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INDIANAPOLIS -- Yeah, that's right. Breakfast links coming to you live from the host city of Super Bowl XLVI. The AFC champion New England Patriots hit town Sunday night, but the NFC champion New York Giants don't arrive until Monday afternoon, so I really don't have much Giants-related Super Bowl stuff for you until later today.

I am here for you, however, and knowing how much you guys would like to be here, I want to give you some sense of what it's like. There's a lot of walking that goes on when you cover the Super Bowl, and I've brought a pedometer with me to track how much walking I'm doing. On Sunday, after checking into my downtown Indianapolis hotel, I walked 9,979 steps, which roughly equates to 4.6 miles. And that doesn't even count the 4 miles I ran on the treadmill on what wasn't even a real work day! We'll check this number every day I'm here and keep track of how much I've walked, if only to help me explain to myself the way my calves feel.

Meantime, the links don't get a week off just because it's the Super Bowl. The links, like The Dude, abide.

New York Giants

ESPNNewYork.com wants to know if you think Tom Brady was overconfident when he told the crowd that showed up at Gillette Stadium to see the Patriots off that he'd be back for a victory party next week. Thoughts?

Of all the long shots on this long-shot Giants team that barely made the playoffs and finds itself one game away from a championship, Chase Blackburn may be the longest. Johnette Howard has this story.

Philadelphia Eagles

So if you've been sitting around wondering what Andy Reid thinks of the Cleveland Browns' decision to hire Brad Childress as their offensive coordinator, check this out. If you've been sitting around wondering what Andy Reid thinks of the Eagles and who should be their coaches and players next year ... well, you're going to have to keep waiting like the rest of us.

Bleeding Green Nation, for example, would like to know what the Eagles plan to do about DeSean Jackson and his contract situation. It's a mystery, in large part because Reid doesn't seem to feel the need to answer for an 8-8 season.

Dallas Cowboys

You may still be wondering what the Cowboys will do in 2012 for a backup quarterback, but Jon Kitna cares not for your concerns. He has moved on, and will be a high school football coach in Washington.

Oh, and DeMarcus Ware asks for your perspective and patience, as he believes that things will "all pan out" with another year with Rob Ryan as Cowboys defensive coordinator. Ware apparently doesn't understand the era in which he plays, which requires a team to have instantaneous success each and every week.

Washington Redskins

The opportunity to coach the South team in the Senior Bowl this past week was a big one for Mike Shanahan and the Redskins' coaching staff, and Shanahan said he believes the Redskins got a lot of good work in with the senior-class prospects in this year's draft. Keep an eye out and see if anyone from this year's South team gets picked by the Redskins.

The Washington Post offers a nice profile of new Redskins secondary coach Raheem Morris, who was an NFL Coach of the Year candidate last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This is an example of how seeking a broad range of perspectives on a subject is the most effective way to ensure the best possible analysis of it. Mike Garafolo, the great New York Giants beat writer for The Star-Ledger, was reading all of the stuff that came out Tuesday speculating that Steve Spagnuolo would be the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive coordinator if and when he's fired as head coach of the Rams at the end of this season. Something didn't sit right with Mike, who knows Spagnuolo and doesn't think he parted on the best terms with the Eagles.

So Mike dug up a Star-Ledger story about Spagnuolo from 2008. It's a really good story about Spagnuolo's life and career, and worth the read. But for our purposes at the moment, this is the important part:

The next morning, Giants coach Tom Coughlin called. On Sunday, Spagnuolo drove to Giants Stadium, nailed the interview and was offered the job. When he returned to the Eagles complex, it was to pack up his belongings, not sign a contract, which would have been difficult because Spagnuolo felt Eagles coach Andy Reid had kept him from a promotion.

People close to Spagnuolo say he was in the running to become the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator in 2006, but Reid wouldn't release him from his contract. Reid was worried that longtime defensive coordinator Jim Johnson would take a head-coaching job, and Reid wanted Spagnuolo to move into that slot.

But when Johnson dawdled, then decided he didn't want to interview for any available head-coaching positions, Vikings coach Brad Childress already had hired Mike Tomlin. Spagnuolo was crushed.

