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THIS WEEK: We have four Divisional Playoff games:
The Seattle Seahawks at the Green Bay Packers Sat., 2:30 p.m. PT FOX
The Jacksonville Jaguars at the New England Patriots Sat., 6:00 p.m. PT CBS
The San Diego Chargers at the Indianapolis Colts 11:00 a.m. PT CBS
The New York Giants at the Dallas Cowboys 2:30 p.m. PT FOX
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DALLAS COWBOYS
As Associated Press sports writer Stephen Hawkins suggested, Tony Romo was doing what all the Cowboys were told to do when the quarterback spent the bye weekend before their playoff game lounging at a Mexico resort with Jessica Simpson.
"We used it as a vacation, got our minds off football. That's what Wade [Phillips] told us to do," said teammate Jason Witten, who along with his wife, was with Romo. "It's no different than jumping on a flight and going home like a lot of guys did here."
But as Dallas Morning News staffer Albert Breer noted, Witten certainly understands why it's a story, and he joked Monday that the paparazzi was "not trying to get my shot, for sure."
They wound up getting the ones they wanted, of Romo and Simpson, and that, Witten would argue, illustrates why the quarterback had to leave the area to unwind.
"He's going out there to get his mind off of [football]," Witten said. "He can't go anywhere here. So the best thing he can do is jump on an hour-and-a-half flight and get away and really relax."
Phillips echoed those words at his news conference, saying that he allowed his players to go where they wanted over the weekend. Some went home. Others went on vacation.
"He's dating a celebrity, obviously that becomes news," Phillips said of Romo. "I don't know how relevant it is, but it's news. Tom Brady has dated several gals. They reported on all that."
The coach even allowed for extended travel into this week, as LSU alums Bradie James and Marcus Spears, and Ohio State product Bobby Carpenter traveled to New Orleans after Monday's work for the BSC National Championship Game.
Carpenter was a freshman on OSU's 2002 national championship team, while Spears was part of the 2003 national champions at LSU. Linebacker Akin Ayodele joined the three at the game.
But with the getaway over, and tabloid pictures posted on the Internet for all to see, Romo, Witten and the rest were back at Valley Ranch on Monday when the top-seeded Cowboys returned to work finally knowing who they will face in the playoffs.
As Hawkins noted, Dallas will play the New York Giants for the third time this season, Sunday at Texas Stadium in the first playoff meeting between the NFC East rivals.
"They know us, we know them pretty well too," defensive end Chris Canty said. "They're playing with a lot of confidence."
While the Cowboys had an extended weekend away from the field, New York won 24-14 at Tampa Bay in the NFC wild-card game Sunday to advance. It was the Giants' eighth straight road victory since losing at Texas Stadium in the season opener four months ago.
After winning the opener 45-35, then 31-20 at New York in November, the Cowboys have a chance to complete the first three-game season sweep in team history and get to the NFC championship game for the first time in 12 years.
"We've got (confidence), but they don't want to go out a third time," receiver Patrick Crayton said. "They are 1-0 in the playoffs, we are 0-0. This is a whole new season. Whatever went on in the regular season doesn't matter. This is win or go home. ..."
Meanwhile, everybody took part in the team's light walkthrough Monday, even injured wide receiver Terrell Owens, though he was limited because of a sprained left ankle and his status for the game is still uncertain.
"It was a limp-through for him, a walkthrough for us," Phillips said.
Owens was still limping during his first team drills since he got hurt in the first half Dec. 22 at Carolina when his leg got caught underneath him while being tackled.
"It looks to me that it's going to be a game-time decision on him," Phillips said. "It's Monday game week. He probably couldn't have played today."
Owens' condition on Monday prompted ESPN.com insider John Clayton to suggest that even if Owens plays, he may not be effective because of the injury.
On Wednesday, ESPN.com's Matt Mosley cited an unnamed (high-ranking) member of the Cowboys organization as saying he'd be shocked if Owens doesn't play Sunday.
Mosley added that team officials think Owens will be at about 80 percent for the Giants game.
Owens, who caught nine passes for 212 yards and four touchdowns against the Giants this season, wasn't seen in the locker room when it was open to reporters Monday.
Owens has 81 catches for 1,355 yards and an NFC-high 15 touchdowns. This was the first time Owens had taken part in any team drills since he got hurt in the first half Dec. 22 at Carolina when his leg caught underneath him while being tackled.
"There is a dilemma there, certainly, in what percentage he's going to be healthy," Phillips said.
Owens wasn't seen in the locker room when it was open to reporters Monday. Team spokesman Rich Dalrymple told reporters Owens didn't plan to talk until after the game.
Phillips had said last week he hoped Owens could return to practice Wednesday or Thursday. But that may not happen. So the Cowboys have to wait to see if T.O. practices before they even determine if he plays.
"If he were able to practice Wednesday or Thursday, Friday maybe, it'd clarify things a little easier," Phillips said. "If he can't (practice), that's why I said it'd have to be a game-time decision.
"From his history, from his toughness, his ability to withstand those kind of things, I think those are all positives," he said. "But you still don't want to put him in harm's way."
Still, as San Antonio Express-News staffer Tom Orsborn noted, when Owens isn't on the field, defenses often double Witten and stack eight men on the line of scrimmage to stop the running game and dare Romo to throw to his single-covered receivers.
"Anytime you're without one of the most dominant players in the league, it's going to be difficult," Phillips said. "He had a tremendous year. You can see opponents had to double him. Even the games he didn't have big games, somebody else did, so he was very valuable to us."
It should be noted that Owens is historically a fast healer.
As Morning News staffer Calvin Watkins notes, the mercurial wideout uses an oxygen chamber, brings in a team of doctors and trainers and rehabs alone. ...
For what it's worth. ... Phillips reported that with the exception of Owens, every player on the roster was healthy enough to play on Monday.
That includes receiver Terry Glenn, who sat out the season's first 15 games, then was in on fewer than 10 snaps in the season finale in Washington. And it also means C Andre Gurode, CB Terence Newman, NT Jay Ratliff and S Patrick Watkins would be ready to go if the game was held today.
Glenn will play a bigger role against the Giants on Sunday than he did in the season finale. But his snaps will still be limited. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Dallas hasn't won a playoff game since 1996. In their last postseason appearance at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys lost 20-7 to the Arizona Cardinals in 1998.
The Cardinals were in the NFC East then and had been swept by Dallas in the regular season. If the Cowboys beat the Giants, it will mark the first time in the franchise's 48-year history they've beaten an opponent three times in the same season.
Dallas and New York have met 91 times in the regular season but never in the playoffs. The Cowboys are 2-4 against division foes in playoff games.
Sunday's game will mark the 12th intra-divisional playoff game this decade. Division champs are 8-3 in those contests. Another statistic that bodes well for Dallas: Teams that swept the season series went 3-1 in the third meeting.
Since 1970, 17 times teams have gone into the playoffs with a chance to complete a three-game sweep, according to STATS, Inc. Those teams went 11-6.
"Obviously, if it's not good for us, it's not good for them too because you know them so well and they know you so well," owner Jerry Jones said Friday when asked about possibly playing a division opponent.
"But I kind of like it," Jones added. "You know each other real well, and you have to get imaginative on both sides of the ball. So it presents some challenges that you don't have when you play a team you haven't played. ..."
Looking forward a bit here. ... With Crayton recently re-signed, Morning News staffer Jean-Jacques Taylor noted this week the front office can turn attention to Marion Barber, who can become a restricted free agent.
Barber is a Pro Bowl player who averaged nearly 5.0 per carry, despite splitting time with Julius Jones. Taylor believes Barber will receive a long-term deal because management believes he has a key role in the organization's future.
Jones becomes an unrestricted free agent at season's end and has no interest in staying with the team. According to Taylor, Jones wants an opportunity to be the primary ball-carrier -- not a starter in name only. ...
And finally. ... As Pro Football Weekly notes, the Cowboys are paying the price for their success.
They've already lost director of scouting Jeff Ireland to the Dolphins to reunite with Bill Parcells. Now, offensive coaches Jason Garrett and Tony Sparano are in hot demand for vacant head-coaching positions.
Sparano interviewed for head coaching vacancies with the Dolphins, Falcons and Ravens this weekend, and Garrett huddled with the Falcons and Ravens on the same positions.
It should be noted that some reports have indicated Sparano has already agreed to join the Dolphins, reports that all involved deny.
If Garrett accepts a job and Sparano doesn't, Sparano would be a natural fit to take over the offensive coordinator position he had shared previously. If both leave, the team has a couple of in-house candidates who could fill the bill: Receivers coach Ray Sherman, who twice was an offensive coordinator (Vikings in 1999, Steelers in 1998), and quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson, who has done a great job with Romo this season.
It's believed that tight ends coach John Garrett, Jason's brother, is not considered a coordinator candidate just yet, despite having spent nine years in the NFL as a coach and four in personnel departments.
Getting back to this week's game, Phillips believes his assistants are focused on the Giants.
"Our assistant coaches, I don't have any problem with," Phillips said. "They are ready to go. I don't have any qualms about them being ready to go. They are certainly ready to go. They are excited as we are. It's time. It's that time."
McCarthy acknowledged Sunday that he devoted his film watching in the past week exclusively to Seattle, leaving video study of Tampa Bay and the New York Giants to his quality-control coaches.
