No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

NFC Fear Factor: Cowboys are conference's most dangerous team By Steve Wyche | NFL.com
Senior Writer


After 17 weeks, we finally know the playoff teams in the NFC and where each is seeded, 1-6. But what would the seeds look like if the teams were put in order of fear factor?

The New Orleans Saints, for example, started the season unbeaten through 13 games, then lost their final three and had to hang on to the conference's No. 1 seed. They won't face an opponent until the divisional round, but when they do, will they be feared?

They certainly have little momentum, and now they have a week to get healthy and fix things.

"The key now," said Saints coach Sean Payton after Sunday's 23-10 loss to Carolina, "is to get ourselves mentally and physically refreshed and ready."

But the blemishes have already been exposed for all to see.

Here's one man's list of how the NFC's playoff teams would be ranked in order of how feared they are going into the postseason:

1. Dallas Cowboys (11-5, No. 3 seed)

Beware of this red-hot team, winners of three straight and five of their last seven. Dallas has shown to be the most physical team in the postseason on both sides of the line.

The offensive front is road-grading, giving its trio of tailbacks room to run and allowing quarterback Tony Romo time to make the right decisions. Defensively, Dallas is making life troublesome for opposing quarterbacks with Jay Ratliff, Anthony Spencer and DeMarcus Ware living in the backfield.

Romo has been the main ingredient for the team's solid late-season play. He seems unflappable, which has been a huge departure from his past. He relies heavily on tight end Jason Witten and No. 1 wideout Miles Austin with good reason. Romo is taking few gambles with his throws, and that ball security has been a big reason for Dallas' late-season success.

It's a deep run through the playoffs -- or bust -- for this evolving team.

Fear factor: 8.5

2. Minnesota Vikings (12-4, No. 2 seed)

Securing a first-round bye and a home game, as well as regaining its swagger, in a the regular-season-ending rout of the Giants was huge for the No. 2 seed.

The Vikings' identity is that of a passing team with a powerful running game as a complement. Quarterback Brett Favre was the missing piece and by letting him play the way he knows how, Minnesota is a much better team.

There are still some concerns about pass protection on the edges, but Favre's multiple options -- slot receiver Percy Harvin looks back to form -- allow him to get out of potentially dangerous situations.

Minnesota has shown it plays better with a lead, when it can turn its defensive front loose. The secondary is still not sound against the pass, a potential problem considering all of the opponents in the NFC can design favorable matchups, especially if targeting those where safeties have to cover.

Fear factor: 7.5

3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5, No. 6 seed))

The multiple weapons on offense are too much for most of these teams. Wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are slippery and tough man-to-man covers. Tight end Brent Celek might be the best receiving tight end in the playoffs. Slot receiver Jason Avant has quarterback Donovan McNabb's trust. McNabb has been here too often to let his team buckle under the pressure.

The Eagles have protection issues and can't/don't run the ball effectively, as it showed in the season finale against Dallas (10 running plays for 37 yards). Any breakdowns up front could be problematic. Dallas has shown in its two games this season against Philadelphia that the Eagles' big plays can be neutralized.

Defensively, the Eagles have solid corners, but they give up long passes because they gamble at times. The run defense also is suspect and opposing tight ends have had some big games. These aren't the physical Eagles on defense that we're used to, but they're good nonetheless.

Fear factor: 7.5

4. Arizona Cardinals (10-6, No. 4 seed)

When dialed in, no team might be scarier. We saw that last postseason when the defense was opportunistic enough and the offense was downright scary.

What has made these Cardinals potentially more dangerous is that they get after opposing quarterbacks. They are sound at nearly every defensive position and have the most physically imposing safeties in the NFL, giving inside receivers pause about being too cavalier across the middle.

Offensively, the Cardinals' passing attack is too confounding to cover, but the lack of a consistent running game could come back to haunt them. The receivers' ability to make yards after the catch is huge because it forces defenses to never relent.

Since they have the flexibility to play against any style of team, the Cardinals could prove problematic if they don't mentally wander, as they are prone to do.

