NFL Capsules: Bengals get rematch with dominating Jets

CINCINNATI — Linebacker Brandon Johnson was trimming some of his Cincinnati Bengals teammates’ hair after a frigid practice, getting them ready to look good for their next big moment. They couldn’t look any worse than they did in their last one.

Jets 37, Bengals 0.

The Jets dominated them in every way at the Meadowlands last Sunday, earning a playoff berth while drubbing the AFC North champs, who had little on the line and played like it. Even in their worst times, the Bengals (10-6) have never been beaten more soundly.

Days later, they didn’t sound like a beaten-down team. A group of them gathered for a little grooming, joking and laughing, turning the locker room into a raucous barber shop. They were confident the return of a few key players — and the much higher stakes — will close that 37-point gap in their wild-card rematch on Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium.

"Come Saturday, you’ll see an energetic, enthusiastic, rambunctious Bengals team," offensive lineman Bobbie Williams said. "I like our odds this time."

Given what’s happened, the Jets (9-7) like theirs even more.

New York won five of its last six games to reach the playoffs for the sixth time in the last 12 years. The Jets finished the regular season with the league’s top-ranked running game and its best defense, but were installed as the biggest long shot among the playoff teams. One reason: Mark Sanchez is a rookie quarterback.

The oddsmakers’ assessment doesn’t sit well with coach Rex Ryan.

"I wasn’t aware of that," he said, "but to me, we should be favorites, so that’s fine."

Favorites to win it all, he meant. First, the Jets have to pull off a rare back-to-back sweep of the same team.

Since 1991, when the current playoff format was adopted, teams have ended the regular season and then faced each other in the wild-card round nine times. The Jets were involved in one of those, beating Oakland to end the 2001 regular season, then losing to the Raiders six days later. Four of those nine teams managed to sweep.

It’s a little unusual for everyone involved.

"I think this is good for us," said Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who shut out receiver Chad Ochocinco last weekend. "We just played these guys. We’re so familiar with them. It’s a good thing to go back and play them again for a doubleheader. It’s almost like an NBA playoff series. We’ll be ready."

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis held running back Cedric Benson out last Sunday and told his coordinators not to give too much away because they could face the Jets again. Defensive tackle Domata Peko, defensive end Robert Geathers and safety Chris Crocker were given another week to heal from injuries.

The Jets ran for 257 yards against the depleted and uninspired defense, which had been one of the league’s best at stopping the run. Peko, one of Cincinnati’s best run stoppers, hasn’t played since surgery on Dec. 7 to clean out his right knee. The Bengals gave up more than 100 yards rushing in three of their last four games without him.

Peko will face Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold in one of the game’s pivotal matchups.

"We have been battling ever since college," Peko said. "He played at Ohio State and I played at Michigan State, so he knows a little bit about me and I know a little bit about him. It will be a great battle. I’m looking forward to it."

The teams use the same old-fashioned approach: run the ball, play tough defense and win close games. It’s a style built for cold weather, and they’ll have plenty of that on Saturday, with temperatures expected in the teens at kickoff.

So far, the Jets have been a little better at the grind-it-out style. The Bengals have a much more experienced quarterback in Carson Palmer, although his only playoff game ended after one pass. Pittsburgh’s Kimo von Oelhoffen hit his lower leg, tearing up his left knee during the Steelers’ playoff win in 2005.

The Bengals’ strategy will be to stop New York’s running game and force a rookie quarterback who has thrown 20 interceptions — second most in the league — to win a playoff game on the road. Cincinnati would seem to have the home-field advantage there, but that’s not necessarily the case.

Bengals fans accustomed to a wide-open offense have chafed at the run-first style implemented this season, often booing the play selection — even when their team was winning. Cincinnati was 6-2 at home.

Asked what he would like from the fans on Saturday, Palmer said, "Hopefully no boos. That would be nice for once this season. Boos do not help us win football games."

The Jets will be trying to win a playoff game for the first time since the 2004 season and show they deserve consideration as a team capable of winning it all, as Ryan suggested. The 37-0 win didn’t earn them many points that way.

"I think we started off on a national stage sending a message, but we won’t get that type of credit until we do it in the playoffs when everything is on the line," linebacker Bart Scott said.

For Cincinnati, a win would mean everything. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1990, back when Paul Brown was still in the front office. They’ve been to the playoffs only one other time since then, that ‘05 game.

Nineteen years, no playoff wins.

"We know what’s at stake," receiver Andre Caldwell said. "We know what happened in the past. We’re trying to get over that hump."

Cardinals face daunting task in slowing Packers QB

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals watched virtually defenseless as Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers tore them to shreds — first in a preseason game, then in a meaningless regular-season finale.

Whatever tactics the Cardinals have that might give Rodgers problems are being saved for Sunday’s wild-card game. Whether anything Arizona does will work against the Packers’ strong and accurate quarterback will go a long way toward determining the outcome.

