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  Down to 4 teams now in the chase for the Lombardi Trophy – could anyone have imagined that neither the Saints nor the Packers would be in the NFC Championship game?  The Giants are like a bad dream happening all over again – did we hit a wormhole and go back to 2007-2008?  Like last time, they seem to be getting healthy and peaking at just the right time.  They didn’t get the Packers best effort by any means, but they beat the team that just about everyone already had penciled in for Indianapolis.  “Greg”, the resident Giants fan in my office can barely contain himself.  Time to work from home…

• Although it disappoints me greatly that the Cowboys are nowhere involved, the Saints -49ers game last weekend was maybe the best game I”ve ever watched.  Before Drew Brees and the Saints could even start celebrating their last score, Alex Smith (no, that’s not a typo) drives the 49ers the length of the field with only 2:09 remaining and scores the go-ahead touchdown with 9 seconds left.  Alex Smith – the same guy most 49er fans wanted to run out of town as recently as this last off season after 6 pretty awful seasons (albeit surrounded by some awful teams).  That goes to show you that if you give Romo that kind of supporting cast, he could take us a long way.  Does anyone think Alex Smith is a better QB than Romo?  I don’t. (more…)

How much does he regret starting the Dream Team hype?

This is certainly not a ‘must-win’ game, but it is nonetheless an extremely important contest that will likely have playoff ramifications down the road. The Cowboys need to continue the 1-game winning streak, get on a roll, and prove that last week’s excellence was more than just playing a terrible team.  If the Cowboys can manage a win in Philly, it could very well end the Eagles chances of making the playoffs.  It is very unlikely that they could recover from a 2-5 record.  If the Eagles were eliminated from playoff contention, that would essentially leave just the Giants as serious competitors in the division (I think that Washington is in the beginning stages of a long downward spiral). Moreover, division wins are important because they are used to determine the Division Champion if two teams have the same record (this often leads to a bye and/or a playing a game at home).

Click on the link to read about what I will be watching for this week. (more…)

(AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Gill Brandt was the chief talent scout and vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys for 29 years. From 1960-1989, Brandt evaluated talent for Tom Landry and Tex Schramm. He is part of what made the Cowboys who they are today. And if Brandt says Dallas should trade with their NFC East rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, it should be taken seriously.

Brandt, now NFL.com’s main personnel guru, has suggested that both the Cowboys and Eagles could improve their clubs by making a deal before next week’s trade deadline. In an article published yesterday on NFL.com, Brandt explained the trade in detail: (more…)