"Those were probably the darkest days," said a friend, who requested anonymity. "Working for the Eagles the last year was very tough for him."

So, hey, something else to consider as Eagles fans imagine Spagnuolo (who hasn't been fired yet, by the way, and will be pursued by more than one team if he is) as the answer to all of their problems. A quote from an anonymous source in a four-year-old story doesn't necessarily mean that Spagnuolo wouldn't want to return to the Eagles as their defensive coordinator. It doesn't mean things are bad between Spagnuolo and Andy Reid. But it's at least worth stepping back and wondering if the solution that makes sense in all of our heads looking in from the outside makes sense in the heads of the people who'd actually be making the decision. Call it food for thought, in case the breakfast links weren't enough to hold you.

Andy Reid is scheduled to be one of the four NFL head coaches going on the USO tour to the Middle East at the end of this month, ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reported on Philadelphia's 97.5 The Fanatic on Tuesday. Former Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress is one of the other coaches, according to Paolantonio's report.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin has taken part in a similar tour in the past. OK, my flight is about to leave Philly en route to Dallas. We'll talk later this afternoon.

The Philadelphia Eagles will only consider trading quarterback Donovan McNabb if the deal includes a pick among the top 42 in April's draft, according to the Associated Press. The Raiders, Bills and Rams each have two picks among the top 42, and all of them need help at quarterback.

Of that group, I think McNabb would prefer the Rams because of his familiarity with their coaching staff. Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur served as quarterbacks coach for the Eagles and head coach Steve Spagnuolo was a secondary coach under Jim Johnson in Philly. We won't know if the Minnesota Vikings are in play until Brett Favre makes a decision regarding his future.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that McNabb's first choice would be the Vikings, which makes sense. Minnesota head coach Brad Childress was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles and he runs the West Coast offense that McNabb's accustomed to. It would be a nice fit, but the Eagles can't afford to sit around and wait on Favre. According to the Inquirer report, McNabb's not thrilled about going to the Rams, Bills or Raiders. And why would he be? The only upshot to any of those teams is that McNabb could probably sign a lucrative extension, including a healthy signing bonus.

We'll keep you posted on any developments as the day unfolds.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb knew that Kurt Warner's retirement from the Cardinals on Friday would bring a new wave of questions. He said it's the same song, fourth or fifth verse.

"Everything is going to come up that involves me," McNabb said. "It seems like every offseason involves Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb, so we're going to hear about that the whole offseason. So get ready: Is Brett retiring? What's he going to do? And in Philly Donovan McNabb ... so get ready for that. But I don't get involved in all that."

Well, it's sort of hard not to get involved when you're a key figure in one of the most compelling storylines of the offseason. McNabb and Favre will be linked for different reasons this time around. If Favre truly walks away (riiiight), then Brad Childress will likely make a play for McNabb. But for now, McNabb wants to reiterate that he works in South Philly.

"We can win in Philly," McNabb said. "There's a place I want to be. It's the NovaCare Center. That's in Philadelphia. One NovaCare Way, where the Eagles practice and then they eat cafeteria food and they watch film and we eat and we have fun."

So we finally got to the heart of this saga. McNabb can't walk away from the cafeteria food at the NovaCare Center.

In the aftermath of the Vikings' final touchdown in a 34-3 win over his former team, Fox's lead analyst Troy Aikman said that he didn't have a problem with coach Brad Childress going for the late score. Aikman added that former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson might've done the same thing, and a few minutes later, Johnson concurred.

"It was a butt kicking," said Johnson during the postgame show. "If you don't want your butt kicked, play better."

As my guy Barry Horn from the Dallas Morning News noted, Johnson seemed to have an angry tone in his voice after the game. He's no longer on Jones' payroll, but it does seem like he still feels a lot of passion for the organization.

I've read a couple of accounts that indicated that Wade Phillips joined linebacker Keith Brooking in criticizing Childress for running up the score. But I attended Phillips' postgame news conference and didn't get that sense at all. He mentioned the words "running up the score," but he followed that up by praising the Vikings for their performance. Brooking, the team's emotional leader, seemed to be the guy most bothered by the touchdown.

Childress responded by saying there were no "articles of war" in football. And while that might be true, it will be interesting to see how things play out when the Cowboys return to Minneapolis for a regular-season game in 2010.

