The salary cap prevents coaches from keeping together the perfect team. It's up to the coaches to hide their weaknesses. Because the wild-card round doesn't feature the top seeds in the playoffs, there are a few more ailments. The Jets and Browns rank 22nd and 23rd respectively on offense. The Falcons rank only 19th on defense while the Browns rank 21st and the Jets 24th.

While some of us relax around the New Year's Day, coaches for the eight teams competing this weekend (and the four teams that are on bye) will be working hard to fix some of their teams' weaknesses or ailments. It's our mission to provide some assistance:

NFC prescriptions

Atlanta Falcons

Symptoms: Inside the opponents' 20, the Falcons have 28 touchdowns in 60 chances ... That's the fifth worst in the NFC ... That's turning the Red Zone into the Dead Zone ... The Falcons have gotten into the bad habit of settling for field goals ... Settling for field goals in Green Bay will keep Brett Favre in the game until the end, and even if he has a bad game, the Packers will have a chance to pull out a last-minute victory ... The good news is that Jay Feeley is 32 of 40 in field goals, but it's hard to win road games kicking field goals.

Diagnosis: The Falcons don't have a consistent touchdown scorer at the goal line. That was evident last week when the Browns stopped them at the 1-inch line by stuffing Warrick Dunn on two running plays. Michael Vick is the most elusive quarterback in the league, but Dan Reeves doesn't want to overuse him at the goal line. Even in the first game, the Falcons moved the ball against the Packers, but they settled for one touchdown and two field goals.

Clayton's cure: Go big. Red zone scoring often comes to size. Teams accomplish that with either their tight end, in the Falcons' case Alge Crumpler, or a big back. The Falcons haven't used 254-pound T.J. Duckett much of late because of his many injuries, but his 74-pound advantage on Dunn can be a valuable asset inside the Packers' 5. Defenses overreact to Vick and tend to overpursue to the strongside of the field. Have Vick fake a run right or left and let Duckett pound the ball inside. If that doesn't work, use a play-action to Duckett and see if that draws coverage away from Crumpler.

Green Bay Packers

Symptoms: Defensive tackle Gilbert Brown is banged up and the Packers may be vulnerable to the run ... Actually, their run defense has been vulnerable all season ... The Packers ranked 21st against the run giving up 124.9 yards a game ... Their 4.8 yards per attempt was topped only by the Seahawks ... Minus Brown, the Packers have problems, and it's not going to help if strong safety Darren Sharper can't play because of his knee injury ... Sharper's status might not be determined until game time ... Playing on a cold evening in Lambeau, the Falcons will try to use cutback runs by Warrick Dunn with hopes of getting the Packers to overpursue.

Diagnosis: The Packers have serious worries on the ground against the Falcons. First, outside linebackers and defensive ends can't be so worried about stopping quarterback Michael Vick that they are caught out of position. Cornerbacks will be asked to be more of a force in the run game. The Packers have been exceptional this year in pass defense, ranking third, but the Falcons win games with their feet.

Clayton's cure: Discard most of the blitzes and stay in gaps. The Packers' defense can be beat for big plays when players get caught out of position. This is a gap-control type of scheme. They are well coached and have good quick athletes. But they aren't overly big along the defensive line if Brown can't play, and Sharper's absence could hurt their ability to blitz. Vick hasn't been as accurate in recent weeks, but the worst thing for the Packers to do is let Dunn beat them with a 100-yard game. For the Packers, Dunn's cutback runs might be more dangerous than Vick's scrambles. If they stop Dunn, the Packers have a good chance of winning.

New York Giants

Symptoms: Scoring touchdowns is a problem for this team ... Fortunes have changed some since Jim Fassel has taken over the play-calling ... But the Giants are awful in the red zone, absolutely horrible ... They've had 22 touchdowns in 59 chances ... They also don't have much fire power once they cross the 50. .... It's not going to do the Giants any good to fly to San Francisco and try to win a game by scoring only 17 point. ... That won't be enough on the road.

Diagnosis: The Giants lost a lot of fire power when Ike Hilliard was lost for the season. They can be thankful that tight end Jeremy Shockey has become the team's possession receiving threat. Shockey had 74 catches and a 12.1-yard average. That opened more big plays for Amani Toomer, who averaged 16.4 yard per catch. But a defense has to worry about only three pass catching threats -- Toomer, Shockey and Tiki Barber. Ron Dixon may be back at wide receiver after missing several weeks with a knee injury, but he's accounted for only 22 receptions. Rookie Daryl Jones has only eight, and he's been starting.

