I won’t bore you with my playoff scenarios on how they stand this week. You can look them up on nfl.com or your favorite place for NFL info. This week I want to focus on the teams that are on the fence and trying to get in, or get out as the case may be.

Let’s start with the AFC where the playoff picture right now is coming into focus. Right now it looks like the Colts, Pats and Steelers are going to win their divisions. The Chargers and Broncos have some important business to settle this coming Sunday which may very well determine the division winner.

If Denver finds a way to lose at San Diego they could very well be out of the playoff picture. With games at KC and Tennessee and homers against the Colts and Miami, I am predicting them to go 9-7. If however, they can pull off the win, I think they might make things interesting.

In the battle for the AFC Wildcards, the Jets look the most solid coming down the stretch. They have imminently winnable games against Houston, Seattle and New England at home and St. Louis on the road. They may drop the game at Pittsburgh, but they are still solidly in at 12-4. Baltimore gets my other nod. Games at home against Cincy, the Giants and Miami bookend the roaders and probable losses to the Steelers and the Colts.

The NFC is much more wide open right now. Philly and Atlanta seem like locks for their divisions. Seattle is still battling with the Rams for the West and Minnesota and Green Bay are dueling for the North.

When the smoke clears I believe you will see a 7-9 team (Rams) make it in. Minnesota will win the North and Seattle the West.

So here is what I see.

In the AFC, the Steelers (1) and the Pats (2) will have opening week byes. The Colts (3) would host the Ravens (6) while the Chargers (4) would host the Jets (5) on that opening weekend. The Colts would then be obliged to go to New England while the Chargers would go to Pittsburgh. The Colts would then have to go to Pittsburgh, where the wheels will finally fall off the Bus and off of Big Ben and the Colts go to the Super Bowl against….

In the NFC, Philly (1) and the Falcons (2) would have opening week byes. Minnesota (3) would host the Rams (6) while the Seahawks (4) would host the Pack (5). Philly would then welcome the Pack, while Atlanta would host Minnesota. Minnesota would then travel to Philly where the Eagles will clinch only their second Super Bowl only to lose to the Colts.

How’s that for ya?

Here is this weeks Top 10….

1. Pittsburgh-The Steelers look balanced and effective. They play good solid D and with their running game and receivers they are poised to run the table. Their test, I feel, will be in how Big Ben reacts to the playoffs.

2. New England- It was a slow rolling, 3-0 game for a while against the Ravens, and then, depression set in. Pats score 21 unanswered to crush the birds.

3. Philadelphia- No contest against little Eli and the Giants. Things are almost guaranteed to heat up this week v. the Pack.

4. Indianapolis- Do you realize how close the Colts are from being number 1? The Colts are hitting on all cylinders right now and there seems to be nothing that anyone can do about it. Trap game at home v. Titans this week.

5. San Diego- Count yourself lucky if you got these guys early in the season. They aren’t giving up much these days. AFC West is on the line this week against Denver.

6. Green Bay- Team coming together at the right time. This week in Philly will decide the fate of their season, IMO.

7. NY Jets- It has been ugly, but the Jets have found a way to win two in a row without their rag-armed QB.

8. Atlanta- Are these punks ever going to play anyone? Talk about overrated!

9. Minnesota- With Moss back they can resume their hunt for the NFC North title. Trap game in ORD this week.

10. TIE-Denver/Baltimore- Both of these teams lost in ugly ways Sunday. Denver to the shitty Raiders and Baltimore just flat died in second half at NE.

I know this is a little late, but I really didn’t want to sit in front of the computer much over the weekend. On Thursday, the Colts beat the piss out of the Lions 41-9. In what has become the typical Colt game, the team pretty much took it to the Lions and never let up until the game was well out of reach. Even then, the Lions had no answers.

I’ll start with the bad, since there was so little. Early on the Colts D looked like it had regressed yet again. They allowed the Lion RB’s to run pretty much at will. Bryson and Jones aren’t household names, but Jones was certainly trying to a Turkey Leg, bacon press or whatever Phil Simms was giving away. But ultimately the D held the Lions to FG’s and the game tone was set. Eventually Rob Morris even got involved causing a Joey Harrington fumble. Morris actually led the team in tackles.

Some moron over on indystar.com started singing his praises and telling everyone he was a great player and we were all wrong who said otherwise. Morris has played better this year, but he is simply not NFL caliber.

