The more I'm around the New York Giants, the more I get the feeling they can win Sunday.

They believe it, too.

They have receiver Plaxico Burress essentially making a Joe Namath-like guarantee. Asked who would win Sunday, Burress said, "Giants, 23-17."

None of his teammates questioned what he did.

"Are we supposed to say we're going to lose?" Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "What do you want us to say?"

You can bet the Patriots will try and use the guarantee as motivation. But like I've said time and time again, nothing that is said or written matters a bit once the football is kicked off.

The Giants are said to be buzzing about a book that is planned by a newspaper to commemorate the Patriots' 19-0 season.

Again, that won't matter either.

It's all about what happens between the white lines. But I do like the Giants' confidence.

Quick hits

•  The more I watched Tom Brady during Media Day on Tuesday, the more impressed I was with the way he handles himself. He answers the questions and seems to enjoy doing it. He does sound a lot like a politician at times. One thing that was certainly noticeable was that any time a woman asked a question, he sure seemed to perk up. Miss Nevada seemed to really garner his attention.

•  The Giants are battling some flu-like symptoms, but it isn't expected to be a problem. "We did have some of the flu bug this week, had a player sick on the plane, but hopefully we're going to be able to get everybody together at practice tomorrow (Wednesday)," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "I think that will be the key."

The NFL sent out a release stating that they issued the largest number of media credentials ever for a Super Bowl this year, with 4,786 credentialed media.

That's interesting and all, but the funniest part of the release was the quote from New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick:

"The media has a job to do and it is the connection between our football team, our fans and the people who have an interest in the game," BILL BELICHICK said. "The media is the conduit of information from the team to the fans, and the fans are what drive the game."

So does that mean injury information, Bill? Or how about expounding on the spying tactics he used? Or how about detailing for us how he defends a team or attacks that team?

See, the fans have a right to know. But hearing that come out of Belichick's mouth is comedic. He doesn't give a damn about what information the fans have. If he did, he would have talked about Tom Brady's injured ankle last week.

Most coaches say they care about the fans, but they don't. That's why they hide injuries and live in a world of paranoia. Little do they know, they would all be gym teachers coaching high school football if it weren't for the fans.

The deals that pay $8 million a year wouldn't be coming their way if nobody cared.

So the next time Belichick talks about the media being a conduit to the fans, he might want to think again. He's the exact opposite, a wall to hurdle to get the information to the fans.

Quick hits

•  The Giants are staying down in Chandler this week, which is about 15 miles from Phoenix. The resort they're staying in is close to a casino. I bet Tom Coughlin loves that. But defensive end Mike Strahan said anybody who gets caught up in Super Bowl week festivities and goes too far is an idiot, noting that the Giants play in the New York area and nothing compares to that nightlife.

•  Giants coach Tom Coughlin was asked Monday how his team would be able to handle the throngs of media and all the attention this week. He looked out at the crowd and said, "this is a normal day in New York." It might not be a normal day, but playing in New York will certainly help the Giants deal with the Super distractions.

When they meet, it's a real treat.

There is nothing better than watching the paparazzi stalk Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. He never says a thing, but you can see by his face that he is irritated. As he walked to and from the brownstone of girlfriend Gisele Bundchen, the paparazzi filmed his every move.

In the background you can hear a Giants fans start a chant.

"Let's go, Giants," he said. "Let's go, Giants."

Brady never acknowledged the photographers or the fan.

Hey, Tom. When you date celebrity women, the paparazzi will follow. Have some fun with it once in a while, would you? He's stone-faced Brady.

One more thing: The overreaction to the boot on his sprained ankle is amazing. The media raced to try and break down when he got hurt, and point out how the two second-half interceptions he threw were the result of the ankle injury.

Does your ankle have anything to do with your eyes?

The first pick he threw behind a receiver and the second one he never saw Chargers corner Antonio Cromartie.

Stop the excuses. Brady simply didn't play well. It happens. Not often, but it happens.

Nobody's talking about the injury in New England. That's a big surprise there.

Quick hits

• Don't look for new Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith to raid the Jacksonville Jaguars staff. He has told coach Jack Del Rio that he won't do that. Look for former Buffalo Bills coach Mike Mularkey to possibly be named the offensive coordinator and Brian Van Gorder to be named defensive coordinator. Van Gorder worked with Smith as linebackers coach in 2004-05. He will leave a position he recently took with South Carolina.