Sure enough, the second-seeded Packers, who had a first-round bye, get a home matchup with third-seeded Seattle, which ousted Washington on Saturday.
"We were able to break down a number of (Seattle's) games; I think we had between eight and 10 in the computer," McCarthy said.
That didn't include video of the Seahawks' latest game, which the Green Bay staff still was awaiting late Sunday afternoon after it was delayed by weather in arriving by plane from Seattle. The coaches needed the tape to complete the game planning they tackled with the players off Sunday.
The team reconvened Monday for strength and conditioning in the morning and film study in the afternoon.
After going through bye-week practices Friday and Saturday, Green Bay returned to the field Tuesday for three straight days of workouts leading up to the game. The players will practice in pads on one of those days. ...
Also according to the Xchange, the team's week of build-up to its first playoff game in three years started with general manager Ted Thompson, who has ties to opponent Seattle, receiving a contract extension Monday.
Thompson, in his third year as general manager, was rewarded with a five-year pact through the 2012 season.
"We are very pleased with the way Ted Thompson has led the football operations of this organization," team chairman Bob Harlan said. "He is doing exactly what we anticipated when we hired him."
On Thompson's watch, the Packers have been transformed from a 4-12 club in 2005 to being a Super Bowl contender with the league's youngest team this season. They won the NFC North with a 13-3 record and have the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Thompson, 54, previously was vice president of football operations for the Seahawks, from 2000 to 2004.
McCarthy said Sunday that Thompson began tapping into his familiarity with many of the Seattle players to help the coaching staff formulate its game plan.
"Ted gave his two cents (Sunday)," McCarthy said. "We had a little personnel meeting; I had a chance to sit down with Ted. He knows a lot of their players and has been around (coach Mike) Holmgren and that staff, so I had a chance to visit with Ted about it. ..."
It can't hurt. ...
According to Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel beat writer Tom Silverstein, the message the Redskins had for the Packers after their playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday couldn't have been much clearer if they had posted it on a road sign outside Lambeau Field:
Beware of speed.
Neither coaches nor players for the Redskins, who played both the Seahawks and the Packers this season, would give the Packers more than a 50-50 chance of winning in their divisional playoff game Saturday against Seattle, and that's because of Seattle's defense.
If there was one thing Washington struggled with all day, it was the speed of the Seahawks' front seven, which is something Green Bay will have to contend with as well.
"I don't know if they're as much aggressive as fast," Washington center Casey Rabach said after the game. "They're fast, no doubt. They're quick side to side. They'll run downhill on you, but I think we've played more physical linebackers. They're a darn good defense."
Washington quarterback Todd Collins experienced the boiler-room pressure of having ends Patrick Kerney and Darryl Tapp and linebackers Julian Peterson, Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill in his face and in the passing lanes all day long. Collins was knocked to the ground an astonishing 13 times, and 10 of his passes were broken up.
Kerney, the NFC leader in sacks with 14˝, dominated his matchup with rookie right tackle Stephon Heyer, and Peterson, who blitzed from various positions on the field, combined for eight of the hits on Collins. Washington struggled with its snap count and was slow off the ball because of the numbing crowd noise, which Green Bay won't have to face playing at home.
Still, the ability of the Packers to make hay with their stretch running plays or empty backfields on passing downs will be affected by Seattle's quickness.
Brett Favre's experience in reading defenses will come into play in anticipating the variety of zone blitzes that Seattle uses and in adjusting protection schemes before the snap. Washington had trouble with some of the linebacker blitzes. ...
Meanwhile, as Journal-Sentinel staffer Lori Nickel noted on Tuesday, scoring is up by more than eight points per game. The running game has gone from poor to pedestrian to operative. The gunslinger has set a personal best for completion percentage. Turnovers are down. So are sacks.
As debuts go, this has been quite a remarkable season for first-year offensive coordinator Joe Philbin.
Last season, the Packers averaged 18.8 points per game, 22nd in the NFL. This season they put up 27.2 points, fourth behind New England, Dallas and Indianapolis. The 8.4-point improvement is what Philbin finds most satisfying.
But not far behind is Favre, who has completed 66.5 percent of his passes this season, his best in 17 seasons and a 10.5-point spike from his 56 percent mark in 2006.
"That was a big thing we emphasized really since May," Philbin said. "That's a significant jump."
Philbin also oversaw a few impressive streaks.
With emphasis on cutting down the turnovers, Favre had two of his longest interception-free streaks of his career this season. He went 142 pass attempts from Sept. 16-Oct. 7 without a pick, and 139 attempts from Nov. 4-29 without one. Favre's longest streak was 163 attempts, from the end of the 1995 season into the 1996 season.
And then there's the sack-free streaks by Favre and the offensive line.
When Favre was sacked at Chicago in Game 15, it ended a streak of 152 consecutive pass attempts without a sack, just one short of Favre's record of 153, which happened in 2004 (also under Philbin's guidance).
Philbin has overseen the three best 16-game seasons in team history in terms of fewest sacks surrendered. The 19 sacks allowed this season were the second-best total (tied with 2003). The franchise record for fewest sacks, 14, came in 2004.
But as Nickel suggested, the true test of any good coach worth his clipboard is his ability to fix problems.
The Packers entered the season with injuries to their few veteran running backs so they started rookies at fullback and running back.
Philbin rolled up his sweatshirt sleeves with the other assistants and kept working at improving the run.
"You know, we just did a chart last Friday, with graphics that look like what you get with the stocks," Philbin said. "When you own stock, you get a report each quarter. The first quarter of the season in rushing we were 2.7 (average yards per carry). The next one was 3.3. The next one was 3.8. And now we're 4.2."
All part of the second-best total offense in the NFL and second-best passing game behind the perfect Patriots.
Philbin defers to McCarthy in play-calling, a task assigned to some coordinators. Still, McCarthy picks Philbin's brain.
"Coach will bounce ideas off him all the time," said Aaron Rodgers, who overhears their conversations on the headset. "He'll say, 'OK, Joe, what's our best run here?' Coach McCarthy is calling the plays but when he needs ideas, Joe, it's amazing. It's, like, 'Hey Joe, what's your first run? Joe, what do you think? What's your first pass in this situation? I like this.' OK, boom."
Philbin expresses no discontent at not being the play caller. He helps script the first 15, he is part of what he described as a collaborative effort during the week by the entire offensive staff to design plays and he is there as a set of second, higher positioned eyes during the game to advise McCarthy.
"But during the game, the play caller, I don't think, wants too many voices in his head when he's trying to sort it all out," Philbin said. "The last thing you need is too many cooks. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... In the final 2007 standings, Favre, 38, finished fourth in completion percentage (66.5) and yards (4,155), sixth in passer rating (95.7) and tied for sixth in touchdowns (28). In terms of passing efficiency, his rating was the third-highest of his career behind his 1995 mark of 99.5 and his '96 mark of 95.8.
En route to putting up those numbers, Favre kept hitting milestones.
In Week 2 against the New York Giants, he captured career victory No. 149, surpassing John Elway's all-time mark.
Then, in Week 4 against Minnesota, he connected with Greg Jennings on touchdown No. 421, surpassing a record held by Dan Marino that many thought would last for 50 years. In the same game, he threw for completion No. 8,359, toppling yet another Marino record.
Finally, in Week 15 against St. Louis, he connected for another completion, this time to Donald Driver, for yard No. 61,362.
As the records kept falling, Favre and the Packers kept winning.
As Silverstein suggested, this wasn't a case of a fading quarterback sticking around one more year to put his name in the record books. This was someone who came back to win.
"I've been around long enough to have achieved everything individually and from a team standpoint there is to achieve, so I'm sitting there going, 'OK, I thought it would be fun because we would have a chance to win every game,'" Favre said, recalling his thought process about returning. "Did I think to this degree? Probably not, but I thought it was possible.
"I thought we would have a chance to win most of these games."
Of course, the offense took twists and turns in every direction while trying to establish its identity.
Early on, there was no running game and Favre was forced to go to a high-percentage, short-passing game, often using those passes as substitutes for runs. It worked for quite a while as Favre completed 70 perecnt or better of his passes three of the first five weeks.
Then, almost as quickly as the Packers had become a dink-and-dunk team, Favre became a mad bomber. He tried but failed to execute the long ball in a close call against Washington, then rebounded to complete two long touchdowns against Denver, the last an 82-yard winner in overtime to Jennings.
Then there were two more long balls against Kansas City, the last a victory-clinching 60-yarder to Jennings right down the middle of the field.
Soon after, McCarthy started using a heavy dose of five-receiver sets, leaving Favre to fend for himself in the backfield but also giving him options he didn't have before.
By season's end, running back Ryan Grant was producing yards on the ground and Favre found himself handing the ball off with more confidence than he had earlier in the year.
Yes, the streak marches on, and so did Favre in 2007.
And what about 2008?
According to Green Bay Press Gazette staffer Pete Dougherty, Favre says he isn't approaching the upcoming playoffs as his last, best chance to win a Super Bowl. At his news conference last Thursday, Favre said while he's been around long enough to know this is a rare opportunity to win a title, there could be more good chances.
"A lot can change in a year," Favre said, acknowledging the difficulty of getting to this point. "If you look at last year and the previous year, it is an opportunity right in front of us that hasn't presented itself in quite awhile. But stranger things have happened. We may go 14-2 next year. Who knows?"
