NFC Playoff Table Week 11: The Door Is Still Ajar

Ok, I know. I know. The Vikings have no chance to make the playoffs. They've lost their last four games to fall to 4-6. They've been beaten by such world beaters as Green Bay, Miami, Buffalo and San Francisco. Their offense makes the Wing-T seem prolific. There's nothing the Vikings have done over the last four weeks that makes them look like a playoff team.

But here's the thing--despite they're best attempts to knock themselves out of the race, they're still in it. While the Vikings were busy allowing other teams to win with 9 points, return turnovers for touchdowns and making Brett Farve look like he's still good, their competitors were matching them suck for suck. St. Louis has lost 5 in a row. The Falcons have dropped three in a row, while the Saints have lost their last two. If the playoffs ended today, da Bears (9-1), Giants (6-4), Panthers(6-4) and Seahawks(6-4) would win their divisions and the Cowboys (6-4) and Saints (6-4) would sneak in as the wild cards. Which means the Vikings are only two games back, something that a 5-1 finish would likely take care of. Now, I know it's a pretty big stretch for the Vikings to go 5-1 when they still have to play at Chicago, St. Louis, New York (A) and at Green Bay. But it's not like any of the teams besides Chicago are locks for the playoffs.

I think they can do it.






Ok, fine. I'm being naive and stupidly optimistic. The odds of this team, lead by the dynamic duo of Johnson to Robinson, winning five of their last six to sweep into the playoffs, are miniscule. It's not going to happen, and the sooner we can all accept that, the better.

Since I'm going to be taking the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving (and because I need to push the table down so the formatting isn't messed up), it's time to decide whether Dennis Green, the Sheriff himself, is going to be the coach that puts the final nail in the Vikings' coffin (requiring me to find something new to write about on Wednesdays). The Cardinals are coming off a victory, have a hot shot rookie quarterback (Wouldn't it be nice if we had one of those?) and a pair of star recievers. Their line, while mediocre, has done a better job of protecting their quarterback than the Miami line that only gave up one sack to the Vikings. Thankfully, their defense is porous at best, ranking in the bottom third in the league against the pass and the run, and have given up the 7th most points (trust me--you don't want to know which team is last).

Rationally, I think this Vikings' team is done, and I think that the Cardinals will beat them if they continue to find ways to lose the game offensively. That being said, I have to believe for my own sanity that the Vikings are going to pull this one out, even if it takes two touchdowns from the special teams and defense. Which are all the touchdowns I think the Vikings get: Vikings 17, Cardinals 10.




[As usual, the playoff table follows]







[Just a bit more...]

























Here it is:

Team	Record			NFC Record	Tiebreakers		Tiebreaker Games Left	Division Games Left		Opponents Left
MIN	4-6			4-3	SEA, CAR		STL	@GB, @DET, @CHI		NYJ, ARZ
NYG	6-4			5-2	ATL		@CAR, NO	DAL, PHI, WAS		@TEN
PHI	5-5			4-3	GB, SF		CAR, ATL	@WAS, @NYG, @DAL		@IND,
DAL	6-4			3-3	CAR		NO, @ATL	@NYG, PHI,		TB, DET
NO	6-4			5-1	PHI, NO		@DAL, @NYG	@ATL, CAR		SF, WAS
ATL	5-5			3-3	NONE		DAL, @PHI	NO, CAR, @TB		@WAS,
CAR	6-4			4-3	STL		@PHI, NYG	@ATL, @NO		@WAS, PIT
SEA	6-4			5-3	NYG, STL		GB	@AZ, SF		@DEN, SD, @TB
STL	4-5			3-3	GB		@CAR, @MIN	SF, AZ		CHI, @OAK, WAS
GB		4-6	3-4			NONE	@SEA, @SF		DET, MN, @CHI	NYJ
SF		5-5	4-3			MIN	@NO, GB		@SEA, @STL, AZ	DEN