While the Cardinals want to bring pressure, they have to worry about the potent Green Bay running game, too, and the fact that Rodgers has become good at getting rid of the ball in a hurry.

At first glance, pressuring the quarterback would seem to be a solid plan. Rodgers has been sacked 50 times, tied with Ben Roethlisberger for most in the NFL.

But only nine of them have come in the seven games since right tackle Mark Tauscher returned to the lineup.

"They just changed their lineup a little bit and I think they probably simplified their protection," Cardinals defensive coordinator Bill Davis said, "and I think also Aaron is also seeing the field a little bit quicker."

Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said the defense must be diverse and unpredictable.

"I think pressure is not always the answer because he gets the ball out quick and he understands that," Whisenhunt said. "They have some good receivers. You have to be versatile. You have to mix what you’re trying to get done on defense."

The Cardinals play an aggressive style that works best when the team is at emotional peak. The aim will be to disrupt Rodgers’ rhythm. Arizona will move players around, especially Pro Bowl starting safety Adrian Wilson, to try to confuse the Packers quarterback in his first playoff game.

The Cardinals were sixth in the league with 43 sacks — by 13 different players. Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett and defensive end Calais Campbell lead with seven apiece.

Dockett is the disruptive force up front and Campbell, at 6-foot-8, can be an imposing presence. They are taking aim at Rodgers.

"There’s a trend that teams that beat him, they usually get to him and knock him down a lot, make him a little nervous back there, get rid of the ball a little faster," Campbell said. "If you let him sit back there, he’ll pick you apart."

They know they are facing a quarterback at the top of his game.

"You watched him in the preseason and that last game, the guy didn’t even have to look at his receivers," Arizona nose tackle Bryan Robinson said. "He knew where they were going to be. You run a West Coast style offense, everybody has a read, a spot they have to get to, and it looks like he’s real comfortable."

Davis, a longtime friend of Packers coach Mike McCarthy, said Rodgers is throwing "as well as anybody if not better than anybody" in the NFL.

"He’s very calm back there. He’s seeing the field very well. He’s very decisive and accurate," Davis said. "Great NFL quarterbacks are accurate above all things, and he’s throwing the ball very accurately."

Davis’ defense is a bit banged-up, with cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie nursing a bruised left knee cap, safety Antrel Rolle a bruised right thigh and Campbell a broken left thumb.

All were listed as questionable on Friday, but all three expect to play, although Campbell would have to wear a cast.

Backup cornerback Ralph Brown, in his 10th NFL season, says Rodgers’ arm is as good or better than Brett Favre’s was in his prime.

"I’ve never seen Brett throw 70 yards in his career," Brown said. "Maybe he has, but some of those throws that Aaron Rodgers has thrown have been on the money 70-80 yards in the air. I don’t remember Brett Favre doing that."

Rodgers, of course, played behind Favre for three seasons.

"He’s had a lot of time to sit back and dissect it," Robinson said, "and once he became the surgeon, he’s done a pretty good job of cutting people up."

-- Bob Baum

Patriots’ Edelman ready for first big test

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Julian Edelman has been cramming all week for the biggest test of his football life.

How well he does could be a major factor in whether the New England Patriots (10-6) advance past the first round of the AFC playoffs.

Edelman, a rookie and a seventh-round draft pick out of Kent State, will start at slot receiver Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens (9-7) in place of injured star Wes Welker — who led the NFL with 123 receptions.

After Welker was injured early in last Sunday’s game against Houston, Edelman, who played quarterback in college, replaced him and caught 10 passes for 103 yards. He also replaced an injured Welker in two games earlier this season.

Edelman says even though this is a playoff game, he’s had a normal week of preparation.

"I really haven’t prepared any differently," he said. "I’ve gone in every morning, ate breakfast, went in there, met with Scotty O (special teams coach Scott O’Brien), did my hot tub, and prepared like it was any other week. Anytime you overhype something, (you) just become jacked up in the head. So I came in, read the sign that says, ‘Do Your Job,’ and I’m trying to do my job."

Edelman has put in some extra time, but he said extra reps and work at practice are part of a rookie’s NFL life. "As a rookie, you’re after practice, always. You’re there either catching balls or catching punts. So I mean you’re always out there."

Some have nicknamed Edelman "Mini-Me" because his skills and size — he is listed at 6 feet, but is probably closer to 5-10 — closely resemble Welker’s.

Edelman said Friday he talked this week with Welker, who suffered a season-ending injury to his left knee against the Texans and was placed on injured reserve.

"Yeah, I’ve talked to Wes. I told him that my prayers and thoughts are with him and that he’s going to have a fast recovery. And he told me some words of wisdom and we had a nice little conversation."

Edelman said Welker’s advice was simple: "Do your job, don’t try to improvise and you’re going to be fine."

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he hasn’t notice anything different about Edelman at practice this week, saying the rookie had given his usual strong effort.

"He keeps his mouth shut, works hard and takes coaching well. You tell him you want him to do something, and he does it," Belichick said. "He’s a very conscientious kid."

