By Zack Cimini

The regular season is almost already over, and it?s still impossible to figure out which team is the front runner. All signs point to the proven Patriots in the AFC, and the Eagles in the NFC. But Pittsburgh and Indianapolis look like they?re ready to take over the throne. In the NFC, Donovan McNabb and company have been due for a long time. All of the hard work Andy Reid has done with five straight eleven win seasons is finally going to pay off, or will it? The Panthers are one of the hottest teams in the league, and Mike Vick is the most dangerous quarterback on his feet.

So with three regular season games left, let?s take a look at how the season will likely finish.

AFC

Pittsburgh: It might be the best if Ben Roesthlisberger gets his first loss before the playoffs start. If not the Steelers could be in for an awakening when the playoffs come around. Ben has made great decisions with the football, but he has also been able to get away with throwing minimal passes. What?s going to happen when the Steelers surrender a lot of points to a team like the Colts, and are forced to have to throw the football? Another concern is the question marks with Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis. Staley has been banged up this season, and Bettis is contemplating retirement because of his ailing body. All in all the Steelers have had a great season, and it?d be a shame to see an early exit.

New England: The Patriots could end up getting complete home field advantage if the Steelers slip up, but the control is not in their hands because of their head to head loss. No matter what happens though, Brady and the Patriots know how to win games. With the addition of Corey Dillon paying dividends, it?s only going to add to the prolific January play of the Patriots. The concern for the Patriots is on the defensive side of the ball, where they?ve struggled especially in the secondary without Ty Law.

Indianapolis: If the Colts defense comes to play, than no one will stop the Colts regardless of where the game is held. Peyton Mannning has always been able to pick defenses apart, but it was always his interceptions that held him back. Now he is an unbelievable zone, but still hasn?t had a solid playoff run. With the tough teams in the AFC, now is the time for Manning to distinguish himself as he tries to add to the legacy of the greatest year of a quarterback.

San Diego: The Chargers will be the young guns of the playoffs, which could be an advantage or a strong disadvantage. If a team jumps on them early, it could sink their charge as fast as a Duracell battery. But if they come out and get on a team early, they could quickly build confidence that pushes them along. With the three headed monster in Brees, Tomlinson, and Gates, the Chargers shouldn?t have any problem keeping up with opposing offenses. The question is will Brees be able to keep his composure for a complete game.

NY Jets: The Jets are in the fifth spot right now, but better keep themselves afloat with at least a 2-1 finish. If not the Bills or Broncos could slip ahead of them. Chad Pennington is one of those quarterbacks that isn?t flashy but also knows how to win games. The Jets are also the one of the best teams at controlling the football. That means they win a lot of games ugly, but the key is a win. A lot of these AFC teams are use to getting on and off the field at a fast pace, so if the Jets can disrupt that than they could be a true sleeper.

Baltimore: The play of Kyle Boller will determine if the Ravens get in the playoffs. He has improved, and now has weapons Jamal Lewis and Todd Heap back. Baltimore is just one of those teams that you don?t know how they?re going to play on any given week. Their defense isn?t even a definite stopper anymore, as they?ve been susceptible to certain teams.

Others: Jacksonville, Buffalo, and Denver
Out of all of these teams Buffalo has the easiest remaining schedule. The two wild card spots are only a .5 game (Denver) and a 1.5 (Buffalo, Jacksonville) out for the three teams. Neither of these three teams are as strong as the current playoff outlook.

NFC

Philadelphia: Donovan McNabb came into this season with one agenda and that is to win a Super Bowl. Winning division titles and getting a first round bye is nothing knew to him. So when Philadelphia clinched the division a few weeks ago, it was an after thought for the Eagles. Staying focused as a team is what leads to success, and that is what the Eagles are doing. Slipups like last weeks game against Washington cannot happen, or a team like Carolina will be able to defeat the Eagles with ease.

Atlanta: If Vick can just pick up his style of play just a little more, it would benefit the Falcons so much more. He has so many dangerous arsenals but isn?t utilizing his arm like he can. Peerless Price needs more touches as a deep threat, and Alge Crumpler is one of the best tight ends in the league. The negative media against the Falcons will only ease the pressure off of them, and put it on the Eagles. For some reason the media thinks the Falcons are already a write off for an early letdown once the playoffs come.