For what it's worth. ... After his strong showing in the season finale, Nickel reports that Brandon Jackson might have given the coaches something to consider. If the rookie running back is able to secure the ball and make the right cut behind zone blocking, the Packers could use him to spell Grant, especially if Grant breaks a longer run.
"His yards per carry doesn't look that impressive," said Philbin, who attributed that in part to poorer blocking in the beginning of the year. "But I think Sunday you saw a lot of things that he's capable of. ..."
After appearing to be firmly entrenched in the No. 3 WR role for three-quarters of the season, third-round rookie James Jones has been relinquishing playing time the past month or so to both Koren Robinson and Ruvell Martin.
But according to Pro Football Weekly, that's not to say Jones won't re-emerge as a key weapon in the team's passing attack in the playoffs beginning this weekend.
Team insiders believe the reduction in Jones' playing time has more to do with the improvement by Robinson and Martin than it does with any of Jones' particular shortcomings.
Robinson, a proven commodity on the rebound from off-the-field problems, has developed an increasingly strong rapport with Favre, who struggled to overcome his own off-the-field demons.
Martin, meanwhile, has continued to make his presence felt, despite not having as much raw talent as either Jones or Robinson.
Word is Martin has established himself as the scrappiest blocker in Green Bay's receiving corps, in addition to displaying deceptive speed.
As for the team's usage of five-wide sets, it will be interesting to see to what extent head McCarthy features them in the playoffs after cutting down on them significantly the final month of the season. ...
And finally. ... Rodgers pronounced himself fit to reassume the No. 2 role behind Favre after returning to practice Friday during the team's bye week. Rodgers was deactivated as the No. 3 quarterback the last four games because of a strained hamstring.
Fullback Korey Hall also returned to practice Friday and is expected to return to game action this weekend. The rookie starter was sidelined for two games with a hip injury.
The third-seeded Chargers survived injury-riddled Tennessee 17-6 in a wild-card game Sunday in San Diego to advance to a divisional-round game this week against the second-seeded Colts.
They will arrive with a seven-game winning streak during which twice-victimized Tennessee was the lone team with a winning record. At stake will be a trip to the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 20.
Richards also reminded readers the two teams have some recent history, and for the Colts, all of it is bad.
The Chargers came into the RCA Dome in 2005 to drive a 26-17 spike into the Colts' 13-0 start.
When the Colts went to Qualcomm Stadium on Nov. 11, San Diego bolted to a 23-0 lead, then hung on to win 23-21 as Adam Vinatieri missed a chip-shot, 29-yard field goal with 1:31 left.
It should be noted that Indy piled up advantages of 386-177 in net yards and 25-11 in first downs but made mistakes in bunches. Peyton Manning threw six interceptions. Colts special teams allowed Darren Sproles to get loose for a pair of touchdown returns: 89 yards on the opening kickoff and 45 yards on a punt a mere nine minutes later. ...
Then there was Vinatieri's uncharacteristic miss. ...
The Colts played without seven injured starters, but that's neither an excuse nor a consolation. According to Richards, they're still disappointed.
"I don't think we played our best football that week. We did have some injuries, but turnovers are a major factor in any game," right tackle Ryan Diem said. "I wouldn't say it's revenge, but we do want to go out and prove we're a better team than that."
Diem suffered a knee injury in that San Diego game that kept him out of six of the Colts' final seven regular-season games.
The good news? Head coach Tony Dungy said Monday that the team's training staff expects Diem and at least five other players who missed games at season's end to be back at practice Wednesday.
The list includes safety Antoine Bethea (three games missed), defensive tackle Raheem Brock (four), wide receivers Anthony Gonzalez (one) and Marvin Harrison (11 of the last 12) and defensive tackle Robert Mathis (three).
According to ESPN.com insider John Clayton, Harrison looked like the Marvin Harrison of old during Monday's practice. He is working to return after missing more than two months with a knee injury.
As long as he doesn't have any setbacks, Harrison is expected to start Sunday against the Chargers.
Dungy was a little iffy about tight end Ben Utecht, who missed the last game of the regular season with a bruised shoulder.
"Ben might still be a little bit sore and might be limited on Wednesday," Dungy said. ...
Meanwhile, as Associated Press sports writer Michael Marot noted, Gonzalez continues to emerge as an increasingly important cog in the Colts' offense and is becoming a vital part in what the Super Bowl champions hope is a playoff run to defend their title.
"Anytime you do the same thing for 16 weeks, you start to get more comfortable," Gonzalez said. "For me, personally, it just took some time to get comfortable with this offense and like I tell everyone, I've still got a lot of work to do."
But it hasn't been easy. And the reality is that slow starts have always been part of the learning curve for Indy's receivers.
Harrison caught only 59 passes in the first season Tom Moore took over as offensive coordinator before reeling off four straight 100-catch seasons. Part of the explanation then was that it was also Manning's rookie season.
Two-time Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne caught 27 passes as a rookie and 49 in his second season, before breaking out in his third year. And tight end Dallas Clark had 29 catches in his first NFL season, in 2003, before a leg injury cost him the final six games.
The common thread was that all three were first-round picks, like Gonzalez, who seemed destined to follow a similar trajectory after catching 15 passes for 207 yards and no touchdowns in his first 10 games.
Everything changed Thanksgiving night, when Gonzalez caught six passes for 105 yards at Atlanta.
Suddenly, his season got a jump start. During the next four games, he caught 16 passes for 264 yards and three TDs, producing a second 100-yard game and suddenly emerging as a solid fill-in for the injured Harrison.
"Probably the toughest thing for me was not a football thing," he said. "I was still getting used to the lifestyle, living in the city, all the things that most people struggle with when they take a new job."
The Colts drafted Gonzalez to add a slot receiver after releasing the oft-injured Brandon Stokley, and to find a potential replacement for Harrison, now 35.
But when Harrison went down with a left knee injury in September, Gonzalez was forced into action and the early results were mixed. He caught seven passes for 71 yards when Harrison missed the Tampa Bay game, then caught just two passes over the next three games including a touchdown pass that was ripped away by New England.
That's when the Colts decided to start giving Gonzalez the expanded version of the offense by letting him line up outside more frequently.
It worked.
"I think his biggest strides have been learning the entire offense and how he fits in it," Dungy said. "A lot of that came when he started moving around. That's what he's really done is learned the whole thing and become a lot more relaxed."
Gonzalez's playoff debut could change the equation again.
If Harrison returns as expected, Gonzalez will likely find himself back in the slot where the Colts think he can cause matchup problems for opponents and give Manning yet another capable outlet in the receiving game.
Given his recent play, the experience and knowledge he's gained and the comfort level he's finally achieved, it could be just what the Colts need to win another title.
Or at least help Gonzalez continue to master his craft.
"The feedback hasn't changed," he said. "Peyton has always given me a lot of feedback and told me things I needed to know. What's hard is that I know what it takes to be successful consistently, and that's what I have to continue to get better at. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... Wayne's 104 receptions and 1,510 yards this past season are a personal best, the yardage the most in the NFL.
But according to Star beat writer Mike Chappell, there's one that nags at the Pro Bowl receiver: three.
The Colts tied a franchise record with only five lost fumbles this season, and Wayne accounted for three of them, the third coming in Indy's season-closing loss to Tennessee.
"Whenever I fumble it's because I'm trying to do too much," Wayne said Thursday. "As a team, ultimately we know turnovers (are) what are going to kill you.
"I've got to correct that. I've got to find a way to keep the ball off the turf."
Fumbling never has been a concern with Wayne. Before this year, he last lost a fumble in the third game of the 2002 season.
Chappell went on ton note that ball security is stressed each day, each practice, whether the Colts are going through offseason workouts, training camp or a regular-season regimen.
"We shoot for zero," Dungy said. "That's what we're always looking for, and you think it can't be done. But that's what we shoot for, so we'll keep striving and keep working at it.
"It is a reflection of the emphasis the coaches put on it."
The other lost fumbles this year were by Manning and Utecht. Perhaps most impressively, Colts running backs fumbled only once -- Kenton Keith in the third game of the season -- and Indy recovered.
The Colts' five lost fumbles were tied with Dallas for the fewest in the league, while their 19 total turnovers were second to New England's 15. The Colts outscored their opponents 119-37 off turnovers. Over the final six games, Indy was a plus-9 and outscored the opposition 59-3. ...
In case you haven't been paying attention, the Colts' rushing attack has been impressive this year.
Joseph Addai ran for a team-high 1,072 yards (on 261 carries) and 12 touchdowns in 2007. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Keith had a very productive first year with the team, picking up 533 yards on 121 carries and had three TDs.
Indianapolis also got good work from rookie Clifton Dawson in limited duty as well as first-year fullback Luke Lawton.
As a team, the Colts averaged 106.6 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards rushing per carry. ...
According to Pro Football Weekly, Dungy is unwavering in his support for his assistants to get head-coaching opportunities. Dungy credits his former employers for helping him reach his current level, and the ever-cordial Dungy takes pleasure in helping out those underneath him.
That could pay big dividends for assistant head coach/quarterbacks Jim Caldwell, who's a head-coaching candidate for several organizations. Dungy is sure to give Caldwell a sterling recommendation. ...
And finally. ... While Dungy and his players will focus solely on Sunday's playoff opener, Bill Polian isn't allowed such narrow vision.
The present is paramount, but the future beckons.