Clayton's cure: Just run the ball. Barber is a hot back coming off a 1,387-yard season. But inside the 20, the Giants have to try one of their other threats. The 49ers may try to double Toomer and Shockey, but that means that Jones has to come up with a big play or two. Dixon could be the sleeper. If he can play, the Giants have a chance, but they have the thinnest array of weapons of any team in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles

Symptoms: The Eagles still have concerns about their run defense even though they finished ranked ninth in the NFL ... Levon Kirkland didn't have the range of Jeremiah Trotter at middle linebacker, but he did a great job of stopping the run on first and second down. He didn't take the chances and gambles that Trotter used to. Still, the Eagles can't get complacent with their run defense ... They still surrendered 4.3 yards per carry ... What helped was having to stop only 24 running plays a game ... On third downs, they could move into their strength, which is pass defense and come up with numerous schemes.

Diagnosis: Opponents know they must do their best against the Eagles on first and second downs. The Eagles have to watch out that teams don't send receivers across the middle to isolate on Kirkland when he drops into coverage. Kirkland doesn't get caught out of position, but at 300 pounds, he doesn't have a lot of range. The Eagles should have strong safety Blaine Bishop back but he lacks great range. What's helped the run defense is that the Eagles have outscored opponents 246-122 in the first halves of games. Closer games in the third and fourth quarters could cause problems.

Clayton's cure: Try a few more first-down blitzes just to surprise opponents. Figuring that Donovan McNabb will be rusty in his return following a broken ankle, it might be too much to ask to have him build a big first-half lead. A few well timed blitzes might create a turnover or two to buy time for McNabb to get into a rhythm and start marching the football up the field. The more running plays an opponent has in the third and fourth quarters of close games, the more it could come back to haunt the Eagles.

San Francisco 49ers

Symptoms: Pass defense has been a problem all season ... The numbers don't fit the talent ... The 49ers are giving up 219 passing yards a game ... Opponents are completing 61.6 percent of their passes against 49ers ... Opponents' passer ratings against the 49ers are 80.9 ... On third downs, opponents have converted 46.9 percent of the time.

Diagnosis: The 49ers aren't getting enough pressure on the quarterback. Andre Carter has 12½ sacks from defensive end, but there is nothing coming from the inside. Bryant Young and Dana Stubblefield have combined for only five sacks. As a team, the 49ers have 32 sacks. That's not enough for as many times as the 49ers have dropped into pass coverage. Opponents have tried 552 passes against them.

Clayton's cure: Inside pressure is the key. If Young and Stubblefield can't supply it, then the 49ers must apply constant pressure on the inside with blitzes. Kerry Collins is a dangerous quarterback, but he makes mistakes when he's on the run. He's a fumbler when hit, and tends to force a few passes on the run when pressured. If the 49ers let Collins sit back and pick them apart, they will be out of the playoffs. In the first meeting, Collins had good numbers, but the 49ers tightened up in the red zone. They need to force Collins into a three-turnover game.

Tampa Bay Bucs

Symptoms: The Bucs don't have a great running attack. They have to use a committee to get the job done, and some of the time, the strategy doesn't work against good defenses ... The Bucs averaged 97.3 yards a game rushing, 27th in the league ... Michael Pittman didn't get it done as the featured back ... He had 718 rushing yards and a 3.5 yard average, only .2 over his career average ... Pittman scored only one rushing touchdown ... As a team, the Bucs had only six touchdowns on the ground ... If the Raiders take the criticism for not using their running attack, what can be said about the Bucs? ... They don't have the talent to match up with other playoff teams on the ground.

Diagnosis: Face it, the Bucs don't have it on the ground. This is one of the worst offensive lines in football despite the hiring of one of the league's best assistants, Bill Muir. Pittman is better catching passes than hitting the holes in the middle. Mike Alstott is a powerful runner against smaller defensive lines, but he doesn't have the speed early to get a consistent 4-yard gain on first down. Alstott averaged 3.8 yards a carry.

Clayton's cure: It's not like the Bucs can line up in two-tight-end formations and expect it to work on the ground. They have to rely on Brad Johnson carrying the team. That's going to be tough if the Bucs win their first round game and move on to Philadelphia. Johnson has been the offense, and that became even more evident when he missed the final two games with back problems. Johnson completed 62.3 percent of his passes and had a 92.9 quarterback rating. The Bucs lack speed on offense, but their defense makes life easy. Johnson has to stay healthy, so the team needs to spend extra time solidifying its pass blocking. The Bucs can't afford to let Johnson get hit too many times. His ability to throw when pressured saved embarrassment for the line because he was sacked only 21 times, but he probably led the league in passes thrown away.