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said the work he has done with all the team’s receivers becomes important when one of them gets injured.

"Obviously, you never want to lose a guy who has 123 catches, but hopefully a lot of the work that we put in over the course of the year can kind of lessen the blow," Brady said.

Notes: Offensive lineman Dan Connolly, who has an ankle injury, and wide receiver Randy Moss were the only Patriots not to practice Friday. Belichick said Moss’ absence was due to injury.

Colts use TV technology to get jump on opponents

INDIANAPOLIS — When Jim Caldwell tunes into this weekend’s NFL games, he’ll be looking for more than his next opponent.

The Colts coach may find himself rewinding plays for another peek, getting an early jump on next week’s scouting report.

Thanks to high-definition TVs and DVR recording, Caldwell can go from casual weekend watcher to scouting report director in the blink of an eye and in the comfort of his own home.

Yes, technology has changed things in the football world and Caldwell intends to take full advantage of the first-round bye the Colts earned by winning their first 14 games.

"HDTV certainly gives you a pretty good vantage point. You can pick up a lot of little things and take note of the severity of injuries," Caldwell said. "You can see how the entire thing kind of transpired, and with the advent of DVR or TiVo, you can run it back and look at it. Nowadays, it’s pretty phenomenal."

To die-hard football fans, this is no revelation. They have been relying on the same tools since these devices came out. But coaches? And players? They’re onboard, too.

Indeed, it seems to be a trend at the Colts complex. Middle linebacker Gary Brackett, the defensive captain, may follow Caldwell’s lead this weekend. He’ll start by watching the Jets-Bengals game Saturday afternoon. Brackett also plans to watch Sunday’s game between Baltimore and New England. Indy, the AFC’s No. 1 seed, will face Cincinnati, New York or Baltimore in the divisional round of the playoffs next week.

Cincinnati is the only team Indy did not face in the regular season.

And then Brackett could download the games to his computer and start breaking things down, allowing him to do some homework before showing up for next week’s team meetings.

"You can see everything," Brackett said. "It is almost like watching our film on a computer. What we watch is a little more educational because you can’t always see all the guys on TV all the time. But you get a pretty good idea of the basics before you come back (to the complex)."

San Diego coach Norv Turner, whose team has the AFC’s No. 2 seed and the conference’s other bye, will be doing prep work this weekend, too.

But he’s looking for different details, such as sounds of the game.

"The thing I’ve gotten from watching TV games is sometimes before the game when you listen to broadcasters, or sometimes during the game they will have talked to the coaches and there’s something that will come out, a little thing you might get," Turner said. "Then we always get the TV copy and when it’s something significant, different, or we haven’t played a team, we’ll get the quarterback’s cadence, you can get that usually off the TV copy."

The advanced technology goes far beyond television.

Old school days of coaches drawing up plays on chalkboards, like the vintage Vince Lombardi clip diagramming the Packers sweep, has become a thing of the past.

"Now you take laptops and draw up plays and they show how they want us to run it," Indy defensive lineman Raheem Brock said. "The play just runs on the computer. It makes it easier all the time."

And this is likely just the start.

ESPN announced this week that it plans to start broadcasting live events in 3-D television this June, giving players and coaches perhaps even more detailed looks at plays.

But there’s one thing technology hasn’t changed.

Caldwell may be watching the AFC playoffs games by himself. Though the first-year coach said his wife is a big football fan, she may not be so interested to watch the same play replayed over and over.

"No," Caldwell said with a smile when asked if she would help him break down tape. "But we also have several televisions in our house."

-- Michael Marot

Coaching

Mora out as coach of Seahawks after just one season

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks fired Jim Mora after just one season Friday, leaving the former NFC West champs without a coach, general manager and president less than four years after they reached the Super Bowl.

Speculation on Mora’s replacement immediately centered on Southern California coach Pete Carroll.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that Seahawks chief executive officer Tod Leiweke flew to California this week to interview Carroll for the job. ESPN.com, citing unidentified league sources, said an announcement of Carroll joining the Seahawks could come early next week.

"Pete’s name comes out at this time every year. In the past, he hasn’t commented on such reports," USC spokesman Tim Tessalone said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "He was not expected in (Friday). ... At this point, we have nothing to report."

A Seahawks spokesman inside the team’s headquarters Friday refused to comment on Carroll. Carroll did not return a phone message left by The AP.

Leiweke did not respond to an e-mail from The AP asking about Carroll, who was 6-10 in 1994 with the New York Jets and then 27-21 while twice reaching the playoffs from ‘97-99 with the New England Patriots.

University of Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, who left his friend Carroll and the Trojans 12 months ago for his first head coaching job, chuckled when asked if he’d like to be a head coach in the same city as his mentor.

"That’d be kind of fun," Sarkisian said.

