Gamesmanship or not, Brett Favre praises Cowboys

Breaking down the Dallas-Minnesota matchup in the NFC divisional playoffs:

Who’s seeded higher?

Brett Favre participated in a conference call with Dallas reporters Wednesday, and his theme was clear: The Cowboys are the most dangerous team in the NFL this postseason.

Although it’s not uncommon for someone to butter up his opponent, reporters who took part in the call say Favre was very convincing. And he should be; the Cowboys have been scorching.

“For the outside looking in, if you had to look at both teams, us and the Cowboys, you’d go, OK, aside from the fact the Cowboys are playing at the Vikings, who is the hottest team right now? Well, no duh: The Cowboys are.”

He added: “You can see it, you can feel it. They just had that air about them that they couldn’t be beaten. So Dallas is playing like that right now. They are feeling it.”

Middlemen

The Vikings need a big game out of the guy who touches the football on every play. Not Favre, but center John Sullivan. And why is the pressure on him? Because Dallas nose tackle Jay Ratliff is a wrecking ball who caves in the line and creates all sorts of havoc. Sullivan and Ratliff are basically the same size -- each is 6 feet 4, and Ratliff is listed at two pounds heavier (303) -- and will be inches apart on every snap. Should be interesting.

Mercy, Percy

The Vikings have the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year in receiver Percy Harvin, who’s so versatile he can line up all over the field. Favrelikes to have him in the slot quite a bit, and that means Harvin frequently will draw second-year Cowboys nickel back Orlando Scandrick, who is solid yet has had his letdowns.

Watch for Favre to look to Harvin a lot and try to exploit that matchup.

Super sharp

Who says Tony Romo fades in December?

It’s hard to argue that now, considering the Cowboys quarterback has 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions over the last seven weeks. He’s also reaping the benefits of an outstanding ground attack, one that enables him to set up play-action and keep defenses honest.

Receivers Miles Austin and Patrick Crayton are playmakers, and even Roy Williams has gotten into the mix. Most of all, Romo knows when and how to get them the ball.

Conference call

If the Cowboys win Sunday, they will advance to the NFC title game for the 15th time, passing the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most appearances in a conference championship game since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.

The Cowboys have won 33 postseason games, more than any other team. It’s amazing that, until last weekend, they had not won a playoff game since the 1996 season. The teams with the most appearances in a conference championship game since 1970:

Team	No
Dallas Cowboys	14
Pittsburgh Steelers	14
San Francisco 49ers	12
L.A./Oakland Raiders	11

Another viewpoint

Hall of Fame Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, now a Fox analyst: “I don’t know that winning a playoff game satisfies anybody. The good thing is, regardless of what happens the rest of this year, going into the off-season, going into next year, they won’t be answering a lot of the same questions. This won’t be a team that’s viewed as a complete failure. So from that standpoint they’ve made strides . . . But at some point, every team is judged by one thing, and that’s whether or not you win it all.”

Farmer’s pick

This game is going to hinge on how well the Vikings can contain outside linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer, who will have Favre in their cross hairs. Other teams have really struggled to slow them in recent weeks. Cowboys 28, Vikings 24.

* TOMORROW: AFC MATCHUPS

sam.farmer@latimes.com