Green Bay: The determination of the division title will most likely come in week sixteen, when the Packers square off against the Vikings. Neither team has played on a consistent basis and that?s what makes both teams dangerous. Brett Favre?s age is becoming a factor, and this could be his last chance to give Green Bay another title. There is no doubt that he will reevaluate if returning for another beating is necessary. He already has his Super Bowl ring, and has nothing else to prove.

Seattle or St. Louis: One of these teams has to win the division, and the signs point to Seattle right now. They have the best back in the NFL in Shaun Alexander, and also have no questions at the quarterback position. St. Louis is undergoing a transformation with Stephen Jackson at running back, and Chris Chandler subbing in for Marc Bulger. Even if Bulger can go out there, it may be too late. The good thing for St. Louis is that they own the tie breaker over Seattle and the fact that Seattle has a tough final three games.

Minnesota: As soon as Randy Moss is 100 percent this team turns into a serious threat. As soon as he went down the Vikings slide started, and you can just see this team ready to take off with him playing 75 percent of the time. If the Vikings can stay in this spot they could find themselves in a great situation to get to the NFC championship. They?d face the Rams/Seahawks in the wild card weekend, and if things work out the Falcons in round two. In the end Mike Tice could end up getting paid more money than a coordinator or being fired if they exit early.

Carolina: Carolina will end up being the scariest sixth seed in playoff history. Not only are they the reigning NFC champs, but they?re riding a five game winning streak that could be eight by playoff time. This team is getting healthier by the game, and only one could imagine how dangerous this team could be with DeShaun Foster and Stephen Davis. But Jake Delhomme has managed to transform this team into a passing attack instead of rushing and it has paid off. Mushin Muhammed has stepped up big time as of late, and will need to continue it to go along with Keary Colbert and Ricky Proehl.

by Zack Cimini

The San Francisco 49ers are a red hot undefeated team?? against the Arizona Cardinals. For the second time this season the 49ers and Cardinals played completely different halves, that led to two overtime wins for the 49ers. Earlier in the year, the Cardinals were up big and let the 49ers come away with their first win. Sunday, Arizona almost pulled off an incredible comeback of 25 points, but fell just short in overtime and lost 31-28.

Josh McCown didn?t throw any touchdowns, but displayed a solid arm for the first time this season. He was able to hit all of his receivers, which led to Anquan Boldin, Bryant Johnson, and Larry Fitzgerald getting involved. It?s about time, because these three receivers form one of the best trio?s in the league. You have to figure next year?s offense will be similar to what the Raiders had a few years ago, when Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, and Jerry Porter all had effective years.

Dennis Green knows that the Cardinals current four game losing streak, and fall out of the wild card playoff race is all on his shoulders. The Cardinals are a 4-9 team, that could of easily won two games against the 49ers and pulled out another one or two games if McCown would have been playing. Even though Green is a veteran coach, you always learn, mature, and evolve as a coach.

McCown should be the starter for the final three games, and maybe he can persuade Green to give him enough trust for the next season. The heart and showmanship the Cardinals displayed Sunday truly shows that this team isn?t going to give up on any game no matter the circumstances. This would have been the perfect game to see if the Cardinals are a team that rides together, or just folds. The 49ers were a 1-11 team, and in the past a former Cardinals team would have kept letting the score pile up.

Still in all this developmental year for the Cardinals was disappointing. Seattle and St. Louis opened the door for wide open for the Cardinals, but the cracks caved in abruptly with the Cardinals 4-9 record. The only way they can get in is if Seattle loses their remaining three games, and if St. Louis only wins one of their final three games. That would put the division at a three way tie at 7-9, which would give the Cardinals the division title.

That scenario is definitely wishful thinking, and won?t happen unless Santa is really looking at bearing a special gift for the Cardinals.

By Zack Cimini

Dennis Green continues to play hot potato when he named John Navarre as the Cardinals new starter. Green is taking a lot of heat for his decisions, but the fact is they aren?t getting enough production from their quarterbacks. They have three talented receivers, that he wants utilized in a proper way. Green already knows that he can?t count on McCown or King, so why not give Navarre a shot?

At 4-7 the Cardinals are still alive for their division title, let alone a playoff spot. In fact every team in their division is on a losing streak, and it just happens the Cardinals play all three of their division mates after this week against Detroit.

For now though the Cardinals have to focus on defeating Detroit. Detroit was a hot team at the beginning of the season when Joey Harrington was showing progress. Since then though, Harrington has struggled to do anything and they?ve faded off the map. With Navarre getting his first start this game will be the worst of the weekend. Which brings up the fact even more that maybe McCown should still be the starter. Sure he didn?t make any big plays, but he only threw four interceptions. Two of them came last week in the fourth quarter against the Jets, when he was trying to make a big play.

