At the start of 2009, however, few pundits predicted that fate.

The Packers, their young and improving offense and still questionable defense were supposed to be at least a year or two away from contention. Yet, here they are at the end of the season playing as well as anyone in the league.

And as the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals – the Packers’ first round opponent on Sunday – can testify, getting hot at the right time is what playoff success is all about.

Today we examine this weekend’s Packers-Cardinals matchup in the Wild Card round of the NFC Playoffs.

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals

• Packers-Cardinals Date: Sunday, January 10th
• Packers-Cardinals Kickoff Time: 4:40 ET
• Packers-Cardinals TV Network: FOX
• Packers-Cardinals Announcers: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
• Packers-Cardinals Point Spread: Packers -1 (as of 1/8)
• Packers-Cardinals Over-Under Odds: 47
• Packers-Cardinals Spread Pick by Jerod: Packers -1
• Click here for great deals on Packers-Cardinals Tickets

Note: The information above is taken from the NFL Playoffs Wild Card round TV schedule, spreads, and picks post from earlier this week. Keep in mind that spread information is from early in the week. For updated spreads and other up-to-the-minute playoff handicapping info, here are some links for your convenience:

• DocSports: NFL Odds | NFL Picks
• DocSports: NFL Playoff Predictions | NFL Playoff Tree | NFL Playoff Brackets | NFL Playoff Schedule

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Packers-Cardinals Analysis

Weren’t the Packers supposed to wait their turn this season?

Everyone claimed it was Chicago’s year, that the Bears were a veteran team built to “win now” and would battle the Vikings tooth-and-nail for NFC supremacy. So much for that. The Packers, who opened 2009 as football’s youngest team, are way ahead of schedule.

Wasn’t the defense supposed to struggle in its first season under a 3-4 scheme?

Few defenses adjust to the 3-4 as quickly as the Packers did this year. Under Dom Capers’ defensive regime and largely boosted by draftees Clay Matthews ad B.J. Raji, the Packers finished with the NFL’s No. 2 overall defense. Defensive Player of the Year hopeful Charles Woodson led a smothering pass “D” and will be counted upon this Sunday to shut down Larry Fitzgerald. Amazingly, after it was arguably their biggest weakness last season, the Packers also now have the league’s top run defense.

Wasn’t Green Bay’s offensive line supposed to be its downfall?

Early in the season, it looked that way. Aaron Rodgers took hit after hit and was sacked an alarming 37 times in his first eight games. Then, something clicked. The line came together and allowed only 13 sacks in the final eight games. As a result, Rodgers sparkled; he became the first man in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in his first two seasons as a starter. His passer rating of 103.3 was higher than Brett Favre’s best in 16 seasons with the Packers.

It didn’t look that way to start the season, but this Packer team seems built to beat Arizona.

The Cards’ have good playmakers on defense like Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie but Rodgers doesn’t make many mistakes and should carve up Arizona’s 23^rd-ranked pass “D.” As much as Beanie Wells could be Arizona’s back of the future, the Cardinals still had the 28^th-best rushing offense in the league. That doesn’t bode well against the No. 1 run defense.

It’s inevitable that the Pack will put points on the board this week, so the onus is on the ageless Kurt Warner to respond. Even with Woodson all over Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin out, Warner will probably find a way; the Cards are 5-1 without Boldin over the last two seasons. But he’ll probably take his share of licks, too; he holds onto the ball forever and the Packer pass-rush is greatly improved.

Since many of these Packers haven’t played playoff football before – namely, Aaron Rodgers – an implosion could happen. On paper, though, Green Bay tops Arizona in virtually every category. They should win and it could be a second-straight beatdown.

Packers-Cardinals Spread Pick: Packers -1

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* – Charles Woodson photo credit: Otto Gruele Jr./Getty Images via SI.com

The NFC playoff bracket, on the other hand, is set. Interestingly, it kicks off next week with two Week 17 rematches.