"In this job, you have to do two things," said Polian, the Colts' president since 1998. "You have to be in the present and deal with whatever issues the present roster and exigencies tomorrow's game bring, and then you have to worry about what the composition of the roster's going to be next year and the year after that."
Most important in the long term is keeping key players under contract. That has proven increasingly difficult amid salary rules designed to promote parity, but Polian has proven a master.
He made his latest move in late December by locking up Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders through the 2012 season.
According to Chappell, the importance of finalizing Sanders' deal can't be overstated. It effectively ensured that another front-line player who will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end -- Clark -- will remain with the team in 2008.
That's because if a long-term deal can't be reached, the Colts will resort to Plan B: the franchise tag. For Clark, that would be a one-year contract worth more than $4.5 million.
"One way or the other; either by a contract or via the franchise tag," Polian said. "Our preference would be via contract."
The Colts suffered several free agent losses after last season's Super Bowl, notably starting cornerbacks Nick Harper and Jason David, running back Dominic Rhodes, linebacker Cato June and safety Mike Doss.
Yet despite those and previous such departures, Polian and his staff have been adept at identifying players critical to the growth of the team and re-signing them before they hit the free agent market. Examples include Manning, Harrison, Wayne, Diem, center Jeff Saturday, defensive linemen Raheem Brock and Mathis, linebacker Gary Brackett, Freeney and Sanders.
"You like to see the organization you're playing for have the commitment to being a contender every single year," Manning said. "I hope that continues.
"There are plenty of players you hope they keep."
Manning's salary-cap number will increase from $8.2 million this year to more than $18 million in 2008, when the NFL's salary cap increases from $109 million to $116 million. Although the Colts could use some bookkeeping measures to lower Manning's cap hit, "that's not a high-priority item," according to Polian. "We can carry him (at that figure)."
That they're 13-point underdogs -- and going higher -- in their playoff game against New England is more a reflection of America's love affair with the 16-0 Patriots.
The double-digit point spread is not uncommon for the Patriots, who were favored by more than 20 points in several games this season. New England won 11 games by more than 12 points, including seven by more than 20 and two by more than 40.
The fervor has subsided somewhat after the Patriots failed to cover the spread in the last three regular-season victories.
Of course, for the Patriots to lose their first playoff game after going 16-0 in the regular season would be a crushing blow. By contrast, the Jaguars will be big underdogs with nothing to lose.
In fact, despite winning their first playoff game since 1999 Saturday night, the Sports Xchange suggests the Jaguars raised as many questions as they answered about their ability to compete with the unbeaten Patriots.
Despite their 31-29 victory over the Steelers on a late field goal by Josh Scobee, they came close to the biggest fourth-quarter meltdown in NFL playoff history. They lost a 28-10 lead before rallying to win, 31-29.
The key plays were delivered by running back Maurice Jones-Drew and cornerback Rashean Mathis.
Jones-Drew returned the Jaguars' first kickoff back 96 yards to set up one touchdown and caught a short pass and went 43 yards for a second touchdown. Mathis, who intercepted one pass during the regular season, picked off two and ran back one of them for a touchdown.
But quarterback David Garrard made his biggest play with his feet, not with his arm. He ran 32 yards on fourth down in the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning field goal.
Garrard completed only 9 of 21 passes, threw two interceptions and had a 41.9 passer rating. He threw three interceptions in 12 regular season appearances and yet he has two in his first playoff start.
That raises question of whether Garrard can handle playoff pressure.
Head coach Jack Del Rio, of course, praised Garrard. "We feel good about David," he said. "I think he's a really good football player."
But he needs to play better in New England. So does Fred Taylor, who had only 48 yards in 16 carries. Garrard and Taylor must elevate their game if the Jaguars are to have a chance in New England.
Then again, Jones-Drew will have something to say about that.
The diminutive powerhouse finished with 168 all-purpose yards and according to Times-Union staffer Vito Stellino, it was an illustration that Jones-Drew loves the big stage.
His showing could be a good omen for the Jaguars as they start preparing today for their second-round playoff game at unbeaten New England Saturday night. His kick return against the Steelers gives the Patriots something more to prepare for.
"Coach Joe DeCamillis did a great job of preparing us," Jones-Drew said of his kick return. "The wedge did a great job of kicking the guys out and I ran through a hole and it was just me and a kicker one-on-one. You have to make him miss. I made him miss and it was like a convoy of guys running behind me and throwing blocks."
What stuck out to Jones-Drew while watching the replay was "everybody hustling after the play.
"You really don't see that much on other teams, but everybody was downfield trying to get blocks as I was zigzagging across," he said. "I kind of ran out of gas."
Jones-Drew said he wasn't bothered that the Steelers didn't kick to him the rest of the game.
"It gave us great field position," he said. "In those types of field conditions, it's all about field position so when you get the ball at the 35 or the 40, we just keep going from there."
The Jags averaged starting their drives on their 41; the Steelers' average was their 32.
Jones-Drew, who also had a 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, was overshadowed in recent weeks by Taylor, who finished the regular season with 1,202 rushing yards to Jones-Drew's 768. Jones-Drew not only wasn't upset, he was one of Taylor's biggest cheerleaders. He insisted Taylor deserved to be voted to the Pro Bowl.
That impressed Del Rio, who said, "He's a special young man. I've said it before, he's really a champion. He's got the heart of a champion. He loves to compete."
And returning kickoffs, catching passes and running the ball aren't all he does.
"He's a ferocious blocker," Del Rio said. "He's not just a guy that finds a way to be nimble and get the guy down. He really goes to take a chunk out of a guy. He's explosive with the ball in his hands. He's a threat without it. He's a super football player. ..."
In a related note. ... SI.com insider Don Banks advised readers Sunday night that he had an intriguing question asked while at the Jaguars-Steelers game: If the 2006 NFL Draft were re-held today, would USC's Reggie Bush still be taken ahead of Jones-Drew?
Banks replied: "I don't think so. And I'm not sure it's even remotely a debate."
Banks added: "Score another one for the science of NFL drafting."
Bush was the No. 2 overall pick in the first round. Jones-Drew went toward the end of the second round, 60th overall. ...
Taylor was officially added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster Tuesday, replacing Pittsburgh's Willie Parker. Parker broke a bone in his right leg last month and pulled out of the league's all-star game, allowing Taylor to get his first Pro Bowl invitation.
Taylor finished fourth in balloting last month and was made the first alternate. He initially thought he missed out on a trip to Hawaii for the 10th consecutive season. But then Parker injured his leg two days after rosters were announced.
"Whenever it came up, I said I'd cross that bridge whenever I get to it," Taylor said Tuesday. "Now it's here. It doesn't change my approach at all. My team has been excited ever since I guess they understood what happened to Willie that particular week."
Taylor ranks 17th on the NFL's all-time rushing list and had been the only player in the top 49 to never make it to Honolulu. ...
A few final notes here. ... As the Xchange noted, the Jaguars haven't played New England since last year, but Del Rio said the team is ready for the Patriots.
"We've been working on New England since prior to the Houston game. I think we're all doing that, putting in the extra time, getting a look at each other," he said.
The Jaguars have little playoff experience compared to the Patriots, who've won three of the last six Super Bowls. But Del Rio thinks playoff experience is overrated.
"I think you go play well because that's what you're about and that's what you training yourself to do. It certainly gives you a little more comfort. Maybe those watching at home get a little comfort, if they know you've done it before, but I don't know that it helps you play a whole lot better," he said.
And finally. ... Reggie Williams all but disappeared in his first playoff game, catching just two passes for 23 yards. Meanwhile, fellow wideout Matt Jones doesn't appear to be part of the team's playoff plans. He played sparingly in Pittsburgh and didn't catch a pass.
He received 49 of 50 votes and became the first Patriots player to win the MVP award on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Brady added the AP Offensive Player of the Year to the MVP. Brady is the fourth straight double winner, joining Peyton Manning, running back Shaun Alexander of Seattle and Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.
His boss and his teammates felt the MVP honor was overdue.
"To be honest, I'm surprised it took so long for him to get this recognition because he's sort of been our MVP since he stepped on the field in '01, in my mind, and the way he just took over," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. "He treats everyone in that locker room the same way he treats me or the coaches."
Brady did win the Super Bowl MVP award after the 2001 and 2003 seasons. Defensive end Ty Warren became his teammate in 2003.
"Every year I have been here, he has always been the MVP in my eyes. Hands down," Warren said. "He is going to be remembered as one of the best that ever played in this league and he has definitely put on a clinic this year with the guys that he has had around him."
The eight-year veteran helped the Patriots shatter records by throwing for 50 touchdowns. He broke Manning's NFL mark by one, and threw 23 of those TDs to Randy Moss, which lifted the receiver past Jerry Rice's record of 22.
New England scored 589 points, another record, as was the Patriots' 75 touchdowns. Eleven of their wins were by at least 17 points.
Brady's NFL best 117.2 passer rating was close to Manning's record of 121.1 in 2004. Only one full-time AFC starter, Jacksonville's David Garrard, threw fewer than Brady's eight interceptions and Garrard threw 253 fewer passes.
They'll meet next Saturday night in Foxboro in the divisional round. Jacksonville advanced with a 31-29 win at Pittsburgh on Saturday while the Patriots had the weekend off from meetings and practice.
