With the recent success of NBC’s version of “The Office” and the still outstanding and high ‘re-watchable’ factor of the BBC original version of the series I decided on an “Office” theme for my NFL Playoff preview. Hey, if I was able to compare each team with a 2Pac song last year then suspend belief for a few minutes and read on.

AFC Conference

Indianapolis Colts – Christmas Party

It’s only fitting that the Colts pilgrimage to the biggest game of the year be compared to the biggest annual office event. After toying with a perfect season which was ended at the hands of the Chargers in Week 14, the Colts have never looked more poised to win it all this year. The offense is still unrivaled and still impossible to contain and the defense has finally caught up, to the point where they’re no longer considered a liability. Dungy has molded a group into a Bucs-light defense with strong ball hawking skills and an aggressive pass rush.

The journey to this point hasn’t been easy. The Colts have had a slew of embarrassing moments in the past few years. In fact, if the Colts last two playoff seasons were Christmas parties then the demoralizing defeats suffered at the hands of the Patriots would rank as the ill-advised equivalent of getting tanked and making out with a co-worker in full view of everyone.

Luckily I think the Colts will stay sober this year and use that home-field advantage to roll through everyone enroute to a Super Bowl win.

Denver Broncos – The Office Tease

After flashing signs of brilliance over the last few seasons the Broncos and more specifically Jake Plummer were able to put it all together this season. If there’s one team this year (NO DISRESPECT to your team Mr. Brady) that can upstage the Colts it’s the boys from the Mile High City. We all know that the office tease is at her best at the Christmas Party!

Plummer has been a revelation this year getting rid of poor decision making and mixing in a strong pocket presence with an already developed rolling out passing game. The defense is solid and full of playmakers although the young group of CBs are prone to lapses. Look for the Broncos to reach the AFC conference game and test the Colts.

Cincinnati Bengals – The Company Golf Tournament

	Chad Johnson has become a fan favourite with his outlandish celebrations and love of the game. (Source: AP)

I never thought I’d see the day when the Bengals would be one of the most exciting teams in the NFL but the moment has arrived. Carson Palmer has evolved into a star QB, and Chad Johnson’s celebrations and flat-out fun playing the game are a constant source of amusement. The Bengals won the AFC North crown this year in impressive fashion. They went toe-to-toe against the Colts, they walked in Heinz Field and beat the Steelers for the division; it’s almost enough to make you forget the past. I say almost. The thing is it’s hard to forget their bumbling past when they were affectionately known as the Bungels. And this is where the Bengals are a little like a company golf tournament. Both are entertaining – whether it’s a long drive contest or a Chad Johnson TD celebration, a certain level of competitiveness is displayed, but for the most part people don’t take it too seriously and with Johnson’s constant hamming it up and their checkered past it’s hard to think of the Bengals as much more than a good time. Maybe in that respect they’re more like Tara Reid than a company golf tournament.

The Steelers-Bengals match-up will be the highlight game of the opening playoff weekend. In the end I see Cincinnati’s playoff inexperience and over exuberance (remember this is their first playoff trip in 15 years) costing them against the more experienced Steelers team.

New England Patriots – Annoying Joke Guy

With all their overexposure, media hype, endless commercials and praise the Patriots have become the football equivalent of the New York Yankees – hated because of their success and lately because of their whining. Tom Brady recently stated that he felt the Pats were being disrespected by everyone, "I think we've been probably disrespected more than any team in the league this year." And yes that statement came from the very same Sportsmen of the Year Tom Brady. Saying the Patriots are disrespected is like saying that Coldplay is underexposed. Just ludicrous.

With Brady’s latest comments the Pats are starting to reach that same annoying level of the guy who’s obsessed with sharing ‘Dilbert’ jokes and brutal email forwards.

