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Posted by Will Brinson

The playoffs are very nearly upon us, which is both sad (because there's no more regular season football) and exciting (because we get football with an actual playoff system, which is so novel, ahem, cough, etc, BCS).

With that in mind, here's the playoff schedule for Wild Card weekend:

Saturday, January 8, 2011
Saints at Rams/Seahawks winner, 4:30 PM EST (NBC)
Jets at Colts, 8:00 PM EST (NBC)

Sunday, January 9, 2011
Ravens at Chiefs, 1:00 PM EST (CBS)
Packers at Eagles, 4:30 PM EST (FOX)

After that, things get a little trickier, of course. On Saturday, January 15, 2011, the highest-seeded team between the Colts, Chiefs and Ravens head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers at 4:30 PM EST (CBS). The lowest-seeded team of the Rams, Seahawks, Saints and Packers go to Atlanta to play the Falcons at 8:00 PM EST (FOX).

Then, on Sunday January 16, 2010, the other NFC team goes to Chicago to play the Bears at 1:00 PM EST (FOX). While the other AFC team plays at New England at 4:30 PM EST on CBS.

Then we move onto the championship round -- the NFC Championship game is Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 3:00 PM EST on FOX and the AFC Championship game is the same day at 6:30 PM EST.

The Super Bowl is scheduled for Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 6:30 PM on FOX in Dallas.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Brett Favre is officially out for the Vikings' regular season finale, meaning he's likely played his last game in the NFL, barring an unexpected retirement (which would not be that unexpected I suppose).

In Favre's place, Joe Webb, who looked good last week, will start for the Vikings.

Now, some NFC actives you might want to know about: Chris Ivory, RB, Saints; Robert Meachem, WR, Saints; Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers; Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings;

And the INACTIVES:

Steve Smith, WR, Panthers -- Jimmy Clausen's best weapon is out, which doesn't mean much for Carolina, but is important for Clausen trying to make a case for being a starting candidate next year.

Marques Colston, WR, Saints -- This may not be as big a deal if the Falcons stomp the Panthers as expected.

Sidney Rice, WR, Vikings -- This shouldn't make Webb's job any easier.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, Giants -- As expected.

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Posted by Andy Benoit

Because a handful of teams have nothing to play for in Week 17, deciphering the injury report can be a very inexact – and, frankly, pointless – science. Thus, we’ll only bother analyzing the injury reports from games that carry playoff implications.

Panthers @ Falcons

CB Chris Gamble’s miserable season has already endedwith a thud, as he’s out this week with an ankle injury. WR Steve Smith is questionable and did not practice due to a bad calf.

The only player who is questionable and did not practice for Atlanta is DT Jonathan Babineaux. We’ll use this opportunity to once again state that Babineaux was a major Pro Bowl snub.

Buccaneers @ Saints

Because virtually all of Tampa Bay’s key injured players have already been placed on IR (Arrelious Benn, Jeff Faine, Aqib Talib, Davin Joseph, Cody Grimm), their injury report looks misleadingly thin. Only FB Earnest Graham is worth noting (out with a neck).

The Saints placed KR Courtney Roby (head) on IR this week. Pierre Thomas, fresh at this point because he missed eight weeks in the middle of the season with an ankle injury, will likely continue to handle the kick returns now (though he missed some practice time this week with that ankle). Tight ends Jeremy Shockey (groin) and Dave Thomas (knee) missed practice all week, further opening the door for bourgeoning youngster Jimmy Graham. WR Marques Colston is “questionable” but, more likely, “doubtful” after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday.

Rams @ Seahawks

The Rams are healthy – everyone practiced. The Seahawks had a somewhat surprising contributor at practice Friday: QB Matt Hasselbeck. Looks like he’ll try to play despite a strained left hip. Hasselbeck’s security blanket, WR Brandon Stokley, is questionable after not practicing with a head injury.

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Posted by Will Brinson



Got a link for the Hot Routes? Hit us up on Twitter (@CBSSportsNFL).

• Ron Artest apparently said at Christmas time that he wants to play tight end for the Jets. All "could this guy actually make the transition from the NBA to the NFL" analysis aside, is there an NBA player who fits better for a particular NFL team better than Artest and the Jets? "Crazy Pills," as Artest is commonly known, wouldn't even be a blip on the radar for that organization.

• 287 carries, 63 receptions and zero fumbles for Ray Rice this season. You know, for all those people who think he was a wasted top-five draft pick in fantasy.

• Mike Tice's stock is quickly rising when it comes to assistants who are potential head coaches. This is logical -- the Chicago Bears have one of the least talented offensive lines in football and yet Tice and Mike Martz have managed to make them pretty, pretty productive ever since the Bears' bye week.

• Would a rookie wage scale increase the number of underclassmen who bolt for the NFL? Well, not necessarily, but maybe so if that makes any sense. If not, check out Mike Florio's breakdown on how the changes in a future CBA would impact kids leaving college early.

• With two catches on Sunday, Derrick Mason would join a pretty exclusive club. Currently, Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzalez are the only two players to ever catch 60-plus balls in 11 straight seasons. Two receptions for Mason would get him there.

• Charlie Campbell of PewterReport.com reports that Cadillac Williams will "explore [his] options" in free agency. But Caddy also mentioned how much he loves playing for the Bucs. Which is good, because his free agency options will likely be pretty limited.

• Alan Faneca is contemplating retirement. That's the sort of thing that happens when you have to block for Derek Anderson, Max Hall and John Skelton all season.

• The Cowboys signed kicker Kris Brown, who's expected to give David Buehler a run for his money as the starter in 2011.

• The Falcons are looking forward to playing the Saints again, but they won't make too much (publicly anyway) about the Saints celebrating on Atlanta's home field after Monday night's victory.

