Super Bowl Scenarios

Technology is good for some things, not many but some. One of those good things is the Yahoo Scenario Generator for the NFL Playoffs. By simply selecting your choice for the winner of each game in Week 16 and Week 17, you get to see its corresponding effect on the playoffs picture.

There are so many different scenarios that it really defies explanation. But by actually seeing the picture change, things become more easily visualized. One thing that became very clear is that, even if the Jets beat Seattle on Sunday, if they should lose to Miami in Week 17, the Jets will be eliminated.

That’s as it should be, I think. If you have to really worry that Seattle will beat them, 3 and 11 Seattle, what chances would they really have against a good team? How exciting would it be to see them smashed in the first round?

Whatever your fan base affiliation, you have to like the upcoming end of the season. A few scenarios yield pleasant surprises. The Eagles, the Bears and even the Falcons could wind up playoffs-bound, McNabb and Forte and Matt Ryan could get their shots, but I don’t expect it.

In the NFC, only the Redskins, Packers, Lions(ho-hum), Saints, and ¾ of the NFC West are out of it. And the games coming up this weekend are terrific matchups, starting on Saturday night with the Ravens-Cowboys matchup, a battle that I expect the Cowboys to win.

In the NFC, my scenario turned out Carolina and the Giants as the 1 and 2 seeds, in that order unfortunately, and then had the Bucs playing the Vikings in Minnesota. The Cowboys would then face the Cardinals in Arizona.

In the AFC, the Steelers and the Titans would get the byes, while the Pats would face the Fish at Miami. In the other wildcard game, the Colts would face the Broncos in Denver.

Taking these predictions a little further, I can’t believe the Vikings would get by the Gruden-led Bucs, no matter that they’d be playing in Minnesota. The Bucs will stop Adrian Peterson, and then squash either Frerotte or Tarvaris Jackson. There’s almost no way the Cards could beat the Cowboys. You could make them play naked in the desert and the Cards would be folded. Bent and mutilated too.

So it’ll be Carolina vs. the lowest seed, Dallas, while the G-Men would face the Bucs again, as they did last year, at Giants Stadium this time. No doubt, there would be the same result.

I do think the Cowboys, who will have been on quite a run by this time, will beat the Panthers, even in Carolina where the Panthers have been dominant. The Boyz are a different team with Romo.

Those results would yield another Cowboys-Giants NFC Championship game at Giants Stadium. I won’t predict the winner of that war at this time. I’ll have to see the manner in which the G-Men play the Panthers this Sunday at home.

I don’t expect them to beat the Panthers this weekend. Yes, Jacobs is back but I’m not convinced that he’ll be all the difference, especially if the Giants offensive line remains banged up. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers running tandem of Williams and Stewart will be enough to keep the Giants off the field for long stretches. Eli hasn’t been super in those scenarios. It’ll be a low-scoring game, a real defensive struggle, and I expect to see quite a few field goals. Call it 19-17 Panthers.

I do expect the G-Men will take the measure of the Vikings in Week 17 though, especially after the indignity of losing their 1 seed at home the previous week. They’ll be ferocious at Minnesota. While they’ll have trouble offensively, they’ll stop the big guy Peterson and make mincemeat of Tarvaris Jackson.

In the AFC, Tennessee just lost the toughest, scariest defensive lineman in the entire league, Al Haynesworth. And VandenBosch is hurt too. Depending on their recoveries, the Steelers definitely become the favorites to make the Super Bowl.

The Patriots are banged up too, but not enough to lose to the Dolphins in Miami in the first wildcard game. The Dolphins will have spent a lot of their energies beating the Jets in the final week while the Patriots will have been coming off easy wins against the defenseless Cards and the coachless Bills.

The Colts should beat the Broncos in Denver but I wouldn’t bet on it, not the way they played last night against the Jaguars. Their running game is very suspect and, in a shootout of a game, I could definitely see the Broncos play inspired ball at home, especially if it snows.

The Broncos have shown progress on defense, and they have the strongest arm in the league in Jay Cutler, the scariest wide receiver in Brandon Marshall. They have good tight ends and are even showing signs of running the ball, be it Pope or Bell or any number of other guys, Young, Hillis et al. The Colts have trouble with any kind of determined running game.

A Broncos win would inject some life into the playoffs. The Steelers and Titans just aren’t that exciting, especially the Titans. The Steelers at least have Big Ben, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes to complement a GREAT defense.

The Pats would face the Steelers in Pittsburgh after the Pats vanquish the Dolphins. This game should be another wipeout of the Patriots, something I always long to see. The Steelers have already crushed the Pats in Foxboro, 33-10.

The Broncos would then face the Titans in Tennessee. I’d expect the Titans to take them, especially after the Broncos great effort the previous week. But if the Broncos can stop the run, anything’s possible.

The Titans or Broncos would then lose to the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The Black and Gold would advance, just too much Palamalu and defense.

So it’ll be the Steelers vs. Dallas or New York. Stay tuned.