The Patriots have had a season of two-halves. The first included a brutally difficult schedule; the second included the return of MLB Tedy Bruschi from a stroke and the impressive display from Tom Brady to will the team into the playoffs. The Pats seem to be peaking at the right time, which means they could face off against the Colts in Indy in the second round of the playoffs.

The Colts have already pulled off the equivalent of an email block on the Patriots with a victory in Foxboro earlier this season. Expect the Pats to fall once again to the Colts in the dome.

Jacksonville Jaguars – The New Hire

There’s always a quiet buzz and sense of intrigue when an office makes a new hire. There’s that similar feeling about the Jags joining the playoff fray this year.

In what could have been the major turning point of the season the Jags didn’t miss a beat when Byron Leftwich went down in late November with a broken ankle. Instead, David Garrard stepped in and led the team to a 4-1 record. Somewhat quietly the Jags compiled a 12-4 record with a real win by committee effort. Four RB’s split duty, 3 WRs took turns scoring and despite the loss of Donovan Darius to injury and the lack of any Pro-Bowlers, the defensive unit was solid.

It’s too much to ask the Jags to walk into Foxboro and beat Brady and Belichick this year but they can build on the experience and return next year.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Probationary Period

It was hard for the Steelers not to have a letdown this season after the great year they had in 2004. The Steelers went 14-2 and found their franchise QB in Ben Roethlisberger. This year Big Ben was seemingly hurt all year with a bad knee and a hurt thumb on his throwing hand and the Steelers defense wasn’t as effective as last season’s Blitz-burgh crew.

It’s almost as if last season was the Steelers’ probationary period and this year we’re just seeing their comfort level after getting a full-time contract. Still even at their comfort level the Steelers are extremely dangerous. The tandem of Willie Parker and Jerome Bettis is awesome and Hines Ward has a penchant for making big plays.

I can see the Steelers getting past the Bengals in the first round but they don’t have enough to topple the Colts or Broncos in the 2nd round.

NFC Conference

Seattle Seahawks – Supporting the Kids

I know that the Seattle Seahawks had the best record in the NFC, have a running back that just recorded a historical season and a QB that has quietly become one of the most efficient signal callers in the league but yet I still remain skeptical of the Seahawks’ chances of advancing to the Super Bowl.

In the same way that everyone feels compelled to buy a box of girl scout cookies, a chocolate bar that’s raising money for a field trip or a pledge to sponsor someone’s kid for every mile they run in a marathon I feel compelled to give the Seahawks a certain level of respect for earning the No. 1 seed in the conference.

The respect has limits though and I’m not overly impressed with Seattle’s defense or their ability to win with the passing game especially when they may have to face off against the run defenses of Bucs or Bears down the road.

And since I have nothing else to add, when I have kids one day I’m going to ensure that they set some sort of record for money raised. I’m going to go for the full-out guilt trip and bring them into the office to do their own canvassing. If you thought it was hard to reject a parent’s effort, just imagine the difficulty of turning down a determined kid.

Chicago Bears – Boss’ Jokes

	The Bears offense is like a bad joke from the Boss. (Source: BBC)

When a team turns to Rex Grossman for an offensive spark and is successful you know that team has either already clinched the Reggie Bush sweepstakes or they have one hell of a good defense that has led them into the playoffs. The fact that we’re talking about the Chicago Bears as a No. 2 seed is a reflection of how good the Lovie Smith assembled defensive unit of Alex Smith, Tommie Harris, Brian Urlacher, Nathan Vasher, Lance Briggs and Mike Brown truly is.

With all apologies to Grossman and the passing game the Bears offense is Thomas Jones. Jones had a great year posting the second best Bears rushing yard total next to the great Walter Payton. The Bears passing offense finished second last, averaging only 125 passing yards per game – which is like Peyton Manning’s production in the first quarter. In fact, admiring the Bears offensive prowess outside of Jones’ contributions is about as phony as laughing at all the boss’ jokes. A boss’ joke is one of those rare circumstances where something anti-humourous gets a positive reaction or as I like to call it, the ‘Everybody Loves Raymond” phenomenon. (The fact that everyone is dead-panned at all of David Brent’s jokes in the original Office made the series what it is).