MINNEAPOLIS -- So much for that hot team theory. The Vikings may have stumbled through the month of December, but they buried the formerly red-hot Cowboys in a 34-3 win that felt like it was over by halftime.

A week after their major breakthrough against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys looked overmatched in the Metrodome. Even coach Wade Phillips, a man who can find a silver lining in the darkest of moments, wasn't able to offer a defense for the Cowboys' tepid showing in a divisional playoff game. It was the second-worst playoff loss in franchise history, surpassed only by a 38-6 loss to the Detroit Lions in 1991.

"It's like an elevator falling all the way from the top; it's tough when it's over," said a grim-faced Phillips. "I was surprised, but they have a good football team."

In the aftermath of a beatdown punctuated by Brad Childress amusing himself with an unnecessary call for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, it seems odd to say that the Cowboys were ever in the game. But Dallas actually had a shot to grab the momentum in the first quarter. As he'd done during the Cowboys' four-game winning streak, quarterback Tony Romo led the offense into Vikings territory on the first possession of the game. The Cowboys' plan all week was to treat that opening possession as if it were the most important drive in the game.

The strategy worked until Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards raced past right tackle Marc Colombo and stripped the ball from Romo. The Vikings recovered at their 35-yard line and averted an early Cowboys score. After forcing a three-and-out, the Cowboys moved to the Vikings' 30-yard line and elected to attempt a 48-yard field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-1. Shaun Suisham, who replaced the wayward Nick Folk last month, smothered the ball wide left and it would be fair to say the Cowboys never posed another serious challenge.

"Obviously, we need to get points out of those drives," said Romo. "It's not on any one person but we all need to play better. When you go into a place like this, points matter."

What Romo is saying is the Cowboys missed a huge opportunity to limit the home crowd's influence early in the game. I think the Metrodome is louder than the Superdome, a place where the Cowboys had one of their biggest wins of the season. Even the PA announcer sounded as if he was taunting the Dallas offense as the Vikings' front four took over the game.

In my talking points for Sunday's matchup, someone forgot to tell me that Edwards was one of the best pass-rushers in the league. And to think, I wasted so much time on the Williams Wall and Jared Allen, who didn't have much of an impact until Cowboys left tackle Flozell Adams left the game with a right calf strain with 7:18 left in the first half. On the first two plays after Adams' departure, Allen tackled Felix Jones in the backfield and then caused a Romo fumble, which led to a Vikings field goal and a 17-3 lead. For unknown reasons, tight end Jason Witten ended up "blocking" Allen one-on-one on those two plays. I asked Adams' replacement Doug Free if he was supposed to be helping Witten against Allen, but he said he wasn't sure what happened. It seemed like a pretty good description of how most of his teammates felt following the loss.

The aforementioned Edwards had three sacks, six hurries, a forced fumble and five tackles. I didn't see a lot of No. 91 jerseys inside the Metrodome, but they'll probably be taken off the discount rack this week. Colombo has been the emotional leader of the Cowboys' offensive line since Bill Parcells salvaged his career, but he was physically whipped by the younger, faster Edwards on Sunday. Edwards finished the regular season with 8.5 sacks but he's often in the sizable shadow of Allen.

"He has played at a high level this year, just in terms of production," Childress said of Edwards. "But he showed up and he is always making plays and chasing the football. He's an extra heartbeat guy."

After the game, Childress took the opportunity to beat his chest and talk about the "nonsense" of the Cowboys being the hottest team in the playoffs. Down the road, the Cowboys will be able to look back at '09 as a successful season. They won a playoff game for the first time in 13 years and young players such as Mike Jenkins and Miles Austin have an opportunity to be stars in this league for a long time. Though he hasn't come right out and said it, owner Jerry Jones is going to bring back Wade Phillips for at least one more season. Phillips' defense was one of the best in the league over the past month and there's no need to make significant changes to the unit. I asked Phillips if he considered this a successful season.

"Well, our goal was to win it all and this isn't a success," said Phillips. "I do think we did a lot of great things and I thought winning the division was important and winning the playoff game at home was important. We need to get back to that point again next year."

