By Hot Rod! The Rowdy One

Happy New Year citizens of Planet Ill, welcome to another edition of Out of Bounds. Well, here we are, we’ve made it to the last set of games for the 2009-10 NFL regular season. It’s also the first set of picks for 2010 here on Planet Ill and Out of Bounds.

With Wild Card Weekend starting new week, the playoff picture is somewhat clear. The NFC is pretty much set. The New Orleans Saints are the #1 seed in the NFC, but after the Saints, the outcome from today’s games can determine the seeding for the remainder of the teams that are in the playoffs for the NFC. The AFC is a whole other story.

While the seeding for the AFC is pretty much straight, there are still teams playing to get into the playoffs in the AFC and scenarios are crazy. Here is the current playoff picture and scenarios:

*13-2
x11-4
z11-4
z10-5
x10-5
x10-5



* 14-1
z12-3
z10-5
z10-5
8-7
8-7
8-7
8-7
8-7
7-8
7-8
7-8

z – Clinched Division
y – Clinched Wild Card
x – Clinched Playoff Berth
* – Clinched Division and Home Field

Playoff Scenarios

Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota clinches a first-round bye with:
1. MIN win + PHI loss or tie
2. MIN tie + PHI loss

Arizona Cardinals
Arizona clinches a first-round bye with:
ARI win + MIN loss + PHI loss

Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia clinches East division with: PHI win or tie
Philadelphia clinches a first-round bye with:
1. PHI win
2. PHI tie + MIN loss or tie

Dallas Cowboys
Dallas clinches East division with:
DAL win
Dallas clinches a first-round bye with:
DAL win + MIN loss + ARI loss or tie

Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore clinches a playoff spot with: BAL win

New York Jets  
N.Y. Jets clinch a playoff spot with: NYJ win

Denver Broncos
Denver clinches a playoff spot with:
1. DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie OR
2. DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + PIT loss or tie OR
3. DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + HOU win OR
4. DEN win + BAL loss or tie + PIT loss or tie OR
5. DEN win + BAL loss or tie + HOU win OR
6. PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss OR
7. PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss OR
8. PIT loss + BAL loss + JAC loss + NYJ loss OR
9. PIT loss + HOU loss + JAC loss + NYJ loss OR
10. MIA loss or tie + NYJ loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss or tie

Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot with:
1. PIT win + HOU loss or tie + NYJ loss or tie OR
2. PIT win + HOU loss or tie + BAL loss or tie OR
3. PIT win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie + DEN loss or tie

Houston Texans
Houston clinches a playoff spot with:
1. HOU win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie OR
2. HOU win + NYJ loss or tie + DEN loss or tie OR
3. HOU win + BAL loss or tie + DEN loss or tie

Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville clinches a playoff spot with:
1. JAC win + PIT loss + BAL loss + DEN loss + HOU loss OR
2. JAC win + PIT loss + BAL loss + DEN loss + NYJ loss OR
3. JAC win + PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss OR
4. JAC win + PIT loss + DEN loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss OR
5. JAC win + NYJ loss + DEN loss + HOU loss + BAL loss

Miami Dolphins
Miami clinches a playoff spot with: MIA win + NYJ loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss or tie

Whew, that’s a lot to take in at one time. With a lot on the line in today’s games, make like T.O. and “getcha popcorn ready” because it’s gonna be one hell of a day for football.

With that said, let’s look at my picks for the final week of regular season play in the NFL.

Sunday, 01/03/10, 1pm
14-1 @ 5-10 (CBS), My Pick:
7-8 @ 4-11 (CBS), My Pick:
6-9 @ 2-13 (FOX), My Pick:
7-8 @ 1-14 (FOX), My Pick:
8-7 @ 7-8 (CBS), My Pick:
7-8 @ 11-4 (FOX), My Pick:
8-7 @ 3-12 (FOX), MY Pick:
13-2 @ 7-8 (FOX), My Pick:
10-5 @ 8-7 (CBS), My Pick:


Sunday, 01/03/10, 4:15pm
11-4 @ 10-5 (FOX), My Pick:
10-5 @ 10-5 (FOX), My Pick:
4-11 @ 12-3 (FOX), My Pick:
7-8 @ 5-10 (CBS), My Pick:

Game of the Week, Pt. 1
8-7 @ 5-10 (CBS), My Pick:
3-12 @ 8-7 (CBS), My Pick:


01/03/10, 8:20pm
Game of the Week, Pt. 2
10-5 @ 8-7 (NBC), My Pick:


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