One thing that?s for sure is that Green needs to settle on one of his three to finish out the year. After this week, all of them will have displayed their abilities as starters. It would have been better for Green to do this tryout during the preseason, instead of banking on McCown as soon as he was hired.

If the Cardinals win this week, they?ll be 5-7 and actually control their destiny of winning their division. They?ve already defeated St. Louis and Seattle this season, so if they beat them again they?ll own the tie breakers over both of them. It is sad to say but the division winner will more than likely finish at 8-8.

There once was a time that the NFC reigned and the AFC had no hope of contending with them. The good old days when the Dallas Cowboys would beat up on Buffalo every year, and when the 49ers, Packers, and Vikings were always a step ahead of most AFC teams. Well the Denver Broncos ended that streak in the late 90?s, and since then the AFC has slowly shifted into the most dominant conference. What does this mean to the NFC?

Besides the Philadelphia Eagles there might not be another team in the NFC that would get a playoff spot if put in the AFC. That?s right even the Falcons would have a hard time, and most likely would get a fifth or sixth seed. There are way too many teams in the NFC that are in playoff contention that shouldn?t be. Who knows though, any of those teams could gain momentum at any period of time and then make a run in the playoffs. The 95? Colts were able to do it, and it shows what a young team can do.

When have you ever seen a team start off 1-4, and take the division lead four games later? I don?t think it has ever been done, and the scary thing is that they could qualify for a first round bye if they can catch Atlanta. Teams like Arizona, Chicago, Detroit, and the NY Giants are all teams that will be the future of this conference and might get a chance this year just because of the weakness of the NFC.

It shouldn?t be that weak though if it weren?t for the inconsistent teams. St. Louis has kept almost the same group of offensive and defensive player?s from their Super Bowl years, but yet lost to Miami. You just can?t do that if you want to be a serious contender. There are such things as looking over a team, but when you lose that much focus then you?ll never be a threat.

The Seattle Seahawks looked like a team that would challenge the Philadelphia Eagles for control of the conference when they started off strong. But they have let their own division hurt them, with losses to the Cardinals and two to the Rams. With their division close nit that could really hurt them down the road when it comes to a tie breaker. The Seahawks main downfall has been their defensive struggles. They should be okay if they can get back together as a unit, because their offense is one of the best in the league. Anytime you have a Pro Bowl running back, quarterback, and wide receiver then you have a chance at making a successful run at any time.

Jim Haslett and the Saints have to be the most disappointing team in the NFC over the past recent years. Since Aaron Brooks took over for Jeff Blake it has been an up and down carousel ride for this team. Just when they look like they?re going to do something they lose to a pathetic team. Then they play a solid team like Kansas City last week and show up and get the win. This team just doesn?t make sense, and that?s what makes them scary. They have the talent to be the team in the NFC, but at 4-5 it might be another year that goes down the drain.

Minnesota needs Randy Moss back immediately before they lose any ground on the Green Bay Packers. Moss is expected to miss one more game this weekend against Detroit, and that could lead to problems this weekend. Even though Detroit is one game below .500 they?ve stayed in the majority of their games this season, and that could pay off this weekend. Another scary thought is that if things play right, all four teams in the NFC North could be 5-5.

When your team is faltering blame it on the quarterback. That seems to be the route most teams take when things are going wrong. Who can blame them, if their team is losing they need to look ahead into the future for the team?s best interest. A lot of teams gain chemistry at the end of the year, that ends up carrying over to the next season. That way a team doesn?t have to go into the next year without any chemistry and has a knack with their quarterback. This upcoming week there will be three quarterback changes but only one of them was a shock.

Down in Miami it has been a circus all year, and now that Dave Wannstedt is out the Dolphins will give AJ Feeley a look again. Feeley has displayed a solid arm and the ability to move the ball a little better than Fiedler. But he has made too many mistakes, which almost always results in a touchdown for the other team. So if he can settle down in that department and not force throws, than Miami could have a quarterback next year. Basically Miami knows that Jay Fiedler?s time has ran out and Miami, and they need to know if Feeley has what it takes. He?ll get the rest of the year to prove himself, and if he fails then Miami will know not to bank on him next year, and bring in a proven veteran to compete with him in training camp.

