So the Atlanta Falcons are in the playoff hunt huh?  Pardon me if I am not too excited.  We may be in the hunt, but we are carrying a paint ball gun.

This is rudimentary, but assume for the moment that each team has a 50-50 chance of winning any certain game.  Look, I said this is rudimentary.  Bear with me, OK?  Besides there is all this parity in the league, right?  Rrrriiiggghhht!

OK, overlook for the moment that the Giants are playing the Redskins and that they could actually lose and still get in.  Let's just assume their chances are 50%

Now consider combinations.  If New York loses and Green Bay wins the Packers are in.  So their odds are about 25%.

The Panthers need New York and Green Bay to lose while they win if they are to get in.  Say their odds are around 13%.

The Falcons need all four of the previously mentioned teams to lose while they beat Philadelphia.  OK, I know, ain't gonna happen, the Eagles have to be at least more than a 50% favorite to win this one.  But please, hang in here with me.  Based on the logic described above the Falcons have about a 6% chance of making the playoffs.

And, just in case you are a Rams fan, I'll give you 3%.

Now, I need to do a little rounding to get the percentages to total up to 100.  Spreading this out evenly based on the percentages I started out with yields,

Giants      52%  Shotgun

Packers   26%  Rifle

Panthers 13%  B B Gun

Falcons     6%  Paintball Gun

Rams        3%  Slingshot

Total        100%

Now you know why I am real tempted to hang up spending most of my time blogging on the Falcons and start blogging more on Tennessee Volunteers football as I look toward New Years Day and the Outback Bowl.