Robert Mathis got another sack and pushed his season total to 10 and into a tie for first in the NFL. This kid is something else. He has Freeney’s speed, but he really is a linebacker. Still he has got game.

Offensively what can you say about the Colts? Edge got 105 yards on 23 carries. He is now on pace to crack 1700 yards for the season. He also caught another 3 for 16 yards. But once again the real story was Peyton Manning. PM threw SIX touchdown passes. Three to Marvin and three to Stokley. PM now has a passer rating over 124 for the season and is on pace for the new record and is on pace to throw 60 TD’s. Although the way he has been playing of late, more is possible. Anyone questioning Manning right now is just jealous, foolish or both.

This week the Titans are in town for a divisional matchup. We have to stay focused and beat these turds. Thanks to the Vikings, the Jags have dropped a full 2+ games behind the Colts in the AFC South. The Titans dropped to 4-7 after losing to Houston yesterday and are looking to play spoiler. I don’t see it happening, but that is why they play the games.

With yesterday’s action it is becoming apparent the Colts, Pats and Steelers will win their divisions. The Chargers took a step forward by beating KC and by Denver losing at home to the Raiders. Right now the Ravens and Jets would be the wild card teams and Denver would be left out. Stay tuned!

I have to tell you, writing about the Colts the past couple of weeks has been a joy. They have so much going right now I don’t think anyone could beat them. I’m not saying they will win the Super Bowl, just that at this time, no one could beat them.

But there are also other teams out there still getting it done. The Steelers played a less than stellar game, but got over on the Bengals. Cincy is just about finished with a 4-6 record. If they were in the NFC they might be okay, but in the AFC, they are toast.

New England also pretty much eliminated the Chiefs last night. The loss drops the Chiefs to 3-7 behind both San Diego and Denver in the west. Philly also kept things rolling with a big win over the lowly Redskins.

So we are 10 weeks into the season. The playoff picture is nowhere near set, but some teams are already out (mathematically or not) and some are on the bubble. Here is my rundown of the teams and how they stack up for the rest of the season.

AFC

In the East, Buffalo remains proud and plays hard, but 4-6 in the AFC is Deadsville. The Dolphins at 1-9 might be the worst team in the league right now and are out.

In the Central, it will take a miracle for the aforementioned Bengals to get in. Likewise, the Browns seem to be out. In fact, Butch Davis might not even make it through next week if they lose at Cincinnati this Sunday.

In the South, Houston and Tennessee are both 4-6. Even with a returning McNair the Titans seem to be toast. They could play spoiler though. Don’t look for them to lie down v. the Colts in 12 days. The same thing can be said about the Texans. You know they are spoiling for a fight after being humiliated in Indy last week. Still, no playoffs in their future.

In the west, KC is done and the Raiders are a mess. Neither team can do anything by spoil now. For that matter, that is all they have done anyway.

So that leaves the other 8 fighting for six spots. As we stack up right now:

East Champ: New England 9-1
North Champ: Pittsburgh 9-1
South Champ: Indianapolis 7-3
West Champ: Denver 7-3

Wild card possibilities:
NY Jets 7-3
San Diego 7-3
Baltimore 7-3
Jacksonville 6-4

If it ended today the Ravens and Jets would get in as the 5 and 6 seeds and the winner of the Colts-Broncos game would be the 3 seed while Pittsburgh would be the 1 seed.

NFC

The NFC is a mess. Only Philly and Atlanta have established themselves as legitimate division winners and the 1 and 2 seed respectively.

In the East, the Cowboys and Skins are done. At 3-7 each they just stink. Welcome back Coach Gibbs. The Giants are hanging on, but are just this close to being out at 5-5.

In the North, the Pack and the Vikings are both 6-4, but the Lions and Bears at 4-6 are pretty much done.

In the South, NO and Tampa are 4-6 and are out. Carolina is 3-7 and will not be in the Super Bowl again this year.

The West has San Fran at 1-9 and Arizona at 4-6. Both would seem to be out, but the Seahawks lead the division at 6-4 so the Cards could still figure in to the final.

If the playoffs started today this is what you would see:

East Champ: Philadelphia 9-1
South Champ: Atlanta 8-2
North Champ: Green Bay 6-4
West Champ: Seattle 6-4

Wild card possibilities:

Minnesota 6-4
St. Louis 5-5
NY Giants 5-5

First seed would go to Philly, second to Atlanta, third to Green Bay and fourth to Seattle. 5th and 6th would go to Minnesota and St. Louis respectively.

