Playoffs?!?

Wipe the slate clean, it's tournament time in the NFL and the action should be fantastic. Looking at the first round games I don't see any possible upsets. What I mean by that is no matter who wins, it shouldn't be considered an upset. After the first round, every remaining team has a great chance to make the Super Bowl.

I am very excited for the playoffs, and it doesn't hurt that the Chargers are the hottest team in the NFL. Regardless of my biases, the games look to be very entertaining, even for the fans whose team missed the playoffs. In one of the strangest twists the NFL has ever seen, three of four first round games are rematches from the previous week. Baltimore/New England is the only game that is not a rematch of week 17. All three games had lopsided outcomes which may or may not mean anything. We'll find out this weekend.

The only problem I have with the playoffs this year is the way the Jets were able to sneak in. In a year where half the AFC was competing for the last wild card spot the final week, the Jets benefited from extremely favorable scheduling and management decisions by teams that had their playoff spot locked up, effectively eliminating competitive action. I didn't see it coming because I assumed Indianapolis would defend their perfect season, but they decided to rest their starters to the benefit of the Jets. You can bet there are some fans in New England that would agree with that decision.

It is an issue that deserves attention from the NFL to keep the spirit of competition alive late in the season, although I doubt there are any real solutions available. You can't expect teams to play all their starters to the bitter end when the game effectively means nothing. Right now, the negatives out weigh the positives.

Round 1

New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Jets and Bengals played last week with NY dominating Cincy to the tune of 37-0. The game was played in the Meadowlands, in frigid weather, after Cincy had locked up their playoff spot. Still, the Jets defense was pretty convincing holding the Bengals to one first down and zero yards passing. Don't let the points fool you, the Jets won't put up 37 again, but they might benefit from great scheduling, once again, playing the mourning Bengals on the heels of a blowout.

The Jets and Bengals might be the teams that pose the weakest threat to win the AFC. Cincy played fairly inspired football in San Diego the week after Chris Henry died, but have since looked like a team waiting for the playoffs to start. They will have to find their offensive identity against the league's best defense, after coasting the last month of the season. I believe it will be very important for Cincinnati to score in the first quarter. They will also have to play better defense than they have recently.

I can't ignore what the Jets were able to do at home against Cincy, but I still have trouble believing they can put up enough points to win on the road. This is an extremely difficult game to pick. When right, Cincy is better, but if their play over the last month is an indicator as to how they will play this weekend, you can give it to the Jets. Cincy's offense will have RB Cedric Benson back along with WR Chad Ochocinco. I see overtime in this one. The home team takes it by a field goal.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys

This is the best game of the first round and features two teams that are quite familiar with each other. Dallas has eliminated the chatter that they can't win in December, and are now being called the favorite in the NFC by some analysts. This is a typical reaction to Dallas winning a couple of games. Let's not forget that the Boys haven't won a playoff game since 1996, and QB Tony Romo has yet to win one.

That being said, the Cowboys beat the Eagles twice this year. Much like the Jets, Dallas dominated Philly last week and will have the chance to make it two weeks in a row. Unlike the Jets, Dallas gets to do it at home. The win also saw the Cowboys defense post its second straight shutout. Head coach Wade Phillips seems to have bought himself another year in Dallas (to the dismay of many Cowboys fans), but really needs a playoff win to cement this. Don't forget, it was an embarrassing loss to Philly in the final game last year that kept Dallas out of the playoffs.

Philadelphia comes in wounded, but before last week's loss they had won six games in a row. Philly gets their third crack at Dallas this year which makes them dangerous, but they bring in a makeshift offensive line without their starting center. The Eagles played most of the year with more fire power than Gilbert Arenas, and if they can find that again they are very capable of winning this game. Head coach Andy Reid always seems to have his team ready in the playoffs. Starting QB Donovan Mcnabb has nine career playoff wins.

Is this the game that gets the monkey off the backs of Romo and the Cowboys? They overcame the doubters for their stretch run in December, but the playoffs are a different animal. The biggest question might be how much can you change in six days if you are the Eagles? Romo and the Boys cannot afford to lose this game, and lucky for them they will be at home. Another toss up goes to the home team.

Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots

So the good news is the Ravens finished out the season nicely and landed a wild card position in the playoffs. The bad news is they are playing the Patriots in Foxborough. Even though I am not wild about the Pats this season, and they just lost WR Wes Welker to injury, New England doesn't lose games at home. Especially in the playoffs.

The Pats are 5-0 all time against the Ravens. They have won 11 straight playoff games at home, and Tom Brady is 14-3 as a playoff starter. Pretty sobering if you are a Ravens fan.

I like the Ravens as a team, but this is not the same team that took a wild card seed and won the Super Bowl. The Ravens have shifted from all defense to mostly offense. The Pats should move the chains and put up points. The Ravens will rely on their run attack, which has been terrific this year, to out score the Pats. The emergence of RB Ray Rice has helped veteran RB Willis McGahee stay fresh and work more as a goal line back. QB Joe Flacco put together a solid sophomore campaign, and the Ravens will have future hall of fame safety Ed Reed back from injury in a limited capacity.

Once the playoffs start, the Patriots will still intimidate their opponents with their postseason pedigree. Tom Brady under center is enough to give the Pats confidence they can win the Super Bowl. Without Welker and a mediocre defense, there is almost no way this can happen, but I expect them to beat the Ravens soundly at home. The true test will come when they have to play outside Foxborough the following week.

Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals


In what might possibly be QB Kurt Warner's final game, the Packers and Cardinals rematch in Arizona after Green Bay won 33-7, last week. The teams went in two different directions with the Pack playing as if they needed to maintain momentum, and the Cards deciding to not show any schemes and rest veteran players. Aaron Rodgers will make his postseason debut after a stellar second season as the Packers starting QB.

The Cards come into this game as a team that can play bad one week only to bounce back and look like the NFC champs from last year. WR Anquan Boldin looks like he may miss the game with an ankle injury which will spell big trouble for the Cards. With Pro Bowl DB Charles Woodson covering WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona will miss Boldin and his ability to make plays opposite Fitz. Still, this is a Cardinal team that has been here before, and with Warner under center in the playoffs, good things happen. He is 8-3 in the postseason.

The Packers enter this matchup as the NFC's best defensive team and winners in seven of their last eight games. Rodgers deserves the extensive praise he receives, and has eclipsed 4,000 yards passing both years as a starter. He is the only player in NFL history to achieve that feat. RB Ryan Grant had a solid year running for the Pack, and the offensive line troubles that plagued Green Bay early in the season were amended.

It's hard to predict how either team will play in this game. I believe the Packers to be a better team, but they are relatively inexperienced, and they are playing on the road. It will be an uphill battle for Arizona who actually played better on the road than at home this year. A complete reversal from last year. In the end, I see Green Bay as the more complete team, and I expect the Packers to advance.

Father Time Has a Cannon

Like any other sports fan with a daily sports show addiction, I was sick to death of the Brett Favre saga that has become an annual sports tradtion. After watching his melt down at the end of last season with the New York Jets, I felt like there was no way he could come back and contribute to a professional team. It looked as if his football mid life crisis was going to leave a greasy, black stain on his hall of fame masterpiece career.

He looked old. He couldn't throw the ball down the field, and had teammates calling him out for dividing the locker room (I believe ESPN threw the term "schism" around quite a bit leading up to his debut with the Minnesota Vikings). Why would he come back and subject himself to the pain of the NFL as a 40 year old? What could he possibly have left to offer? Is his desire to get under center just to stuff it in the face of Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers, or does he really believe he can still play? Favre has come back this year and made anyone who questioned his ability to play football feel very foolish, me included.

I am not a Favre hater. How can you be? Regardless of how he ever performed on the field, his consecutive games played streak (276 and counting) as a quarterback has to be one of sports most impressive feats. He is also a three time MVP, a clutch performer, and a Super Bowl champion. He has done everything you could ask for in a quarterback over his career. He plays the game with more grit and passion than anyone around him, and he is exciting to watch whether you admit it, or not. He has always embodied the spirit of NFLs ironman, and this year is no different.

