NFL Playoffs Picks: 10 Questions for San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants

After all that the 2011-12 season has thrown up at us so far, we've come down to this—an NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants.

There's only one game in the year that's bigger than this one, and both teams will be desperate to chalk up a win here and move on to the Super Bowl.

It's that simple; both have everything to play for and both have everything to lose.

With all the hype, drama and tension that surrounds playoff games—especially around the big ones—here are 10 burning questions that need answering leading up to the big game. These 10 questions will provide us with insight into who will walk away the winner and whose season will end. 

1. How is Eli Manning traveling?

After last week's incredible victory over the Green Bay Packers, Eli Manning proved once again that he is a quality quarterback in the NFL this year, and one that has a genuine chance of winning himself another Super Bowl ring.

Throughout the year, Manning completed at 61 percent, for 29 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, as well as almost 5,000 passing yards for the season. And in this year's postseason, the numbers are just as strong—68 percent completion, six touchdowns, one interception and 300 passing yards per game.

Yet, all of that is nowhere as significant as the two wins that sit in the column on the left.

So yeah, Manning and the Giants are traveling just fine.

And as for the bug that Manning had mid-week, look away Niners fans because he's back and practicing and will be all ready to go for the big game, according to AP.

Advantage: New York Giants 

2. Can the Giants get the running game going?

I wrote last week leading into the Packers game that despite a pedestrian start to the year, the Giants running game was slowly getting better and would benefit from coming up against a Packers defense susceptible to yards, especially outside the tackles.

And at first glance, the yards that Bradshaw and Jacobs put up last week were not as high as they should have been. But knowing the context of the game, and the ease with which Manning was finding receivers, it's understandable that these numbers were lower.

Against the Niners, however, Bradshaw and Jacobs will need to be perfect against the No. 1 rushing defense in the league.

Personally, I don't think they will be perfect, and we'll see Eli forced to throw a lot more on first and second down, which I also feel suits the Giants.

The 49ers are still vulnerable to quality throws—as is any secondary, really—and Manning will not be phased by the lack of a ground game.

But despite Manning coping, the lack of a running game for the Giants does have to give some sort of advantage for the Niners.

Advantage: San Francisco 49ers

3. Will the New York defense get to Alex Smith?

This battle is one that could truly determine the outcome of the match one way or the other. Throughout the year, Smith threw for just 17 touchdowns, but also only threw five interceptions. Despite not putting up huge yards, or points, the San Francisco 49ers still won football games.

However, in this postseason, Smith has shown his class, and it seems like he has taken his clutch-level, if you like, to another level. Watching him against the Saints, he was in control and he won them the football game, so it's critical the Giants get to Smith early.

New York has recorded 48 sacks for the regular season, and showed their prowess against the Packers last week. What I'm sure worries Smith is that despite having a 96.75 rating against the blitz, his offensive line has allowed him to be sacked 44 times during the regular season.

It looks like the Giants appear to have the edge, but don't rule out the Niners. All the talk in the year was about the blitz that teams like the Saints bring, and Smith is the one left standing.

Just saying.

Advantage: New York Giants

4. Just how good is Alex Smith?

Really, the question for me is about whether Alex Smith can do it again: Can he knock out another high-flying offense and prove his place in the NFL's quality quarterback league?

I'll be the first to admit that I did downplay Smith throughout the year, saying that he couldn't make the big throws and that he therefore couldn't match it with the likes of Drew Brees.

And to some extent, he couldn't.

We will never know what would have happened had the Saints not given the Niners a 17-point head start and had Brees not thrown those interceptions.

And so, we've got to give Smith the credit he rightly deserves for taking down the high-flying Saints. Luckily for him, there's no Manning or Brady left in the Super Bowl race.

Hey, he did it once; who's to say he can't do it again?

Advantage: San Francisco 49ers

5. Is it possible to stop the 49ers running game?

During the regular season, the 49ers, behind Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, rushed for 127.8 yards per game and 15 touchdowns—carrying the ball on 55.5 percent of San Francisco first downs. And so the New York Giants, who allowed 15 rushing downs for around 120 yards per game, will definitely have their hands full.

It's nearly impossible to stop the pure strength and drive of Gore from picking up at least two or three yards, and when he does pick up those yards, it greatly lightens the load on Alex Smith.

I say Frank Gore has another 100-plus rushing yard game as the Giants seriously struggle to fill this gaping hole in their defense.

Holding Michael Turner to 40 yards is one thing, holding Frank Gore and the Niners ground-out style of play is another thing altogether—and something that the Giants can't contain.

Advantage: San Francisco 49ers 

6. Who will win the turnover battle?

Normally I don't say much about the turnover battle, because to me, it's obvious that you need to take the ball, not give it, to win football games.