AFC prescriptions

Cleveland Browns

Symptoms: Even with the injury-forced quarterback change to Kelly Holcomb, the Browns don't scare any team through the air ... Their average completion is a puny 10.8 yards ... In many ways, the passing offense has been taking steps backward before taking steps forward. ... Quincy Morgan had several alignment penalties and blunders last Sunday against the Falcons ... Morgan has become the team's big play threat with a 17.2 yard average, but he's been inconsistent ... Kevin Johnson, the team's best receiver, has had too quiet a season ... His longest catch is only 30 yards, and he's averaged just 10.5 yards a catch ... That doesn't strike fear in anyone.

Diagnosis: Holcomb doesn't hold onto the ball as long as Tim Couch, but much of his early success was against easier defenses such as the Bengals and Chiefs. His quick release may result in some big plays. Holcomb looked rusty last Sunday against the Falcons, but a week working on his timing will help. Holcomb's numbers aren't bad, though. He's completing 60.4 percent of his passes and has eight touchdowns in only 106 passes. His 92.9 quarterback rating isn't bad either.

Clayton's cure: Go back to the mainstays of this team. Feature Kevin Johnson in the passing offense and mix in more featured plays with wide receiver Dennis Northcutt. Northcutt averaged 13 yards for the eight times he made a carry from the backfield. Northcutt is also exceptional with runs after the catch. But overall, the Browns don't have the receiving firepower to kill a team through the air. They need to mix in the passing plays, but keep relying on halfback William Green, who is average more than 100 yards rushing a game during the second half of the season. Running against the Steelers won't be easy, so the Browns need a mixture.

Indianapolis Colts

Symptoms: Despite the presence of Edgerrin James, the Colts have a very shaky running offense ... The Colts rank 26th in the league rushing with a mere 97.6 yards per game and an even worse 29th in rushing average at 3.6 yards per carry ... James missed out on millions of dollars of incentives by not getting 1,000 yards. He finished with 989 yards and scored only two touchdowns ... Coming off last year's knee reconstruction, James has the ability to make one or two moves on defenders at the line of scrimmage, but he can't break the long runs. His longest run this season was a mere 20 yards ... Because the Colts can't break long runs, defenses don't worry about what James does and instead concentrate more on keeping a defender out of the box in coverage.

Diagnosis: The Colts offense is designed around the play-action pass so Peyton Manning is handcuffed without an explosive running attack. Because of the departure of Ken Dilger to Tampa Bay, Manning has been working out of more three-receiver sets than two-tight-end sets. That takes away some of the big play ability of tight end Marcus Pollard. That also put more pressure on the wide receivers, a unit that lost a valuable veteran last week when Qadry Ismail went on the injured reserve list. That further limits the Colts' offense.

Clayton's cure: The Jets are surrendering 4.6 yards a carry, so the Colts need to try a few more running plays early to gain momentum. That might mean mixing in rookie James Mungro for some plays. Mungro's fresh legs could break a few 10- to 15-yard runs. Though James is the workhorse back, the Colts need to take advantage of the Jets defense trying to guess Manning's audibles.

New York Jets

Symptoms: Herman Edwards changed six starters on defense at the beginning of the season and it took until the Oct. 13 bye week to begin seeing the dividends ... After giving up 32.4 points a game over the first five weeks, the Jets cut that to less than 16 a game over the final 11 weeks ... The biggest improvement was on the ground where the Jets were getting killed early ... The biggest problem is their third-down pass defense, a problem of several playoff teams ... The Jets give up third-down conversions 44.1 percent of the time.

Diagnosis: Opponents of the Jets may use the same scouting reports that worked against the Denver Broncos: Possess the ball through the air. The Jets defense has allowed opponents to complete 65.2 percent of their passes. That allows a quarterback to move the chains. Though the secondary has come up with 11 interceptions in the past 11 games, the Jets aren't punishing those who try to pass against them. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning could have a big day if he gets the passing offense moving early.

Clayton's cure: The Jets may have to mix in more zone blitzes to force Manning from getting into a rhythm. The Jets haven't done well with their pass rush. Defensive end John Abraham has 10 of the team's 30 sacks, and if the Colts contain him, the Jets are in trouble. Only six of the team's sacks came from players not on the defensive line. The more the Jets can pressure Manning, the more success they will have on the field. This year's Jets defense has more big-play capabilities with Sam Cowart at linebacker. Sam Garnes has played extremely well during the second half of the season. But to beat Manning, a defense has to force him into making quick decisions. Zone blitzes might be the trick.

