Tennessee had an outside chance to slip in unnoticed

They will work hard for each other, but lack the individual finesse and flash of brilliance to get you out of your seats. It would be interesting to see what happens if the two Koreas meet each other, but to be honest, I dont see Korea coming through out of this group. They will give everyone a run for their money, no doubt, but aside from a plucky point against either Nigeria or Greece, I dont see them causing much trouble.Probable Formation: 4-4-1-1 Now we come to former European champions, Greece. Guess who is still at the helm Yes, the same Otto Rahhagel who guided these most unlikely of teams all the way to the European crown six years ago. Their victory in 2004 was based on stoic defence and quick counterattacks, and to me, their football for much of that time was utterly tedious. I am not saying they did not deserve to win, but their football was utterly boring to me.

Their tactics havent changed much since then (their manager is the same after all), but they would definitely be on a high after their unexpected play-off win over Ukraine, in which they won 1-0 in Donetsk after a very disappointing draw in Greece.Greece stands by its somewhat conservative style for a reasonit works.They finished second in their groupa superbly difficult group that, I would say, was the best of all the European qualifying groupswith Israel and Latvia giving them one hell of a run for their money. But they came out second, a point behind the Swiss, and as I said, came through the playoffs. Almost everyone is 6'2" or taller, including striker Georgios Samaras, who is 6'4."Greece are another solid team. They have Theofanis Gekas, but I am not sure whether Angelos Charisteas, or Georgios Samaras are good enough supporting acts.In the middle of the park Karagounis is going to have to pull the strings, while Liverpools Sitoridos Kyrgiakos will have to marshal the defence Their squad is also aging, which is a worry.

I wonder whether some of the players who are on the other side of 30 will have the legs to last 95 minutes, and their bench strength isnt the best either. Having said that, they are well-drilled, know how to win, and are disciplined if not thrilling.Defending for their lives will not worry the Greek, it will be scoring goals. It will be interesting to see whether they go in with a 4-5-1, or a 4-4-2 to have another striker to support Gekas. In any case, their match against Nigeria will decide second place in the group and they will have to be up for their game Probable Formation:4-5-1. What a mess.With a convincing win over the previously hopeful but now realistically hopeless Tennessee Titans on Sunday night, Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts served notice that they are ready to get to the postseason and make a run for the Super Bowl.Other than that, however, it is beginning to look like no one else cares to be there.The next closest team to the Colts is, Lord help us, the 9-3 Cincinnati Bengals, who didn't exactly have a major challenge this week against the beat-up Detroit Lions.

But the Bengals can't back down; not only are they in a fight with San Diego for a first round bye in the playoffs, but they have to at least manage a tie in their division to take the title.Yes, they swept everyone in their division this year, but with Minnesota, San Diego, and the potentially dangerous Jets remaining on their schedule, the Bengals have to make sure they take care of Kansas City in case they slip up, lose one or two, and cost themselves a bye.After the Bengals come the Broncos. While they pummelled the Chiefs on Sunday, they also had a spat of four straight losses earlier this season...one of those to Washington.Yes, the Redskins. THAT Washington.Of the four games the Broncos have remaining, they not only have to take on the red-hot Colts, but also Oakland, who stole one from the Steelers this week, as well as a rematch against the Chiefs in the final game of the season.Can anyone say spoilerNo one really knows what the heck is up in New England. Tom Brady has not, to the dismay of his legions of fans everywhere, returned to form after a season-ending knee injury last year, and Bill Belichick seems to have lost his mojo.Some of the play-calling this year has been highly suspect, and the old excuse that "he's always done it that way," is beginning to wear thin.Key to this turn of events is the Patriots loss to the Dolphins in a game that had serious division standings implications; Miami is now only one game back of the Pats, and with two road games left, New England runs the risk of dropping out of the race late.San Diego can't rest easy either; Denver is breathing down their necks for the division title. If San Diego drops back to the pack, then all bets are off.Tennessee had an outside chance to slip in unnoticed. Unfortunately, they had to face the Colts in Indianapolis, and Manning quickly let the air out of the sails they had set for an extended season.And can someone please tell me what in the world is going on in Pittsburgh If it's not one thing, it's another.Polamalu is in, then he's out.