"I’m so used to hearing people talk about Pete Carroll going to the NFL, they’ve been saying it for the last seven years when I was with him, so it’s not new to me," Sarkisian said. "It doesn’t surprise me at all. Every year. You can’t find a year in the last seven years where it hasn’t been brought up."

Leiweke, acting on the orders of owner Paul Allen, fired Mora during a morning meeting at team headquarters, ending a four-week internal evaluation the CEO conducted of his floundering franchise.

Hours later, the team confirmed the firing in a news release. On Sunday, Mora finished his only season in Seattle 5-11, after taking over his hometown team at the end of Mike Holmgren’s tenure. Mora had three years and almost $12 million remaining on his contract.

"We’ve made a tough decision today," Leiweke said. "It became apparent after conducting an extensive internal audit that a new direction was needed to provide an opportunity for the organization to be successful. Today’s decision, while difficult, is part of the process in building a franchise with a new vision in 2010."

Leiweke called Mora "truly a standup man, who gave his full effort to our franchise."

"Coach mora will be missed," Seattle defensive end Darryl Tapp posted on his Twitter page.

Seattle is 9-23 since its last playoff appearance in January 2008, after four consecutive NFC West titles.

"This team, more importantly this community, means so much to me that it hurts not being able to see this through," Mora said in the team statement. "I am disappointed I did not get the chance to complete my contract. This is a tough business that sometimes demands immediate gratification."

GM and president Tim Ruskell took the initial fall for the Seahawks’ flop when he was fired Dec. 3. Leiweke noted then that Mora was steward of a rocky transition from Holmgren’s regime to one with a new offense, new defense and almost entirely new coaching staff.

Leiweke said last month he expected Mora to return for a second season.

Seattle was one of eight teams to have a new head coach and largely new staffs in 2009. Half of those teams improved their win totals: the Browns and Seahawks each gained one win over ‘08; the Chiefs and Lions were plus-2.

"Maybe I oversold" optimism before the season, Mora said. "It was harder than we thought."

Mora’s first season following Holmgren’s mostly glorious decade in Seattle was in sharp contrast to his rookie season as a head coach in Atlanta in 2004. That year, Mora took what had been a 5-11 Falcons team to the NFC championship game.

This time, the Seahawks’ injured and ineffective offensive line wrecked new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp’s running game — and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck’s health. The three-time Pro Bowl passer missed 2½ games, then played through broken ribs, a sore passing shoulder and thumb injury, while throwing a career-high 17 interceptions.

The defense, under rookie coordinator Gus Bradley, failed to generate a consistent pass rush and the small secondary often looked overmatched.

The 48-year-old Mora, who grew up and attended high school and college in the Seattle area, returned in 2007 to become Holmgren’s assistant head coach and defensive backs coach with the Seahawks. He then replaced Holmgren, with the announcement coming in early 2008 a year before he took the job in what the team said was an effort to smooth the transition.

So much for smooth.

On Wednesday, Mora said he considered it a civic duty of his to bring the Seahawks their first championship.

"This is where I plan on living the rest of my life," he said, "and I want to be able to walk around this city and feel proud of the work I did for the Seattle Seahawks."

-- Gregg Bell

Chiefs hire Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Charlie Weis is back in the NFL.

Barely a month after getting fired at Notre Dame, Weis signed on Friday as offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he’ll join two old friends in trying to revive a flagging franchise that’s won only 10 games in three years.

"This marriage seemed very, very simple," Weis said. "I’m very excited to be a part of a growing process that has been started here in the last year."

In an interview on Wednesday, Weis virtually confirmed that he was coming to Kansas City to rejoin head coach Todd Haley and general manager Scott Pioli.

Pioli was a front office executive in New England when Weis was offensive coordinator for the Patriots’ four Super Bowl teams, and Weis shared a small office with Haley for three years when they were assistants with the New York Jets.

"My relationship with Todd and my relationship with Scott and several other persons in the organization made Kansas City look like a fine landing spot for me," Weis said. "I couldn’t be more pleased."

Weis, 53, indicated that other NFL teams have expressed interest. Although his five-year record of 16-21 at Notre Dame did not pass muster with the Fighting Irish, his credentials as an offensive coordinator were never questioned while helping the Patriots win three Super Bowls.

"There were plenty of places that were out there that were opportunities," he said. "Right from the start, Kansas City was a place that intrigued me. Knowing Todd and Scott, and the players on the team, there were just so many things that intrigued me."

He and Haley spent much of last week together after the Chiefs beat Denver in the regular-season finale to finish 4-12 in Haley’s first season.

"Charlie brings with him a terrific, a tremendous resume of having success coaching offense and running offenses," Haley said. "This, to me, is as perfect a fit as we could have here."

Weis and Haley both are strong-minded men and in one of those interesting career twists that happen in all professions, the old boss has become the new underling.

When they first shared an office, Weis was the Jets’ receivers coach and Haley was his assistant. Then Weis became offensive coordinator and Haley became his receivers coach.

