NFL Playoff Picks 2012: Predicting the Over/Under for Conference Championships

One of the best times of the year to bet on sports is during the NFL Playoffs. There is no rhyme or reason to it, but the games are bigger and therefore the betting is bigger.

You know, if betting were legal. 

It's never too early to look at this weekend's games. The player and team props aren't available yet, so here's a closer look at what to take for the over/unders.

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots

This is basically going to come down to which team establishes its authority and plays its type of game. 

The Ravens are going to want to slow things down, take the air out of the ball and make Ray Rice the most important offensive player. They want to win in ugly defensive fashion.

On the other side of the ball, the Patriots want to score, score and score some more. They don't have a menacing defense, so they have to rely on outscoring opponents.

With Tom Brady as your quarterback, it's not too hard to outscore opponents. 

So who's going to control this one?

In the end, I think the play of Brady will win this one for the Patriots, but the Ravens will at least slow him down. Regardless of Baltimore's terrific defense, Joe Flacco won't be able to put up enough points.

The line right now is set at 50, and I'm taking the under. Games with Baltimore just don't usually become shootouts. 

New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers

Just like with Baltimore, most games involving the 49ers don't become very high scoring.

That is, until last week.

The Niners allowed Drew Brees to move up and down the field to score points, but they also forced a bunch of turnovers and scored their share of points.

With all of that being said, I think San Francisco gets back to their usual style of play in this one because New York has a better defense than New Orleans. They won't be able to score as much, so they'll have to clamp down against Eli Manning and company.

The line is only 43, but I'm still taking the under. Both teams create too much pressure on defense.