Next Saturday, the Green Bay Packers travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals. (Follow the link if you’re interested in Packers-Cardinals playoff tickets.)

On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles travel back to the Death Star in Arlington to face the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys. This will be third meeting between the division rivals this season. The Cowboys won the season series 2-0.

Both of these games were blowouts in Week 17. I think it’s reasonable to assume that we’ll see more competitive matchups next weekend.

The #1 seed New Orleans Saints and #2 seed Minnesota Vikings await the Wild Card round winners in the Divisional Round in two weeks. Once the Wild Card round is over, the teams will be re-seeded, with the Saints facing the lowest ranked remaining seed.

I’ll put the TV schedule and spreads together later this week.

This post is for 2008!!!

Follow the link to see the 2009 NFL playoff picture and Week 17 scenarios for the AFC and NFC.

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On Sunday night, I posted the AFC Playoff Picture and Scenarios as we head into Week 17, the final week of the regular season.

Now that the Monday Night game is over, we can take a look at how the NFC Playoff Picture and Scenarios line up with all of the Week 16 action in the books.

First off, here are the NFC teams that have clinched playoff spots as of today:

• The New York Giants have clinched the NFC East title and a first-round bye, along with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
• The Arizona Cardinals have clinched the NFC West and a first round home game.
• The Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons have both clinched playoff berths.

If the season ended today, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Minnesota Vikings would be in the playoffs, but their spots are not guaranteed. The Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and Philadelphia Eagles all still have a chance.

In my AFC post, I tried to break down each of the potential Week 17 scenarios and what it would mean for the playoff picture. Because I failed to read through the tie-breaker procedures properly before posting, my projections were full of errors (that were later corrected in the comments section — thanks to those to who pointed them out.)

The NFC is much more up in the air than the AFC, so instead of trying to break down every scenario, let’s just go team-by-team and figure out what needs to happen for them to get in:

Playoff Scenarios for NFC East Teams Still Alive:

New York Giants: In with home-field advantage, as mentioned above.

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys are in the playoffs if they win. It’s that simple. Should the Cowboys lose to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, they are out. However, should the game result in a tie, the Cowboys could still sneak in if Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Chicago all choke in Week 17.

Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles need to beat the Cowboys and have Tampa Bay lose to Oakland. Additionally, one of the following must happen: Chicago or Minnesota must lose.

Playoff Scenarios for NFC North Teams Still Alive:

Chicago Bears: The Bears win the NFC North if they win and Minnesota loses or ties. If the Bears tie Houston, they need Minnesota to lose. Additionally, the Bears can clinch a wild-card spot with a win if both Dallas and Tampa Bay lose or tie. If the Bears tie Houston, they can still clinch a wild-card spot if both Dallas and Tampa Bay lose.

Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings win the NFC North if they beat the Giants. If they tie the Giants, and the Bears lose or tie, the Vikings still win the NFC North. If the Vikings tie the Giants, they could still claim a wild-card spot if both Dallas and Tampa Bay lose.

Playoff Scenarios for NFC South Teams Still Alive:

Carolina Panthers: They have already clinched a playoff spot, and can clinch the NFC South title and a first round bye if they beat New Orleans in Week 17. If they lose in Week 17, Carolina still wins the NFC South and a gets a bye if Atlanta loses to or ties St. Louis.

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons have also clinched a playoff spot already, and can still win the NFC South and get a bye if they beat St. Louis and Carolina loses to New Orleans.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: If Tampa Bay beats Oakland in Week 17, they need Dallas to lose to Philadelphia. If so, they’re in. If Tampa Bay ties Oakland in Week 17, then a bunch of different iterations of the Cowboys, Vikings, and Bears losing or tying will still get the Bucs in. The chances of them tying Oakland are pretty slim, so I’m not wasting any more time writing about it. Tampa Bay needs to beat Oakland. If they don’t, they don’t deserve a spot.