Playoff Premonitions

Up in the Nordic North of the Midwest, the Vikings thrash the Bears to go on to 10-1. Celebrations from the Vikings fans are hushed by anticipation of Monday Night Football's New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots--both the Saints' toughest regular season match-up, and a game which makes headway in painting the playoff picture.

Well, all across the internet, message boards are flooded by football fans ferociously submitting their playoff manifestations, undoubtedly to appease the backing of their favorites. I figure I should only be allowed the same opportunity.

The rest of the season looks to be downhill for most teams in the playoff picture. For this reason, let's pretend Monday night's game concluded the regular season.

In the AFC, the Colts have come out of every match-up victorious, but dizzied, it seems, as fatigue seems to carry on into the early quarters of the next week's game. The trend has been that Peyton Manning figures out the defense late in the 2nd quarter and can conduct a winning half henceforth. Their only weakness is if they fall too far behind--a margin that they inched their way past against the Pats. There is no reason to believe the Colts will not host the entire playoff schedule.

Next in line are the Bengals. The Bengals are a series circuit kind of team--when all the weapons are in, they click and shine bright. But as we've seen recently, when weapons like Cedric Benson sit, they are vulnerable. If the Bengals can maintain health through the playoffs, look for them to put up a fight for the conference championship.

The Chargers have been the team who turned the corner, winning six straight games after starting 2-3, a feat that could mostly be credited to their rebuilt offensive line. Philip Rivers is playing just as well as any other QB. No reason to believe they aren't a force to reckon with in the AFC.

The Jags, Pats, and Broncos make up the remaining playoff constituents, all of which I feel have been the "not-as-bad-as" crowd.

In the NFC, the show is all about the Saints. Their Monday night match-up was the milestone this season, indicating just how good they are. If Brees can put up a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Patriots, there's no more doubting to be had. On top of that, the Saints defense embarrassed the almighty Tom Brady, throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns. Some doubted this team, which struggled somewhat in game with the Dolphins, Bucs, and Falcons, also saying that they have the easiest schedule. But what this team showed is that when the big game is on the line, they come to play, and they play harder, better, faster, and stronger than any other team in the league. And you can't argue that home field advantage in the Super Dome.

Right behind the perfect Saints are the near perfect Vikings. The Vikings boast one of the other highest-powered offenses in the league. One thing the Vikings have shown week in and week out is consistency. It shows in the stats, as well as the record book, that the Vikings have been on the same tempo all season long. The only minor concern is that a couple times that tempo was nearly not enough. A last seconds hail mary against the 49ers and a last second missed field goal by the Ravens are what sold this team their NFC North Division champ seat.

The Cowboys, Cardinals, Packers, and Eagles make up the rest of the NFC constituents and are again coined the "not-as-bad-as" teams.

Which brings me to my conclusion, the playoff picture (after wild cards rounds are weeded out):

Colts top the Patriots
Bengals top Chargers
Bengals top Colts

Saints top Packers
Vikings top Cowboys
Saints top Vikings

Saints top Bengals to win the superbowl...

I said it. The Saints are just too good and show they only get better in the big games.