With the New York Giants we all knew that sooner or later that Eli Manning would get a chance this year. All that Tom Coughlin was waiting for was a slide, and the Giants have done just that by losing three of their last four games. Still the Giants are 5-4 and in a shaky NFC Conference, so you have to wonder why Coughlin would risk the rest of the year. Maybe he thinks Manning could be a Roeslinberger and get this team going. More than likely that?s wishful thinking, and Manning will struggle to get this team to finish 8-8. But gaining experience is a plus at the end of your rookie season, instead of starting your second year without any. When the off season comes around his quarterbacks coach will be able to improve plenty of little mistakes that will make Manning a more polished quarterback for his second season.

Mark Brunell was brought into Washington because he is a Joe Gibbs type of player. But his hey day as a starting quarterback has shown over the last few weeks, and frankly he?ll probably be a veteran backup the rest of his career. Patrick Ramsey is in the Drew Brees stage of his career. Over the past two years he has shown amazing potential at times, but hasn?t moved anywhere near past the same mistakes he was making as a rookie. Some of the interceptions he has thrown in relief of Brunell this year have been worse than rookie mistakes. He should settle down, and be able to utilize Clinton Portis to make his passing game effective. With the cluster of teams in the NFC with four and five losses, the Redskins aren?t out of the picture with six. In fact, it wouldn?t be shocking to see an 8-8 team make it into the playoffs from the NFC. If it does happen just imagine how Miami will feel, after they didn?t qualify last year after finishing 10-6?

As the year continues to wind down more and more situations at quarterback will continue. You can almost bet that Bill Parcells will let Drew Henson get an early start on next year, because there is no way a 43 year old Vinny Testaverde can be a starter. Maybe Parcells is thinking he should have stayed in retirement, because it?s looking like Parcells might fall into the same situation that Jimmy Johnson did when he went to Miami. Sure it?s only his second year, but the Cowboy?s are for sure going to have at least one more rebuilding year before any success.

By Zack Cimini

For an organization that has had winning ways since the 70?s, it is disgusting to see what is going on in Miami. The downfalls and declines of a franchise are inevitable, but they aren?t supposed to come in full swing like the case has in Miami. It just goes to show there is no such thing as a franchise player in sports. You just can?t put your faith and trust into one player nor an organization. It doesn?t matter how much talent an individual has, because once you?re on the field it is a team game. If you don?t have the right nucleus of players, you?re going to collapse. That?s one of the main reasons New England has been a successful team.

Wannstedt?s step down on Tuesday ended another phase in Miami history. People tend to forget that Wannstedt came in right after the Jimmy Johnson and Dan Marino fall in 2000. It was right after Miami?s last horrible spotlight when they were blown out in the second round against Jacksonville. Jimmy Johnson then decided to retire, and Wannstedt made it well known that he wanted to go in another direction at quarterback. He made the decision even before Dan Marino was ready to retire, and Marino as a result came close to becoming a Viking. Marino did retire though, and the downfall that was expected to happen in Miami didn?t happen right away.

Jay Fiedler came in and took the reigns without a problem, and who can forget the year Lamar Smith had? When Miami ran wild on the Colts in the first round and Lamar Smith broke a single game playoff record, it looked like Miami would build on that success. But one thing that never changed in Miami, was their late season collapses. One year they were 9-5, and just had to win one game to get in the playoffs and lost their final two. Last year they finished 10-6 but still didn?t make the playoffs because of a couple of bad losses. So the lone playoff victory Wannstedt had will be his last in Miami.

It?s amazing the ups and downs a coach goes through, but this time around it is impossible to place the blame all on the coach. Sure Miami could easily still be a .500 team if they would have handled a few games better this year. But when you have too many what if scenario?s something is wrong.

Wannstedt?s was more than likely fed up with this year, and will have early offers from other teams as the season winds down. It?s a career move that was smart on his part, because being a coach in Miami will become the oh no as a coach now. The tag that use to go to the Arizona Cardinals, Bengals, etc. will finally be a Dolphin as sad as that is. There really is know upside in Miami for awhile. The defensive player?s aren?t going to want to rebuild. Especially player?s like Jason Taylor, Sam Madison, and Zach Thomas who have been with Miami since the Marino years. They are going to want to move on and have a chance to win somewhere else. Offensively, there isn?t an area that they don?t need to work on. You can?t have an offense without an offensive line, so that should be there first focus. Jay Fiedler has been banged up all year long, and the running game has been pathetic. So they need a running back, quarterback, and an offensive line. Whew, the sun and hopes in Miami have finally been dissected and squashed to a yearly trip with a top draft selection.