"As I have learned over the course of my time with the Patriots, the most meaningful accomplishments are always the ones I have celebrated with my teammates," he said. "I am certainly proud of the success that we have enjoyed so far this season."
He missed by one vote being a unanimous choice of the nationwide panel of 50 media members who cover the NFL on a regular basis. Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre, the only three-time MVP, got that vote.
Among other AP MVPs were quarterbacks Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, John Elway and Steve Young -- all Hall of Famers.
"I have always been a huge football fan and will always have great respect for the history of this game," Brady said. "I am flattered to join such an esteemed list of players, many of whom I consider the greatest of all time. I hope that I can set as great of an example for kids around the world as the previous MVPs did for me."
Brady led the league in completion percentage and yards passing. And he threw a touchdown pass in all but one game -- a 20-10 win over the New York Jets in his 14th game.
Teammates continually praise Brady as an unselfish superstar and one of the Patriots' hardest workers.
"There are two types of players in the league," linebacker Junior Seau said. "One that wants to be great and one that needs to be great. Tommy positions himself every day to be great for every game."
Not surprisingly, Brady said winning the MVP will mean nothing once he gets on the field against Jacksonville.
"I always try to go out and do the best I can do," he said. "I hope that's good enough this week. ... The MVP and all that is wonderful. I'm sure some day I'll look back on that and be very proud of the fact that it's something you accomplished, but it doesn't mean anything this week. ...
"There is still plenty of football to be played this season and I look forward getting back on the field with my teammates and preparing for next weekend's game. ..."
Oh yeah. ... Bill Belichick named Coach of the Year by the AP for leading the Patriots to the first 16-0 season in NFL history.
Belichick received 29-of-50 first-place votes, easily outdistancing Green Bay's Mike McCarthy (15) in second. They were followed by the Cowboys' Wade Phillips and Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio (two each), while Indy's Tony Dungy and Tampa Bay's Jon Gruden each received one vote.
"I think it's deserved, whether (the voters) like the person or not," said Kraft. "Bill is a great student of the game, but he knows how to connect the dots very well. He's just a great overall manager. He also has a tremendous staff that he's working with. We've been blessed to be able to keep some sense of stability here and a sense of continuity."
Belichick credited the entire organization in a statement.
"This is definitely a team recognition but one that I appreciate very much on a personal level," he said.
There was a chance he wouldn't win because of Camera-gate, which cost him $500,000, the organization another $250,000 and the team its first-round pick in April's draft. But in the end, 16-0 trumped all.
"An undefeated regular season happens barely more often than Halley's Comet," said voter Chris Berman of ESPN. "Coach Belichick has never been better. This season he coached at a level which I had not seen him hit, and he's won three Super Bowls. This was a pretty easy vote for me."
This is Belichick's second award. He also won following the 2003 season, when the Patriots went 14-2 and claimed their second Super Bowl in three years.
Belichick is just the second coach in team history to win the award. Bill Parcells scored it in 1994. ...
In a semi-related note. ... According to Boston Herald beat writer John Tomase, Patriots assistant coaches "are sort of like Mouseketeers -- eventually they move on and become really famous."
Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis and Eric Mangini already have made the leap. And one day offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels probably will join them. But not this year.
Given the chance to interview with both the Ravens and Falcons for their vacant head coaching positions, the 31-year-old officially declined last week.
"I am very grateful for the chance to interview for NFL head coaching positions but I have decided not to pursue those opportunities at this time," McDaniels said in a statement. "I plan to focus all my attention on our postseason preparation."
Kraft said losing assistants is the price of doing business on a championship team.
"The culture we try to set here is to get everyone on the same page," he said. "We worked hard at that. It's hard, because the competition is always after your players and your coaches."
Patriots players saluted McDaniels for the job he's done with the league's No. 1 offense.
"He's young. He's good at what he does. What more can you ask for?" said running back Laurence Maroney. "He puts us in the right situations and brings us in the right place. He's definitely a great coach."
Maroney said McDaniels is sometimes easier to relate to because of his youth.
"Then you've got to realize he's still a coach, he's still your OC," Maroney said. "Sometimes you can play and joke around with him, but at the end of the day, you have to realize he's still your coach. ..."
For the record, Belichick said he and his staff had spent most of their preparation time over the weekend on the Jaguars, as they had faced the Steelers last month and hadn't seen Tennessee since the preseason.
As Providence Journal staffer Shalise Manza Young reminded readers, the last time New England played Jacksonville was Christmas Eve in 2006, a 24-21 victory that clinched the AFC East title for the Pats. Tight end David Thomas had a spectacular belly-to-the-turf touchdown, Mike Vrabel picked off Garrard after he was hit by Tully Banta-Cain, and Jarvis Green and Rodney Harrison sealed the win when Green strip-sacked Garrard and Harrison recovered the loose ball.
The Jaguars played without running back Fred Taylor in that game, but then-rookie Maurice Jones-Drew scored a 74-yard touchdown on a play in which he fell behind the line of scrimmage but was never downed by a Patriots player.
Jacksonville's front four is one of the better units in the league, and was bolstered by the in-season signing of enormous tackle Grady Jackson. However, fellow tackle John Henderson suffered a hamstring injury against the Steelers and his availability will be something to monitor this week.
New England and the Jaguars have met three times previously in the postseason, most recently in 2005. The Pats won that wild-card game, 28-3. They also won their first playoff meeting, the 1996 AFC Championship Game, 20-6. Jacksonville won its 1998 wild-card game, the only one of the four to be played in Florida, 25-10. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to Journal columnist Jim Donaldson, "If Randy Moss is Butch Cassidy, then Wes Welker is the Sundance Kid. ..."
Although Moss spent last season suffering in Oakland, while Welker was toiling in Miami, now that the two of them are thoroughly enjoying life together in New England, it's hard to imagine one without the other.
As Donaldson noted, they complement each other perfectly. While each is an outstanding player in his own right, neither would be putting up quite the same, dazzling numbers without the other.
Moss is a dangerous deep threat. He set an NFL record this season with 23 touchdown catches, and has nine receptions for 40 or more yards.
Welker set a Patriots record this season with 112 catches -- smashing the previous mark of 101, set by Troy Brown in 2001 -- but has just one reception of more than 40 yards.
While Moss is frightening to opposing defenses, Welker is frustrating.
As a slot receiver, Welker is the guy who consistently gets open underneath when Moss stretches the secondary.
While Moss specialty is touchdowns, Welker's is first downs. He moves the chains. He has an uncanny knack for finding the holes in the secondary, almost never drops a ball, and, perhaps best of all, is very difficult to bring down, invariably picking up extra yards after making a catch.
"He's been a very productive player for us," said McDaniels. "He's given us an element of catch-and-run yards that don't always get measured in practice. You throw a 5-yard completion in practice, it looks like a 5-yard completion. You throw that to him in a game, and it turns into a 25-yard gain. Wes has made a lot of plays for us."
Of course, Welker has done a great job for the Patriots in all aspects of the game, including punt and kickoff returns. He averaged 10.4 yards on 25 punt returns this season, and 25.1 yards on 7 kickoff returns.
But his contributions to the passing attack have been critical to the team's success.
"Wes is fearless going over the middle," Brady explained. "He's so elusive. I don't remember any matchups where he didn't have an edge with his quickness."
Throughout this undefeated season, opposing defenses have been overmatched trying to cover both Moss and Welker.
Moss creates openings for Welker. And, because of Welker, defenses can't concentrate solely on Moss.
And as Donaldson summed up, "It took the Bolivian Army to stop Butch and Sundance. With Welker complementing Moss as well as he does, it may take at least that much to stop the two of them."
It should come as no real surprise that Moss and Welker were two of three players not named Brady to garner Offensive Player of the Year votes this year. ...
While the obvious stars get most of the attention in New England, the role players also played major roles. Kevin Faulk would be among the most respected of those role players.
Despite responsibilities that shift like tide-swept sand from season to season, Faulk climbed into the top 10 of the Patriots annals in rushing (10th with 2,666 yards), receiving (sixth with 323 catches for 2,818 yards) and return yards (first with 4,688).
"Kevin's done a great job for us through the years," Belichick said. "He's been one of our most consistent, dependable players. He's had so many roles: special teams, pass protection, running the ball, catching it, third downs, other downs. He's been a downfield receiver, third-down receiver, screens, draws, those kind of plays. He's a hard-working kid. I think he's one of the most respected players (with the) coaching staff, organizationally. He's a terrific kid, great team player (and he's) got a great attitude, works hard."
Faulk, who was a second-round draft choice out of LSU in 1999, was selected as offensive co-captain by his teammates prior to the season and promptly went out and had his best year since 2003 by rushing for 265 yards on 62 carries, while catching 47 passes for 383 yards.
How important has he been to this year's success?
According to Boston Globe staffer Mike Reiss, Faulk might be considered a third-down back in NFL circles, but his 44 percent play-time figure led all Patriots at the position. That is partially a result of injuries to other backs, but also illustrates that with the Patriots passing the ball so effectively, they wanted their best pass-protector on the field.
Maroney (30 percent), Heath Evans (21 percent), Sammy Morris (15 percent), and Kyle Eckel (5 percent) also made their marks, with Maroney and Morris missing time because of injuries. ...
Another overlooked contributor? How about kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who set a record of his own with 74 extra points this season?
