Final thoughts: NFC Championship Game

Gregg Doyel and Pete Prisco offer their last-minute wisdom.

1. What are your final thoughts on the Giants-Packers?
Gregg Doyel	Pete Prisco
Sitting here trying to predict what will happen Sunday when New York plays Green Bay at frigid Lambeau Field for the NFC title, I can't get past three facts: One, these teams have already played this season, and Green Bay demolished the Giants 35-13. Two, that game was in New York. And three, Ryan Grant didn't carry the ball. In other words, if the Packers were 22 points better than New York in September on the road -- and since then have discovered one of the most dynamic running backs in the league -- how can they lose to New York at home? Don't ask me. I'm not predicting Green Bay to lose to the Giants. Not at home, no matter how good New York has been on the road. Not with Brett Favre in green and Eli Manning in blue. Not with the New York secondary decimated by injuries. And not with Ryan Grant coming off 201 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Seattle in the Packers' last playoff game -- 201 yards and three touchdowns more than he had on Sept. 16 when Green Bay pounded the Giants by three touchdowns.	Is this Eli Manning's time? Manning, the most picked-apart quarterback in the NFL, in large part because he happens to be named Manning, has a chance to shoot down all the doubters who say he will never be a franchise passer with one magical day. If Manning can continue his good playoff play in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, it will do wonders for getting the skeptics, and there are many, off his back. If Manning can lead the Giants to a victory against the Packers, he will be tied with his brother in one important category: Super Bowl appearances. If he can beat the Packers, maybe those 71 touchdown passes he has tossed the past three years will now be noticed. If he wins, the idiots who rip him for those goofy faces he makes on the field will let up. The talk of his not working as hard as other passers, as erroneous as it is, will finally subside. Sixty minutes isn't usually a lot of time in our lives. That won't be the case for Eli Manning on Sunday. It just might be the most important 60 minutes of his life.