The Mondays: The playoffs are set

Instead of doing the usual crap, here's a breakdown of all the action on wild card weekend.

We'll start with the Saturday games, which are both being shown on NBC.

Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals- 4:30 PM ET- We have the A-Birds battle going on in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals find themselves having their first home playoff game in over 60 years. It's rookie vs. aging veteran in this one as Matt Ryan of the Falcons faces Kurt Warner of the Cardinals. This should be a very good game. The passing attack is key for the Cardinals. Fitzgerald, Breaston and Boldin will be key for the Cardinals. The running attack is key for the Falcons, who have a powerful 1-2 punch in Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood.

Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers- 8:00 PM ET- Instead of going to a cold Denver, the Colts will head for sunny San Diego. Both teams are hot heading into this showdown. Both teams have combined to win 13 straight games. The Colts won the first meeting earlier this season in a classic battle. You should expect this one to be excellent as well.


Now it is time for the Sunday games, one on CBS, one on FOX.

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins- 1:00 PM ET on CBS- These are two pleasant surprises facing off for the right to go on to the divisional round. Nobody expected these two to make it to this point. Sunday was really the first time I really got to see the Dolphins in action. I was impressed with their Wildcat formation. Chad Pennington has really done well for himself in Miami. And to think, some people thought Pennington's arm was too weak. As for the Ravens, defense and a solid running game has always been their blueprint to success in the playoffs. Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco has really done well this season. He's young, but he'll develop into a good quarterback.

Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings- 4:30 PM ET on FOX- This is an intriguing game. You have Vikings head coach Brad Childress facing his former boss in Philly, Andy Reid. Two solid defenses will square off. Speaking of defense, I wonder how Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is preparing for Adrian Peterson. It seems like a tough task, but Johnson is a mad genius in these playoff situations. This game has the chance to be one of the best on Wild Card Weekend. I don't think we'll be disappointed.


Enjoy your Monday! I'll have the final Loser's Rankings set up on Wednesday.