One thing working against Brees owners was that in Week 11 New Orleans hung a 38-7 loss on the Bucs, who seemingly have been playing out the string ever since training camp broke.
Working for Brees owners is that Minnesota, the only other team that could win homefield advantage, doesn't play until Monday. The Saints will take the Bucs seriously and probably hang another 30-something.
The problems in Indianapolis are much more immediate. Manning will start against the visiting Jets. Beyond that, who knows? The coach isn't saying, but expect to see backup Curtis Painter, a rookie out of Purdue.
It's hard not to look back at 2005 when the Colts clinched domefield throughout after their 13-0 start. Manning played the whole way the following week in a loss to the Chargers, but sat most of the final two games. Indy ended up 14-2, but was shocked by Pittsburgh in the divisional round. Was rust a factor? You can bet your whack-a-mole mallet it will be brought up.
"Right now, I could not tell you exactly what it's going to be," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said, "whether or not a guy plays one series or the entire game. I couldn't tell you that honestly, right now."
Meanwhile, all George Harrison did was play lead guitar with some guys named John, Paul and Ringo. Jerome Harrison ran for 286 yards and three scores for the Browns against the Chiefs Sunday during fantasy playoff season.
Harrison the football player not only got his game jersey scooped up by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but his breakout performance has earned a spot in fantasy lineups, especially this week against the Raiders' 28th-ranked run defense. We love him, yeah-yeah-yeah.
"The runner [Harrison] was
really hooked up . . . He's a good finisher," Oakland coach Tom Cable said on a conference call. "But when you run for those kind of yards, you're blocking people."