Oakland Raiders

Symptoms: The thought is that a team can't win a Super Bowl throwing the ball 41 times a game ... Rich Gannon set the league record with 418 completions and ten 300-yard games ... Despite leading the league in pass attempts with 618, Gannon's 26 touchdown passes tied for fifth ... Offensively, the Raiders ranked 18th rushing the football ... Despite some of the best offensive line blocking in football, the Raiders had only 110 rushing yards a game and a 4.3 yard average ... It's said that defense and running offenses win Super Bowl ... Can Gannon change that formula?

Diagnosis: The Raiders tried to go to more of a running game during their four-game losing streak, but the strategy backfired. There is plenty of running talent going to waste. Tyrone Wheatley is a superb inside runner but he had only 108 carries this season. Zack Crockett is one of the league's best short-yardage runners, and he had eight touchdowns, and Charlie Garner averaged 5.3 yards per carry, but he gained only 962 yards because he had only 182 attempts. But the Raiders came out of their four-game losing streak with the decision to ride Gannon's 37-year-old arm. Can they do it for three more games?

Clayton's cure: Don't change. There actually is balance in the offense. The NFL is a passing league and a balanced offense is considered 60-40 in favor of the pass. Gannon drops back to pass 61 percent of the time. In recent weeks, the Raiders have tried running the ball more to take advantage of their running talent. It's a lot to ask Gannon to drop back as much as he does, but gaining the top seed eliminates any worries about playing in cold weather. The Raiders will have two home games in Oakland and if they win, they'll play in San Diego. The passing offense won't be slowed down by the conditions unless it rains. The cure is not changing anything.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Symptoms: Third downs have been disastrous for the Steelers ... They have surrendered first downs 43.8 percent of the time in third-down situations ... Teams have moved the chains on the Steelers all season ... The Steelers have surrendered 279 first downs, a staggering 178 through the air ... The Raiders didn't even try running against the Steelers earlier in the year. Rich Gannon worked his passing offense to perfection in the second week of the season and kept the Steelers off balance the entire game.

Diagnosis: It won't be easy for the Steelers. Starting cornerback Chad Scott is coming off surgery for a broken hand. Tackling won't be easy, and because the Steelers play so much zone their cornerbacks need to make tackles when the play is in front of them. Scott is the best tackling cornerback on the team.

Clayton's cure: The simplest solution isn't too simple. Applying more pressure from the middle of the field, it would be nice to finally use Kendrell Bell as an inside blitzer in passing situations. Unfortunately, he reinjured his ankle last Sunday. An ankle injury has kept Bell from filling that role all season. Still, he's more of a threat than Clark Haggans. Haggans has done a nice job with 6½ sacks, but he doesn't cause the headaches that Bell does. The Steelers will mix in more zone blitzes because that is their normal game plan. What they can't do is let Kelly Holcomb get comfortable.

Tennessee Titans

Symptoms: The Titans rank 11th in rushing yards per game and 26th in rushing average in the NFL. That wouldn't be a concern except that they are a team dependent on controlling the ball to win football games ... Eddie George returned to the 1,000-yard level by rushing for 1,165 yards but he needed 343 carries to accomplish that ... George's average is 3.4 yards per carry, which is barely enough to get a first down on three consecutive carries ... George's inability to break long runs puts more pressure on Steve McNair to carry the ball ... McNair had 82 painful carries, which added to his many injuries ... To win two playoff games, he might have to get 12-15 carries to direct the offense.

Diagnosis: One of the reasons ball possession is important for the Titans' offense is that they need to keep their defense on the sideline so it can remain fresh. The fresher the Titans' defense is the better it is. The Titans finished 10th on defense, but one of the reasons was that they were on the field for only 60 plays a game. The secondary is still vulnerable to good passers. The secondary allowed 27 touchdown passes and an 82.9 quarterback rating, so rest is key. Rest allowed Jevon Kearse to come in during passing situations and apply pressure on quarterbacks, but he has only a limited number of plays because he's recovering from a broken foot.

Clayton's cure: The goal is getting as many carries as possible. To do that, George needs his 100-yard game, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to mix in more carries for Robert Holcombe, who averaged 5.1 yards a carry this year. Teams key on George and give him little room to run. Holcombe is a nice change of pace. Switching a few carries to Holcombe could save McNair, who is willing to take a pounding, but needs to stay healthy for the Titans to win. Coach Jeff Fisher likes to win the time of possession battle. To do that, he needs the lead. If the Titans can work with the lead and pound the ball with Holcombe and George, they'll have their best chance.