Though he's rarely called upon to provide the Patriots with three points, Gostkowski is quick to point out that he made one more field goal this season (21) than last and that he missed just three of 24 attempts.
That, plus his 20-for-26 performance in 2006, his rookie season, and his 8-for-8 rate in the playoffs leaves Gostkowski with a conversion percentage of 84.5, the highest in team history (albeit with a still-short body of work to draw from).
But the bottom line is this: Gostkowski ranked third in the NFL this season in points with 137, behind Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby and teammate Moss. ...
According to Herald staffer Karen Guregian, Donte' Stallworth, who saw his numbers decline during the second half of the season, claimed there were no health issues involved. He couldn't put a finger on exactly why Jabar Gaffney appears to have passed him on the depth chart.
"I don't know. I don't have an answer," Stallworth said of his decreased touches.
Was he getting on the field as much as he'd like?
"I'm getting on the field as much as they put me out there, which is all that matters," Stallworth answered. "Everyone wants the ball. Everyone wants to have all the catches and all that stuff. It is what it is. The coaches are going to do what they think is best, so I'm just riding with that right now. ..."
One last item this week. ... For New England's offensive line and tight ends, the first-round playoff bye was eagerly anticipated. The Pats have been beat up at those spots over the last few weeks, but the extended absence was expected to enable everyone to be ready for the divisional round.
Right guard Steve Neal, right tackle Nick Kaczur and tight ends Ben Watson and Kyle Brady are all rounding back into shape nicely at a critical juncture.
The Pats practiced outdoors at Gillette Stadium Tuesday. Eckel was the lone player who did not participate.
"You ain't got to believe," said Tuck, who hopes to treat Tony Romo as rudely as the Giants dealt with Jeff Garcia Sunday. "These 53 and these coaches in here believe. You can say what you want to. Let's find out on Sunday."
The Cowboys aren't the Bucs. The Giants know that. They gave up 76 points and 738 yards to Dallas in their two losses this year.
"They've got what, all 11 starters make the Pro Bowl this year?" Tuck said sarcastically. "We've got a huge challenge ahead of us. We'll deal with that (today) when we come in and watch the film."
Actually, the Cowboys will send a record 12 players to Hawaii after compiling a 13-3 record and dealing the Giants their only road loss of the year in the opening game of the season.
But according to Gola, hope for the Giants comes in some of the slippage Dallas has shown since the teams last met. The Cowboys haven't been all that dynamic since their showdown win over the Packers in late November and they were rather awful in the season finale in Washington, a game that meant nothing to them and everything to the Redskins.
Romo hasn't been as sharp since he bruised his thumb and Terrell Owens must come off a high-ankle sprain suffered in the next-to-last game of the season.
On top of that, the distractions should be one-sided. Assistant head coach Tony Sparano is expected to be hired by Bill Parcells to coach the Dolphins and there is talk that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is going to be lured away as well. There was even one rumor floating around that if the Cowboys lose, they'll fire Wade Phillips so they can keep Garrett.
The Giants, meanwhile, are exhibiting a lot of moxie, although many, like Tom Coughlin, preferred to table the Dallas talk until the team returns to Jersey.
"I don't know if (playing them twice already) helps," he said. "They beat us twice."
"We've got a lot of character and we've got a lot of heart," Brandon Jacobs said. "But we also know one thing. When we play against the Dallas Cowboys, we've got to bring it."
"We know it's going to be a dogfight," Jacobs said, adding that he senses that the Giants will go into this game a much more confident team. "We lost two games to those guys but it's a playoff game. The level of play changes on both teams. It's about who wants it more."
Asked if this was a confident team heading to Dallas, Tuck told Gola, "Absolutely. Why wouldn't we be?"
Tackle David Diehl admitted that a third game against the Cowboys is something the Giants have always been thinking about.
"It's the way things panned out," he said. "You always hope when things don't go your way, you get another opportunity and this is our opportunity. We're excited. We've got a lot going in our direction.
"On any given day, anything can happen," Diehl added. "People didn't even expect us to even make the playoffs this year and here we are. You don't want history to repeat itself so why not now? Why not go down there and let everything go?"
Meanwhile, Daily News sports writer Ralph Vacchiano noted on Tuesday that Eli Manning's first career playoff win was more than a career-changing moment. It also may have served as a warning to the Dallas Cowboys.
If you're going to dare Manning to beat you, you do so at your own risk.
"Eli can beat you," said Jacobs. "Eli can beat a team single-handedly."
That's not exactly what happened in the 24-14 wild-card win over the Buccaneers, but it was clear the Bucs' NFC-best defense was far more worried about stopping the 6-4, 264-pound Jacobs than they were about the Giants' quarterback. They stacked the line of scrimmage and as a result, Jacobs struggled.
But Manning made them pay.
He played a smart, efficient and mistake-free game against the No.1 passing defense in the league, completing 20 of 27 passes for 185 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. His completion percentage of 74.1 was the highest of his four-year career.
"I thought he did an excellent job," Coughlin said Monday. "One of the best I've seen with regard to his utilization of his eyes and his pump-faking and pulling defenders out of position. Overall I thought it was a very, very impressive game."
That it came in a playoff game, when many were wondering if Manning was the type of quarterback who could lead his team to a big postseason win, made the outing even more impressive.
"If we block (for) him and give him an opportunity," Jacobs said, "then he is that type of quarterback."
Vacchiano went on to suggest Manning will have to be exactly that in Dallas.
So much of this battle figures to be Manning vs. Romo, especially since in the first two matchups -- both Cowboys victories -- the teams combined for 131 points and 1,085 passing yards.
And as Vacchiano reminded readers, Manning was terrific in both games, completing 68 percent of his passes (51-of-75) for 548 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. But the way he had slumped from Thanksgiving until late December, he didn't look capable of doing so again.
He seemed to shake off the slump with his 22-of-32, 251-yard, four-touchdown game against the Patriots, even though he threw a key late interception against New England.
But that wasn't enough to frighten the Bucs.
"They kind of played the way we thought they would, coming out eight in the box, singling outside and seeing if we could beat them throwing the football," said receiver Plaxico Burress. "We came out in the second quarter and said, 'Hey, we've got to start throwing some quick slants and hitches and kind of loosen them up a little bit.' That kind of got our passing game going."
The Giants picked apart the Bucs defense with things like what Tampa linebacker Barrett Ruud called "those little, annoying third-down conversions when he needed eight and got 8-1/2."
The Giants only took one shot downfield, and Manning overthrew the ball. His longest pass of the day went for 21 yards.
But that's part of the new offensive philosophy of taking only what the defense is giving. In the last two games, Manning is 42-for-59 (71percent) with six touchdowns and one interception -- and the Giants have scored 59 points.
It's been the best two-game stretch of his career.
"He certainly has played very well," Coughlin said Monday. "I don't know that there is anything (different) other than his constant focus and his constant desire to be the best. That doesn't change. His numbers have been very good and his quarterback rating has been outstanding, but he applies himself the exact same way.
"If anything, it's just the focus (that) the time of the year to be at your best is right now."
That sounds like Coughlin was saying Manning is a clutch player, which is a phrase that never has been used to describe him since he arrived in New York back in 2004. However you describe it, there's no doubt that the often erratic Manning is peaking at the right time.
And that has made his teammates' belief in him even stronger than it was.
"I think they do believe in me," Manning said. "They have faith that I can make plays and we can win. ..."
In a related note. ... As SI.com insider Don Banks pointed out, for all the grief Manning takes, he just did something that his older, more celebrated brother, Peyton Manning, couldn't manage
He won a playoff game in his third career postseason start, coming in his fourth NFL season.
Not all that long ago, Peyton Manning had to endure the charges that he couldn't win in the playoffs. He lost his first three postseason starts, in 1999, 2000 and 2002 and didn't end that streak until beating Denver at home in the first round in 2003 -- his sixth NFL season.
In the three full seasons that Eli Manning has been the Giants starter (2005-07), New York is 29-19 in the regular season; Sunday's contest will be his fourth playoff game.
And for what it's worth, in the three full seasons before that (2002-04), the Giants went 20-28 with just one playoff game (a loss at San Francisco in 2002's first round). ...
Other notes of interest. ... As New York Newsday staffer Bob Glauber noted this week, Dallas likes to blitz from all over, so Manning has to be alert to where the extra rushers are coming from. But Dallas is vulnerable in pass coverage with safety Roy Williams, and the Giants' running game is better now with Ahmad Bradshaw contributing at a high level.
Glauber believes Jacobs will have to be the workhorse with the inside running game; he had a solid effort against the Cowboys the last time with 95 yards on 23 carries. Bradshaw offers a change of pace that the Giants didn't have that game, so using him properly gives offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride another means of attacking the defense. ...
Against the Buccaneers last Sunday, Bradshaw had 54 of his 66 yards rushing in the fourth quarter, leading the Giants to their last touchdown. Jacobs, who rushed for 34 yards on 13 carries, didn't touch the ball in the final quarter.
"It's very important," Jacobs said when asked how vital it is to have two ball carriers in the playoffs. "It's good to have two backs at some point during the second half, a set of fresh legs is going to come in and it's going to be tough for a defense to keep up."
The Buccaneers stacked the box with as many as eight defenders in an attempt to take away the running game and force Manning to beat them. The strategy worked through the first quarter as the Giants had minus-3 yards rushing and minus-2 yards of total offense.