"As a matter of fact, that was one of the first issues we had to get settled," Weis said. "Ten years ago, it was a different situation. The last time we worked together was 1999. A long time has passed.

"At this situation right now, it’s Todd’s ship and I just want to be there to help him guide it. Our face-to-face meeting was very, very important to make sure we felt comfortable, and especially that he felt comfortable being he’s the boss."

Haley, two weeks before the season began, fired offensive coordinator Chan Gailey and assumed the position himself. He has admitted it was quite a load for a rookie head coach, and he hinted ever since Weis was fired on Nov. 30 that he might try to bring him on board.

"Our knowledge of each other, the relationship we had prior to this hiring will ultimately make for a seamless transition for us and, most importantly, for the team," Haley said.

Haley said he wanted all along to have both offensive and defensive coordinators and will have no trouble turning over the play-calling.

"I would think I’ll have a hand in it," he said. "We’re bringing another brilliant offensive mind into the picture, which always helps."

This will probably not be the only major coaching change for the Chiefs, who were late in getting a staff together because Pioli had to wait until after the Super Bowl last season to hire Haley off the staff of the Arizona Cardinals.

Former Cleveland head coach Romeo Crennel, who also has New England ties with Pioli, could be a candidate to replace Clancy Pendergast as defensive coordinator.

"I went into this with the understanding it was probably going to be a two-year process to get the coaching staff in place the way I felt most comfortable, and would give us the best chance of succeeding," Haley said.

-- Doug Tucker

49ers interview Mac Duff for special teams job

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary interviewed veteran coach Larry Mac Duff for the team’s vacant special teams coordinator position.

Earlier this week, San Francisco declined to renew the contract of Al Everest, who took over the job from Mac Duff in 2007. Upgrading the Niners’ return game is among Singletary’s offseason priorities after the team struggled in that area all season. The unit was last in the NFL in average punt return yardage.

Mac Duff, 61, spent four seasons as San Francisco’s special teams coordinator from 2003-06 and then went from the 49ers to co-defensive coordinator at Texas for one season in 2007. He most recently was defensive coordinator and special teams coach for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League.

The team didn’t say Friday when Mac Duff had met with Singletary. Mac Duff has more than 35 years experience coaching football. While at Arizona in the 1990s, Mac Duff became known for the Wildcats’ successful "Desert Swarm" defense.

San Francisco finished Singletary’s first full season as coach at 8-8, ending a franchise-worst stretch of six straight losing seasons but missing the playoffs for the seventh straight year.

The 49ers began 3-1 and were talking playoffs, but then lost four straight and five of six to greatly diminish their chances. They also dropped six straight road games, five in a row by a combined 19 points, before winning their season finale at St. Louis 28-6 last Sunday.

-- Janie McCauley

Injuries

Boldin doesn’t practice but still hopes to play

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona’s Anquan Boldin is doing everything he can to be healthy enough to play in the Cardinals’ wild-card game against the Green Bay Packers.

The three-time Pro Bowl receiver didn’t practice again on Friday because of a left high ankle sprain, a condition compounded by a sprained left knee. He was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game.

He said doctors have been at his house at night "poking and prodding" and he’s had acupuncture treatments.

"I’m doing everything within my power to make sure I’m on the field Sunday," Boldin said. "If I’m not able to go, trust me, it won’t be anything I didn’t do."

Coach Ken Whisenhunt says Boldin’s participation will be a game-time decision.

"He’s doing a good job. He’s progressing well," Whisenhunt said, "but we won’t know until Sunday."

Three of Arizona’s other injured players, all starters, practiced on a limited basis: defensive end Calais Campbell (broken left thumb), safety Antrel Rolle (injured right thigh), and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (bruised left kneecap).

All were listed as questionable, as was starting right guard Deuce Lutui, who went through a full practice after missing Thursday’s workout with back spasms.

Boldin was hurt in Sunday’s 33-7 loss to the Packers. Although Whisenhunt pulled most of his starters early, he left Boldin in the game in the third quarter to help struggling backup quarterback Matt Leinart.

Boldin missed a game earlier this season with a right high ankle sprain, although he complained at the time that he was healthy enough to play. With a career checkered with injuries, this wouldn’t be the first time Boldin has played without practicing the previous week.

"Every day I wake up it’s a little better," he said. "Today it’s a little sore just from all the stuff I’ve been doing during the week. ... Today I’m going to let it rest and see how it settles down and maybe test it tomorrow."

Campbell was planning to play, cast or no cast.

"I don’t think it will hurt too bad," he said. "It might help a little on the pass rush and chopping and ripping and all that good stuff. We’ll see what happens."

Rolle, a Pro Bowl alternate, sat out the last game and was limited on Friday.

"It’s kind of frustrating because it’s one particular movement that complicates everything, but it’s’ going along very well," he said. "I’m doing rehab from six in the morning to sometimes midnight, one o’clock in the morning, so I’m kind of tired."

