Columnist Dean Juipe: Otherworldly forces impact NFL playoffs

Dean Juipe

Friday, Jan. 10, 2003 | 10:17 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

History, as we know it, is losing importance if not becoming irrelevant.

Take, for instance, these two unrelated recent incidents as inescapable proof: Green Bay went into last week's first-round NFL playoff game having won all 13 previous playoff games it had played at home, yet was steamrolled by an Atlanta team of dubious distinction; and, now that the Raelians have stepped forward to claim mankind on Earth was placed here by extraterrestrials, any and all previous theories and conclusions concerning evolution can be rendered moot.

Which had me wondering what the Raelians think about this weekend's NFL games and what significance they would place on these critical numbers: 39 and 9.

Since the NFL went to its current playoff format, home teams are 39-9 in semifinal games and each of the four home teams this weekend is a betting favorite.

But if Green Bay can lose at Lambeau Field to Atlanta, nothing is sacred.

Anything goes as the playoffs crank up again with four potentially bewildering games in which the home teams look no better than the visitors. Saturday, Pittsburgh is a 4-point underdog at Tennessee, and Atlanta is a 7 1/2-point underdog at Philadelphia; Sunday, San Francisco is a plus 5 1/2 at Tampa Bay, and the New York Jets are a plus 5 1/2 at Oakland.

For what it's worth, here are the current odds at Caesars Palace on each of those teams to win the Super Bowl: Oakland, 2-1; Philadelphia, 5-2; New York, 7-2; Tennessee, 9-2; Tampa Bay, 6-1; Pittsburgh, 7-1; San Francisco, 10-1; and Atlanta, 12-1.

Yet sources tell me some odd looking fellow in an outfit straight from a 1950s science fiction movie has attempted to pass some "funny money" -- complete with pictures of spacecraft and aliens -- at a local sports book and that he wanted to put it on the Titans, Falcons, 49ers and Raiders.

Call it a scoop. It appears as if the chief Raelian has tipped his hand, so let's take a closer look at what's in his all-knowing cards.

Tennessee is the hottest team in the league, having won five straight and 10 of its last 11, plus -- like all of the home teams this weekend -- it has had the luxury of a week off between games. The Titans beat the Steelers during the regular season, and, by ersatz God, it appears as if they'll do it again.

Atlanta bucked a trend at Green Bay and will reprise the role at Philadelphia, which is happy to have Donovan McNabb back from an ankle injury yet maybe shouldn't tinker with its quarterback situation. McNabb, out since Nov. 17, will find his counterpart, Michael Vick, seems to have a link to a higher power.

San Francisco put up 25 unanswered points last week to rally past the New York Giants and will parlay its huge offensive advantage over Tampa Bay to oust the defensive-minded Bucs in a game that will be preceded by a peculiar and unidentified "fly over" that has nothing to do with the Thunderbirds.

And, in the surreal setting of Oakland's "Black Hole" Coliseum, the Raiders prove last month's win over the Jets was no fluke by doing it again in a game determined by ball control and old-fashioned thuggery. The crowd, dark and evil as always, begins to appreciate a spiritual oneness as the Raiders steadily pull away.

Sure things? Well, I'm just the messenger here, but the captain -- or was it his clone? -- has spoken.