The Oracle Speaks: Part 3 of a Weekend Series

Dear Oracle,

With the roller coaster ride that is the NFC who do you think will
ultimately come out the of the NFC. Dallas and Green Bay after
farvored but if Tavaris Jackson can play solif the Vikings become an
immediate threat, last nights game not withstanding. The AFC divisonal
round is shaping up to have some great matchups with possibly the
Chargers vs the Browns and Steelers vs the Jaguars. Who might you like
to come out of this round to face the Pats and Colts.

Loyal Fan (Alex in Southie)

Alex,

Before we begin, I will ask you kindly to please show your "loyalty" a little more in the future by running a spell check over your questions. The Oracle has a great deal of business to watch over, and frankly it is a little insulting to receive this chicken scratch. I see everything, and while I may take issue with your clear inability to master the English language, you have shown yourself to be a loyal follower from day one. Therefore, your question will be answered.

First, I would like to thank you for acknowledging the NFC wild card race. It is refreshing to have someone other than myself bring this up in a sincere manner. It also shows that you are clearly much more of a true NFL fan than many of your Patriot-fan bretheren in the Boston area, who are quick to brush off any non-Patriots related NFL talk as unimportant. Essentially, unless you're interested in debating for hours whether the Patriots will score above or below 50 points against Miami, they can't be bothered with you. Seriously, I have had several occasions when I have discussed the Patriots for over an hour with several fans. When I simply try to point out that I have been slightly frustrated with the recent poor play of the Giants and am worried that we will blow our playoff spot, they suddenly become uninterested. It's like I'm trying to bring up fencing or archery. They act like I'm wasting their time. Well, I'd like to take this oppurtunity to say that those of you who fall into this category should follow Alex's lead. There are 32 NFL teams, and the playoffs are one of the most exciting times of the year. It doesn't make you less of a fan to be interested in other teams. It makes you more of a fan. So Alex, thank you for being both a loyal reader and an informed NFL fan. I have always known this about you, but I'll just take this oppurtunity to point it out. Seriously though, learn how to spell.

A lot will be determined by this weekends' matchups. You hit the nail right on the head with Minnesota. They look the best of the teams vying for the final spot. Let's not forget that they had Dallas on the ropes earlier this season before Tavaris blew it. It will be interesting to see what happens in their week 16 matchup with the Redskins, who will be looking to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. The Redskins have a reputation for being tough against the run, but Brandon Jacobs was able to rush for 130 yards against them last week. I have to imagine that a healthy dose of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor will be too much for this Washington defense to handle. Minnesota's biggest achilles heel last year and early this season was their pass defense. However, this has improved by leaps and bounds lately and they seem to be rolling right along now with a great deal of momentum. I expect the Vikings to take this one, and I expect them to take one of the Wild Card spots.

In my mind, the team with the toughest matchup is New Orleans, who will host the Eagles on Sunday. Look, this Eagles team is scary right now.
They are a tough group of veterans with nothing on the line besides their pride. They have taken the Patriots, Seahawks, and Giants (on a good day) down to the wire. They just beat Dallas this weekend. They have some great players in the secondary, and can get to the quarterback from many different spots. This defense is going to cause a lot of issues for the Saints offensive line, which has struggled all year long. Furthermore, Brian Westrbook is once again one of the most bad ass men in football. Unsung as always, he continues to be a dominant force in the league. I expect the Saints to struggle in this game, and I don't see them making the playoffs.

AND that brings us to our next topic of conversation, the New York Giants. A win last week agains the Redskins would have been exactly what this team needed. It would have secured a playoff spot, given them a three-game winning streak, given them a full sweep of Watshington and Philadelphia (important for division pride, especially considering they were swept by Dallas), and allowed them to rest Plaxico Burress for three weeks. However, in typical Giants fashion, they weren't able to close things out. And, the Giants will now be without tight end Jeremy Shockey for the rest of the season. So, the situation is simple, win at Buffalo and you're in. Lose, and you may need a miracle (a win against New England). Note: If I am correct about the outcome of the two above games ((eagles and Vikings win)) then the Giants are in even if they lose).

Look, the Giants offense has looked bad, and that is not suprising. Amani Toomer is old, and nothing more than a possession receiver at this point. Plaxico Burress is not healthy enough to run his routes. This has been evident on some of the miscues that they have had over the past couple of weeks. Sinorice Moss is coming along, but has some maturing to do. Eli Manning is not a guy who is going to make great plays no matter what the cicumstances. The one strong point of late (and really all season) has been the play of the offensive line and Brandon Jacobs. If the Giants are going to make any noise from this point forward, they are going to have to run the ball down teams' throats and make plays in the play action passing game. Furthermore, the New York defense, which has been outstanding this year, is going to need to continue putting a great deal of pressure on opposing quarterbacks and forcing turnovers. I expect the Giants to win. I think that their defense is too strong for Buffalo, and I really do believe deep down that they are the better of these two teams. So, I believe that the Giants will be the second wild card team.

As far as the playoffs are concerned, I still think that we're either going to see Dallas or Green Bay representing the NFC against the Patriots in the super bowl. I believe that Dallas is the best team because they have an outstanding defense and a very balanced offense. Much like the Patriots, they are excellent in all phases of the offensive game. You can't focus on stopping the run, because they'll beat you with the pass. If you focus on the pass, they'll pound you all day. If you focus on not letting TO beat you deep, they are lethal with their intermediate routes. In my mind, they are the favorite. However, at this point, we still are not sure about who the NFC's top seed will be. If Green Bay ends up with the number one seed, and Dallas has to travel to Lambeau Field to take on Brett Favre in the NFC Championship Game, anything can happen. Maybe not anything. But certainly either the Packers or the Cowboys can win the game.




As for the AFC playoff picture, this thing is wide open and already decided at the same time. Look, nobody is going to come to Gillette and knock the Patriots off in a playoff game. It won't happen. This team is just too good and has too many veterans for that to happen. The Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl. The only way I see them losing is if they play a horrible game and beat themselves. But, nobody is going to knock them off. Besides the Patriots, Jacksonville is the scariest team right now. They are running the ball well, they're playing great defense, and their passing game is much more effective than people realize. But, all of the AFC playoff teams are good, and it is going to be exciting to see who ends up with the oppurtunity to lose the AFC Championship game. Now, I'm going to go smash my nuts with a hammer.

Thanks for the e-mail,
NL

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