Fear factor: 7.0

5. Green Bay Packers (11-5, No. 5 seed)

Everyone seems to be overlooking Green Bay and that is a dangerous thing to do. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is playing every bit as good as, if not better than Favre, Romo and McNabb. The once shaky offensive line, since the midseason re-addition of Mark Tauscher, has been radically improved, and Rodgers has the time he needs to make plays. The line also is opening holes for Ryan Grant, who quietly has rushed for more than 1,200 yards and shown bursts of speed that has caught defenses off guard.

Defensively, the Packers have been very strong against the run and forced 40 turnovers this season. Versatile cornerback Charles Woodson has allowed the secondary to design schemes to protect prone areas, and the team's athletic and aggressive outside linebackers are making the move to a 3-4 defense look brilliant.

Though a wild card, the surging Packers, winners of seven of their last eight, can play with any team.

Fear factor: 7.0

6. New Orleans Saints (13-3, No. 1 seed)

The No. 1 seed opened the season 13-0, but went out with a mighty whimper. Three straight losses to conclude the season exposed some cracks.

They are vulnerable to teams that can hit them with repeated haymakers, the defense isn't nearly as opportunistic as it was early, and the offensive line isn't nearly as reliable as it once was.

In the Saints' final three games, opponents gained 1,205 yards. If opponents can limit the big play, New Orleans' offense isn't nearly as threatening as it was during its run of success.

New Orleans has the quarterback to be able to turn things around quickly, but this team needs to find its mojo during the bye week. If it has to face a rugged foe such as Dallas or Minnesota, teams with punishing ground games and dominant defensive fronts, the Super Bowl might not include the Who Dat Nation.

There has only been one Super Bowl champion in NFL history that entered the playoffs with a losing streak of at least two games, and none have done it with a three-game skid.

Fear factor: 6.5

There's some motivation for our players.

(And kudos if you read the thread title in Jabberjaw's voice)

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

Nice way to spin it you clown .... our MVP candidate didn't play the last game and they rested alot of players so I'm not putting much stock in this 3 game loosing streak. Sean will get it turned around for the playoffs

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

The worst part is that Vic Carruci still put the Colts as the 2nd most dangerous team in the AFC. I don't have much respect for NFL.com's writers.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

The Chargers have had the Colts number in the playoffs the last couple years. I could see them beating the Colts this year to make it to the Superbowl so that one might kinda make sense. Sometimes I feel these writers pull their topics out of hats and then throw darts to put their articles together

NFC Fear Factor
 

NFC Fear Factor: Cowboys are conference's most dangerous team

they listed the scariest teams in the NFC playoffs......and guess where our number 1 seed got us? dead last

nobody is scared of us.....nobody understands how good we actually are and nobody cares about our emotional run to the super bowl

i hope the teams start overlooking us like the media is

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

Time to earn our keep...just shut these chumps up...its all on us

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

As for momentum... I don't buy it. How much momentum did they have going into week 1??? If they heal up and get some good practice in, they're going to kick some tail in the play-offs.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

We were 3-1 in preseason.

But I agree with your statement to an extent but I'm not willing to ignore this team's problems - I just hope that the bye week is all they needed to get better.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

We will be healthy and will beat the eagles in the first round. Yes, the Eagles......they will beat the NFC's most feared team next week!!!

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

Not to mention all the injuries to a defense that wasn't stellar to start with.

Getting Greer, Porter, Sharper, Gay, Young, Shanle, Fujita, Moore, Shockey, and Thomas all back to 100% will totally change both sides of the ball.

Odd how the media always points to injuries affecting the popular teams but dismisses them when discussing the Saints.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

I think it's great. We're 13-3 and flying under radar again.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

We can dismiss the three game skid to injuries and resting players in the third game. After a week off we should have no excuses.

Re: NFC Fear Factor
 

We might as well just forfeit now. The national sports media has already declared us DOA in the playoffs...

Re: NFC Fear Factor
 

Haha! The same media had us in the bottom third of teams at the beginning of the year. I LOVE our chances. We need to tear the roof off the Dome with noise next Saturday. Thanks God Greer and Porter are back and healthy!