Rolle, second on the team to linebacker Karlos Dansby with 90 tackles, also has four interceptions — one returned for a touchdown — 1½ sacks and five quarterback hits. He said he might have to just fight through the pain.

"There’s a lot at stake. I was talking to Bertrand (Berry) today, and he said he’s played 13 years and been in four playoff games," Rolle said. "If I can fight through it, I’m going to fight it. That’s what I’m going to do."

Rodgers-Cromartie was progressing well after being hurt when he fell on a receiver’s cleat on the third play last Sunday.

"He looks fine to me from what I’ve seen," Whisenhunt said. "He has a lot of energy moving around out here. He looks good."

-- Bob Baum

Bolts expect to be healthy for playoff opener

SAN DIEGO — Even the hottest team in the NFL can appreciate a weekend off.

The San Diego Chargers finished what they said was a productive bye week on Friday, then looked forward to kicking back for two days.

When they return to work on Monday for meetings and a walkthrough, they’ll know whether they’ll face Cincinnati, the New York Jets or playoff nemesis New England in the divisional round the following Sunday.

Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers doesn’t think the weekend off will affect the momentum built up during the Chargers’ 11-game winning streak, which ties for the fifth-longest regular-season streak to enter the playoffs since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

"We’ll get a nice weekend to kind of relax, and then we’ll be back in here Monday and get going," Rivers said. "When you know the opponent you automatically turn it on that much more already. When you’re talking about three possible teams, you can still get work done as we have. The excitement is there, but then once you know who you’re playing you really zero in.

"One thing we’ve done better the past few weeks is start fast and play once the opening kickoff goes," Rivers said. "We’ll need to keep the pedal down in that aspect next Sunday."

The Patriots eliminated the Chargers from the playoffs after the 2006 season, when San Diego imploded in the divisional round after going 14-2 in the regular season, and in the AFC championship game following the 2007 season.

The Chargers beat the Bengals 27-24 on Dec. 20 on Nate Kaeding’s last-second field goal.

The Jets eliminated the Chargers in overtime in the wild-card round following the 2004 season.

Regardless of the opponent, coach Norv Turner said the Chargers will be in the best shape since the season opener.

Outside linebacker Shawne Merriman, bothered by plantar fasciitis, and wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who has an Achilles’ tendon injury, rested and rehabbed this week.

Turner says he expects them to be ready to go for Wednesday’s practice.

"We’re going to be awfully healthy, yeah," Turner said.

The Chargers, who rebounded from a 2-3 start, are the AFC’s No. 2 seed, behind Indianapolis.

Although Turner shortened practices, he tried to keep it as close to a regular week as possible.

"I thought it was outstanding," Turner said. "We’ve been able to do two things. No. 1, address our own team. That’s the big thing, things where we’ve had breakdowns, things where we haven’t played a certain play as well as we’ve liked to. We’ve been able to spend some extra time and slow it down and really focus on those things.

"The other thing, obviously, we’ve been able to look at the different situations that come up in games and do a little bit, really, against all three teams."

-- Bernie Wilson

Jets LB Harris questionable for game vs. Bengals

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets linebacker David Harris is questionable for the team’s first-round playoff game at Cincinnati with a sprained right ankle.

The leading tackler on the league’s top-ranked defense missed two days of practice before returning Thursday. Harris was injured in the Jets’ 37-0 win over the Bengals last Sunday, the result of what he thought was an illegal chop block.

Harris said the ankle felt "kind of stiff" after practice Thursday, but added that he hopes to play Saturday. Harris was unavailable for comment Friday because the team had no media availability before leaving for Cincinnati.

Cornerback Donald Strickland is also questionable with the same quadriceps injury that sidelined him last week.

Elsewhere

Amid concussion talk, fans want to keep big hits

NEW YORK — Concerns about concussions in the NFL haven’t dampened fans’ appetites for watching players take crunching hits — and cheering when they happen.

"The whole concussion issue is scary, but it’s not going to change the way a real football fan looks at the game," Matt Sandbrook of Tampa, Fla., said while watching a late season Colts-Jaguars game at a sports bar. "Injuries are a detriment; concussions are a detriment. It’s good they’re trying to do some things to help the players, but fans still want to see football. Hitting is part of football. There’s no way to escape that.

"Do people want to see guys get concussions? No. Do they want to see all those big hits? You bet."

That contradiction ripples through the concussion debate. Fans express hope that better equipment and tweaks to the rules can help protect players, but they seem more likely to complain about policies restricting hits on quarterbacks than how concussions are treated. Television viewership is up bigtime this season, suggesting all the attention to the long-term effects of head injuries hasn’t dampened interest.

"When you hear the helmet to pad thumps on there, it is a big aspect of it," Denny Pasternak of Phoenix said while watching the game at a neighborhood sports bar. "It gets you going and gets your interest. It’s like NASCAR — you watch it for the crashes. If there were no crashes, people probably wouldn’t watch it as much."