The Bears will host one home game so they will have the advantage of the frigid cold on their side but I don’t think it will be enough to compensate for their offensive deficiencies.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Company Bonus

After their 2002 Super Bowl victory the Bucs experienced a freefall rattling off a 7-9 record in 2003 followed by a 5-11 season last year. Then seemingly out of nowhere the Bucs landed a prime contract (the drafting of Cadillac Williams), figured out how to combat their weaknesses (poor run stop) and suddenly voila, you have a successful organization that exceeded shareholder expectations and won the NFC South title.

The Bucs’ defense this year is as good as it has ever been, leading the NFL in yards allowed per game. And the mix of Cadillac and Alstott has given the Bucs their most potent running game since the days that Warrick Dunn graced the field at Raymond James.

With a wide-open field in the NFC the Bucs have as good of a shot to make it the Super Bowl as any other club in the conference. They open up at home in a rematch of the Game of the Year nominee against the Redskins and then they travel to Chicago to face a beatable Bears club. After that they face either the Seahawks on the road or another home contest.

Hey, anything is possible when you’re playing with house money.

New York Giants – Conferences

The Giants are a different team at home then they are on the road, much the same way that attending a local conference is an extremely different experience than when you travel for an event. The reality is, when you go on the road the chance for mishaps to occur increases; luggage can be lost, temptations on the road increase and the desire to explore a new city can take the focus off the task at hand. The fact that the Giants play their first playoff game at home is important because Eli Manning has only won 3 road games in his career and one of those came against the 49ers.

Eli has plenty of offensive weapons with Burress, Shockey, and Toomer as passing targets and with the all-purpose Barber at his disposal it will likely be enough for Elijah to win his first playoff game.

Carolina Panthers – Staff Luncheon

The Panthers are a complete enigma. There are times when they look like the NFC Champs of old that took the Pats to the limit in Super Bowl XXXVIII and then there are games when even the Houston Texans can tease the Panthers for their effort. A perfect example came in Week 16 against the Cowboys. In what was a home game that would have virtually assured them the NFC South crown, the Panthers instead get humbled. They have difficulty running the ball one week and then Deshaun Foster is posting 70-yd runs in the next week. Their defense looks impenetrable one week and then looks weaker than A-Rod’s performance in a big game the next when it seems like anyone can run on them.

The Panthers are like the unpredictable staff luncheon. The kind of lunch where the first guy to order drinks mistakes the tone and orders a Texas size bottle of Corona only to see everyone else at the table order water. Which Panthers team will show up against the Giants? Probably a hybrid of both. The inconsistent run defense worries me though and I can see Tiki Barber having a monster game.

Washington Redskins – Performance Review

The Redskins were another one of those surprising clubs that made the playoffs. Who knew that the Santana Moss-Laveraneus Coles deal would turn out to be such a one-way deal? Or that Joe Gibbs’ decision to name Mark Brunell his starter would be such a good call? Or that the Redskins’ defense would have been as good as they were while underutilizing Lavar Arrington? Or that Gregg Williams and brilliant coach would be mentioned in the same sentence?

On that basis you have to give the ‘Skins high marks for their overachieving - Williams has already cashed in signing the richest coordinator contract in league history.

As good as Moss has been this year the Redskins over reliance on finding Moss is also their main shortcoming. Clinton Portis looks a bit banged up and will have a hard time against the Bucs run defense. On a positive note the ‘Skins look they have found an admirable foe to challenge Mrs. McNabb for the NFL’s Mom title after Portis’ mom laid a whooping on some Eagles fans who were trash talking her son.

Predictions:

AFC Final: Colts over Broncos
NFC Final: Bucs over Giants
Super Bowl: Colts over the Bucs…that’s right, Dungy tops his old club.