Week 12 Early Games Open Discussion Thread

We have a little less than four hours until the Saints and Niners tee it up in the Mercedes Blanche Superdome.

Eight games are lined up in the early slot, and some of them have major implications for the Saints in their playoff hunt, so give 'em a look and let us know who you're watching live, and who you're following most closely...

Atlanta @ Tampa Bay - both teams are ahead of the Saints in the NFC South, but with Atlanta in the driver's seat for the division title, a Buccaneers loss really helps the Saints more, so maybe you should set aside your Falcons hatred for the greater good today.

Minnesota @ Chicago - The Bears used to lead the NFC North, but following the MNF shellacking they took from the Niners, they're just leading the wild card race. Minnesota is one of three 6-4 teams keeping the Saints out of the final wild card spot, so GO BEARS!!

Seattle @ Miami - The Seahawks are the last 6-4 wild card blockade, so of course we're rooting for Reggie Bush to go all BEAST MODE on them, FTW!!!

...and now for the five "Who cares?" games in the AFC:

Buffalo @ Indianapolis - This one's the cream of the crop, featuring two teams who are a combined...YAWN...10-10 on the year.

Pittsburgh @ Cleveland - Hey! At least this one is a division game involving one of the top teams in the AFC South. But they're banged up in a major way, and face a team whose coach is a "Dead Coach Walking" and I can't seem to muster any interest in it.

Denver @ Kansas City - Another division tilt, but it's a one-sided "have" vs. a "have-not". @The Broncos are in trouble.@

Oakland @ Cincinnati - Will Carson Palmer take this opportunity to return to Cincy and stick it to his former team? Other than that, the only thing to watch in this game is how well the picks the Bengals got from the Raiders for Palmer do in the game. But someone else will have to do that research and stat tracking - I'm done with this game.

Tennessee @ Jacksonville - The Titans have playoff hopes barely alive, and the Jags will be starting Chad Henne. That's more than enough reason to avoid this game except for implications on your fantasy team.

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So, join me in watching the Atlanta-Tampa Bay game and closely following the other two NFC games...SKOL!