Six teams get in, and twelve teams are still alive, but doesn’t it sure feel like just two teams in the AFC are threats to win the conference?

SCOTT JACOBS

The Colts are perfect.  The Chargers are flying like a bat out of hell.

And then there is everybody else.

The NFC has six teams vying for seven playoff spots.  The AFC has 12 teams going after six spots.

On paper the NFC looks boring and the AFC looks chalk full of possibilities.  But in reality, the NFC has a bunch of  quality teams whereas the AFC has a whole bunch of crap.  Crap sells magazines.  Crap spurs the tabloids.  Crap will be the ammo which the NFL will use to sell what should be an entertaining playoff race for the final two AFC Wild Card spots.  But crap, no matter what you paint it, or how you describe it, is still crap.

And that’s the race for the AFC’s final two playoff spots: crap.

The Broncos and Ravens are 8-6.  They currently have the last two playoff spots.  Then there’s a whole bunch of crap below them.

The Chiefs, Browns, Bills, and Raiders have already been eliminated.  Everybody else is at the dinner table, vying for the last half eaten, two hour old breadstick that already fell on the floor (but hey, with the five second rule, or in the AFC the 7 loss rule it’s still fair game).

Indianapolis and San Diego are locks to get byes.  The rest of the conference (as far as Super Bowl hopefuls are concerned) should just say bye bye.

I know, I know.  As I write this Cardinals fans and NFL fans are reading this with that are you f*%^@#! kidding me look?  Arizona won the NFC West last year, played dead the last few weeks of the season, and then rampaged through to the Super Bowl and nearly won it all.  They won 9 games in the regular season.

A Baltimore or Denver slipup would ensure that a seven win team gets to dance in the NFL postseason, and who knows, maybe one of those teams gets hot and makes it to Miami.  But more likely, any team outside the Colts and Bolts is delusional if they think they can be this year’s Cards.

The Ravens are good, and show flashes that they can be great but maybe that’s because they’ve just been feasting on mediocre teams lately.  The Broncos started out 6-0.  Since then: they’re an “ouchtown population you bro!” 2-6.  Another collapse might be in the works for the Broncos who looked like they had it all after stifling San Diego in San Diego many moons ago.  The Dolphins can’t get out of their own way.  Ditto for the Jets who lost an ugly game at home to Atlanta.  The Jags offense was tremendous in a losing effort against the Colts but they are either really good or really bad.  A little over a month ago the Titans were 0-6 and coasting towards a forgettable, nightmare of a season.  They’re red hot, having won six of seven including a big one today against the equally mediocre Dolphins.  The Texans are the NFL’s biggest tease.  They position themselves to make things happen, and then they leave you scratching your head when they blow it– over and over again.  And then there are the champs, Pittsburgh who were onE Roethlisberger miracle away from losing their sixth in a row.

That’s your field.  Really strikes fear into your heart doesn’t it?

Photo: AP

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