The NFL playoffs are fun time of year, there even more fun when they're paired up with one of the most quote worthy shows. (Source HBO.com)

My Entourage discovery is similar to the trend of how Super Bowl contenders emerge during the course of a season. Prior to the season people would look at teams like San Diego and Baltimore and view them as good teams, below the level of the elite squads. Then as the season unfolds and as teams assert themselves as legitimate contenders people latch on and become believers. And at the same time they start to question why they couldn’t have seen their potential much earlier.

So without further adieu here’s my NFL playoff preview, Entourage-style.

AFC Teams 

No. 1: San Diego Chargers

Ari: I'm ready to go, baby. I'm like R. Kelly at recess.

It’s only fitting that perhaps the best quote from the entire show would go to the best team in football.

Not only are the Chargers the best team in football they also have the best player in football in LaDainian Tomilinson who is coming off a regular season where he set the new TD record with 31 scores and 2,300 combined yards. Philip Rivers did an admirable job of replacing Drew Brees this season, earning a Pro Bowl spot even though he unraveled in the second half of the year. The defence also boasts several difference makers in Jamal Williams, Luis Castillo and the virtually unblockable and unstoppable Shawne Merriman.

The biggest negatives against the Chargers is that they’re unproven as a playoff team, and they have a coach that’s in some elite company for career wins but is in the hall of shame for performances in big games. Despite those two facts they look like the team to beat because they’ve got LT, who’s perhaps being only matched by Leonardo DiCaprio right now in terms of who’s having the bigger year.

No. 2: Baltimore Ravens

Vince: Look at where we are. Did you ever think we'd have this?

For all the hype the Bears defense got this year the Ravens were even better.  Time will tell but this defensive unit looks even better than the Super Bowl squad the Ravens boasted in 2001. The Pro Bowl squad has four Ravens defenders including two linebackers – neither of which are Ray Lewis. That just gives you an idea of how deep and talented this unit is.

Prior to this year it was a bleak five year period for the Ravens. They lost a ton of their key players from the Super Bowl squad to free agency and they struggled mightily to find a competent QB. With the off-season acquisition of Steve McNair the Ravens finally found their stabilizing force in a proven winner who made a world of difference on offense.

The Ravens unquestionably have the best defense in football but they’re upgraded offense is still considered just mediocre.

Interesting note: The Ravens already hold a victory over the Chargers, a 16-13 victory in Week 4. These teams could be headed for another showdown in the AFC Conference Final.

No. 3: Indianapolis Colts

Vince: It's not about the awards. If it's good, I'll do it.

Peyton Manning always looks phenomenal in the regular season and then goes the route of the Spanish national soccer team and tanks in the playoffs. There’s no doubt that he’s a great player; it’s just that he and the Colts look so tight and reserved when it comes to the post-season, kinda like they’re playing not to lose.

It’s been well documented how porous the Colts run defense was this year; opponents averaged 173 yards against them this year. If this were the NHL the Colts run defense would be Martin Gerber.

Needless to say a team with such a bad defense has never made it to the Super Bowl and I don’t see the Colts bucking that trend.

No. 4: New England Patriots

Eric: He's got you blowing a guy on page 26!

Poor Tom Brady; he pledges his allegiance to the Patriots by signing a massive contract extension a year and half ago only to see his entire WR corps replaced by a bunch of guys you’d expect to find on the Free Agent list in Madden.  Reche Caldwell, Jabar Gaffney, Doug Gabriel and Chad Jackson may not be quite as bad as the proposed scene in Queen’s Boulevard but they’re not far off.

The Pats will clearly be banking on the running game to produce along with the annual dose of Tom Brady postseason magic. This team has gaping deficiencies at WR and the secondary. With that being said, the defence gave up the second least TDs behind only Baltimore this year. That combined with their underdog status this go around makes them the best sleeper choice out there.

No. 5: NY Jets

Ari Gold: Who's Josh Weinstein?
Emily: Are you joking? He's your old assistant.

Talk about a surprise team. Prior to season most people had the Jets slotted in as one of the front-runners for the Brady Quinn/Adrian Peterson sweepstakes and now here they sit as a playoff squad. The Jets exceeded expectations largely because of three factors: Chad Pennington was named comeback player of the year, the Jets made due in the running game without Curtis Martin and the NFL’s youngest coach, Eric Mangini turned out to be a “Mangenius”.

