Jetée

Alright, the final week of the regular season is just a half-day away from commencing, and with that, also, just one full day from the league settling to a clearer picture of how teams will ultimately finish.

All of the toil, aches, sacrifice, and hardships have led to this saving grace of a final regular season game for every single team here on Sunday, yet still, we have questions, no, near-guarantees, about whether or not teams will be treating this week as exhibition games and will be playing without a third of their starting players? What a disheartening notion.

Playoff pictures for teams, (which I contemplated way back in August as a barometer of "acumen/luck") are already set in the NFC, but as to the particular seeds, well, only New Orleans is locked into one, and will be guaranteed a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the SuperDome throughout the playoffs, as due regard toward them being the overall #1 team in the NFC. All other seeds, however, are up in the air, and will only become clearer with the pivotal matchups between Minn. and NYG, and the matchup that will determine the winner of the NFC East, being a clash between Dal. and Phi. once again for rights to hosting a playoff game (and possibly securing a bye alongside NO).
The AZ and GB game, however, is looking to be a schizophrenic kind of duel. On the one hand, if the Vikes lose in the early slate of games, then the Cards will most certainly want to go full-force to have a chance at becoming the #2 seed with a win (and an Eagles loss). But, if Minn. should prevail, then there's not much difference for the Redbirds to play for if they're only juggling between a 3rd or 4th seed; so that will mean resting a majority of the skill positions and very conservative playcalling on the docket, because there is a good likelihood that Arizona might have to be facing this same Green Bay team all over again next week (same goes for Dallas and Philadelphia). With the exception of the Giants, all teams mentioned above will be the NFC representatives in the playoffs.


Looking toward the AFC, it's even more convoluted, but not because of seeding issues; the #1-4 seeds are virtually locked into place, (Colts-1, Chargers-2, Patriots-3, Bengals-4) but that is where ther assurances stop. Wildcards #5 and #6 are still up for grabs, and an astounding 7 teams are battling out for the right to continue their season's efforts past tonight. Bal. and NYJ. are in the best positions to claim it: a win on Sunday against their opponents and they earn themselves a wildcard. But if either of them should lose, they will be opening the door for other such teams like Den., Mia, Pitt., Hou., and even Jac. to usurp their playoff spot.


This is for all the marbles now; what will you be watching today, and what are you looking forward to happening in a best-case scenario for any team of your choosing?

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As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi