NFC championship next week: The oddsmakers in Vegas have the Saints as a slight favorite (only because of home-field, probably), but the all-knowing talking heads on TV seem to be leaning towards the Vikings, especially their defensive line.

My beloved Saints seem to be at their best when considered to be underdogs, so I'm glad that at least some of the high-profile "experts" are jumping on the Favre/Minnesota bandwagon.

Reggie Bush has been kept under wraps through the entire regular season, playing part-time to allow some injuries to completely heal. Based on Saturday's performance, he might be ready to break out and show the star quality that has been expected of him since he was drafted.

The N.O. defense should also perfrom at a high level, better than the casual observer might expect, because most of the starting players are healthy for the first time in well over a month. After the big Monday-night Patriots win, the Saints had to play with their top three cornerbacks out with injuries: both starters plus the "nickel back" (#1 reserve). All those guys are back now and played very well against Arizona.

I see the biggest question-mark to be the Saints' offensive line vs the Vikings defensive front. Both are among the best in the league at their respective roles. I see the Saints as winning fairly convincingly (although maybe not so overwhelmingly as this past week), but if they fall short, it will be because of Minnesota pressure on Brees.

Jets were pretty impressive. If they can keep it going vs the Colts, there's no telling what they might be able to do in the final round!