The NFL's Own "Warming" Hoax

I'm sure I listened to and read more sports pundit commentary going into this playoff season than last since I had so much more of a vested interest. And one of the great recurring themes I heard was captured in the image of "hot."

Which teams were hot? That seemed to be the great indicator for playoff success.

Again and again I heard these guys extolling the Cowboys and Packers as the hottest teams in the NFC. Green Bay, after all, had won 7 of 8 during the second half of the season, and that one loss was only by a single point on the final play of the game. And while the Cowboys didn't have quite such a streak, their dominating performances against the Saints and Eagles made everyone believers.

Meanwhile, over on the AFC side, was there any team hotter than the San Diego Chargers? Weren't they winners of 11 straight games, or something like that?

Now at the other end of the thermometer, you had teams like Indy, New Orleans, and Minnesota. Indy had taken its foot off the pedal. The Saints seemed to fall apart at the end of the season. And the Vikings' two late-season losses raised a lot of questions and eyebrows.

Well, remind me next year not to play any attention to these temperature-takers. "Hot" evidently has nothing to do with playoff success. For now the Packers, Cowboys, and Chargers are all cooling their heels at home, while the Colts, Saints, and Vikings move decisively on.