With all the playoffs and stuff, you’d think that the biggest news would have something to do with one of the playoff teams. But no, some of the biggest news has to do with the teams that are no longer in the playoffs. For example, Tony Dungy may or may not return to the Indianapolis Colts. I don’t know how that’s going to work out, but gosh. What will the Colts do without him if he decides to go. The reason for him thinking about leaving is that his family lives in Florida and he’s been commuting back and forth from home during the last few seasons. He is still deciding how long he wants to remain in the NFL and balance his family and football duties. Anyway, it’s good to have someone who thinks that way in the sports world.

There seems almost too much to write about for the upcoming weekend of playoff football. We’ve got the Arizona Cardinals clinching the NFC West for the first time in…possibly ever; The New York Giants returning to the playoffs to defend their well-deserved title; Chad Pennington (former Jets QB, ousted by the arrival of Brett Favre) and his Miami Dolphins clinching the AFC East, one year after their 1-15 record; the return of the Steel Curtain for the Pittsburgh Steelers; two rookie QBs leading their teams into the playoffs (Ravens, Falcons); and two last second qualifiers in the Chargers and Eagles, each of which seemed definitely out of the playoffs only a month ago. With all of this huge storylines that have potential for growth, the postseason and Super Bowl are definitely going to be interesting. Just for the hell of it though, I say Ravens versus Giants. Winner TBD.

One day after the end of the NFL season, several teams have decided that they need to get rid of their coaches. One of the more surprising coaches to lose his job is Eric Mangini, who managed the New York Jets. He has led them to several winning seasons in past years, but the team went 1-4 in the last 5 games of the season, losing the AFC East title to the Dolphins. The Dolphins are piloted by Chad Pennington, who was QB for the Jets for several years and was cut when Brett Favre came on the scene. Other teams that fired their head coaches are the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns, neither of which are big surprises, given the final result of the season for those two.

A couple of weeks ago, the Denver Broncos were 8-5 and the Chargers were 5-8. With these two teams holding first and second place respectively within the AFC West, Denver was pretty much a green light for the playoffs. Then they lost and the Chargers won. So what, next week right? Another loss and another win. 8-7 and 7-8. The Denver Broncos, whose offense during the early season was quite formidable, began to play like the mediocre team of years past. The Chargers, on the other hand, finally woke up from their dormancy and began to play like they did last year, or the year before that. So with the last week on the horizon, each team needs a win to have hopes for the playoffs. The problem is, there can only be one winner. When San Diego hosts Denver this Sunday night for the AFC West title, one team will win and move on, the other go home. For San Diego, this is the perfect opportunity to avenge the controversial call by an official back in week 2 against the Broncos.

The Jaguars had a second and goal opportunity at the very end of last night’s Thursday Night Football matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. Though the Jags’ playoff hopes were long gone, a scoreline of 31-24 gave them the opportunity to tie the game and do their part in spoiling the Colts’ playoff chances. Dwight Freeney, however, wanted no part in that. On what proved to be the last play of the game, the Jaguars’ drive ended at the Colts’ 7 yard line when Freeney sacked David Garrard and the time expired. Despite falling behind 14-0 early in the game, Manning and the Colts came back to win and solidified their seventh playoff berth in seven years.

With only three weeks left in the regular season, the playoff picture is beginning to take visible form. It is far from decided, as in the cases of both league’s North divisions, but 4 teams (for all intents and purposes) have solidified their playoff berths. The Titans, Cardinals, and Giants have all definitively clinched their respective divisions. The Denver Broncos, on the other hand, have all but clinched their own. With a 3 game lead over the Chargers and only three games left in the season, the Broncos can only not make it if they lose out and the Chargers win out.

…too late for the San Diego Chargers? Last night the San Diego Chargers put forth a remarkable effort (albeit against the 3-10 Oakland Raiders) and easily claimed victory 34-7.  Now that they’ve improved to 5-8 on the season, they still have a chance to make the playoffs assuming that Denver goes on a cold streak to close out the season and loses at least 3 out of their four remaining games. Losing 3 out of 4 is the absolute best that any Chargers fan can hope for, seeing as how the Broncos play against the miserable KC Chiefs (2-10) this Sunday and are all but guaranteed a win. After that, the Broncos will play Carolina(9-3), Buffalo (6-6), and finally the Chargers. It’s not too inconceivable that Denver may finish 8-8, but that means that the Chargers need to be flawless here on out.

Plaxico Burress, star Wide Receiver for the New York Giants, is in deep trouble. Last weekend, the player was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg. No, he didn’t get shot by some irate fan. Apparently, he was at a nightclub with some people and accidentally shot himself in the leg with his own handgun. This whole occurance happened within a few blocks of NFL main offices in New York. For those who didn’t get the memo, having a handgun in New York is illegal without a permit, and his out-of-state permit expired a few months ago.  Yesterday, a day after he met with a high-cost lawyer, he turned himself in to authorities and it will be interesting to see what will happen going forward.  People in the Giants organization are, unsurprisingly, displeased at having to discipline this guy again.

The door is there but they just can’t seem to find the knob. The Arizona Cardinals (now 7-5) are firmly leading the pitiful NFC West Division, but for the second week in a row failed to clinch their playoff spot. The Philadelphia Eagles, led by a determined Donovan McNabb and immovable Brian Westbrook, simply proved too much for the Cardinals’ defense. Tack on the tepid performance of the usually high-powered Cardinals offense and you’ve got yourself a loss. Although it is only a matter of time before the Cardinals eliminate the hopes of second place and 3-8 San Francisco 49ers and clinch their playoff berth, sooner is always better than later. Go to the Cardinals home page to learn more about their team.

And then there was none… After yesterday’s convincing 34-13 Jets victory, the Tennessee Titans are no longer the standard-bearer for perfection in the league. The balanced attack of the New York Jets (featuring remarkable performances by Brett Favre through the air and Thomas Jones on the ground) was simply too much for the Titans, now 10-1.  This was a a huge game for the Jets, who have not only knocked off the league’s “best” team but also solidified their place as a potential favorite in the playoff picture. Go to NFL.com to get more information about either team.