Earlier this year, Dr. Z of Sports Illustrated cured the Vikings’ Kavorka by picking them to win the Super Bowl.  His employer now has placed an official curse on the Philadelphia Eagles.

SI has picked the Eagles to advance to the Super Bowl, where they are predicted to lose to the Patriots.

We think it’s possible that the Eagles will come February get to Florida, the state in which Donovan McNabb blows chunks whenever he plays there.  But now that SI has picked them to do it, the chances of it happening have plummeted.

Also worthy of a mention is the fact that the projected AFC playoff field is identical to the six teams that made it last year.  (For the NFC, four of the six teams are picked to make it back.)

The reality, however, is that the turnover rate is usually 50 percent.  Based on past trends, six of the 12 teams that made it in 2007 are likely to not make it back in 2008. 

The challenge is figuring out who they’ll be.

As we see it, the Titans are ripe for a stumble, and the Steelers will struggle with the toughest schedule in the league (not to mention offensive and defensive lines that aren’t all that good any more).

We’ll unveil our official picks next week.  For now, it’s a safe bet that we won’t have the Steelers or the Titans among the AFC field.