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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.

Of course a win today from the Saints, a loss from the Falcons, and a win from the Vikings and a loss from the Packers would make things easier. However things in the NFL are usually far from easy. The only teams making things look easy are the aforementioned undefeated Colts and Saints. I would love to see these two teams meet up in the Super Bowl at 18-0 and see who has the most gas left. Initially my money would be on Indianapolis given the fact that they have been playing with a skeleton defense all year and somehow have found ways to win. It’s been beaten to the ground but how bad would this team be without Peyton Manning? Average D, below average running game, and a stroke of luck in part to Bill Belichick and this team is still unbelievably undefeated. Please hand him the MVP already, so he can go make some more goofy (but hilarious) commercials.

Others would argue Brett Favre is the MVP, and I cannot really refute that wholeheartedly because he is simply playing out of his mind. However you cannot ignore the simple fact that teams respect the presence of RB Adrian Peterson, and the Vikings have a very good defense. My measure of an MVP is when you take that person away from the team, is that team still a playoff team? My argument kind of fails for the Colts in this case because the AFC South is not that good this season. However without Manning, how could the Colts even go 11-0 so far, and easily one or two of those division games could be handed over to the Houston Texans, and we’d be talking about the Jacksonville Jaguars or even the Texans atop the division. The Vikings on the other hand, even with Tavaris Jackson could easily be 8-3, 7-4, or 6-5, but still in the playoff hunt.

Turning our attention to the rest of the league, the New England Patriots coming off a blowout on national TV against the Saints, are suddenly reeling and feeling the New York Jets one game behind them. A win today will separate them a bit further, and keep the Dolphin’s playoff hopes in the water. The Baltimore Ravens off a hard earned win vs. their division rivals look to try to secure a Wild Card spot as the Bengals should wrap up the AFC North thanks to their unprecedented 6-0 sweep of the division, as long as they do not crap the proverbial bed here on out. The Pittsburgh Steelers are in serious trouble and in a tail-spin, and despite Mike Tomlin’s best Russell Crowe impression to “unleash hell” for the rest of the season, they should worry about their 1-3 division record that will keep them at home watching Gladiator Blu-rays in January. Out in the AFC West, the San Diego Chargers are in control but amazingly enough the Denver Broncos after losing four in a row, still have a chance at the division crown if they continue to win. The Chargers seem to always start slow and then finish furiously straight into the playoffs. It remains to be seen if they can finally reach the Super Bowl.

The NFC East boils down to today as the Dallas Cowboys look to solidify their top standing with a win versus the New York Giants. They also look to avenge the stadium inauguration day loss, and at the same time keep the Giant’s playoff hopes bleak while keeping the Philadelphia Eagles at arms length. The Green Bay Packers for my money are the team to watch for in that wildcard slot if the course runs as is and the Vikings clinch the North. If the Packers had to meet the Vikings again in the playoffs, I would be sure that Green Bay will put up a better fight. No one really seems able to threaten the Saints thus far in the league much less the division, so I will not err on the side of caution and assume they will be the number one seed and go on to discuss the Arizona Cardinals. Interestingly this brings up again my point that the Super Bowl hangover is a real thing. Only in this case where everyone was waiting for the Cardinals to implode, they are in better position than their Super Bowl opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers. I realize one game separates the two, but the Cardinals have the luxury of playing in the NFC West and own the inside track to capture the West title. They could easily be 8-3 right now if not for Vince Young’s amazing 99 yard winning drive last week. The positive to take from that is backup QB Matt Leinart did all he could to get them that win. If Kurt Warner is out for any extended amount of time, Cardinal fans can sort of rest assure that Leinart will get the job done.

Lots of good football left to be played, and whoever is projected to be the number one draft pick next year, ought to start house-hunting in Cleveland, Tampa Bay, or St. Louis! I just realized I quietly jinxed both the 11-0 teams in this column, so I expect both to lose today in convincing manner as a result.

Last week: 9-6-1
Year to date: 70-84-3

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs +6

Oakland Raiders +14.5 @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Houston Texans -2 @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts -6.5

Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons +5.5

Detroit Lions @ Cincinnati Bengals -13

New Orleans Saints @ Washington Redskins +9

Tampa Bay Buccaneers +5 @ Carolina Panthers

St. Louis Rams +9.5 @ Chicago Bears

San Diego Chargers @ Cleveland Browns +13.5

San Francisco 49ers -1 @ Seattle Seahawks

Minnesota Vikings @ Arizona Cardinals +3

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants +1.5

New England Patriots -3.5 @ Miami Dolphins

Baltimore Ravens @ Green Bay Packers -3.5