The Giants have controlled the East division all season. Minnesota has taken over the North. Arizona owns the woeful West.

In the South, Tampa Bay and Carolina are in front, with the Falcons just a game back. New Orleans is on life support.

"The NFC South is without a doubt the toughest division in Football," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "It's going to basically be a round-robin [tournament] over the next couple of weeks."

With the Falcons facing key divisional matchups the next two weeks (Saints, Buccaneers), here are five questions that should help clear things up:

1. Do the Falcons have a Dome-field advantage?

They could make the playoffs without playing another game outdoors. They have two games at home and games at New Orleans and Minnesota. The Falcons (8-4) are 5-1 in the Georgia Dome. However, they've had trouble in the Superdome the past couple of years and lost to the Vikings (7-5) at the Metrodome last season. The Minnesota game is key because the Vikings are fighting to wrap up their division.

2. Does Dallas have the hardest road?

If things ended today, DeMarcus Ware, Tony Romo, Jessica Simpson, Jerry Jones and the rest of the Cowboys (8-4) would be at home with remote control in hand. They have perhaps the toughest road to the playoffs with games at Pittsburgh (9-3), vs. the New York Giants (11-1), vs. Baltimore (8-4) and at Philadelphia (6-5-1). If the Cowboys come up a game short, they will kick themselves for a 34-14 loss to St. Louis in October.

3. Are the Giants the class of the NFC?

They are tied with Tennessee for the best record in the NFL at 11-1. Unless they collapse completely, the G-men could wrap up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by going 2-2 down the stretch coupled with a loss each by Tampa Bay (9-3) and Carolina (9-3). The Giants are trying to become the first repeat Super Bowl winners since New England after the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

4. How will the NFC South be won?

The dust will start to settle when the Falcons play at New Orleans and Tampa Bay plays at Carolina on Monday night. The Falcons can essentially end the Saints' season. Tampa Bay's defense has been steady and is perhaps the best unit in the division on either side of the ball. The Bucs play at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 14, then close at home against lowly San Diego and Oakland. Carolina closes with Denver, the Giants and New Orleans.

5. Which team can crash the party?

Several teams are on the outside looking in --- Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, New Orleans, Chicago and Green Bay. The Cowboys and Bears appear to be playing well enough to make a run. The Packers have given up 51 and 35 points in their past two games. The Eagles are dysfunctional and too dependent on a hobbled Brian Westbrook. With Drew Brees, it might not be wise to count out the Saints from winning four straight to get to 10-6. The Redskins are counting on quarterback Jason Campbell to win some games down the stretch.

NEXT FOR Falcons

* Who: at Saints

* When: 1 p.m. Sunday

* TV; radio: Fox; 92.9 FM

REMAINING SCHEDULES

* Falcons (8-4): at Saints, vs. Buccaneers, at Vikings, vs. Rams

* Cowboys (8-4): at Steelers, vs. Giants, vs. Ravens, at Eagles

* Redskins (7-5): at Ravens, at Bengals, vs. Eagles, at 49ers

* Eagles (6-5-1): at Giants, vs. Browns, at Redskins, vs. Cowboys

* Bears (6-6): vs. Jaguars, vs. Saints, vs. Packers, at Texans

* Saints (6-6): vs. Falcons, at Bears, at Lions, vs. Panthers

* Packers (5-7): vs. Texas, at Jaguars, at Bears, vs. Lions