The defense played well enough to give the Cowboys a chance at a comeback in the third quarter, but Brett Favre simply overwhelmed them in the first half. On his first of three touchdown passes to Sidney Rice, Favre launched a deep ball that was so precise that Cowboys safety Gerald Sensabaugh had no clue the ball had been caught. After the game, inside linebacker Keith Brooking wasn't looking for a silver lining.

"I don't consider this season a success," he told ESPN.com. "We took some steps in the right direction, but I wouldn't call it a successful season. You dive into the NFL season every year and then it comes to an abrupt halt like this. I'll go home tomorrow and ask my wife, 'What the hell do I do now?'"

It's a question a lot of Cowboys fans will be asking as well.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Tempers flared Sunday at the Metrodome after Minnesota’s final touchdown of a 34-3 playoff victory over Dallas. Cowboys linebacker Keith Brooking sprinted toward the Vikings’ sideline, taunting coach Brad Childress and later calling the late score “classless.”

Vikings nose tackle Pat Williams, meanwhile, said Brooking was lucky to escape the Minnesota sideline in one piece.

“We don’t care what Keith Brooking says,” Williams said. “He was about to get his ass whupped on our sideline over there. It don’t matter. Nobody said anything when they blew out the Eagles [the past two weeks]. It’s the playoffs. It ain’t no regular-season game. If you lose, you go home. We take no pity on them. Do they expect us to? I don’t care about no Brooking. He can say whatever he wants to say.”

To recap: Ahead 27-3 late in the fourth quarter, Childress left his starters in the game. The Cowboys gave up the ball on downs at their 37-yard line with 5:26 remaining, and the Vikings threw three passes on their ensuing six-play drive. The final one was an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe on fourth-and-3 with 1:55 remaining.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said the Vikings ran up the score. Said Brooking: “I thought it was classless. I thought it was B.S. Granted, we get paid to stop them, but we had zero timeouts left. I didn’t think there was any call for that.”

Told of Brooking’s comments, Shiancoe laughed and said: “OK, we apologize. I’m sorry. Better?”

The Vikings certainly didn’t need that score to win the game, and I stand by what I wrote after the game. But do the Cowboys have a right to be upset? Did they run it up the past two weeks on Philadelphia? Don’t forget that Childress and Eagles coach Andy Reid remain close friends.

Feel free to weigh in both this post and over at SportsNation.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Tony Romo had a chance in this game -- for at least one possession. Like they'd done in recent weeks, the Cowboys quickly marched down the field on their opening possession, but Romo was sacked by Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards and he fumbled the ball away. This would be a recurring theme in this game.

And once the Cowboys lost starting left tackle Flozell Adams to a right calf strain, all hope was pretty much lost. On the Cowboys' first possession without Adams, Vikings All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen raced around tight end Jason Witten and knocked the ball loose from Romo. The Vikings made it 17-3 after that play and the Cowboys didn't pose a serious challenge the rest of the game.

With better protection up front than Romo was afforded, Vikings quarterback Brett Favre threw two touchdowns in the first half. He hit Sidney Rice on a gorgeous 47-yard throw that Cowboys safety Gerald Sensabaugh literally never saw coming. Sensabaugh actually matched Rice step for step but he never looked up to find the ball. And as Rice strided into the end zone for his first of three touchdowns, Sensabaugh looked around to see what happened.

This was supposed to be two evenly matched teams, but I thought the hotter team (the Cowboys) would prevail. But it was obvious early in the game that the Vikings' pass rush was simply too potent for the Cowboys to handle. Cowboys coach Wade Phillips will get to coach this team for at least one more season. He's certainly earned that right. But the Cowboys will have to spend the offseason figuring out why they couldn't hold up against an elite defense.

I'm sure some Cowboys fans will be upset that Brad Childress chose to run up the score late in the game. But hey, the Cowboys are the ones who helped provide the opportunity. I'm headed to the visiting locker room. I'll have a column for you guys in a couple hours. Stay tuned.

MINNEAPOLIS -- I'm normally the first man in line to criticize the work of Brad Childress, but I think he made a wise decision in punting rather than having Ryan Longwell attempt a 53-yard field goal. And not simply because the punt took a Vikings bounce at the 2-yard line.