Pasternak grew up in Chicago idolizing Dick Butkus. With all the rules changes, he figures Butkus would get thrown out of every game if he played today.

"I can see they don’t want injuries to the multimillion dollar players," he said, "but you’re going to get to a point where everybody’s going to be afraid to touch anybody or they’re going to get fined or tossed or whatever. That’s going to lose a lot of spark to the game."

Several of the league’s corporate sponsors were silent on the issue, or supportive of the league when contacted by The Associated Press. Of more than a dozen major NFL sponsors contacted, none took the opportunity to express concern about the issue.

"We believe the NFL takes the health of their players very seriously," said Anne Westbrook, who works in external relations for Procter & Gamble. "We believe being the world-class organization that they are, that they’re doing what’s best and what’s best for their players."

Canon, IBM, Mars, MillerCoors, Pepsi and Samsung declined comment. Bank of America, Campbell, FedEx, Motorola, Sprint and Visa did not respond to requests for comment.

TV commentators frequently discuss the concussion issue and some of the networks are encouraging their analysts to tone down their remarks on big hits. But plenty of coverage still sounds the same.

When the Vikings’ Cedric Griffin nailed the Bengals’ Chad Ochocinco in a Dec. 13 game — sending the receiver’s helmet flying, injuring his nose and drawing a penalty — CBS announcer Dan Dierdorf said, "First of all, let’s listen to this."

The network replayed the sound of the impact.

"You understand the rule, and ... you’ve got to protect those guys," Dierdorf said of the flag. "But, gee whiz, you’re asking the impossible sometimes from a defender."

Later, on NBC’s "Football Night in America" pregame show, the highlight was shown even though it was irrelevant to the game’s outcome.

Keith Olbermann joked: "If you look at the replay, you will notice that Griffin took Chad’s sombrero right off. So Ochocinco’s gimmick this week? He had cosmetic surgery. A nose job right on the sidelines."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league has not talked to NFL Network crews about what language to use in discussing head injuries.

Chris Ciechoski of Buffalo expressed the ambivalence of many fans.

"If I had a job and my job description was I have to go out and do X, Y, Z, these are my risks," he said while watching the Colts-Jaguars game. "If I still sign up for that job, I know full well going in that these are the risks I’m taking."

He has no problem with rules that prevent flagrant hits and players from leading with their helmets. But he wonders if the restrictions are going too far.

"If it’s just clean hits where you’re catching a guy with a helmet or a glancing blow, I don’t think you can stop that from happening unless he’s covered in bubble wrap," he said.

Joe Coretti, a Steelers fan from Milford, Conn., became more sensitive to the concussion issue after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sidelined by one this season. He still likes those big hits, though.

"Don’t want them to go away," he said while watching the game in Tampa. "I love it when a guy goes across the middle, gets hit and you go, ‘Whoa!’ Everybody loves that. At the same time, you don’t want anybody to get hurt.

"I want the guy to get up. As long as he gets up, I’m happy. Keep the hits coming."

-- Rachel Cohen

NFL has to like TV numbers

NEW YORK — Twenty percent was the number NFL commissioner Roger Goodell threw around last summer.

That was the worst-case scenario projections for the number of games blacked out in local markets this season because tickets didn’t sell out. It wound up at less than 9 percent — higher than the last few years, but still better than any season before 2005.

Instead, these were some of the most notable figures for the NFL as it heads into the playoffs:

—16.6 million. That was the average number of viewers for regular-season games, up 14 percent from last year and the highest total since 1990 (though there were fewer potential viewers back then).

—105 percent. The difference between the average audience for NFL games and the average of 8.1 million viewers for all the prime-time programming on the Big Four networks during the current TV season (not including NBC’s "Sunday Night Football"). In 2002, the difference was 52 percent, showing how well the NFL has held up in an age of fractured audiences that has sent ratings plunging for other mainstream programming.

—89 percent. The percentage of the time an NFL game was the highest-rated show for the week in each local market. In 2001, it was 55 percent.

"Nationally we had some great stories this year, including two 13-0 teams for the first time, Brett Favre going to the Vikings, five new division champions and the best passing season ever," Howard Katz, the NFL’s senior vice president for broadcasting, wrote in an e-mail. "We had some luck with both 13-0 teams playing in prime time in the same week and Favre facing his old Packers team."

Fox averaged a record 19.1 million viewers, and its 11.4 average rating was the highest since 1995 and up 9 percent from last year. The network’s national games rank as the highest-rated program this television season.

The average 17.2 million viewers on CBS were the highest for the AFC package in 23 years, and ratings were up 4 percent from last year.

Ratings for the Sunday night games on NBC were up 15 percent from last season. The games were the most-watched Sunday prime-time show in all but one week, compared with nine of 16 weeks in 2006.

ESPN’s "Monday Night Football" had the highest rating of its four seasons, up 17 percent from last year.

"It didn’t hurt to have a couple of undefeated teams and a couple of great quarterbacks on those undefeated teams taking teams on a run as the season went along," NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth said.

