Artie: First of all, to hell withthe Eagles! And second, the Vikings-Bears game was next and I don't care whatthe schedule says, Favre and his buddies get to play every stinkin' game athome! Nobody's keeping tabs on that.
Frank: You do recall Brettstopping by Lambeau Field in November, don't you?
Artie: OK, the Vikes have had oneroad game. I still want a league investigation.
Frank: Back to reality. The Eaglesalmost gave the Packers' wild-card hopes a big boost. Until they woke upagainst the Redskins, they were heading to join the Giants and Falcons at 6-5.
Artie: The Eagles didn't look verygood. That's no big surprise; a lot of highly touted teams haven't lived up toit. The Giants, Falcons, Cardinals—the Cowboys even though they're 8-3. It'sinconsistency, not parity.
Frank: Two words, same meaning. Butsince the fiasco at Tampa Bay, the Packers have been quite consistent inbeating Dallas, San Francisco and Detroit.
Artie: Let's say the Cowboys hangon to win the NFC East, although they still have to play the Eagles and Giantsin their last five games. All the Pack has to do is stay ahead of either Phillyor New York, and also Atlanta, and voila! Playoff time.
Frank: If Philly or the Giantstook the division, the Packers would only have to match Dallas' record. They own the firsttie-breaker for a wild card, which is head-to-head record.
Artie: The Pack doesn't playPhilly, the Giants or Atlanta,so what's the second tie-breaker?
Frank: Record within theconference. The Packers are 6-3 in NFC games with three to go against Chicago, Seattle and Arizona. Dallas and Philly areboth 6-2 with four NFC games to go, the Falcons are 5-4 and the Giants are 4-3.The chart on this page shows who the wild-card contenders have left to play,and the cumulative records of those opponents.
Artie: As a Packer fan, I don'tsee why they can't win out and coast into the playoffs at 12-4. Butrealistically, there might be one or two losses ahead.
Frank: You never know what'llhappen at Soldier Field a week from Sunday. Playing at Pittsburgh will be tough, even with BenRoethlisberger battered as usual. And Arizonawill be looking for revenge after the Packers dumped them in the preseason.
Artie: Anyway, I don't see anyonegetting a wild card at less than 10-6, and the Pack looks primed to get there.
Frank: Right now Minnesotaand New Orleanswould get first-round byes. The wild cards would get Arizona and the NFC East winner, and ofcourse the wild cards would have to travel.
Artie: I'm not sure who I'd preferto win the East. There are bad playoff vibes from the past with all thoseteams.
Frank: I know, as you've said manytimes...
Artie: Fourth and 26?
Frank: Well, there's that, whenthe Eagles converted in the final minutes, tied the game and won in overtime inJanuary 2004. But I was referring to your lament about the ’90s.
Artie: When the Packers alwayshad to go to Dallasin the playoffs, and couldn't win.
Frank: Actually, it was just threestraight Januarys, 1994 through ’96. And of course there's the game two seasonsago when the Giants won at Lambeau and went to the Super Bowl.
Artie: And opened the door forFavre's departure. Now that I think about it, if I'm looking at a Januaryplayoff game I'd rather have Mason Crosby trying field goals in Dallas instead of Philly or New York. He hasn't had to kick in any badconditions this year but he's had, what, six misses?
Frank: Let's see... Crosby is 20 for 26 in field goals, with all of themisses from 40-plus yards and four from 50-plus.
Artie: Still, by current standardsthat ain't so hot. He missed on Thanksgiving from 43 yards indoors at FordField.
Frank: And a January game inPhilly or the Meadowlands certainly won't be climate-controlled.
Artie: Plus the Eagles have DavidAkers, who made the kicks in Philly that tied and won the game in ’04. So I'vedecided: Let the Cowboys have the NFC East and let the Pack play ’em in thefirst round.
Frank: Which makes your original"to hell with the Eagles" downright prophetic.
Artie: It's what we do, ain'a?
Frank: Of course the Packers mightwind up facing Arizonain the first round.
Artie: Which would make theregular-season finale very interesting—the start of a two-game series at Arizona. By that timethe Cardinals should have the division locked up and be resting people,especially Kurt Warner with his concussion problems.
Frank: But they wouldn't want tolet the Packers get into a habit of winning at their place. After all, in thepreseason game the Packers' first-stringers absolutely drilled the Cardinals inthe first half, to the tune of 38-10.
Artie: The Cards are a differentteam with Matt Leinart quarterbacking instead of Warner. If Kurt gets anotherconcussion, they're mighty beatable.
Frank: Like the Steelers withoutRoethlisberger, another of the multi-concussion QBs the league is finallynoticing. It's still three games away, but the Packers' visit to Pittsburgh could be a loteasier if Big Ben is still out.
Artie: And that would sure help ingrabbing a wild card with three of the last five games on the road.
Frank: Let's say the Pack wins inthe first round at Dallas or Arizona. That could set up a second-roundvisit to... the good ol' Metrodome. Wouldn't that be delicious for PackerBackers?
Artie: To say nothing of FOXSports. The hype they could give that game! And it would be even better if itwas one week later, in the NFC Championship Game. Which do you think FOX wouldrather show with the Super Bowl on the line, Packers-Vikings Round 3 or, say,Cardinals-Eagles?
Frank: Are you saying there mightbe some, er, pressure on the NFL to produce such a showdown?
Artie: Nah, this is not the NBA,don’t forget. There are too many collisions that can't be refereed away.
Frank: Speaking of thosecollisions, it's nice the NFL is getting more serious about caring forconcussion victims, but the league sure took its time. I can't believe that anyonewho's played tackle football at any level hasn't suffered aconcussion, and probably several.
Artie: Even a year ago, it seemedlike the standard policy for a concussion was, "Miss a game and you'll befine." Or even worse, during a game it was, "Oh, he just got his bellrung," and he's back on the field in the next quarter.
Frank: Warner and Roethlisbergerare helping prove your doctrine that in the NFL everything depends on injuries,or the lack of ’em.
Artie: It's not just who's playingwell, but who has the most guys physically able to play well. That's one reasonthat in the last four years we've had two wild-card teams winning threestraight playoff games on the road and then taking the Super Bowl—the Steelersof the 2005 season and the Giants of ’07.
Frank: Precedents for Packer fansto embrace. Even the fan whom I recall saying, after the consecutive losses to Minnesota and Tampa Bay, "Fire themall!"
Artie: And if they blow awild-card spot in these last five games, I'll stick to that. If they make theplayoffs and win at least one game, I might back off. Just a bit. For now.
