The one and done feature after 17 weeks of jarring hits, needless holding calls, and general professional football drama is set to start this weekend. It is almost fitting that the second chapter of the NFL should begin the first week of the New Year. The only thing that matters from the 16 previous regular season games and the pointless four preseason contests only matter in the respect that they got these 12 teams here.

The first round will see a total of four games. That first game to kick off the postseason will be between the Atlanta Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals. The game is being played in Phoenix at the University of Phoenix Stadium, so the Cardinals get to play in front of a nice partisan crowd.

Though the Cardinals have home field advantage, they definitely do not have the late season play advantage. Apart from the nice tune up game last Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, the team has fallen apart. Kurt Warner was a prime MVP candidate four weeks ago, after several questionable performances the potency of Arizona’s vaunted passing attack has been called into question.

For all the talent Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and Steve Breaston have, a quarterback who starting to show his age (37) and a complete lack of a running game could be their undoing. These are postseason caliber teams with good defenses that are better equipped to handle the offense attack.

They other huge issue is the defense. The Arizona Cardinals defense gave up 426 points over the course of the season, or 26.6 points a game. The sad fact is that against two playoff caliber teams late into the season the team crumbled like a House of Cards and gave up 35 and 47 points in bad losses.

I have not even discussed the opponent and things are looking bad. The Atlanta Falcons come in after a surprise season that ended with an 11-5 record in perhaps the toughest division in football, the NFC South. The team managed to be an offensively brilliant team with Michael Turner, a running back who had his stamina questioned, and Matt Ryan, a rookie quarterback, leading the way.

The brilliance comes not from the points total (only 24.4 points per game), but from the balance that let them score quickly or bleed the clock. Turner was unstoppable (1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns) and Ryan was able to take advantage of the underappreciated Roddy White as a consistent receiver threat.

The defense is not superb, but it handled high-powered offenses like the New Orleans Saints very well. In fact the Saints are very comparable. The team won the first meeting, but lost the second in very competitive 29-25 game. Without question this is the Atlanta Falcons game. Only a complete breakdown in the secondary or a case of nerves for Ryan can lead to a loss.

The second game on Saturday is the Indianapolis Colts- San Diego Chargers first round match up. Both teams came back from dismal starts. The Colts have a disadvantage playing on the road at Qualcomm Stadium, but they have the advantage with proven winner Peyton Manning at the helm.

Manning was brilliant down the last stretch of games, leading the Colts to nine straight wins. The defense deserves a great deal of credit as well. Indianapolis struggled during the first half uncharacteristically and it was the D that made sure they were not out of the playoff chase. Manning eventually got the machine back on track and the team averaged 25 points a game during the winning streak.

The Colts will need Manning and the defense to be on their best behavior because the San Diego Chargers have won four straight, including two final wins against two teams fighting for a place in the postseason. Philip Rivers has been amazing own the stretch and LaDainian Tomlinson seems to have found his rhythm in the uplifting division clinching decimation of the Denver Broncos last weekend.

The Colts should be able to handle Vincent Jackson as the deep threat and a struggling LT. I think that Rivers history of choking in the postseason does not end here. That, and the Colts are playing equally inspiring football, so I believe the Chargers will end the season with their character again called into question.

Sunday starts with a game between two teams nobody outside of diehard sports fans thought would make it to the postseason. The Baltimore Ravens go to Dolphin Stadium to play the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have a unique offense with the comeback player of the year, Chad Pennington.

Pennington posted the second best QB Rating in the league despite have no real receiving threats. The defense was in top ten form thanks to Joey Porter and his All Pro season. The three headed wildcat running back formation proved to be more effective than gimmicky. The Dolphins just kind of pulled out big wins when most thought they might win three games the entire year.

The Ravens already had an amazing defense. That is no surprise to anyone who has remotely followed the NFL since Ray Lewis entered the league. The surprise is the offense. Never have Ravens fans seen such a fluid game when their quarterback is in the game. It is that quarterback, rookie Joe Flacco, who has given Baltimore a balanced offense.

Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain were a solid pair on the ground, and Flacco spread the field with bombs to Derrick Mason. I believe this new balance will end the Dolphins season. Perhaps I am too much in love with the scoring numbers and am not giving the tenacity of the Dolphins big wins, but the numbers are simply too overwhelming for me to ignore.

The last game of the first round brings the Philadelphia Eagles to the Metrodome to play the Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles won in dramatic fashion with a 44-6 bombing of the Dallas Cowboys. The win ended the Cowboys seemingly assured postseason appearance and gave Philly fans an extended football season.

Donovan McNabb came back from being benched to throw for nearly 4,000 yards and 23 touchdowns. Brian Westbrook battled injuries throughout the second half of the season, but in the end the talent was still there and the defense was still in the top five in the league.

I could write about how amazing Adrian Peterson is. I could write about the Williams twins clogging the middle for Minnesota. I could talk about a lot of things, but the simple truth is that despite the comeback win against the New York Giants second stringers, the Vikings should not win this game.

Tarvaris Jackson lost the starting quarterback job for a reason. Coming back to start because of injuries does not mean he ha redeemed himself. Bernard Berrian is not a number one receiver in the NFL. This is the shortest and easiest game to analyze and predict. The Eagles are better talent wise and are coming off an emotional high. They are going to destroy the Minnesota Vikings.

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