Re: NFC Fear Factor
 

I'm afraid I don't care what they think....

Re: NFC Fear Factor
 

Hey, all that matters right now is winning the next few games with a reinvigorated team. Most likely Sean Payton doesn't consider this a three game skid. We have the most important parts of the puzzle coming together at the right time. We have HFA and a bye week to make things click again.

Re: NFC Fear Factor
 

i dont care what anybody says either..but i am not scared..only concerned

Re: NFC Fear Factor
 

I am not afraid to say I don't care what they think :mrgreen:

Re: NFC Fear Factor
 

I wonder how much different this would all sound if we had beaten Tampa Bay???

Isn't that what this all boils down to?


We lost to a Dallas team that was desperate for a win and had just played a very good chargers team well. Meanwhile, the media was rubbing their collective noses in the same poop pile they are trying to rub ours in. Dallas responded.

Yesterday, we rested several key people the entire game and many more some or most of the game. The Colts did this and so did other teams with nothing to gain in playoff seeding.


So all this hating on the Saints boils down to us losing 1 game that we shouldn't have, combined with the sports media's desire to have their hand picked 4 teams in the conference championships (and we're not in their number).



Something tells me that the writer of this column will be "surprised" that the Saints came out of nowhere to win it all...

Re: NFC Fear Factor
 

One more comment on how stupid this column is.

How can the Saint be any lower than #4 ????

Two of the six NFC teams WILL BE ELIMINATED before the Saints even take the field.

Surely in his infinite wisdom this NFL expert "knows" which two teams are going to lose and should be ranking them #5 and #6.

Hard to be a scary team when you are already eliminated...

Re: NFC Fear Factor
 

bring on the media all the negative crap about us the better, the more bulleton board material the better,bring it you goat milken sports reporters that don't know jack-s--t about this team. they play the odds just like vegas them cowards, my statement is this to everyone our boys will be rested,will be injury free, will be hungry for that taste of victory again. i feel bad for anyone coming to the dome,i mean it. can you imagine shocky they will have to put a ball and chains on this cat. he surely has been a missing link. jabarre looked decent yesterday, the d just over ran that play yesterday. watch what rested players do thats all i'm saying, if we get beat then we just are not built for the big one yet. its on #1 seed baby

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

Best place for this team to be is under the radar. I hope none of the analyst pick the Saints. I hope we get the best-of-the-worst seed in the Dome in two weeks. I hope the Saints are firing on all cylinders and Sean Payton can get all of the returning pieces to gel as they did early in the season, with a reminder that you don't get second chances in the playoffs. I hope Payton just takes what we are given, and runs up 40+ in round 2. I hope we are + 2or3 on the turnover scale and get a defensive/special teams score. I would love to hear silence on the Fox desk when we dismantle the W/C winner in the 2nd round. That one might be too much to hope for...something like that would get them back on our bandwagon.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

Respect cannot be learned, purchased or acquired - it can only be earned
Let's do it :itsgood:

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

To me this is the biggest factor -- defensively we got over the hump from last year, but the margin for error is thin. We just are not good enough to lose our starting cornerbacks, play with less than all our starting LB's and lose our best DT and remain potent on D.

Hopefully we will be healthy by the divisional round. Too bad the media is too lazy to discuss this.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

It can also be manufactured by the media.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

Lets duct tape Romo and Ware together and hide them in dumpster till after the game...lol

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

i agree with you ,its the eagles that may be in the dome. the cowboys will continue there streak in the playoffs o-far sense 1996

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

Go Eagles! I don't mind the Eagles doing our dirty work for us. I'm sure they want to beat the Cowturds as bad as we do.

Oh by the way, I've got the duct tape.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

GOOD! let the media glorify everone else and totally disrespect our saints. i like it that way. quote me, "we ARE going to host the nfc championship game this year".

