Things I'm thinking about getting all fired up for today's divisional round of the NFL playoffs

Great job by Norv Turner these past few weeks keeping all the attention on Tomlinson's injury with no clear intention to play him a lot, healthy or not. Takes pressure off of other potential distractions, i.e Vincent Jackson's DUI and Phillip Rivers' need for a new hair stylist.

Andy Reid gets a very bad rap as a coach. They've been to 4 NFC title games, one Super Bowl, and they're competitive every year. And lets face it.... McNabb's not that good. Yet, all you ever hear about Reid is that he doesn't run enough and he's bad with replay challenges. That may be true, but the results are there. The only problem I would ever have with Andy Reid is if I got caught behind him on a buffet line.

If you're a Kurt Warner fan, enjoy tonight's swan song. His contract is up at the end of the year and with the money they've committed to Matt Leinart, it would be foolish to re-sign a 37 year old former MVP who will expect to get paid after a great year. The Cardinals have proved their point to Leinart. No one cares what you did in college. In the NFL, you've got to work for everything.

And speaking of college, I believe I'm in the minority in being of the opinion that Tim Tebow is going to be a very good pro quarterback. He throws well on the run, is hard to sack, and has a strong enough arm. Plus from everything I read and hear, he's smart as a whip and no one can doubt that he's a winner. If you don't think there's a place for him in this league, keep in mind that Tarvaris Jackson started a playoff game last week.

How's that Jet coaching search coming along? Did Woody Johnson find any qualified candidates last week in Europe? The best thing you can say is that at least they've abandoned any hopes of being a "win now" team. Favre doesn't want to be there next year and it appears as though the Jets don't want him back. Someone finally explained to Woody that people aren't going to pay $25,000 per PSL to watch a has been lead the league in interceptions. The Packers knew exactly what they were doing last year. And the good news for them is that once the Jets release Favre, the Vikings will repeat the Jets mistake. I can see it now. CHarles Woodson returning an interception 90 yards to a booing Metrodome crowd while Zygi Wilf sits in the press box throwing up in his mouth.

Speaking of the Jets, Eric Mangini didn't stay unemployed long. He's just what the doctor ordered for the Browns. My guess is that he's learned plenty from his experience with the Jets. They'll get a good defensive player with their early draft pick and they've got lots of offensive talent including a monster offensive line. The big question is can they win with the quarterback. I say yes and think the Browns are a serious threat to challenge Pittsburgh for AFC North supremacy for a long time. We will all learn to appreciate Mangini/Tomlin chess games for years to come. And throw John Harbaugh's Ravens in the mix and that is soing to be a tough division for a long time.

There's been a lot of debate this week over the NFL's overtime rules. There's probably some sort of change coming and its probably the right thing. But can we please eliminate the notion that the overtime rules cost the Colts a game they should have had. The Colts had several opportunuites to win that game last Saturday night. But poor play calling, poor pass protection, and a lack of discipline cost them that game, not a coin flip. Their coach's playoff record is spotty at best, even with a Super Bowl ring on his resume. And as amazing a regular season player as Peyton Manning is, his playoff record isn't something to write home about either. His one Super Bowl ring removes the "choker " tag from his career resume, but there's no doubt he's proven to be a regular season phenom and an ordinary guy in the playoffs. Need to win one in New England in November, I'll take Peyton. Need to win one in Green Bay in January, I'm taking Eli.

This Pacman Jones story out of Dallas this week is kind of puzzling. Try to follow me here. The Cowboys sign him with a history of felonies that would make Tony Soprano cringe. He beats up his team hired bodyguard midseason, gets suspended, and goes to alcohol rehab. The Cowboys take him back to help for the stretch run and he really doesn't help that much. From a football standpoint, kind of a tough season for Pacman. But Pacman and the Cowboys declare him a changed man ready to move on with his career. Then an ESPN report leaks that he tried to arrange for a murder at a Strip club in 2007 before he was ever on the Cowboys, which by the way was the same thing he got arrested in Vegas for when he got suspended for the 2007 season. Was Jerry Jones naive enough to believe that the only time he ever did something this egregious was when he got caught? Did any of this come as a surprise? And if alcohol rehab changed him, then why cut him for something that occurred way before he was a Cowboy? ANd all this assumes the report is somewhat credible. The Cowboys, nor any other organization shouldn't have gotten involved with him in the first place. And I'm not in the business of defending convicted felons. But once they brought him on board, don't they owe him a tad more loyalty than to cut bait before these allegations are further investigated. This is a strange organization that has a knack for making every move they make wreak of awkwardness.

And while we're on the topic of the Cowboys, they need to get the coaching staff straightened out because they've got the ingredients to win now. They've got the quarterback, they've got an emarassment of riches with skill position players, they've got the the top defensive player in football, but somehow they remain a mess. If they can use this year's draft to straighten out the offensive line, they're a good coach away from being a Super Bowl contender. And waiting a year for Mike Shanahan to be ready to coach is a recipe for disaster.

Too much football stuff to get to hoops or hot stove this week, but I'll shoot for it next week. Enjoy the games. Y'all be cool. giddyap.