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Sometimes what seems destined, only destines what that seems, ultimately to fail. In our much ballyhooed case, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints seemed destined to go undefeated (and much to TV executives’ delights), even all the way to the Super Bowl. At 13-0 each, the two teams were far from flukes fielding both impressive offenses and opportunistic defenses. By the time the smoke cleared, the Saints went on to lose their next 3 regular season game, the Colts would win one more to go 14-0, but infamously opted to rest their starters in weeks 16 and 17 to complete the pair’s dubious end to the season and effectively back into the playoffs.

Again what seems destined… with the Colts habit of bowing out early in the playoffs (Super Bowl XLI the only exception), and the Saint’s lack of effective playoff pedigree, what started out as a date with undefeated destiny turned into most of the media/public calling for both teams to fall flat. Momentum, no rust, consistency, winning attitude… terms that were eagerly thrown around that wouldn’t apply to the Colts nor the Saints in an age of short memory. In the last decade, teams like the 2008 Arizona Cardinals, the 2007 New York Giants, and the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers all made us believe that the once coveted bye week possessed by the top seeds were not that coveted. The belief soon rooted that momentum as seen by the recent success of wild-card teams would be the deciding factor on who would make it to Super Sunday.

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They say the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry; in the NFL playoffs, hopes and dreams are often left out to dry. With the best intentions left to bare, the media and rabid fan base usually take their wear. Three weeks for many, two weeks for a couple, whichever road you may take to the Super Bowl, those pigskin footballs sure are supple! Twelve teams can see Super Sunday is within reach, but ultimately two will celebrate on South Beach. There is only one postseason. There is only one January. As old man winter rages on, let football be your sanctuary. Ignoring my worse Dane Cook impressions, there are a lot of interesting subplots to this year’s playoff progressions. Cold beer on tap, Captain Morgan is no sap. Imbibe with your friends (responsibly), and let Chad Ochocinco take you to the very end. Twitter me this, twitter me that, what a playoff this will be with the Cardiac Cats! If any of this did not make sense, no worries because the mounting pressure on the Cowboys makes Jerry Jones very tense. My friend Brent Celek (not to be confused with Tom Selleck) is on cue, with the honor of ushering in the playoff preview.

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With no intention of excessive insensitivity (I’ve been known to in-sensitize), only Mike Leach can manage to steal the media thunder from Urban Meyer, lord of a much bigger, badder football program. With Leach, his monotonous tone, and deadpan delivery belies an interesting, captivating, yet polarizing sports figure that has carved out a niche in the sports world, that can only be described as an eccentric personality that eventually became larger than life. Eventually he became larger than Texas Tech University, the school that gave him his first big break. Rubbing elbows with the likes of Donald Trump, and touting a quirky, over-stated obsession with pirates have indeed led Mike Leach to the headlines of the New York Times, ESPN, and Wikipedia. Like Brett Favre to the Green Bay Packers, Mike Leach put Lubbock, Texas on the map of collegiate Division I (excuse me, FBS or Football Bowl Subdivision) football. Whereas Favre resuscitated a once proud program, Leach actually created a legacy at Texas Tech. While the paint had not dried yet from the transition of the Southwest Conference to the Big XII, hard-nosed defensive football coupled with a power running game still dominated the landscape of Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, and yes even Texas Tech football.

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A lot can happen when you take a week off. The Pittsburgh Steelers lose five in a row and are in real danger of missing the playoffs altogether, while the Baltimore Ravens look to slip into the wild card after an inconsistent season. Conceivably and unbelievably, if the Cincinnati Bengals were to lose all of the three remaining games, and the Ravens were to run the table, Baltimore could actually win the AFC North despite the Bengal’s 6-0 division record. In the East, the New England Patriot’s hold on the division is tenuous at best with both the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets only one game back. For my money, the lone playoff representative for the AFC East will be the division champ, whoever happens to stumble out of this pile. My sentiments are that the two hotly contested wild card spots up for grabs will go to one of the teams from the AFC North, South, or West. As of now, the Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Denver Broncos are the frontrunners for those coveted spots.

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Talk about fruitless labors, the New Orleans Saints sitting at 11-0 thus far late in the season haven’t even wrapped up their division yet, whereas the 11-0 Indianapolis Colts have clinched the AFC South yet again. On a lesser note, the 10-1 Minnesota Vikings have also yet to clinch the NFC North with the Green Bay Packers hot on their heels despite an 0-2 record against the Purple People Eaters that gives Fah-vera and company all tiebreakers. Understandable as if the Colts even lose all the last 5 games, the Jacksonville Jaguars would have to win all of the next 5 games and still be tied with the Colts, but lose out in tiebreakers as both would own a 4-2 division record. The Saints on the other hand still have 3 division games on deck, and if New Orleans loses all 5 games while the Atlanta Falcons run the table, it would go down to the tiebreaker with the Falcons winning by virtue of a 4-2 division record and the Saints owning a 3-3 division record. Highly unlikely, but fun to think about.

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