Saints Hope Third Spot Is the Charm : NFL: New Orleans can gain playoffs via the wild card if it beats the Rams Monday and Cowboys lose to Falcons Sunday.

Forgive linebacker Pat Swilling, but even he’s a little puzzled by the series of events that have brought his mediocre football team to the brink of the NFL’s postseason party.

Through the miracle of the conference’s mediocrity and the third wild-card spot, the New Orleans Saints find themselves careening into the final week of the season at 7-8 and looking as if they have the upper hand in the two-team race for the NFC’s final playoff spot.

If the Dallas Cowboys (7-8), who almost certainly will play without injured quarterback Troy Aikman, lose Sunday to the Atlanta Falcons, all the Saints have to do is defeat the Rams Monday night to finish 8-8. That would earn them a first-round playoff date in Chicago against the Bears.

Surprised by all this, Mr. Swilling?

“Very surprised,” said the Saints’ two-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker. “I don’t think anybody really thought 8-8 would be good enough to get in, but things have been working out well, and it looks like if things happen good for us, then we’ll be in.

“I didn’t think we had much of a playoff chance after the Pittsburgh game (a loss two weeks ago). I thought we had really blown it. I thought after the Dallas game (a month ago) it was about over.”

But add a 2-1 record the past three weeks (including a victory over the Rams), consistent losses from nearly everyone else in playoff contention, and injuries to several quarterbacks on competing teams, and the Saints look like destiny’s--or mediocrity’s--child.

“I think everybody’s really on an upswing and really looking forward to this weekend,” Swilling said. “I think everyone here in the New Orleans area is really hyper.”

The Saints have a shot at the playoffs because, while the Eagles and Redskins have clinched the two top wild-card spots, this is the first year each conference has a third wild-card spot--something the Saints could have used the past two seasons.

“I’ll tell you what, it would have favored us the last couple years,” Swilling said. “We’ve been right on the verge of being in the playoffs, we just always missed it by a game. And now with this extra wild-card team, it really worked out in our favor.

“(New Orleans) seems to be getting some breaks. I hate for a guy to get hurt, but (Aikman’s injury last weekend) kind of helped us out . . .”

Swilling, who leads the team with 10 sacks and teams with Rickey Jackson to give New Orleans the best blitzing linebacker corps in the league, said he doesn’t mind getting into the party through the back door.

“Once you’re in, you’re in,” Swilling said. “The road we have to take, I think, is through the Bears and the Giants. We play pretty well against some of those teams.”

And what will the atmosphere be like in the Superdome Monday night if Dallas loses Sunday?

“If they lose? Oh boy, the Superdome will probably just blow up,” Swilling said. “Because our fans, they come and they’re excited whether we’re doing good or bad. But an opportunity to get into the playoffs--it’ll be so wild in there it’ll be unbelievable.”

Ram guard Tom Newberry said he wasn’t surprised by Coach John Robinson’s recent suggestions that the Rams might be better off playing him at center and moving rookie Bern Brostek to left guard.

Newberry, a two-time Pro Bowl guard, in fact agrees with that thinking and figures the move probably will happen when Doug Smith retires.

“They’ve talked about that in the past,” Newberry said. “It’s easier for me to step into a position like that than for someone who’s younger and hasn’t been around the offense for a while.

“You don’t have to do as much thinking at guard and when you’re young, you’ve got enough stuff (to worry about) just learning the different blocking schemes. I think it’s definitely a possibility.”

Kicker Mike Lansford is one Ram who understands that, along with Robinson, he could be entering his last game with the team. Lansford hasn’t had a standout season this year, making 14 of his 22 tries, and just three of the nine field-goal attempts from 40 yards or beyond.

“I think it’s a possibility,” Lansford said when asked if this could be his final Ram game after nine seasons, “but again, that’s also out of my hands.

“I think if you evaluate my season, you’re going to see a couple kicks blocked and about five kicks missed when I couldn’t even put my heel down on the ground (when he was playing with a sore calf muscle).

“I don’t know. My contract expires as soon as the game’s over. I anticipate going (through the) Plan B (free-agency period) if there is one. It’s just an interesting time. I’d certainly like to finish my career here, no doubt about it.”

Newberry, who has been nursing a sprained ankle, probably won’t play Monday night. Linebacker Kevin Greene, who strained his shoulder last week, is very sore and Robinson said he didn’t want to risk further damage. Tight end Damone Johnson, suffering from a hamstring problem, probably won’t play.

The Rams waived wide receiver Tony Lomack and Thursday signed him to their practice squad.