Childress is scared to give the Cowboys any spark at this point in the game. If Longwell misses, the Cowboys would've had good field position with about five minutes to go in the third quarter. Several ESPN.com writers disagreed with this opinion, but I'm sticking with it.

In case I don't have another chance to say this, Mat McBriar is an absolute weapon for the Cowboys. He keeps them in games at times when folks don't even notice.

AFC: Jets-Chargers: Graham | Williamson » Colts-Ravens: Kuharsky | Walker
NFC: Cowboys-Vikings: Mosley | Seifert » Saints-Cardinals: Yasinskas | Sando

Three nuggets of knowledge about Sunday's divisional playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys (12-5) and Minnesota Vikings (12-4).

1. Bring the noise: It's hard to imagine the Metrodome being louder than the Saturday night in New Orleans, where the Cowboys gained confidence with a win over the previously unbeaten Saints in Week 15. But that Viking horn going off every 30 seconds or so can start to play tricks with your mind. It's well-known that Cowboys left tackle Flozell Adams has some hearing loss, which contributed to his six false start penalties this season. Dallas has done an excellent job of getting off to quick starts during its four-game winning streak and that will be imperative against the Vikings on Sunday. The last thing the Cowboys want is to fall behind early and let this crowd get carried away. That's why I think it's important for Dallas to establish the running game early on. The Cowboys' enormous offensive line feeds off the running game. If the Cowboys have some early success on the ground, you'll see players such as Andre Gurode and Leonard Davis begin to gain confidence against the Vikings' talented front four.

2. Romo vs. his boyhood idol: I know that Tony Romo is trying to downplay the whole boyhood idol theme, but don't let him fool you. Growing up in Burlington, Wis., he tried to copy Brett Favre's every move. And when he first got into the NFL, he would wear his jacket on the sideline just like Favre (a cape) and position his chinstrap the exact same way as No. 4. It's no coincidence that he ended up with a similar style to Favre's. The Vikings are hoping they can take an early lead and force Romo to put too much pressure on himself. Romo's played better than Favre down the stretch, and I don't expect for his game to fade now. The Cowboys like the matchup they have with Miles Austin against Antoine Winfield, who's been banged up. I heard Chris Mortensen talking about it on the ESPN affiliate (103.3 FM) in Dallas on Thursday. He doesn't think Winfield is himself because of a bum foot, and he believes the Cowboys can exploit that matchup. Winfield's still a scrappy player, but he's not the guy he was three years ago -- or even three months ago, for that matter. If the Cowboys' offensive line can give Romo time, I think he can light up this secondary.

3. The Vikings' offensive tackles will have their hands full with the Cowboys' outside linebackers: Wade Phillips has been doing a nice job of moving DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer around. You'll even see them line up next to each other occasionally. It's important for the Vikings to communicate against this defense. I don't think Bryant McKinnie's prepared for what he's about to face with Ware. I guess Julius Peppers gave him a little preview, but Ware's even more relentless. Vikings coach Brad Childress must neutralize the Cowboys' pass rush by dumping off the ball to his tailbacks or fullbacks. Favre doesn't need a ton of time in the pocket, but you can't have him running for his life. The last time he faced a Phillips defense in the regular season, he was knocked out of the game after throwing two interceptions. Fortunately for Favre, Nate "The Mayor" Jones from Rutgers is no longer with the Cowboys. That's the man who sent him to the locker room on a corner blitz. This game should have it all, and the NFC East blog will be at the Metrodome to bring you every moment. Thanks for spending a little time with us this afternoon.

IRVING, Texas -- I've sat in on hundreds of conference calls over the years, so I'm used to coaches and players being in a hurry to finish. Brett Favre has always been one of the exceptions. He holds the Valley Ranch all-time record with a 28-minute conference call that was spurred on by his devotion to ESPN's Ed Werder. On Wednesday, Favre finally had to be cut off by a Vikings P.R. staffer after 19 minutes.

Among other things, he talked about his future, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware and the Vikings' struggles in December. Unlike head coach Brad Childress, Favre didn't mind addressing the state of the team.