After having his arm surgically repaired in the off season, Favre is back throwing the ball harder, and with a tighter spiral than 90 percent of the league. He still plays the game with youthful exuberance, and he still has a flair for clutch heroics (We all saw his game winning throw against San Francisco. That ball was an absolute laser). Unless you are a Green Bay Packer fan, player, or member of their operations, you have to appreciate what he has been able to do this year. I know there are bitter football fans who have had their team torched by Favre. But really, how could you not like this guy?

Speaking of the Green Bay Packers, Favre got the pay back he was undoubtedly looking for coming in to this season. Not only did he beat his former team playing for their divisional rival, he played a major role in the beatings. In two games against his former team he threw seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. Interceptions have plagued him when he was younger, and when he was not surrounded with the ground support and defense that he is currently playing with. That is always the point Favre haters make. "Look at how many interceptions he has thrown over his career. He's a gunslinger, he can't change that mentality."

This year, Favre has done what the haters thought he couldn't. He has become the most talented game manager in the NFL. Most agree the best player in the league is Vikings running back, Adrian Peterson. It seemed all the Vikings were missing from seriously contending for a Super Bowl was a quarterback. So naturally, bringing in Favre doesn't change defensive game plans. Opponents of the Vikings look to shut down the run and make the Vikings beat you through the air. The only problem is Favre has had no problem beating teams through the air. He has thrown 16 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions, good for a 106 passer rating.

Oh yeah. He's doing all this as a 40 year old.

He's 40, and if they voted today he is deserving of the league MVP (no disrespect to Peyton Manning or Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson). He's 40 in a league where running backs are left for dead at 30. He's 40, and he has 22 year old beasts chasing him around the field trying to crush him. He's 40, and he still throws the ball with velocity receivers can hear coming. He's 40, but his arm is 24.

The greatest part of Favre's game is that he can still be great with more pressure on him than anyone else in the NFL. He has endured public scrutiny over his off season floundering, and his age for over two years. He survived the crash and burn of a failed attempt with the New York Jets. He was showered with a chorus of boos when he stepped onto Lambeau Field for the first time as a visitor. He sustained several concussions throughout his career, and had shoulder surgery just a few months ago. He battled all of these pressures, and done so visibly nervous, yet still had the fortitude to play above everyone's expectations.

Can you really imagine being Brett Favre and getting booed by Green Bay Packers fans? Packers fans should use the collective energy it took for those boos, and build him a statue next to Vince Lombardi's to honor what he did for that organization. The camera was zoomed right on Farve's face to start the Packers game and you could see the emotion dancing in his eyes, but when he snapped on his chin strap, he blocked it out and went to work. Once the Vikings got a lead (mostly on short swing passes and runs by Peterson), the Vikings turned Favre loose and allowed him to give his old team a close up view of what he could still do on a football field. After dismantling the Packers defense for the second time this season, the camera man caught a shot of Packers QB, Aaron Rodgers with a look of disbelief plastered all over his face. Many argued before the game that a win might mean more to Rodgers than to Favre.

Currently, Favre and the Vikings are 7-1 and look to be headed for a clash with the New Orleans Saints as the top team in the NFC. If the Vikings play for a Super Bowl led by Favre, it will be the greatest achievement (consecutive games streak aside) of his hall of fame career. Of course, Father Time might have something to say about how Favre finishes another long NFL season. It was toward the end of the season that his play really declined last year. Eventually it has to catch up with him like it does everyone else. Although, most of his problems last year can be attributed to his arm injury which is clearly no longer an issue. From where I'm sitting, Brett Favre is Father Time, and Father Time still has a cannon.

Even if the dramatics were self imposed by his inability to stick with a decision, you have to appreciate the way he is defying the odds with his comeback. Brett Favre may no longer be a popular figure in Wisconsin, but he should have made some new fans around the country. You can count me as one of them, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.