Who is going to come out of the NFC?

What is going on with the NFC?

The Man Speak has noticed that all of the top teams in the conference, namely New Orleans, Minnesota, and Arizona, have really been struggling the past few weeks.  Swallow your drink and take a really deep breath because reading this may cause you to choke, but could the Dallas Cowboys be positioning themselves for a Super Bowl run? 

We think so.  After their impressive win in New Orleans on Saturday night, the Cowboys seem to have as much momentum as anybody in the NFC at this point.  Could we them matching up with either the Colts or the Chargers come February?  If the analysis on the three below means anything, it could be very likely. 

All of the hype this season has been surrounded around the New Orleans Saints, but the Saints have not been playing good football for 3 weeks now.  They barely escaped with a win at lowly Washington where they were saved by a missed field goal from under 30 yards (did anybody feel an deja vu for a second last night?).  They barely got a victory over a Falcons team that was missing both Matt Ryan and Michael Turner.  And then there was Saturday night, where the scoreboard made the game seem close, but really, the Cowboys dominated the ball game in the trenches on both sides of the ball.  It will be really interesting to see if the Saints can recover, especially now since the injury bug seems to be hitting them a bit. 

The Vikings, as we type this, are getting man-handled by the Carolina Panthers.  This is two out of three weeks where the Vikings have gone on the road and just laid an egg.  It should be cause for concern and we realize they had nice win against a legit Cincinatti Bengal team between the two awful performances, but after tonight, are they going to be able to just turn it on again come playoff time?  Adrian Peterson hasn't been consistent the second half of the season, mainly because he hasn't got the touches that are so vital and make the team so good.  And Brett Favre's decision making is beginning to waver.  After being unbelievable in his first 11 games with only 3 picks, in the Vikings last 3 games, Favre has gone for 3 touchdown's versus 5 interceptions.  When the Vikings remember to focus on running the football, they will become the favorite once again.

And the Cardinals?  Are they who we thought they were after the Vikings game 3 weeks ago?  Tough to say.  One week after getting clubbed by the 49ers, the Cardinals barely squeeked by the Detroit Lions, who couldn't beat a football team fielded The School For Blind Deaf Women Who Are Left-Handed.  I'm not sure Kurt Warner's head is not still spinning and the defense can't defend much. 

This leaves us with the Cowboys and the team that never seems to go away despite all of their injuries, the Philadelphia Eagles.  If these two teams can some how avoid facing each other in the first round, I think the three year-long favorites should be very aware of these two suddenly hot teams. 

Honestly, we think it may be Tony Romo's year.  It better be, or Wade Phillips might be standing in the unemployment line. 

Enjoy! 

Cruddy