"Well, I hope we can [overcome it]," Favre said. "From the outside looking in, if you had to look at both teams, us and the Cowboys, you’d go, OK, aside from the fact that the Cowboys are playing at the Vikings, who is the hottest team right now? Well, I mean, no duh. The Cowboys are. In all phases, they are playing great. Their defense is playing outstanding. They are peaking at the right time, if you will.

"The last game for us was a good game, fortunately. I was asked the question after that game, 'Does this make you feel better?' It definitely beats the alternative. It did give us a little confidence. We do, or will have to play like we did in that game, or like we had played throughout the season up until those last few games. We have to play that way in order to win this game.

"I mean, this is the playoffs. Rarely can you play badly or average and win. So, we are aware of how we need to play. In the fact that we are playing maybe, in my opinion, the hottest team in football right now. Just from a confidence level, from just watching them play, they are making plays, they know they are making plays, they are confident. ...

"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. We needed a game like that [blowout over the Giants]. Would we have loved to have won those other games and go in without a care in the world? Sure. But it was a wake-up call and hopefully we answered."

It sounds like Favre has a bright future in a TV studio when he retires -- eight or nine years from now. The good news for Cowboys fans is that Favre compared Dallas to the '07 Giants. He thinks they're "peaking" at the right time and they remind him of the team that beat his Packers in the NFC title game.

I asked Favre if he thought about the fact that this could be the final playoff game (or games) of his career and he had a quick response.

"I'm well aware of the opportunity [to win in the playoffs]," said Favre. "It's why I came back. To be sitting here playing in this game ... I'm not surprised. I have no idea what will happen Sunday. This very well could be my last opportunity in the playoffs, whether I play five more years or not."

So there you have it. Favre's leaving the door open to play until he's at least 45!

Here on the ESPN Blog Network, we’re bracing ourselves for quite possibly the biggest divisional playoff game in the history of the 2010 postseason. Come Sunday afternoon at the Metrodome, Dallas and Minnesota will reprise a storied postseason rivalry -- sans (hopefully) whiskey bottles, push-offs and Hail Marys. (Well, at least the push-offs.)

ESPN.com's Matt Mosley and Kevin Seifert have spent most of the week buried in the film room -- er, basement -- refining the blogging plan for the rest of the week. As now they’re ready to start breaking down this most critical game.

Kevin Seifert: Greetings from the North Pole, Matt. Actually, you’re going to get lucky this weekend. We’re expecting unseasonably warm temperatures here this weekend, with highs in the 30s. Normally we call that “May” in Minnesota. Usually at this time of year, you can get frostbite on half your hand while walking from the parking lot to the media entrance at the Dome.

Matt Mosley: I will look for any excuse to visit Minneapolis in mid-January and this game is as good as anything else I might come up with. Sid Hartman and I have been waiting on this postseason matchup for years. Jerry Jones tried to capture the "charm" of the Metrodome in his new Cowboys Stadium, but I'm not sure things worked out. And by the way, Drew Pearson told me to pass along his best wishes to Vikings fans.

KS: OK, Matt. Let’s get down to it. Everyone in the world thinks the Cowboys are going to win this game. Even ESPN’s Trent Dilfer is convinced of it. You’ve been close to the Cowboys this season. Are they as hot as everyone says they are?

MM: Kevin, in my eight years of covering the team, I've never been around a more confident bunch of players. I think they're the hottest team in the NFC right now because of something that took place last month in New Orleans. The players got sick and tired of all the talk of their December failures and went out and overwhelmed a Saints team in the Superdome. That game did wonders for the Cowboys' confidence. No quarterback in the playoffs has performed as well as Tony Romo over the past six games and he benefits from having a dominant defense. So yes, I think the Cowboys are as hot as everyone at the Mall of America is indicating.

KS: Actually, Matt, you need to be more specific. We now have Mall of America Field here in addition to the Mall of America. At Mall of America Field, the conversation is revolving around two things: Are the Vikings willing to accept that they are a pass-first offense? And can their tackles, Bryant McKinnie and Phil Loadholt, keep DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer at bay long enough for Brett Favre to get the ball downfield?

If they come out of the gates aggressively and use their full array of offensive weapons, I think they can put up some serious points against the Cowboys' defense. The Vikings are one of two teams in NFL history to have six players catch at least 40 passes. That’s too many receivers for any defense to keep track of if the pass protection is there.