Everyone has been impressed with Mangini’s coaching performance this year except for one notable exception, his former boss Bill Belichek. Belichek and Mangini had two frigid post-game handshakes during the regular season and most recently Belichek delivered a nice backhanded compliment of Mangini’s success this year.

“This is a team that two years ago was a field goal away from the A.F.C. championship game. Those guys have a lot of playoff experience there. I’m not saying it’s the same team from two years ago, but it’s pretty close.”

In other words – I’m not giving him any credit for the job he did.

The Jets are playing with house money at this point. Can they pull off the upset and beat the Pats at Foxboro again? It’s possible but more than likely the Jets’ terrific season will end early.

No. 6: Kansas City Chiefs

Turtle: It's like getting mad at the bull for giving you the horns when you never should have been in the ring in the first place.

I don’t want to say the Chiefs are an undeserving playoff team because they did win when everyone else around them lost but the Chiefs are here largely because of the self destruction of both the Broncos and Jaguars. Quite frankly, the Chiefs aren’t a great team, the passing game has been lousy since Trent Green returned, the defense is middle of the road and the X factor dynamic of Dante Hall is no longer present, the Bears Devin Hester now owns that league title.  The lone bright spot is Larry Johnson and the run game.

On paper the Chiefs first round draw against the Colts is a match-up made in heaven. Has a team ever had 95% of their offensive plays result in a run? The Chiefs medical staff better have some IV fluids and oxygen masks ready for Larry Johnson because he’s going to see the ball a ton. Whatever over/under odds Vegas is giving on LJ’s rushing totals pick the over.

Despite the monster running day the Chiefs are bound to have I don’t see them upsetting the Colts.

NFC Teams

No. 1: Chicago Bears

Ari Gold:  Let's hug it out, bitch.

Jeremy Piven is a Chicago native and when he got invited to sing “Take me out to the ball game” during the 7^th inning stretch at a Cubs game he started by addressing the crowd with his signature quote – it wasn’t really well received by non-Entourage fans but funny nonetheless.

The Bears need a good hug these days. For better part of this year Chicago was deemed invincible and unbeatable. The defense was conjuring up memories of the Monsters of the Midway days and the offense looked fantastic under Rex Grossman.

Grossman was even one of the top-rated QBs for the first quarter of the year (then again David Carr was high on that list as well). Then the famous and now historic Arizona game happened.

In that MNF contest Grossman played like he laid down a couple grand on the Cardinals by throwing four interceptions and fumbling twice – 6 turnovers! In spite of Grossman the Bears pulled off the miracle victory but since that game Grossman has been largely undependable.  In the remaining 10 games after the Cardinals meltdown Grossman had another 4 absolute stinkers, 2 pedestrian performances, 2 solid performances and 2 great games.

Compounding problems the Bears have suffered significant injuries on defense and no longer resemble the same impressive unit they had at the beginning of the year. Don’t get me wrong the defense is still great but when you allow Tim Rattay and the Buccaneers to put up 31 points on you at home and force you into OT some of the luster is bound to come off.

Until the Bears bring in a dependable QB the efforts of their defense will continue to be squandered.

No. 2 :New Orleans Saints

Ari Gold: Call me Helen Keller because I'm an f’n miracle worker!

Alright, Sean Payton you’re Helen Keller.

The New Orleans Saints are easily my favourite story of the year. My highlight of the year is that opening game when Steve Gleason blocked the punt leading to Curtis Deloatch’s TD in the first game back to the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina. I’m a huge Buccaneers fan and I actually found myself cheering for the Saints, a NFC South division rival for much of this year because they were such an inspiring and uplifting storyline for a community desperately in need of something positive to latch onto.

In any other year Drew Brees is easily the MVP of the league for the turnaround he had on the Saints. Maybe it was the Purdue colours because Brees looked right at home all year and finished the season with a CFL-like 4,400 yards passing.

The Saints fully sold me on their Super Bowl aspirations when they beat down the Cowboys 42-17 in Dallas on Dec 10^th, during the height of the Tony Romo love fest. In that game Brees threw for 384 yards and 5 scores.

It just seems like this is the Saints year and I guarantee you that no one’s beating them in that dome with that fan base. The Saints even have the weather working in their favour as this has been an unseasonably warm winter with little snow – a nice factor to consider if the Saints have to venture to Chicago for the NFC conference game.

No. 4: Seattle Seahawks

Ari: Her favorite actor in this town is you.
Vince: Sharon Stone said that?
Ari: Absolutely.
Vince: She's still good looking.
Ari: Yeah, in the right light.

It’s gonna take one hell of a special light for this year’s version of the Seahawks to be confused with the Super Bowl squad from last season. It’s hard to get an accurate gauge of this team because they haven’t had their full starting roster assembled for most of the season. The Seahawks have been ravaged by injuries this year, most notably to last year’s MVP Shaun Alexander and QB Matt Hasselbeck. The rash of injuries has persisted into the playoffs where the ‘Hawks are Nicole Richie-thin in the secondary and at the WR position. 

Despite starting the playoffs at home, where they usually benefit from a significant home field advantage due to the extreme crowd noise I can’t see the “Hawks having enough to make any kind of playoff run.

Let’s just call this one a mulligan like Sharon Stone’s decision to film Basic Instinct 2.

No. 3: Philadelphia Eagles

Johnny Drama: I've been working steady for the past twelve years, minus the last three.

The Johnny Drama quote is clearly directed at Jeff Garcia who had years of success in the CFL followed up by several Pro Bowl seasons with the 49ers before dropping off the face of the planet with two abysmal stints with the Browns and Lions before resurfacing this year.

I actually picked the Eagles as my surprise team in the pre-season after many people were writing their eulogy in the tough NFC East. Although to be fair because Jeff Garcia was at the helm for the Eagles 5-1 finish after Run DMc went down for the year, my pick of the Eagles at the start of the year doesn’t hold as much weight – kind of like making a shot in pool but not into the intended pocket.

The Eagles are the hottest team in the NFL right now and as evidenced by the Edmonton Oilers big playoff run last year, late season momentum can be a great enabler for playoff success.  On offense the Eagles actually look much better under Garcia than they’ve looked under McNabb for some time – one of the main reasons is ability to limit mistakes, 10 TDs thrown to only 2 INTs. On defense the Eagles have had a sub par season (by their standards) but have looked considerably better over the last few weeks.

No. 6: NY Giants

Johnny Drama: It's emasculating having your kid brother pay for your head shots.
Eric: And Vince paying for the rest of your life is what? Empowering?

With each passing week the trade of Eli Manning from the Chargers to the Giants for three draft picks (Philip Rivers, Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding) continues to skyrocket up the all-time list of most lopsided trades. When The Best Damn Sports Show does their feature show on bad trades this one’s guaranteed to crack the top 10 list.

The Giants were 6-2 at one point this year before plummeting to a 2-6 finish. The Giants couldn’t have had a more inconsistent season, at one point they won five straight only to follow it up with a streak of four straight losses. There were many reasons for the Giants freefall – they lost several key players on offense and defense to injuries, the players continued to question the direction of coaching and Eli Manning regressed heavily over the course of the year. Manning had a 52.9 QB rating for the month of November – that’s Andrew Walter territory. Yikes!

At this point someone better get Eli a good flashlight because he’s never going to get out of Peyton’s shadow with years like this. Or maybe Eli just needs calf implants to make himself feel better.

The only way the Giants move on is if Tiki takes the team on his back like he did in Week 17 against the Redskins and runs for 200+ and 3 scores.

No. 5: Dallas Cowboys

Ari: All right, here's what you do. You deal with talent the same way that you deal with women. You have to make them believe that they need you more then you need them.

It’s been a bizarre year in Dallas, the whole T.O. saga, the switch from Bledsoe to Romo and the roller coaster of emotions that the fans have been dragged through. In the span of two months the Cowboys have looked like a team that would miss the playoffs to a legitimate Super Bowl contender to a team that’s lucky to be heading to the playoffs.

There are a lot of negatives surrounding Big D as we enter the playoffs. The pass defense is atrocious and they’re vulnerable to giving up big plays – not a good sign for playoff success. The honeymoon with Tony Romo appears over, which will happen when you throw an interception and fumble four times against the Detroit Lions in the season finale.

The one positive is that the Cowboys have drawn the secondary-ravaged Seahawks in the first round which should open up a big day for Romo, Terry Glenn and T.O. Who knows with a big win against Seattle and some momentum heading into matchup with the Bears, Dallas may somehow find their way into the NFC title game.

Predictions:

New England over NY Jets

Indianapolis over KC

Dallas over Seattle

Philadelphia over NY Giants

San Diego over New England

Baltimore over Indianapolis

Chicago over Dallas

New Orleans over Philadelphia

San Diego over Baltimore

New Orleans over Chicago

San Diego over New Orleans