Again, though, this is just if the season was finished now. And in the NFC, anything can happen!

With all of that out of the way, here is this week’s top 10:

1. Pittsburgh-Started to show some chinks in the armor. Big Ben was not good and he will fall.

2. New England-They just get it done no matter what. Nice win over Chiefs at KC last night. D is getting better.

3. Philadelphia-Big win over division opponent. Defense is still a questions mark.

4. Indianapolis-Annihilated the Bears on Sunday. PM threw another four TD’s and while the D only played the Bears, they are improved.

5. Atlanta-Mike Vick spoiled Eli’s debut, but they are still iffy.

6. San Diego-Drew Brees for President. He may have a leech on his face, but he is a gamer!

7. Baltimore-Great D effort on Sunday v. Boys. They say Boller is improving, but I am not sure.

8. Denver-They seem to win when it looks like the wheels will just fall off.

9. Green Bay-They have really turned it around, but they are still miles from the top of this list.

10. NY Jets-Finally get a win, but God do they need Pennington.

Short week for the Colts so I will try to have some more up on Friday.

Another Sunday and another stellar Indianapolis Colt performance. It was all about the Blue Sunday as the Colts rip up the lowly Bears 41-10. Frankly, it wasn’t even that close!

The nuts and bolts are this: Peyton Manning threw for 211 yards and 4 more TD’s. Edge ran for 202 yards, a TD and caught for another 11. Reggie had 111 receiving yards and a TD. Marvin had two TD’s and Marcus got one. Vandy added tow FG’s for the 41.

So complete was this domination that it was 41-3 at the end of the third quarter and Manning and Edge were spelled. Not until 93 seconds remained on the clock did the Bears manage to score. This was a blowout by all definitions.

One really nice thing was the way PM got Marvin in the game. He threw a couple bad ones to him and then Marv dropped one. But then he caught everything else, including his TD’s. Manning was brilliant. Stokes and Reggie were great as well. Edge ran like the rookie Edge. Raw, decisive, with power and with grace. On one play he spun three times avoiding tacklers. He gained 35 on the play.

The Bears say they are still not impressed. Well fuck those losers. Looks like another year watching on the sidelines in January. Not impressed? I guess they would have won with Urlacher in there. Yeah, right. Face it Boars, you lost because you suck as a team. Did you think you were going to the playoffs with the likes of Craig Krenzel at the helm? Ah, you people are probably dumb enough to think you were.

Now up is Detroit. The Lions always seem to play well on Turkey Day. However, I doubt if they are ready for the Colts. This team is hitting it’s stride. Maybe it’s a tad early, but I like what I see. This team is poised for greatness. Let the Bear fans talk all they want. They know they are an inferior team and if it makes them feel better to say were not any good then so be it. Typical when it comes to that fan base. Losers!
The short week does present some problems, but it does for both teams. Hopefully, and probably, we will be able to overcome having to play two roaders in 4 days

Week 10 is in the books and with the exception of the Pittsburgh Steelers most things seem to be shaking back to normal. The Colts have won a couple in a row against some decent competition. NE has back to back wins after dropping to Pitt and the Eagles are back after their 49-21 beat down of the Cowboys last night.

A couple of other teams are also born again, or so it would seem. Green Bay has won four in a row, while the Rams have somehow assumed first place in the NFC West. Not that it really counts for much.

I’m going to keep it brief today. The Colts appear to have escaped relatively injury free. The only real news to report is that Tupe Peko sprained his ankle and is probably out for the Bears and Lions game. Gilbert Gardner will also miss the games with a bad hammy.

I am still a little shocked at how the blowout win is being perceived. Should have taken PM out, should not have thrown, should have let Edge score. Wahhhh-fucking wahhhh. We won, won big, get over it!!

Here’s the Top 10….

1. Pittsburgh-After two stellar weeks the Steelers looked human, but still won on the road.

2. Philadelphia-Absolutely humiliated Parcells and the ‘Boys last night.

3. New England-Back to their winning ways with good game at Bills.

4. Indianapolis-Blowout of Texans shows who is king of the division.

5. Baltimore-The D is good enough to win games. The QB will eventually stop them.

6. Denver-Really, after the top 4 there ain’t much and this team proves it.

7. Green Bay-Solid wins last 4 weeks has this team back in the top 10.

8. Atlanta-This is a playoff team, but that is about it.

9. NY Jets-They played tough against Ravens, but without Pennington they suck.

10. San Diego-One wonders when the bubble will burst. This week at Raiders bodes well.

Colts 49 Texans 14, and to be honest, it wasn’t even that close! The Colts came out yesterday and just killed the outmanned team from Houston. The Texans looked like a first year expansion tea and the Colts looked like a combination of the 85 Bear defense and the 80’s era San Diego Chargers on offense.