But eventually, Bradshaw began to cut back and dodge defenders, often by ducking behind his linemen.
"Ahmad is a short, squatty guy with great balance that's real hard to bring down," Jacobs said. "He's a hard runner."
Bradshaw got room to run be cause Manning played well and forced the Bucs to respect his play.
"That's the part that got us," Tampa defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "We took away the run pretty well and at times we really had him frustrated and some other times he got us a little bit. I'll give him credit; he did a nice job. ..."
According to Burress, the injured ankle that kept him out of all but one practice from the middle of September to late December is worse than advertised.
"Everybody thinks it's just a sprain. It's not," Burress said. "I tore my ligament off the bone. That's why I haven't been practicing. Anybody else would be on IR at home."
As Newark Star-Ledger staffer Mike Garafolo noted, Burress has also been playing with a torn tendon in a pinky finger (all season); his left knee hasn't been the same since late November, when it swelled to twice its normal size and began aching and the ankle issues.
Garafolo added that Burress never mentioned publicly how close he came to electing for surgery after catching only four passes against the Eagles in Week 4.
That he decided against it -- and continued playing -- shouldn't be lost on Fantasy owners in future seasons. ...
In a related note. ... A second-quarter pass to Burress picked up nine yards for the Giants, but rather than run out of bounds on the left sideline, Burress Sunday used a stiff-arm tactic to shove back the facemask of Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber.
Was it a bit of payback for what Barber said last week that had Burress extra fired up?
"Nah, I always do that," Burress said.
Burress had four catches for 38 yards against Tampa Bay, but he sounded quite pleased that Manning and the passing attack was so effective against the Bucs top-ranked pass defense in general and Barber, in particular. Barber leading up to the game intended to compliment Burress when he said he's not as fast or athletic as Randy Moss, but he nevertheless is "a [lot] to deal with."
Burress printed that quote and taped it in a prominent spot by his locker, making sure everyone who passed by saw it.
"I like Ronde," Burress said. "I just basically put that quote up so all my teammates could see it. I didn't say anything to him. I may not be the fastest, I may not be the most athletic, but when you go out there on the field, all the talk goes away and you go out there and see who's better. ..."
As Pro Football Weekly noted, depth always is a tough thing this time of year, but the Giants' second-teamers have shown up well when pressed into duty because of injuries ahead of them.
The nice play by rookie tight end Kevin Boss, seen to be something of a project in his first season, has convinced PFW that he will make the coaches strongly consider using Boss and Jeremy Shockey on the field together next season.
Boss caught a TD pass against the Redskins in Week 15 in his first extended action of the season and followed that up with four catches for 50 yards against the Patriots in Week 17.
Position coach Mike Pope said Boss' blocking has improved week to week, and it likely will be an area of focus for the offseason program. ...
And finally. ... According to Associated Press sports writer Tom Canavan, Coughlin and the Giants apparently are going to wait until the season ends to discuss his contract.
"They have a game against the Cowboys and the most important thing now is to win that game," Gary O'Hagan, Coughlin's agent, said when asked Tuesday about possible contract talks. "We don't have any comment on that at this time."
The Giants considered firing Coughlin last January after the team was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs for the second straight year.
Instead, they gave him a one-year contract extension through 2008 after he convinced ownership he could make Manning a better quarterback and get the team beyond the first round.
Coughlin, 61, has succeeded on both levels. New York improved record from 8-8 a year ago to 10-6 this season.
Coughlin also changed. The no-nonsense disciplinarian formed a player leadership council to make sure he and the players were on the same page, and it worked. There has been almost no griping about the coach, who led the team to an NFC East title in 2005 and wild-card berth the past two seasons.
When the season ends, Coughlin can talk to ownership about a new, long-term contract. He signed a four-year, $12 million deal when he was hired in 2004. He has a 36-31 record heading into Sunday's game.
Before joining the Giants, Coughlin was Jacksonville's head coach from 1995-2002 and went 72-64.
Fresh from their first playoff win since the 1994 season when they disposed of the Tennessee Titans, 17-6, the Chargers will now try to knock off the defending NFL champions.
"Why not us?" Philip Rivers said. "We are going to go in with that frame of mind.
"We know the task is tough."
It is a heavy load facing the Chargers as they move forward in trying to advance to their second Super Bowl. First the Chargers have to get past All-Pro Peyton Manning, then possibly the Patriots' Tom Brady.
But that is getting far ahead to where the Chargers want their thoughts to go. They have one game in their thoughts, and that is their visit to the RCA Dome on Sunday.
"They are still the world champs," linebacker Shaun Phillips said.
Head coach Norv Turner, who was the offensive coordinators for two Super Bowl winning Cowboys teams, said the current Chargers could grow from Sunday's conquest.
"That first one is the hardest one," said Turner, of the team's first playoff win. "Hopefully this jump-starts all of us."
It won't be easy. ... Rivers believes the Colts have maybe flown under the radar a tad this year because of the powerhouse Patriots.
"They're the defending champs," Rivers said. "I know the story this year has been about 16-0 and New England and rightfully so. But (the Colts) are 13-3 again and the last game of the year they didn't play everybody. They're cruising along as they did the past couple of years and they're going to be tough at their place.
"We've gone there and won. We've gone there and lost a tough one since I've been here.
"It'll be fun. It's why you play. You couldn't ask for anything more than to play the defending champs at their place in the playoffs."
Unfortunately, the Chargers are all but certain to take their next step in the playoffs without All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates, who injured his left big toe Sunday.
"I won't know until later in the week," Gates said of his availability for Sunday's game.
The team announced Gates has a sprained toe, but the toe is also dislocated. Technically, one must have a sprain to have a dislocation, but a dislocation is worse than a sprain and San Diego Union-Tribune staffer Kevin Acee advised readers on Tuesday it appears unlikely he will play in Indianapolis.
Acee added the Chargers are moving preparing to play without him.
Brandon Manumaleuna would start in Gates' place. Manumaleuna is a better blocker than Gates, but not as good as a receiver.
For the record, the team has not revealed any details on the MRI but team will keep Gates active and hope he can play in the AFC Championship Game or Super Bowl if the Chargers make it that far.
"I don't know how long it's going to be," general manager A.J. Smith said Monday. "Any time that a star player is away from you, obviously it hurts you."
"That's huge," receiver Chris Chambers said of the injury. "Some guys are going to have to step up."
LaDainian Tomlinson and Rivers echoed the "huge" assessment.
"If he can't go, then obviously that's a part we're going to miss because of the attention he attracts from defenses," Tomlinson said. "Nobody is going to take his place. But we've got to have somebody to make a play or two for us."
Colts coach Tony Dungy joked he hoped the Chargers saved Gates for the AFC Championship Game.
"I think it would change a lot, and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they rested him up and tried to get him healthy for the following week," Dungy said. "He's a tremendous player, he's a big, big part of what they do. He's a tough matchup, much like Dallas Clark is a tough matchup because they can move him a lot of places. ...
"They go to him in such big ways, it does dictate what you can do. I don't know that they'll tell us if he's going to play or not, but it certainly would make a big difference. ..."
Also on the injury front. ... Fullback Lorenzo Neal, who hasn't played since fracturing his fibula Dec. 9 at Tennessee, said there's a good chance he'll play against the Colts.
"I want to play, but I don't want to jeopardize the team," Neal said. "If I'm ready to play I'll play, but if not I think [Andrew] Pinnock's been doing a great job filling in."
The Chargers won't practice again until Wednesday, and Neal said he hoped to participate.
"I'm not going to be selfish," he said. "It's not about me; it's about this team. Andrew's playing well, and we're going to see what happens."
Standing nearby, Pinnock said: "He's ready to go. Don't let him fool you. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... Chambers caught six passes for 121 yards and Vincent Jackson had five receptions for 114 yards and the go-ahead touchdown as the Chargers rallied for a 17-6 victory against Tennessee Sunday.
Only twice before had the Chargers had at least two players surpass 100 yards receiving in the same postseason game, and one of those games lasted more than five quarters. Kellen Winslow (166), Charlie Joiner (108) and Wes Chandler (106) all reached triple figures in the famous Jan. 2, 1982, overtime game at Miami, and Chandler (124) and Winslow (102) did it the following January at Pittsburgh.
"It's fun for both of us to have a game like this today," said Jackson, who had never had a 100-yard game in three NFL seasons.
As Union-Tribune staffer Jay Posner suggested, it was especially important on a day when Tomlinson rushed for only 42 yards and Gates caught two passes for 15 yards before leaving.
Chambers and Jackson each averaged more than 20 yards a catch thanks to eight receptions (four each) of 19 yards or more, with six of those coming on the Chargers' three scoring drives to begin the second half. There were busted coverages as Tennessee committed to stopping Tomlinson, but both receivers ran some good routes as well.
Plus, Jackson took a big hit from safety Michael Griffin but held on for a key 34-yard catch on the Chargers' first scoring drive.
"It was a good collision," Jackson said, "but I secured the ball."
Jackson had two more important catches on the Chargers' next drive, a 20-yarder on the first play and a 25-yarder for the touchdown that gave San Diego a 10-6 lead. On that play, Jackson and Manumaleuna ran deep crossing routes and the secondary was unable to keep up with Jackson.
"We kind of had that dialed up all week," Rivers said.