What’s your take, Matt? Do you think Ware & Co. can be slowed down?

MM: I agree with the aforementioned Dilfer that Loadholt and McKinnie are outmatched by the Cowboys' outside linebackers. Since the last time you saw this team, Spencer has become a force. Cowboys defensive coordinator/head coach Wade Phillips even lines them up next to each other at times. Donovan McNabb didn't have a chance against the Cowboys' pass rush and you can argue that Jason Peters and Winston Justice are superior offensive tackles to what the Vikings have to offer. The Cowboys' plan is to make sure Favre has to test those 40-year-old legs. The last time he saw this defense, he completed 5 of 14 passes and was intercepted twice before being knocked out of the game at Texas Stadium. He was of course with a 10-1 Packers team at the time in '07. Keith Brooking told me Tuesday that the Eagles and Vikings have similar offenses, but he alluded to the fact that Brad Childress is much more likely to use the running game than his mentor, Andy Reid. Of course, that's a lot easier to do when you have the pride of Palestine, Texas, Adrian Peterson, in your backfield. It's been quite a while since a team has put up points on this defense -- and that includes a Chargers team that was held to a season-low in points. I don't think we'll have a shootout on our hands, but Sid might have other ideas.

KS: I'll check with Sid when I see him. In the meantime, Matt, we have two elephants crowding the room for this game: The head coaches. In Minnesota, there is an unspoken fear that Brad Childress will get in the way and try to force his power running game on the Cowboys. Prior to Favre’s arrival, and at times this year, that has been Childress’ preference. Childress also made a couple of questionable game-management decisions in last year’s playoff loss to Philadelphia.

On the other side, however, is Phillips. Do Minnesota fans have anything to fear in this matchup?

MM: Calling Phillips an elephant is a low blow, Kevin. The man might fill out a pair of Russell coaching shorts, but he deserves better from you. And yes, there's reason for Vikings fans to fear The Wade. No matter what you say about his head-coaching credentials, he's always been an excellent defensive coordinator. He puts players in position to succeed and he does a superb job of exploiting weaknesses. From reading your fine work on a regular basis, I'm aware that Vikings center John Sullivan isn't a large man. He'll be facing one of the best nose tackles in the game in Jay Ratliff. From time to time, the behemoth-type centers give Ratliff a little trouble. But he's been known to destroy the guys who are close to his size. Everyone's focused on the offensive tackles, but I could see the "Ratt" having a big game in the middle. It all starts with him in this defense.

KS: Interesting. OK, Matt. This was great but is only a step in our coverage plan for this week. Keep checking back on the NFC East and NFC North blogs through Sunday.

MM: Just to be honest, my coverage plan for Saturday is a little weak because of travel. But I've thoroughly enjoyed this tremendous show of synergy within the NFL Blog Network. Kevin, I arrive at 8:10 local time on American, so please pass that along to my driver. Peace and courage from the Beast.

It's hard to believe that we are not even a week removed from writing Wade Phillips' epitaph as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. It would have read something like, "One of best regular-season coaches of his time."

But suddenly we've had to call tombstone rewrite because on a wild Saturday night in the French Quarter, Phillips and his team may have rescued their season with a 24-17 win over the previously unbeaten Saints. If the Saints had lost a couple of weeks earlier to the Redskins, you could have attributed it to a lack of focus, but none other than Drew Brees admitted New Orleans had circled the Cowboys game on its schedule before the season.

No matter what they say now, the Saints and their adoring fans thought a win over the Cowboys would be the cherry on top of a brilliant regular season. But a funny thing happened on the way to perfection. We realized the flaws that showed up in close wins over the Redskins and Falcons could turn out to be full-blown warts.

And suddenly, two NFC East teams that have stumbled at times this season appear to be peaking at the right time. After winning five consecutive games, the Eagles have clinched a playoff spot and now a No. 2 seed isn't completely out of question. If you've seen Ed Werder's frozen mustache in the past 24 hours, you know Vikings quarterback Brett Favre and coach Brad Childress do not appear to be on the same page. Werder has done some excellent reporting that suggests Favre is frustrated by Childress' apparent lack of interest in discussing the game plans with him during the week. If Favre doesn't get his way, he's prepared to move the Vikings to Los Angeles without Childress.