• Roy Williams inexplicably compares himself to Michael Jordan. Maybe he was talking about the minor league baseball player?

Posted by Andy Benoit

Saints wideout Marques Colston had an arthroscopic procedure done on his right knee Tuesday. He’s had a history of issues with his left knee. The Saints are saying he is questionable for this Sunday against the Bucs.


Clinton Portis thinks he can still be an elite running back. (They all do.)


No surprise here: Chad Ochocinco is expected to sit out the Bengals’ season finale.

We’re refusing to write yet another article on which Niners QB gets the start, which is why we’re passing along the news in Hot Routes this time. (This week’s starting QB will be Alex Smith.)


John Harbaugh says he’ll likely keep his starters on the field against the Bengals. The Ravens can still win the AFC North if the Browns somehow upset the Steelers. Both of these games will be played at 1:00.


Speculation about John Harbaugh’s brother, Jim, joining the 49ers is continuing to heat up.


Devin Hester hopes to keep the Packers out of the playoffs. He says they’re a good team and he’d hate to face them three times in one year.


Is Tuesday night football in the NFL’s future? The ratings for the Vikings-Eagles game were huge (23.7 million viewers).


If the Seahawks win Sunday and make the playoffs, they’ll cost themselves about 10 spots in the 2011 Draft.


Giants Pro Bowl guard Chris Snee is defending his head coach/father-in-law.


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Posted by Andy Benoit

Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem is expected to be okay after getting hurt in a collision with a photographer on the field after the Saints’ win at Atlanta Monday night. Meachem had just had a 100-yard game and had to be carried off.
Sean Payton was not at all please with the situation.

"I heard about it," Payton said, according to Nakia Hogan of Nola.com. "I think he's going to be fine. You can make any type of light of it that you want but there's an issue though. I have an issue when there's free rain.

"You guys recall the preseason game in where the Titans mascot ran over our quarterback in our first preseason game in '06. The guy running around on the four-wheeler who has no restrictions at all and rolls up the back of the punt returner at that time, our quarterback Adrian McPherson. So everyone wants the picture; everyone wants the shot. You have a guy that's backing up and falling over a player and I have an issue with that. I think he's going to be fine. He got treatment today and we'll see where he's at."

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Posted by Andy Benoit

The NFL has announced the AFC and NFC Pro Bowl rosters. Snubs are an inevitable part of the equation each year. Below are the key names left out, with an explanation for why.


Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers

A simple case of too much talent at one position in the NFC. Vick, Ryan and Brees all play for teams with better records.

Chris Johnson, RB, Titans

Same story as Rodgers: MJD has been an MVP caliber contributor for the Jags, Arian Foster is the league’s leading rusher and Jamaal Charles is to the Chiefs what Johnson is to the Titans (the only difference is the Chiefs have won this year and the Titans haven’t).

Andrew Whitworth, OT, Bengals

Cincy’s left tackle was the surprise leader in fan voting at his position, but clearly players and coaches did not think as highly of the former guard/right tackle. No surprise – offensive linemen from bad teams generally don’t become first-time Pro Bowlers.

Ben Grubbs, G, Ravens

How in the world does Logan Mankins make it when he’s only played eight games? (Keep in mind, when fan voting closed last week, he had only played seven games). Mankins has been the best guard in football when he’s been on the field, but that hasn’t been often enough this season.

Olin Kreutz, C, Bears / Scott Wells, C, Packers

Kreutz has not been dynamic this season, but the man who got his Pro Bowl slot is Shaun O’Hara. O’Hara has played in just six games. SIX! And the last two weeks have indicated that the Giants are actually worse with him in the lineup New York’s rushing attack was rolling with Rich Seubert at center, but it stalled once O’Hara returned.

Kyle Williams, NT, Bills

A lot of people have been trumpeting the undersized but energetic fifth-year pro, but the harsh reality is you can’t honor any member of a Bills defense that ranks a distant 32nd against the run and 27th in total sacks. And there’s absolutely no arguing that Williams is better than Wilfork, Seymour or Ngata anyway.

Jonathan Babineaux, DT, Falcons

The defensive tackle position in the NFC was a case of a player from a high profile team (Jay Ratliff, Cowboys) getting recognized ahead of a more deserving player from a lower profile team. Babineaux has been a beast for a Falcons defense that relies heavily on big plays from its front four. Ratliff has had his worst season in three years. St. Louis’ Fred Robbins also got snubbed here.

Tamba Hali, OLB, Chiefs

LaMarr Woodley and Shaun Phillips got snubbed, too. But what are you going to do? We knew there would be this issue with the OLB position in the AFC – there are simply too many stars this year. The Pro Bowlers at this spot, Harrison, Wake and Suggs, are all deserving.

Lawrence Timmons, ILB, Steelers

Steeler coaches said he was the best linebacker on the team this season. The best linebacker in Pittsburgh rarely gets overlooked, especially when the team is a Super Bowl contender. But it’s hard to edge out Ray Lewis. And the AFC’s other ILB, Jerod Mayo, has been spectacular in New England.

Brent Grimes, CB, Falcons

DeAngelo Hall had one amazing second half earlier in the season against the Bears…and that was all it took to get him to Hawaii. Four of Hall’s six picks on the year came in that game. For the rest of the season, when he wasn’t making his two interceptions, Hall was missing tackles and giving up completions in man coverage. Grimes, on the other hand, has been a playmaker (five interceptions) AND a stopper. Heading into Week 16, opponents had completed just 47 percent of passes thrown against Grimes.

Roman Harper, SS, Saints

Harper is the key to many of Gregg Williams’ blitz packages. The NFC’s Pro Bowl strong safety, Adrian Wilson, is a big-name player but very limited cover artist.


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