But after watching the significance that turnovers had for both sides in their victories last week, the turnover battle may take on a whole different level of importance in this one.

The Niners beat the Saints last week after they gave up five turnovers.

Yup—three fumbles and two interceptions. And after watching New Orleans give up the ball on the Niners goal line early on, it didn't set a good standard for the rest of the match.

It is a similar story with the Giants, who forced three fumbles and took one interception en route to a hammering of the Packers.

Suddenly, the turnover battle matters again.

Smith's low interception rate throughout the entire year suggests that he is not going to give up the ball cheaply and we could write a similar line about Manning and his current throwing prowess.

The 49ers have taken the second highest interceptions for the year, with the second highest amount of pass deflections. They are a plus-four in fumbles. The Giants sit with slightly less in all three categories mentioned above.

However, the knockout punch comes in the give-take ratio, where the Giants have a plus-seven, but the Niners have a whopping plus-28.

It could turn out to be a telling factor in this one.

Advantage: San Francisco 49ers

7. Which team can strike the quickest?

After watching Smith struggle to throw long all year and watching Manning throw it long all year, I'd say the Giants comfortably.

Smith put up late touchdowns against the Saints last week, who have a far weaker defense than the Giants do. Manning threw all over the Packers, who despite allowing passing yards, led the league in interceptions and pass deflections.

Whether it's a final second Hail Mary like the Giants pulled off last week, or simply a long ball to Hakeem Nicks, the Giants have the greater ability for the quick strike. Manning has completed more than 10 throws of 40-plus yards than Smith has, and the aerial show may be on again from the G-men in this one.

Advantage: New York Giants

8. Will San Francisco get to Eli Manning?

As mentioned earlier, the running game of the Giants may struggle to gain traction—meaning that all of the offense will fall in the hands of Eli Manning. Thus for San Francisco to win this one, they must get to Eli Manning and disrupt his passing rhythm.

We've discussed their interception and pass deflection strengths, but the key for me is whether they can get to Eli at the line of scrimmage and force him to throw it long.

The Giants have only allowed 28 sacks for the season, and have only allowed two in the postseason. It's not the ability of the 49ers pass rush that's the issue for me—this Giants line is simply too strong and is giving Manning too much time, as we've seen in the last two weeks.

Advantage: New York Giants

9. Who will win the coaching battle?

Last week, I wrote that Harbaugh would prevail over Sean Peyton and was heckled. But after watching him call the run play for Smith's touchdown and watching the Niners beat the Saints, I'm willing to call that a win for myself.

And awaiting Harbaugh is Coughlin—Tom Coughlin.

So, it might not have the same ring to it as James Bond, and he might be nowhere near as flashy, but as a veteran, he knows how to bring out the best of his players at the moments that matter the most.

And watching the Giants play of late, he's got them doing exactly that.

He's won the NFC Championship game before and he's won the Super Bowl before. He has an incredible road record and he will win this game too. Harbaugh deserves Coach of the Year and deserves more credit than he will receive, but he doesn't win this coaching battle.

Maybe next year.

Advantage: New York Giants

10. What did we learn from last week?

For the Giants, we learned that they are efficient on the road, win outside, beat on the Packers, force the league's best quarterback into a horrible game and that Manning is a clutch quarterback.

For the 49ers, we learned that Smith is the real deal, Brees can have his records all he likes, the defense is good when it matters, the offense can score points and that you really can't run against them.

Put all that together and the three key points we learned were: The Giants are good on the road. They'll have no fear coming to Candlestick Park after taking down the Packers at Lambeau.

Second, Smith is the real deal. If the Giants can't stop him completing third down and moving the chain, they can kiss their season goodbye.

And third, that these two sides are riding a wave of momentum at the moment.

They've both taken down teams that everyone thought would beat them, and they're now one game away from the Super Bowl. A big play early on by either side on either offense or defense could shatter that momentum in a heartbeat and mentally build a divide that will eventually be too far to come back from.

And that's why I'm leaning towards the New York Giants having the advantage and the overall momentum to take them to the Super Bowl, where we'll be treated to the rematch that we all kind of wanted to see again.

I'd take the Giants to win, and you might as well take them with the spread. They're getting a 3.5 start in most places, which could be helpful down the stretch.

Take Eli Manning to throw an early touchdown for the G-men, and I've got a feeling it might be a pass to Bradshaw or Jacobs. Nicks and Cruz will receive extra attention, so maybe the little short pass will be the key for the Giants here.

And for the points, I'd take anything under 45. While both teams scored a lot of points last week, their defenses are far better than that of the Packers and Saints. So, expect points to come at a premium as the Giants beat the Niners at their own grind-out style of game.

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