The next time the Chargers had the ball Manumaleuna made a key third-down catch, but the big play was a 39-yard pass to Chambers on third-and-10 that set up San Diego's final TD. The play wasn't designed to go to Chambers, but the only safety positioned deep on the play drifted to his left, leaving Chambers wide open on the other side of the field.
"I could see the safety really moving so I just got my eyes back over there," Rivers said. "[Chambers] was just kind of waving his hand out there like a left fielder.
"You know, we were able to make some big plays down the field. We have that type of big-playability and we're probably going to need it the rest of the way."
That starts Sunday in Indianapolis.
Said Tennessee's Griffin: "Word to the wise for the Colts: Watch out for Chambers. You better cover him. ..."
Despite a badly bruised plant leg, place-kicker Nate Kaeding went 1-of-2 on field goals Sunday, making a 20-yarder and missing a 45-yarder. Turner said Kaeding tried too hard on his miss, which fluttered wide to the right.
Kaeding will likely not handle the kickoff duties at Indianapolis. Dave Rayner will continue to do kickoffs. ...
Including a touchdown and field goal against the Titans, the Chargers have scored at least a field goal on 30 straight red-zone trips over the past nine games. They have scored 16 touchdowns in that span.
Including the one time they stopped the Titans Sunday after Rivers' interception, the defense has allowed just two touchdowns and two field goals following the past 11 turnovers by the offense.
The Titans went three-and-out four times. The Chargers have forced 32 three-and-outs over their past nine games. They had forced 12 in the season's first eight games. ...
And finally. ... Turner said last week that he believes having to dig out from the team's 1-3 hole helped mold his team's character en route to the AFC West title.
"I think all the experiences you go through -- we had to get to know each other, and probably had it been the other way, 3-1, we probably wouldn't have gotten to know each other as fast as we did," Turner said prior to Sunday's win. "You're tested when you're in times of adversity. I like the way our guys responded to everything."
According to Pro Football Weekly, Turner's even-keeled approach right throughout has been very well received by the team. Tomlinson, among others, suggested that no one panicked or was critical when the team was struggling early, and Turner's stoic confidence in the system and what they were doing was a big reason why.
"If you make this game bigger than it is, it'll be too big for you," said Tomlinson, who had more touches this season than in his record-breaking 2006 campaign. "If you don't, we'll get out and play the way we know we can play."
The coach joked his quarterback was so obscured by treatment machines Monday, all he could manage was an arm wave and a shout of assurance that he was fine for Saturday's NFC divisional playoff game at Green Bay despite his latest ailment: a bruised thigh.
"I don't even like to go in the training room anymore," Holmgren said, smiling. "He's in this thing that you would swear. ... I didn't even know it was him. His arm came out and (he said), 'I'm going to be OK. Don't worry."'
Hasselbeck's latest pain is in his right thigh, though it is not expected to keep him from practicing Tuesday. He took a hard hit from the helmet of Washington's Fred Smoot during an open-field tackle in the third quarter of Saturday's 35-14 win over the Redskins in the wild card game.
Hasselbeck said the hit was so sharp it broke his thigh pad. Third-string quarterback Charlie Frye gave Hasselbeck his on the sideline so Hasselbeck could go back out for the next series. He did, then shook off two interceptions to throw for the go-ahead score in the final quarter.
Hasselbeck, who set team records for yards (3,966), completions (352) and attempts (562), finished 20-for-32 for 229 yards, did so despite a series of minor injuries.
Seattle's most indispensable player has also had bruised ribs, a strained oblique muscle, a strained quadriceps, and a sore wrist.
And now the sore thigh.
"He actually broke my thigh pad. Some guys don't wear thigh pads. I'm glad we wear thigh pads," Hasselbeck said after the game. "It hurt for a little while, but I'm fine. ..."
Meanwhile, the prognosis for wide receiver Deion Branch is better this week, Holmgren said. The coach added the training staff is more optimistic about his availability. Branch missed the past two games because of a strained calf.
"He couldn't play the game the way he has to play the game," Holmgren said. "He's not the biggest guy in the world, Deion. His quickness and speed must be a part of his game, and no one could tell me he could last, for sure."
For the record, Branch was on the field while the Seahawks practiced Tuesday, but he only ran on the side. He has been dealing with a sore calf and has not played the past two games (Hasselbeck also reportedly ran fairly well despite his thigh bruise).
As Seattle Times staffer Danny O'Neil noted, Branch is the starting flanker. He and D.J. Hackett have been on the field together for less than three games total this season. If Branch returns, the Seahawks would have the top four receivers they expected when they started the season available for four-receiver sets.
"When we put that out there, we have the ability to be pretty potent in the passing game," Holmgren said.
Especially with Hackett on board.
As SI.com insider Don Banks suggested, Hackett may be the best NFL receiver that (almost) nobody knows about. According to Banks: "Hackett's six-catch, 101-yard day against Washington showed me and others who Hasselbeck's go-to guy is these days. ..."
In fact, Hackett has played in only six full games this season because of ankle injuries, but he has three 100-yard receiving performances to lead the team. ...
And according to Bell, when the Packers and Seahawks meet on Saturday in the NFC divisional playoffs at Lambeau Field, they may test the notion that you have to have a running game to win in the playoffs.
Both teams like to throw the ball, and Green Bay's Brett Favre and Hasselbeck do it well. But the Packers have shown an increasing ability to run the ball late in the season. Not so much for the Seattle Seahawks.
"We haven't been able to get (our rushing attack) going very well," Holmgren said Monday.
The Seahawks beat Washington in last weekend's wild-card game despite rushing for just 77 yards. That sounds low -- but it's better than they fared on Oct. 7, at Pittsburgh (38 yards) or Dec. 16, at Carolina (44 yards).
Seattle hasn't had a 100-yard rusher since Week 3. In Weeks 16 and 17, the Seahawks showed life on the ground, rushing for 144 and 167 yards respectively. However, that was against the Ravens, who were spiraling and missing menacing middle linebacker Ray Lewis, and the Falcons, who played without two starting defensive tackles.
Shaun Alexander has been playing with a broken wrist since September, and finished with 716 yards in 13 games. Second-year man Rob Sims and veteran Floyd Womack have been continually rotated on the offensive line. At midseason, Holmgren declared he was done "trying to fit a square peg into a round hole," claiming the team would rely on Hasselbeck's passing instead of the stalled running.
At frosty Lambeau Field on Saturday, relying on a passing game could be problematic. The forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-20s with a 20 percent chance of snow flurries at kickoff.
"Uh, it's going to be cold," Alexander deadpanned when asked what he expected at Lambeau Field.
Cold, windy and snowy generally works against a passing team. Holmgren's been hearing this ever since the Seahawks clinched their fourth consecutive NFC West title and found that a Super Bowl run would go through Green Bay.
His response: "I think New England is proving the point. While they run the ball very well, (they) throw the ball 33 times in a row and still have these big wins and all that.
"No one's saying they have to run the ball in the playoffs. I haven't heard that."
Holmgren faced similar skepticism when he first arrived in Wisconsin in 1992 to be the Packers' head coach.
"There was always the belief that the weather you get, that we will get probably, can affect the passing game more than the running game," Holmgren said. "Yeah, we understand all this passing business, but when it comes down to December and January, you've got to be able to bang it around a little bit.'
"I understand that. And there is some truth to that."
But less so as it applies to Holmgren's passing fancy.
As Bell explained, Holmgren's offense is as true to Bill Walsh's prototypical West Coast offense as any currently in football. Walsh gave Holmgren his first NFL job and taught him the pro game with the 49ers.
Hasselbeck's team passing records have come while orchestrating a continuous set of 6-yard routes and safe dumpoffs near the line of scrimmage, with the occasional probe toward the back of a defense. The system mitigates the effects of wind, mud and snow.
"Because the ball is not in the air as long as in some systems," Holmgren said. "Keeping in mind this offense, in its origins and how we've kept it going, we took out a few runs and replaced them with passes. Just substituted.
"It's the same thought in mind -- 5 yards, 6 yards, hopefully. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... It should be pointed out that Seattle hasn't won a playoff game on the road for 25 years, dating to a 27-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins on December 31, 1983 at the Orange Bowl.
Overall, Seattle is just 1-6 on the road in the postseason, including an 0-2 mark under Holmgren.
If the Seahawks are going to reverse that trend, they will have to win at a venue that is not kind to visiting teams in the playoffs. Green Bay is 12-2 all-time in the postseason at Lambeau Field.
Still, the Seahawks can take some solace in the fact that the Packers aren't invincible at home in the playoffs.
At one point, it might have seen that way as Green Bay won its first 11 playoff games at Lambeau Field. But Michael Vick and the Falcons broke through for a 27-7 victory on a snowy night in January of 2002.
The Packers actually have dropped two of their last three playoff games at Lambeau. Green Bay's last postseason game resulted in a 31-17 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings on January 9, 2005.
The Seahawks and Packers have played twice since their playoff meeting, with each winning at home.
Green Bay posted a 23-17 win in the 2005 regular-season finale and Seattle answered with a 34-24 victory in Week 12 of the 2006 season. ...
Fullback Leonard Weaver's 17-yard touchdown for the first score was the longest scoring run by a Seahawk in a playoff game, eclipsing the 13-yard run by Alexander in the loss to the Bears in Chicago last season.
"Man, it felt great, obviously," Weaver said. "It was just one of those experiences that I'll never forget."