• So the Miami Dolphins are willing to shop the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft? That's news? Of course they are. Any pick for any team is available -- for the right price. The Dolphins have so many holes that you know Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland will attempt to trade down and add picks. So when Ireland said this week the pick was possibly a trade candidate, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. It didn't to me.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There's a lot being made this week about a dirty hit by New York late in the Packers victory over the Giants in Week Two.

After that game, defensive end Aaron Kampman said Giants center Shaun O'Hara hit him in the back of the head with a forearm.

Both teams downplayed that talk this week, and Kampman wouldn't elaborate.

But you get the idea from being inside the Green Bay locker room that they haven't forgotten.

Even so, what does it matter? Will it fire them up more? If you're not fired up to be 60 minutes away from the Super Bowl, you need to do something else. How about payback?

Is somebody stupid enough to get a 15-yard penalty in a game of his magnitude?

It makes for good pre-game chatter, but the reality is it doesn't matter.

Quick hits

• I like the hiring of John Harbaugh as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. In talking to league people about him, he is considered a potential star in the business. Better yet, he's a good guy. We need more of those in coaching.

• The Dolphins hiring of Mike Maser as offensive line coach will give them the loudest coach in the league. Maser, who had another year remaining on his deal with the Carolina Panthers after being fired last year, is one of those fiery, in-your-face coaches. The Dolphins beat writers will hear his moans from across the field. But he does a good job getting the line to play together. That will be a challenge in Miami.

• On Wednesday I was in the hallway inside Lambeau Field talking to Packers running backs coach Edgar Bennett, who I have known since he came out of FSU in the early 1990s. As he we talked, Bennett cackled in his loud laugh from something I said. As he did, a man appeared from around the corner. "Can you keep it down, Chris Berman is in here interviewing Brett Favre?" he asked. "We can hear you." Oh, I get it. That Chris Berman, the guy on ESPN. I guess we should quiet down, I said. Bennett cackled. It was loud, but nobody came back out for us.

In the AFC Championship Game, we have a top seed (New England) that led the league in scoring matching up against a lower seed (San Diego) that is banged up and has its quarterback, top runner and others possibly sitting out the game.

Have we seen this before?

You bet.

Only the last time, the San Diego Chargers weren't the banged-up team hoping to knock off the top seed. They were the No. 1 seed.

In 1979, the Chargers played host to the Houston Oilers in an AFC Divisional Playoff game. The Oilers were crippled. Starting quarterback Dan Pastorini and running back Earl Campbell missed the game, which gave them little chance to beat a Dan Fouts-quarterbacked team.

But they did. A defensive back named Vernon Perry picked off four Fouts passes as the Oilers upset the Chargers 17-14, despite getting pushed around for much of the day.

Can it happen again? The Patriots and Tom Brady appear to be the same high-scoring offense that the Chargers had in 1979. With Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson hurting, the Chargers are like that Oilers team.

So who fills the Vernon Perry role? Clinton Hart? Antonio Cromartie? Marlon McCree?

Who knows? But if 1979 is an indicator, the Patriots better stay focused no matter who plays quarterback.

Where's my tuque

I'm here in Green Bay for the Packers-Giants NFC Championship Game and it's already cold and snow is forecast for Thursday.

Now I know why I live in Florida. Anything under 80 is cold for me.

But all the talk about the frigid cold moving this way brings up a point of contention about the 1967 Ice Bowl that has always bothered me.

You know by now if you read my columns I am a stickler for situational coaching. In that 1967 NFC title game between Green Bay and Dallas, Packers coach Vince Lombardi, the legend, blew the situational coaching and got away with it.

Trailing 17-14 and facing a third down at the Dallas 1, Lombardi called his final timeout with 16 seconds left. He wanted to run a handoff, but was talked into the quarterback sneak by Bart Starr.

Either way, they were wrong.

Starr scored and the game is now part of NFL lore, but what if he didn't score? There was no way the Packers could have gotten off another play and no way they get a chance to kick the game-tying field goal.

The right thing to do would have been to run a pass play on third down to the end zone, a fade maybe, and then kick on fourth down and go to overtime. Lombardi choked on the situational coaching in that final minute and got away with it.

Maybe I should hide my face the next five days. After all, is it not a sin to question Lombardi in these parts?

No need to Fish for compliments

In talking to people around the league about new Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano, you hear nothing but good things.

