Part 9 of a 9-part series in which Sharkey and the ManInBlack preview the entire NFL Season, all the way through the Super Bowl…

ManInBlack:

NFC

Wild Card

Bye:  #1 Green Bay Packers, #2 New Orleans Saints

#3 Dallas Cowboys vs #6 Washington Redskins

#4 San Francisco 49ers vs #5 Minnesota Vikings

NFC Divisional Round

#1 Green Bay Packers vs #5 Minnesota Vikings

#2 New Orleans Saints vs #3 Dallas Cowboys

NFC Championship

#1 Green Bay Packers vs #2 New Orleans Saints

AFC

Wild Card

Bye:  #1 Indianapolis Colts, #2 New York Jets

#3 Baltimore Ravens vs #6 New England Patriots

#4 San Diego Chargers vs #5 Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC Divisional Round

#1 Indianapolis Colts vs #5 Pittsburgh Steelers

#2 New York Jets vs #3 Baltimore Ravens

AFC Championship Game

#1 Indianapolis Colts vs #3 Baltimore Ravens

Super Bowl

#1Indianapolis Colts vs #1 Green Bay Packers

Winner:  Indianapolis Colts

Sharkey:

NFC

Wild Card

Bye:  #1 Dallas Cowboys, #2 New Orleans Saints

#3 Minnesota Vikings vs #6 Atlanta Falcons

#4 San Francisco 49ers vs #5 Green Bay Packers

NFC Divisional Round

#1 Dallas Cowboys vs #5 Green Bay Packers

#2 New Orleans Saints vs #3 Minnesota Vikings

NFC Championship

#1 Dallas Cowboys vs #3 Minnesota Vikings

AFC

Wild Card

Bye:  #1 Indianapolis Colts, #2 Pittsburgh Steelers

#3 New England Patriots vs #6 New York Jets

#4 San Diego Chargers vs #5 Baltimore Ravens

AFC Divisional Round

#1 Indianapolis Colts vs #6 New York Jets

#2 Pittsburgh Steelers vs #5 Baltimore Ravens

AFC Championship Game

#1 Indianapolis Colts vs #5 Baltimore Ravens

Super Bowl

#1Indianapolis Colts vs #1 Dallas Cowboys

Winner:  Indianapolis Colts

Sharkey Says:

Say what you will about Peyton Manning, but another thing he’s good at is getting the two of us to agree on something.  We basically view everything about the regular season and the playoffs differently, and yet, both of us have the same Super Bowl Champion.

Will the Colts really win the Super Bowl?  I have no idea.  But at this point in time, if you have to bet on one team, the Colts are the logical choice, right?  Look at the other contenders in the AFC.  Steelers are without their QB for 4-6 games, Ravens have an aging defense, Patriots have an aging organization, Jets have a 2nd year QB who is completely unproven, Chargers are stuck in a world of trouble, and the Bengals are just that… the Bengals.  The Dolphins, Texans, and Titans aren’t good enough to make Super Bowl runs, and every other team is laughable to even mention.

You have to pick the Colts from the AFC, don’t you?  Sure, the first group of teams I just mentioned all have a realistic shot at playing in Dallas in February, and it wouldn’t shock me if any of them made it, but I’m sticking with the Colts.  I truly believe this is a better Colts team than the one that lost the Super Bowl last year.  And I think Peyton will be even hungrier for ring number two now that he’s come this close.

In the NFC, anything can happen.  Cowboys?  Vikings?  Packers?  Saints?  Take your pick.  You can make the case for all four teams that they are the best in the NFC.  And for the most part, you’d be right.  All four of these teams are great.  One of them should be in the Super Bowl.

I’ve bet against Brett Favre his entire career, so why stop now?  I don’t see Minnesota getting to the Super Bowl this year, just like I didn’t believe they could last year.  The Saints may repeat as champs, or they may go 8-8, so I’m not touching them.  I love this Packers team, but until they prove me wrong, I question their ability to win when it counts, so that leaves the Dallas Bleepin’ Cowboys.  Trust me, it hurts to pick them as my NFC representative.  And when push comes to shove, I don’t know if Wade Phillips can get them there.  But I feel like this team is lined up in a perfect storm to make a run to the Super Bowl.

Plus, if the Giants can’t win the NFC this year, there’s a large part of me that is giddy over the prospect of watching the Cowboys LOSE the Super Bowl in their own stadium.  That will be glorious!

ManInBlack says:

Watching the Cowboys lose the big game on their home field would be glorious, but given a choice I’d rather they not get there at all.  Thanks to the strengths of the Saints, Vikings, and Packers, I don’t think they will.

Like Sharkey, I could see the Saints, Packers, Vikings, or Cowboys making the Super Bowl, but I’m drinking the Packers kool-aid.  I just think their defense and pass game are so solid that they’ll show themselves as the team to beat in the NFC.  The game I’d most look forward to is that Vikings/Packers game I have scheduled in the divisional round.  I think that might be the lights-out game of the playoffs if it happened.

The 49ers, meh.  I have them in the playoffs because they’re the best team in a bad division.  They’re out in the wild card.  And even though Sharkey and I had a blogging throw-down about the validity of the Redskins, right now I can’t say that they’ll last too long against the big guns in the conference.

Over in the AFC, I can realistically see any of the predicted six teams making it to the Super Bowl.  Like Sharkey pointed out, however, they all have their weaknesses.  Except for the Colts.  They can be beat in any single game, but overall, they have the team and the tools to consistently be the best team in the AFC if not the NFL.

The only thing I have to gripe about, and its a small point, in Sharkey’s picks was that in the game between the Steelers and Ravens, he has the Ravens winning.  If it were the regular season, I’d let it slide.  But the Steelers are undefeated all-time against division foes in the playoffs.  They’ve never lost.  Luckily, my picks avoided having to match the two against each other, but that would have played into my thought process there.

Otherwise, despite different seedings and matchups, Sharkey and I have 11 of 12 playoff teams the same and the same Super Bowl champ.  So maybe our viewpoints aren’t quite as different as it once seemed.