Oh, the Playoff Possibilities

The regular season is over, and the NFL can say with the utmost confidence that it’s pretty sure that the numbers were crunched in the right way to make a reasonable approximation of the correct playoff field.

Fingers crossed, of course.

Call it parity, call it competitive balance, call it a tangled mess, but, for the love of Pete (Rozelle), call it a day. The murkiest playoff picture in memory is behind us, and now we can direct our attention to some of the most intriguing playoff pairings ever.

Just think, there could be another Oakland-Philadelphia Super Bowl; a rematch of the Giants and Colts, whose 1958 championship was called “The Greatest Game Ever Played”; or how about this weekend’s first-round game between the Jets and the Colts? Instead of Joe Namath vs. Johnny Unitas, it’s Chad Pennington vs. Peyton Manning.

A few more playoff possibilities I’d like to see:

Tampa Bay vs. Oakland

Key matchup -- Jon Gruden vs. Al Davis.

Story line -- Tired of working for Davis and in search of big money, Gruden bolted from the Raiders with a year remaining on his five-year coaching contract. Davis got cash and draft picks from the Buccaneers, and everything else has worked out amazingly well, from Bill Callahan’s coach-of-the-year-type season to Rich Gannon being voted the league’s most valuable player. Still, the ghost of Gruden lingers. Can you imagine this Super Bowl if Davis were the type to hold grudges? Thank goodness he doesn’t. Just ask Marcus Allen.

New York Giants vs. New York Jets

Key matchup -- Sinatra vs. Soprano.

Story line -- A few weeks ago, the mere mention of a subway Super Bowl could get you hauled away. But these teams are as streaky as Paulie Walnut’s pompadour, so who knows what could happen. They’re in the playoffs together for the first time since 1986 -- when the Giants won the Super Bowl -- and, hey, isn’t spending a week of a New York winter in San Diego incentive enough? “If there were to be two New York teams, I couldn’t imagine it,” Giant defensive end Michael Strahan said. “I think they’d have to call out the National Guard for extra protection because it would get ugly.”

Green Bay vs. Tampa Bay

Key matchup -- Mike Sherman vs. Warren Sapp.

Story line -- Green Bay’s coach scored a huge point with his players when he confronted Sapp after a game in which the Tampa Bay defensive tackle blindsided tackle Chad Clifton during an interception return, ending Clifton’s season. There’s no question the hit was a cheap shot -- Clifton was plodding along nowhere near the action -- but it wasn’t illegal, according to the NFL, because Clifton was not defenseless. Larry Beightol, who coaches the Packer line, said his players would cut block Sapp every which way in a rematch. But focusing too much on Sapp could really cost the Packers, even if he is the league’s biggest loudmouth.

Oakland vs. Pittsburgh

Key matchup -- Davis vs. the demons in his mind.

Story line -- This season marks the 30th anniversary of the “Immaculate Reception,” the miracle catch by Pittsburgh’s Franco Harris that stunned the Raiders and gave the Steelers their first playoff victory. Pittsburgh went on to win four Super Bowls in the 1970s. But was it really a catch? Even from the best low-angle footage -- the NFL’s version of the Zapruder film -- it’s impossible to say for sure. There’s instant replay now, though, so maybe the Raiders could get it overturned if a similar play were to happen. And we all know how much the Raiders love those replay reversals.

Atlanta vs. Tennessee

Key matchup -- Michael Vick vs. Steve McNair.

Story line -- Lost in all the hoopla surrounding Vick -- who, admittedly, is one of the most exciting players in league history -- is that McNair has been doing this kind of stuff for years. One problem: The Titans are almost never on national TV -- they had one prime-time game this season -- and all the focus on offense used to be on running back Eddie George, now a shadow of his former self. McNair, it seems, is stuck in the NFL’s version of the witness-protection program. He had a spectacular season, yet, in the Pro Bowl fan voting, was 10th -- 10th! -- among AFC quarterbacks. Now that’s a little more elusive than even he wanted to be.

San Francisco vs. Oakland

Key matchup -- Merlot vs. Molotov cocktails.

Story line -- Not counting exhibition games, the 49ers and Raiders have played each other only 10 times, but theirs is among the most bitter blood feuds in professional sports. Three seasons ago, before an exhibition game at Oakland, 49er quarterback Steve Young looked out the window of a team bus and spotted a lone Niner fan wearing his No. 8 jersey. Young turned to Coach Steve Mariucci and said, “That guy’s going to get hit harder than I will.” Moments later, the bus pulled up at the Coliseum, and legendary Coach Bill Walsh stepped off -- only to have a full beer fly in and explode at his feet. At least he’s hoping it was beer.

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I’ve often written that Los Angeles has been without a pro football team since 1995, but that’s not exactly accurate. I was reminded this week that the L.A. Avengers are a pro team. I stand corrected.

Arena Football League supporters have long contended their sport would have a far larger fan base if more people were exposed to their brand of football. We’ll find out. Thanks to a TV deal cut in part by Avenger owner Casey Wasserman, the AFL will be on NBC every weekend this spring. In addition, there are indications indoor football could wind up replacing NFL Europe.

Bud Adams, owner of the Tennessee Titans, said the overseas experiment simply isn’t working in its current format. “Let’s face it,” he said. “Europeans aren’t buying American football. It’s costing us too much money for what each team is receiving out of it.”

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Herm Edwards, coach of the New York Jets, received a bottle of champagne this week from Cleveland Coach Butch Davis, whose team won its finale but -- in the wake of Miami’s loss at New England -- needed the Jets to beat the Packers to secure a spot in the playoffs. It was that kind of Rubik’s Cube weekend.

There was only one sure thing, according to Cleveland safety Earl Little, who was raised in Miami: “My boys back home, they stunk it up.”

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A day after insisting he was staying in Kansas City and would keep his staff intact, Chief Coach Dick Vermeil said he wanted to take some time off and evaluate the situation at his home in Pennsylvania.

“The first guy I have to please in regard to staying another year is myself,” said Vermeil, who is 14-18 in two seasons and has a year remaining on his contract. “If I ever wasn’t doing a good enough job to compete, I would walk away in a minute. And if we’re not good, I’d be gone anyway.”

He said his main objective is to make an informed, cool-headed decision.

“The last emotional decision I made was the worst decision I made in my life, to leave the Rams,” he said.

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The Lions went 2-14 last season and got the No. 3 pick in the draft, which they used to select quarterback Joey Harrington. They won one more game this season, yet moved up in the draft to No. 2, behind Cincinnati. Who says Detroit has no reason to cheer?

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OK, so the Jets were in a do-or-die situation Sunday when they played Green Bay. But the stakes were high for Green Bay, too, considering the Packers could have locked up home-field advantage with a victory, and they have never lost a playoff game at Lambeau Field.

“We know how hard it is to play in January in Green Bay,” Packer guard Marco Rivera said after the loss. “It’s one of those things where we’re going to look back in 20 years and go, ‘Man, remember that shot we had? If we had only won that game.’ We laid a big egg.”

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Every indication is Emmitt Smith won’t be back with the Cowboys next season. He cleaned out his Valley Ranch locker Dec. 27 and took with him the nameplate above it. He said he was doing that so it wouldn’t be stolen. But, come on, he gained only 975 yards rushing this season, falling short of 1,000 for the first time since his rookie year in 1990, and he’s due to make $7 million next year.

Future Hall of Fame player nearing the end of his storied career? Unappreciated, yet unwilling to let go of the only career he has ever known?

Wonder how he would look in silver and black.