Peyton Manning threw for 320 yards and 5 touchdowns. He would have been perfect had he not thrown a couple of picks. But in all honesty he showed why he has to be the front-runner for the MVP. He has now thrown 31 TD’s and is on pace to shatter Dan Marino’s season mark of 48. He is also on pace to throw for 4887 yards. Thing is, he is seemingly getting better each week.

At this point, the only thing that can stop the Colts offense is the Colts. Not that it can’t happen but unless there is real friction between P and Marvin or if Edge is unhappy then I doubt if anything stops them. And any of this hogwash that Polian is instructing Manning to throw less to Marvin to get his salary demands down is just that. Hogwash. If Marvin hasn’t earned it by now in Polian’s eyes then he never will. This just isn’t happening; I don’t care what you hear.

But what a day yesterday. Red Bull and vodka, beer and Jager before the game. Excellent weather. The fans behind me kept telling me the usher wanted me, but I think she’s married.

So now it is on to Chicago. The second game of the 4 in 17 day swing that culminates in Detroit on Thanksgiving. The Bears have been hot of late. Craig Krenzel, the rookie from Ohio State has been playing solid, if not spectacular and their D is hitting their stride. Unfortunately for them, they have not faced anything like the Colts have. The Colts will have to play a smart game and keep injury free since the Lions game comes on the heels of the Bear game.

Sit back and enjoy Colt fans, this is when it should get good!

It was a wild and raucous house Monday night at the dome as the Colts beat the Vikings 31-28. As bad as they were the week before, they were that good Monday. Well, for the most part.

The bad first: Rob Morris was simply awful. Finally, and mercifully the coaches pulled his sorry ass in the second quarter and he played sparingly the rest of the way. Since he is not on today’s injury report I can only assume someone is wising up to this idiot. To paraphrase Olivia Newton-John in Grease, he’s a fake and a fraud and I wish we would have never drafted him. If Polian keeps him, Polian should be fired. It is just that simple.

Special teams kick coverage. Sorry2. They gave up another touchdown on a punt and the other teams are always starting about the 40. They say ST are all heart and hustle. If that is the case then we have some sorry cats out there trying to break into the lineup. We may never have a great defense, but these guys CAN improve.

The Good: Gotta give it up for the D this week. They held the vaunted Vikings O to 292 yards of offense and only 3 scores. Granted that moron Moss didn’t play, but it was still a good solid effort. Dwight had 2 sacks. Should have had 3. Honestly, with Dwight, Mathis, the Hitman, Doss and Thornton we don’t have a bad nucleus of a D. Unfortunately, guys like Harper, David (he tries, too small), Morris and Nelson bring us way down. Reagor and Brock I like, but they are too small to play their front lie positions. Still, it was a good effort against Fumblepepper.

Peyton Manning. Nuff said! This guy is on fire. 28 touchdowns, 4 picks. He is on pace to smash every single season passing record in the books. Sure, stats don’t tell the whole story, but Manning is having a superb season. If he is not the top candidate for the MVP it is rigged. Yes, he had a lousy first half last week, but he fought back and almost got the team there.

Edge is running like the Edge of old. He had another 123 yards Monday and caught 5 for another 56 yards. This guy is playing his heart out. Anyone who says he doesn’t want to be here is a damn fool, and there are a lot of them out there.

It was almost a complete great experience. Beer and Jager Bombs at the K&G, then drinks at the Embassy and on to the game. Costanza made it pretty trying with his constant negativity, but he will learn or die.

It was an interesting weekend in the NFL. Pittsburgh claims the top spot in the top 10. A great game against the Eagles had TO and McNabb at odds. The Giants looked like they were going to kill the Bears in the first quarter at the Meadowlands, but the Bears came back and killed them. Arizona pretty much killed Wanny in Miami as he resigned yesterday despite the owners entreats not to. And in San Diego, Drew Brees just keeps going and going and…

And to the mix I add this. I am now predicting that the St. Louis Rams will return to Los Angeles. I have a feeling the deal is already done. No doubt St. Louis will get another team and soon, but the Rams are headed back.