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

exactly

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

The Saints were in every single game that they played thru week 16. Most our team ever lost by was 7 POINTS. NO ONE this year has kicked our a** and handed it to us. Find me another team not named the Colts that can say that.

re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

Yes indeed ... I wonder where you got this idea from?

http://blackandgold.com/saints/23460...ants-them.html

Re: No respect
 

Good Idea ... or just call Jessica ... she might just cum over.

The Iggles were holding back yesterday.

Yes indeed ... the last game no one played. We should've won the Tampon game as our kicker gaffed. Dallas was more motivated, we committed three t/o's, and still only lost by one TD.



We'll be rested and full strength. Back to the days of 45-13 wins!

Re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

1. Cowboys - They are playing well and up to their talent. They did beat the Saints in New Orleans. They will beat the Eagles and can beat the Vikings. You have to stop the run and pressure Romo into some bad throws. Easier said than done.
2. Packers - They may be playing the best right now overall. Although, their QB has never been there and their O-Line, although playing better, will give up some sacks.
3. Vikings - Farve is a Hall Of Famer. Perterson is great and will be motivated. The secondary is suspect if you can protect your QB. Atleast one game at home.
4. Saints - Having Greer and Porter back is huge. Not having Thomas 100 percent is the same in a bad way. Bush will need to play his best. Brees will have the Saints in every game. The run defense may be their downfall. They are at home for the duration.
5. Cardinals - Extemely talented. Very inconsistent. They made a run last year but the competition is much tougher this year. Pressure Warner and they're done.
6. Eagles - Defense is bad. Running game struggling. Don't let them get the big play. All road games. One and done.

Re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

True. We blew it against, Dallas, though. That was a very winnable game. Just took too long to turn it on. And there isn't a Cowboy lovin' analyst out there that didn't think Drew was about to do it again (last minute comeback after a missed field goal). Tampa? No excuse. We stopped playing. Obviously that won't happen in the playoffs, but still no excuse. Of course that last game doesn't count at all. It would have been nice to win, but how would that have been the big momentum swinging win everybody claimed we needed? All that would have proven is our back-ups can beat a non-playoff team's back-ups in a meaningless game. And in none of those 3 games did we get blown out like Minny in 2 of their 3 late season loses.

Like I said several times in the chat room, I'm tired of analyst quoting that stat that no team ending 0-3 has ever won the Super Bowl without quoting the counter-stat: no number 1 seed has ever ended a season 0-3 either. So all those 3 game skid teams that faltered in the playoffs were lower seeds. Record-wise and statistic wise, we're still the best team in the NFC and the second best in the league. But I agree with what everybody else has been saying, let them down play us. I want Philly/AZ/GB to come into the Dome feeling like the favorite. With stars in your eyes, you can't see Darren Sharper dropping back into coverage, or Vilma blitzing, or Meachem streaking up the slide line, or Bush faking the double reverse.

Re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

I am so sick of the freaking media. They are so "now". A few weeks ago it was "Oh its going to be the same old Cowboys who cant win in Decmber", now its, "Oh the boys are the best in the NFC. Last week it was "The Vikings are going to be one and done they look tired and out of gas", now its, "Oh they're back on track and ready to dominate. Now its, "Oh the Saints are in deep trouble, no momentum, definitly one and done". Watch the second we win our first playoff game no one is going to remember all this crap. All you gonna hear is "The Saints look real well rested and healthy, look back on track and firing on all cylinders."

The momentum saga is so blown out of proportion! You know what gains your momentum back? Coming out hungry, getting a fast start, and having the WhoDat Nation be as loud as they possibly can in that dome from start to finish.

I CANT WAIT till Jan. 16 with a late start after all day of tailgating. The Dome will be rocking! We will be as healthy as we've been in a long time! And will rise to the occasion just like we have all year long! Geaux Saintsssss! Prove me right and shut all these chumps on TV UP!!!!!

Re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

I agree with Danno. I been stressing this to cowboy fans for weeks.

Re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

This "most feared teams" article was actually written last year. Arizona was replaced by New Orleans in this year's version.

Re: No respect: NFC Fear Factor
 

Right. It was the Cardinals that had the #1 offense and one of the best turnover margins all season long.

Yawn.