-- Rachel Cohen

Browns interview 2nd GM candidate

CLEVELAND — His coach locked in place, new Browns president Mike Holmgren continued his search for a general manager on Friday.

Holmgren interviewed Seattle pro personnel director Will Lewis, the second candidate brought in to potentially fill Cleveland’s GM vacancy.

Through a team spokesman, Holmgren reported the meeting with Lewis "went very well." Holmgren, who took over Cleveland’s football operations earlier this week, previously worked with Lewis in Green Bay and Seattle. After his playing career ended, Lewis worked as a scout with the Packers before he was added by Holmgren to the Seahawks’ pro personnel department.

On Wednesday, Holmgren interviewed Philadelphia Eagles GM Tom Heckert.

The Browns, who have not had a GM since George Kokinis was fired in November, will not conduct any interviews over the weekend, spokesman Neal Gulkis said.

Heckert, whose father, Tom, worked as a scout for the Browns in the 1980s, could be hired once the Eagles complete their season. They play the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC playoffs on Saturday. Heckert reportedly was going to interview for Seattle’s GM job this week but backed out.

The Seahawks fired coach Jim Mora on Friday and are undergoing a massive overhaul that may have turned off Heckert, who was cleared to interview with the Browns last year but turned down the opportunity when the team’s focus shifted to Kokinis.

Holmgren decided on Thursday to retain coach Eric Mangini, who went 5-11 in his first season with the Browns.

It’s possible both Lewis and Heckert could wind up in Cleveland’s front office.

During his introductory news conference, Holmgren hinted that Cleveland’s hierarchy could be revamped.

"We talked about change and some of that is just restructuring," he said. "Sometimes you have five people changing the light bulb. We’re going to look at everything and try and streamline things, get good people to do it and work hard."

-- Tom Withers

Dolphins and Lions to coach Senior Bowl

MOBILE, Ala. — Coaching staffs from the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions will work the Senior Bowl on Jan. 30.

Miami’s Tony Sparano and his staff will coach the South. Jim Schwartz and other Lions personnel will handle the North.

It’s the fourth time the Dolphins have coached in the Senior Bowl and first since 1994.

"My staff and I are looking forward to coaching in the Senior Bowl," Sparano said. "The Senior Bowl’s outstanding track record and history of developing players for the National Football League is well-known and we’re excited to have the opportunity to work with these young players in preparation for the next stage of their careers."

This will mark the eighth time the Lions have worked the game, the last in 2003.

"I’ve been a part of two staffs that have coached at the Senior Bowl and found both experiences to be exceptional," Schwartz said.

The game features only senior college players eligible for the draft. The Lions currently have 21 former Senior Bowl players and drafted four last year. Miami has 14 former Senior Bowl participants.

D’Brickashaw Ferguson added to Pro Bowl

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson was added to the AFC team for the Pro Bowl on Friday.

Ferguson replaces Miami Dolphins tackle Jake Long, who is out with an injury.

Ferguson is the fourth Jets player and third Jets offensive lineman on the AFC roster, joining center Nick Mangold, guard Alan Faneca and cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Packers rookie linebacker Clay Matthews was added later Friday to the NFC squad, replacing Bears LB Lance Briggs. He is the first Packers rookie to earn a Pro Bowl selection since receiver James Lofton in 1978.

Matthews finished the season with 58 tackles, a franchise rookie record of 10 sacks, three fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, six passes defensed and a defensive touchdown.

He is the fourth Packer on the NFC team, joining safety Nick Collins, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and cornerback Charles Woodson.

The Pro Bowl will be played Jan. 31 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

Okeafor, Sanders, Long fined

NEW YORK — New England defensive back James Sanders has been fined $7,500 by the NFL for unnecessary roughness.

Sanders hit defenseless receiver David Anderson in last week’s loss at Houston. He hit Anderson in the back as Anderson was falling, trying to make a catch in the end zone.

Also Friday, Arizona Cardinals linebacker Chike Okeafor was fined $7,500 for a facemask penalty on Packers quarterback Matt Flynn in Green Bay’s victory last Sunday.

Rams defensive end Chris Long was fined $7,500 for a head-butt of tackle Chris Patrick in a loss to San Francisco.

Vikings coach Childress’ son arrested for DWI

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The son of Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress has been charged with drunken driving for the second time.

Twenty-four-year-old Aaron Childress was arrested early last Saturday in St. Paul. He was charged with second-degree driving under the influence of alcohol.

Court records show he posted bond and was released from jail, pending a March 2 court date.

Childress, who goes by his middle name, Kyle, was charged with drunken driving last February and pleaded guilty in that case.

Former Oregon State kicker Serna to return to Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Former Oregon State kicker Alexis Serna has re-signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Serna led Winnipeg with 161 points last year while making 40 of 49 field-goal attempts.

He won the Lou Groza Award in 2005 as college football’s best placekicker.