During the Saints bye week I watched as many NFC games as I could and came to a fairly surprising conclusion: the NFC is wide open.

The NFC has one team (Chicago) that’ll win 12 or 13 games while a bunch of other teams will end up with anywhere from 9 to 11 wins. This will lead the screaming heads on ESPN and other networks to say that the Bears will dominate their way through the playoffs.

Alex Brandon / Associated Press

Saints are getting it done in the NFC. So why not dream about Miami?

The Bears will waltz through the NFC Central and their defense will—obviously—look fantastic. The memory of the Cardinals crushing them for three quarters before giving the game away will fade over time.

Carolina went to Chicago last year and lit up that great Bear defense in a playoff game, so in the words of Dennis Green, “If you want to crown ‘em, then go ahead and crown them.”

Personally, I’ll hold off.

The Seahawks are crippled by injuries, Carolina for whatever reason has trouble scoring, Atlanta is as hot and cold as Michael Vick, the Rams defense gives up a ton of big plays, Dallas is on the verge of a meltdown (It will be spectacular and ESPN will cover every second) and Philadelphia has trouble closing out games.

That leaves us with the Giants, Vikings, and Saints.

New York has survived their brutal early schedule and has control of the NFC East. The only weakness they have is their secondary, which is, well…terrible.

The Vikings have a Super Bowl winning quarterback, a solid running game, and has remaining games against San Francisco, Green Bay (twice), Arizona, Detroit, and Miami. That, my friends, is what I call one tasty schedule.

This brings us to the Saints, who have a tough schedule, but also have on their team a hot quarterback, a raucous home crowd, and a defense that, while not great, plays smart. And lets include the whole “magical season” thing.

This much I know for sure: it won’t surprise me whoever is the NFC Super Bowl representative.

Every team has its flaws, which means any team can win. So this year, more than any other, you want a ticket to the playoffs.

Of course, we’re not even half way home but whenever I can put the words “Saints” and “Super Bowl” in the same sentence and not laugh hysterically, well I’m going to do it.

On to this week’s picks:

(Note: Last week the Saints were on a bye and so was I. I posted a 0-3-1 week. I even forgot to add my pick of Philadelphia over Tampa, which actually saved me another loss. So this week I’m going to pick six games to get the record nice and even.)

Baltimore at New Orleans (-2)

In the last two games Donovan McNabb and Bruce Gradkowski have thrown for a combined 547 yards and four touchdowns. Doing my research for this game my one concern was the Saints pass defense but the Saints rank a surprising ninth against the pass despite the last two games being a struggle.

If Bruce Gradkowski can have his way with the Saints then maybe Steve McNair can, too.

Of course, McNair has only thrown for 250 yards one time this year and the Ravens have yet to see one of their running backs post more than 90 yards in a game. Baltimore’s offense is clearly in the tank, hence Billick firing his offensive coordinator.

This game will take us all the way back to 1991, with offenses struggling and defenses ruling the day. In 1991, the Saints had Bobby Hebert and most weeks he didn’t turn the ball over and then Morten Andersen would kick four field goals and the Saints would win 19-7.

I get the sense Baltimore is on the downward slide and Brian Billick’s job security will start to get dicey.

This game won’t be fun to watch like the Eagles game, but the Saints have Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Joe Horn, Deuce, and Marques Colston. The Ravens have a washed up McNair, an old Derrick Mason, a frustrated Jamal Lewis, and a pro bowler in Todd Heap.

Advantage Saints.

The defense holds Baltimore down and the offense does just enough. My gut senses a Saints blowout but I’m still guessing Ray Lewis keeps it close. Saints 17-10

Atlanta at Cincinnati (-4)

When Michael Vick is hot throwing the ball he is spectacular. Of course that only happens three times a year and rarely back to back. The Bengals take control of the AFC North. Bengals 28-24

Dallas at Carolina (-5)

Tony Romo + horrible Cowboys offensive line + Julius Peppers = Severe beat down. Panthers 31-10

Tampa Bay (+9) at N.Y. Giants

The Bucs look like a six or seven win team. All their games except one have been close and the Giants might have a post Dallas let down. Giants 21-13

New England at Minnesota (+2)

After the Vikings went to Seattle and won they are starting to convince me. And remember, “When in doubt, always take the home dog on Monday night.” Vikings 23-16

Seattle at Kansas City (-6)

Why do all the experts think the Seahawks will be okay with Seneca Wallace at quarterback? No Hasslebeck + no Shawn Alexander = No chance. Chiefs 35-7

Last week: 0-3-1

Season: 20-13-1

Ralph Malbrough is a Saints fan living in California in part due to hurricane Katrina. He can be reached at ralphmalbrough@hotmail.com