But seriously, this is not a Vikings team that should scare either the Eagles or Cowboys. Philadelphia walked into the Metrodome last January and dispatched the Tarvaris Jackson-led Vikings in a wild-card playoff game. This is certainly a different team with Favre, but Andy Reid knows a thing or two about the 40-year-old quarterback.

And it's not as if the Cowboys are intimidated by Favre. They knocked him out of a game in 2007 while handing the Packers their first loss of the season. A lot of us spent the first 14 weeks of this season thinking it was a foregone conclusion that either the Saints or Vikings would represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. But things have changed.

The Eagles are the hottest team in the NFC at the moment and they're about to welcome Pro Bowl running back Brian Westbrook back to the lineup. We were ready to bury the Cowboys after back-to-back losses to the Giants and Chargers, but their win in New Orleans was the most impressive moment of the Phillips era. Don't look now, but everyone's favorite December punching bag, Tony Romo, is having a remarkable month. He hasn't thrown an interception in his past four games and he seems to be clicking with Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

Who else scares you in the NFC? The Packers were making noise for a few weeks, but the same defense that nearly shut out the Cowboys in November yielded 503 yards passing and three touchdowns to Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers last Sunday. At 9-5, the Cardinals are a dangerous team, but I don't feel like their offense is as potent now that former coordinator Todd Haley is in Kansas City.

That leaves the Giants as the only other team with a legitimate shot of making the playoffs. They have to win their final two games against the Panthers and Vikings and hope that the Cowboys stumble against either the Redskins or Eagles. Of course, they'll also be monitoring the Packers.

It's starting to look like the Vikings and Saints may have peaked too early. At this point, I don't see any reason the Eagles or the Cowboys couldn't make a deep playoff run. If you've studied recent playoff history, you know that having a playoff bye isn't always the best thing. The Cowboys went 13-3 in '07 and lost to the Giants in the divisional round. Last season, the Giants lost to the Eagles in a divisional playoff. I remember Giants defensive end Justin Tuck telling me after that game that he thought the layoff hurt his team.

"I'd rather just keep playing games," he told me at the time. "It's just better for our rhythm."

If that trend holds up, you have to like the Cowboys' and Eagles' chances.

Lost in all the drama at Redskins Park this season is the fact that quarterback Jason Campbell is actually putting up the best numbers of his career. My colleague Len Pasquarelli wrote a column on this very topic Tuesday, and he thinks some team could end up with a steal in Campbell either via free agency or a trade.

Could Campbell play his way back into the Redskins' plans in the second half of this season? I certainly hope not because the guy desperately needs a change of scenery after enduring Redskins owner Dan Snyder's wandering eyes for too long. Here's why Pasquarelli thinks Campbell is a poor fit in Jim Zorn's West Coast offense:

Campbell is stuck in a West Coast offense that is ill-suited to his strengths. His solid completion percentage aside, Campbell is not the classic "touch" passer. Instead, he's a quarterback with superb pocket stature (6-foot-5, 230 pounds) and a strong right arm, and is much better throwing the ball vertically than he is completing 5-yard timing routes.

So where could the 27-year-old Campbell have a shot at a starting job next season? Well, the Browns could certainly use an upgrade at quarterback. And the Bills and Panthers could both be in the market for a new starter. The best thing about Campbell is that you don't have to start from scratch. Yes, he's played for way too many offensive coordinators but some of that experience is a good thing. He's learned to adapt to change, and if someone could place him in a more vertical passing game, he might flourish.

Here are the other possibilities for Campbell: The Jaguars, Rams and dare I say it ... the Oakland Raiders. If Brett Favre walks away from the game for the third or fourth time, Campbell could even be a possibility for the Vikings. Brad Childress runs the West Coast offense, but he tends to take more shots downfield than Zorn. And playing with Adrian Peterson would likely make Campbell a much more effective passer.

At this point in his career, Clinton Portis no longer strikes fear in opposing defenses. Campbell simply sees too much pressure playing behind a patchwork offensive line. Now I'm anxious to hear from you. Are there any Redskins fans who would like for Campbell to stick around?