"He's another Andy Reid," said one league source.

That's high praise if it's true. Sparano was named Dolphins coach Monday, finalizing the worst kept secret in the league.

Another coach who worked with Sparano said, "He knows what he's doing."

He had better. The Dolphins have a lot of work to do to turn that team around. Sparano's only head-coaching experience came as a college coach at the University of New Haven, but he is one of those coaches, like Reid, who just seems to have that head-coach feel in the NFL.

Word is he also likes to throw around a few F-bombs for emphasis, which is something near and dear to my heart.

Quick hits

•  The Chiefs hiring of Chan Gailey could be a one-year deal for Gailey. If head coach Herm Edwards doesn't win next season, he's gone. So why would Gailey take that job? Maybe he knows he can turn things around and make Brodie Croyle a legitimate passer. Maybe he thinks he just might be the head coach if Edwards gets canned.

•  Don't you think it's kind of interesting that three of the four coaches left playing are re-treads? Tom Coughlin, Bill Belichick and Norv Turner have all been fired in the past from other head-coaching jobs. Now they're one game away from the Super Bowl. Only Green Bay's Mike McCarthy is a first-time head coach. Maybe that's a sign that some of these owners looking for jobs shouldn't rule out guys who were fired in the past, men like St. Louis defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and former Buffalo Bills head coach Mike Mularkey.

Poor Norm Chow. He gets canned because Vince Young isn't any good yet.

That's the way I see the Chow firing Tuesday. Titans coach Jeff Fisher fired Chow to help liven up the offense.

Make Young work harder might help.

Until Young becomes more dedicated to the craft, it won't matter who is the coordinator. One other thing: Chow never wanted Young. His guy was Matt Leinart, his old USC quarterback. Chow never really ripped on Young, but he didn't exactly like having him play the way he did.

To make Chow's offense work, you have to understand the passing game. Young doesn't. Maybe the Titans should hire a college coach who runs the spread offense. Young would do OK in that offense.

Of course, I'm kidding. That can't work in the NFL.

Hall opinion

I don't have a vote in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but would love to do it. As a guy who has followed the game as a religion, I think I can offer a good take on who should and shouldn't be in the Hall.

With the modern-game finalists for 2008 induction announced this week, I thought I'd offer my take on all of them.

Darrell Green, CB: This on is a lock. He was a premier player for a long, long time.

Cris Carter, WR: I say he doesn't get in. He put up some nice numbers, but was he ever the best receiver on his team? He was very good, not great.

Fred Dean, DE: He was an elite pass rusher who played for those great 49ers teams and with the Chargers. He was explosive. I think he's another very good player, not a Hall player.

Richard Dent, DE: He should be in the Hall. He was the one guy you really had to account for when playing those great Chicago Bears defenses.

Derrick Thomas, LB: He was a heck of a pass rusher, but again I think he's in the close-but-not-quite category.

Randy Gradishar, LB: Was a dominant player on the Denver Broncos' Orange Crush defenses. But I don't think he was ever truly great, just damn good.

Andre Tippett, LB: The New England people would make you believe he should get in. I disagree. He was good, but he wasn't special.

Russ Grimm, G: He has to get in as one of the power players of those Washington Redskins lines. Grimm was a dominant player for a long time.

Bob Kuchenburg, G: If he gets in he would be the third inside player from the Dolphins teams to get into the Hall. That's why it's tough to get him in. He might have been better than Jim Langer, the center who is already in.

Randall McDaniel, G: I doubt two guards will get in, and Grimm was better than McDaniel. But he'll get in down the road.

Ray Guy, P: He was a real weapon in his day. But when looking back at his numbers now, was he really Hall quality?

Art Monk, WR: To me, he was a very good, not great, player. He caught a lot of passes, but he was the second-best receiver on his team for three or four years behind Gary Clark.

Andre Reed, WR: If you asked me Reed or Monk, I'd take Reed. But I'm not sure he'll get in. He should.

Gary Zimmerman, T: Was he ever the best tackle in the league during his playing years? Nope. Not a Hall player.

Quick hits

•  If Jason Garrett is hired as the Baltimore Ravens coach, and the word is the job was offered to him, it would be a good hire. He is smart. He is creative. He is innovative. He's also a good guy. After the Giants beat the Cowboys last week, Garrett sought out coach Tom Coughlin to offer him congrats. Classy. If he goes to Baltimore, he will find out what it's like to work without a legitimate quarterback. He will have his work cut out for him. He is expected to interview in Atlanta Wednesday.