Without further ado here are this weeks top teams…

1. Pittsburgh-Run, pass, play defense. They do all three well and they succeed because of it.

2. New England-Maybe it was only because they played Mike Martz’s Rams but they played a typical Pats game. Solid in all areas.

3. Philadelphia-If there really is friction between TO and Soupy they will be out of the top 10 within 3 weeks.

4. Indianapolis-Can’t let down now, but they looked like a team on a mission Monday night.

5. NY Jets-A hiccup at Buffalo? Pennington out two weeks will tell if this team learned anything last year.

6. San Diego-Brees is doing it with little of LT and some solid D.

7. Denver-Impressive win against Texans after sound beating at the hands of the Falcons.

8. Baltimore-That D is good enough to mask the O deficiencies. But for how long?

9. Minnesota-Different team without Moss. Different as in not as good.

10. Atlanta-Coming off bye week has not been good to teams this season.

Well the Colts really let me down Sunday. From Peyton Manning, to the entire defense (except the Hitman) to the coaching staff they laid a real stinker out there.

Before anyone cries that it wasn’t Manning’s fault let me say this. The D was the biggest culprit. They forces KC to punt only one time and allowed scores on every set but the first and the last. This defense is so terrible right now it just blows my mind. Where to start?

Our traditional whipping boy Rob Morris actually got off to a decent start this season. However, in the past 3 games against the Raiders, Jags and Chiefs he has completely sucked. Slow to the play, out of position and no tackling. Great MLB. This guy has got to go and the sooner, the better. His contract is up this year and if Polian signs him again I may not renew my tickets.

Jason David is a rookie CB. He has had a couple of picks but he is a midget and can’t cover anyone over 5’11” tall. He is constantly beat. His counterpart, Nick Harper is no better. These guys start 10 yards off their man and still get scorched. Neither is NFL caliber.

Idrees Bashir has been steadily declining since he arrived. Add to that, he is always hurt. He admitted he was lost out there Sunday. He can’t cover, hit or help. Mike Doss, the other safety is a decent hitter, but is too slow and now he is injury prone. The Hitman Sanders finally showed what we all expected Sunday. If he keeps it up he is the future.

Up front Reagor and Brock are too small to make a difference and Freeney is constantly double covered or making bad moves. Cato June at LB is too slow. Robert Mathis is a nice player with lots of speed and potential, but he needs to be put on rush detail more often.

Which brings me to the game plan. We generally rush 3 guys. How, if you have 8 guys in coverage do you give up all those passing yards? Seems to me we should drop 7 in coverage and add a rusher. Maybe if we get some pressure on the QB then we can help the porous D backfield out. I don’t know why this seems so hard to understand but TD and D coordinator Ron Meeks seem unwilling to mix things up.

Offensively Manning had gaudy numbers and played a great second half. But we all saw how he played in the first half. He missed three TD passes and several other passes. He was overthrowing in a non wind situation. Like I said, he has to take some of this blame. Especially since he is the one making that kind of money. Is it unrealistic to think he will be perfect? Sure it is, but ANY NFL QB has to make the throws he was missing and if you are PM you REALLY have to.

This one hurt me emotionally. Standings wise we lost ground to the Jets and the Steelers, but JAX and NE both lost as did Denver. So it could have been a disaster.

Next up is the big Monday nighter against the Vikings. Another high-powered offense. Their QB Fumblepepper is having an MVP year. Mwelde Moore has filled in nicely for the injured Michael Bennett and the suspended Onterio Smith. This thing will probably be another shootout. I have grave doubts if the Colts can win. I am really disappointed in them right now.

Here is this weeks top 10:

1. Philadelphia-I said NE would stay here until they lost. They did and now the Eagles take over, but #2 is knocking at their door.

2. Pittsburgh-How about a round of applause for the state of Pennsylvania! The Steelers knock off NE and for their reward, they get the Eagles.

3. New England-Still solid, but a turd hunt on Sunday.

4. NY Jets-Improved to 6-1 with shellacking of Miami last night.

5. Minnesota-Good team, bad schedule. This week against Colts at Indy.

6. Indianapolis-Homer probably has them this high because he doesn’t think they are as bad as they were Sunday.

7. Jacksonville-Tough loss at Houston Sunday.

8. San Diego-Drew Brees for Preisdent!

9. Baltimore-Had a shot against Eagles. No offense=no win!

10. Kansas City-Bad record but his team is on the rise, like it or not!