Sizing up the playoff race. Look for Chiefs to stumble, Saints to soar down stretch

CNN/SI ^ | Tuesday November 18, 2003 12:40AM | Don Banks

[.cnI redruM]

There might be some tough times ahead for Trent Green and the Chiefs.

Six weeks remaining in the regular season. Thanksgiving just around the corner. Time to separate the contenders from pretenders in the NFL playoff hunt. Shall we?

AFC East

[.cnI redruM]

Indy vs. Carolina in the next Super Bowl. You read it here first.

[TheBigB]

Nuh-uh. McNair will take the Colts apart in December. It's all about the Titans, baby.

[JmyBryan]

Packers are still alive.

[Republicus2001]

My question is will there be wild cards? Isn't this the first year of a balanced symmetrical conference layout?

with 32 teams why not just have the division winners meet in a single elimination playoff?

That way the regular season division championship really means something as the only door to the Super Bowl.

[ChewedGum]

4 Division Winners and 2 Wild Cards. Top two division winners get week 1 bye. Second two division winners each play a Wild-Card Team.

Week 1:
3rd Seed Div Winner vs. Last Seed Wild-Card
4th Seed Div Winner vs. First Seed Wild-Card

Week 2:
Winner Above vs. Top Seed Div Winner
Winner Above vs. Second Seed Div Winner

Week 3:
Winners of Week 2 Games play each other
(Division Championship Game)

Gum

[Coop]

Raiders vs. Buccaneers, the Sequel!!

What so funny?

[Republicus2001]

well Gum, thanks but why? why not an 8 team single elim? what does having 2 also-rans prove?

[N. Theknow]

What's with the "games" links?

[.cnI redruM]

Mistake on my part. Sorry.

[lasereye]

The Eagles-Carolina game winner goes to SB XXXVII.

[dfwgator]

What?!? He doesn't project my Detroit Lions making the playoffs? He obviously doesn't know a thing about football </extreme sarcasm>

[N. Theknow]

Mistake on my part. Sorry.

Did you put them in?

It even showed up when I wrote my reply without my doing a link. It just automatically threw it into my reply.

What kind of html does that? I saw another in a thread about i-n-s-u-r-a-n-c-e.

[jpl]

Somebody I know and work with insists that the Redskins could still go 10-6 and make the playoffs. But the way I figure it, it would take an unprecedented string of forfeits, and Steve Spurrier really shouldn't count on that.

Living in the D.C. area, I can attest to the fact that Redskins fans tend to be hysterical and completely detached from reality.

[.cnI redruM]

When you brought it up, I figure I just accidently pasted the link w/o thinking. Hmm....

[PMCarey]

If the Packers would stop shooting themselves in the foot, they would be a serious contender. They have perhaps the best offensive line in the league, great backs with Green and Davenport, Favre can still fling it, and with the addition of Grady Jackson, their defensive is improving. Too many stupid turnovers in the KC, Philadephia, and Arizona games have really put them behind in the eight-ball in the closing stretch.

[Strider]

The Steelers aren't dead, yet.

[.cnI redruM]

I'm a Redskins fan, primarily because 2.5 years in Texas has made me hate the Cokeboys, but I'm enough of a mathematician not to take ANY odds on these guys going 10-6. They need to cut two people;

Owner - Dan Snyder
Coach - Steve 'Shiny Pants' Spurrier

They have occupied my football team the way the Soviets occupied Easter Europe.

[N. Theknow]

When you brought it up, I figure I just accidently pasted the link w/o thinking. Hmm....

NO? Try typing in the words g-a-m-e-s and i-n-s-u-r-a-n-c-e and you will se the link code automatically appear.

Methinks the "admin mod" might find this interesting.

games and insurance.

[Snuffington]

Publishing your playoff picks this early is an exercise in masochism, but it's kind of fun anyway.

My team (the Vikings) were never as good as their record when then ran off 6 wins in a row to start the season, and they're not as bad as they've looked in the 4 straight losses since. But I still like their chances to make the playoffs. And I like the direction the club is heading after Denny Green left them in a mess. However they're still rebuilding, and no Superbowl contender for this year. They do have a shot at the conference championship game though.

My brain tells me the Eagles are currently the best team in the NFC. But for some reason I don't see them making it to the Superbowl. The NFC championship feels up for grabs.

In the AFC, I'd still be surprised to see anyone but the Chiefs win it.

Now watch all that wisdom above blow up in my face in the next few weeks.

[Lead Moderator]

So if I type in games and insurance they will turn into links?