’t match Charles’ explosiveness. It looks like Chunky Monkeys is going with rookie Giovani Bernard over Shane Vereen, and it’s hard to say if that’s the proper move. What we do know is that BenJarvus Green-Ellis will be lucky to eclipse double digits, making RB#2 at worst a wash. Historical note: Jamaal Charles led Monkeys to their last championship, in 2010. EDGE: Chunky Monkeys

WR/TE: Vernon Davis caught a devastating bomb last week to continue his solid past month of the season. However, can Brian Hartline and BenJarvus Green-Ellis give this team something more? Andre Johnson will certainly need to give more than 3.8 points for Battle Angel to win. They’re going to face off against Calvin Johnson, Josh Gordon, and Torrey Smith, who pretty much all outclass anything Angel have at their disposal. However, Megatron is coming off a week of the big dropsies, and Gordon and Smith could be semi-neutralized. Or they could blow up in an explosive game clinching powder keg. Chunky Monkeys have a much better receiving crew but Battle Angel could surprise with the right combination. EDGE: Chunky Monkeys

DEF/K: Panthers defense and JUSTIN TUCKER! combined for 36 points last week. They’re not going to match those numbers again but we’d still like to give them the spiritual advantage. Evan will have Bills defense (or Browns or Jaguars, so many DEFs on this team) and Matt Prater lining up but it doesn’t seem like a huge advantage either way. Vu may want to think about subbing Panthers with the newly picked up Rams though, as Carolina faces off versus New Orleans, making it a weird issue of wanting Brees to do well at the cost of Panthers defense. EDGE: Battle Angel, mainly for Tucker

Prediction: Battle Angel has won seven of their last eight while Chunky hasn't lost since WK9. Of course, Battle Angel took revenge on Fat Jubas last weekend and their worst lost of the season was a WK7 blow out by Monkeys. All signs point to Chunky Monkeys capturing their third championship but we’d like to call for an upset. Mainly because the person writing this article lost to Chunky last weekend, and is fearful of what it might mean for the CTDB universe if Evan wins again. Go Battle Angel, go!