•  With all the top juniors entering the draft, it will be a deep one. There might be 15 juniors taken in the first round. The best of those will be Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. He will be a star.

•  I hate crying in sports. When Terrell Owens cried the other night, it looked like an act to me. Can he really care that much about Tony Romo?

The All-Pro teams came out this week, and for the most part they were pretty good selections.

But there's no way Green Bay's Charles Woodson isn't on either the first or second team. He was the best corner in the league this season.

Well, he's on my team.

Here's the rest of it. One note: I do left and right at the tackle and guard spots to help give it a truer meaning.

Offense

QB: Tom Brady
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers
FB: Lawrence Vickers, Browns
WR: Randy Moss, Cowboys; Reggie Wayne, Colts
TE: Jason Witten, Cowboys
LT: Jason Peters, Bills
RT: Jordan Gross, Panthers
LG: Logan Mankins, Patriots
RG: Jahri Evans, Saints
C: Andre Gurode, Cowboys
K: Rob Bironas, Titans

Defense

LE: Patrick Kerney, Seahawks
RE: Jared Allen, Chiefs
DT: Kevin Williams, Vikings
DT: Albert Haynesworth, Titans
ILB: Patrick Willis, 49ers
ILB: Nick Barnett, Packers
OLB: DeMarucs Ware, Cowboys
OLB: Ernie Sims, Lions
CB: Asante Samuel, Patriots; Charles Woodson, Packers
SS: Bob Sanders, Colts
FS: Ed Reed, Ravens
P: Andy Lee, 49ers
KR: Devin Hester, Bears

• Two summers ago during the preseason, I spent almost two hours with Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. We talked football and about life away from football.

At the time, I got the impression Dungy wasn't long for the NFL. It was less than year removed from the death of his son, and Dungy seemed lonely. His son used to make trips with him on the road, and you could tell it was still painful.

"Some coaches don't realize that there are other things than this game," Dungy said.

After he won the Super Bowl last season, it was thought he might walk away. He didn't, but now we start hearing murmurs that it will happen after this season.

That shouldn't be a shock.

Dungy, the game's classiest coach, always eyed a return to Tampa. He maintained a home there.

He mentioned ministry work down there as a potential post-football life.

I think it will happen after this season. Dungy just seems ready to walk away. If he does, I wish him the best. But it will be a sad day for the NFL. They'll be losing one of the really good guys.

Quick hits

• You have to respect New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for turning down two interview requests for head coaching jobs. At 30, he probably doesn't think he's ready to be a head coach. So why go through the process? McDaniels will be a head coach someday. The way he calls plays has to be attractive to any owner. So why rush things? The only glitch is that sometimes the "hot" coach isn't so hot if things go bad. You don't think that will happen with Tom Brady there, do you?

• The Falcons spent Thursday in Jacksonville interviewing Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Smith. It is Smith's first interview for a head coaching position, and it's good that he finally got the chance. If Smith's defense shuts down the Patriots Saturday night, wouldn't that be a big resume boost, especially since he's playing without three players who opened the season as starters, including Marcus Stroud and Mike Peterson?

With Marv Levy out running the football operations in Buffalo, the Bills are said to be interested in New Orleans Saints vice president of player personnel Rick Mueller if they don't stay in-house.

If that is true, it would be a good move.

Mueller has been with the Saints for eight seasons and has had a big hand in getting them to the playoffs with two different coaching staffs. He has made some really impressive draft picks, such as taking guard Jahri Evans, arguably one of the best in the league, in the fourth round last season and receiver Marques Colston in the seventh round of the same draft.

Mueller worked with Bills coach Dick Jauron in Jacksonville, so they would work well together. Jauron is going to have more say in personnel matters, which would make it a wise move to hire someone he can work well with on decisions.

In 13 seasons in the league, Mueller has been with six playoff teams. His real strength is identifying talent.

The Bills would be wise to look strongly as his credentials if they do go outside the organization.

Quick hits

• It's funny how a coach can suddenly become a hot candidate based on getting the Bill Parcells seal of approval. It looks like Cowboys assistant head coach Tony Sparano will be named the Dolphins new coach shortly. It's been the worst kept secret in the league. But Sparano has interviewed in Baltimore and in Atlanta. Why? Because Parcells wants him, so he must be good. That isn't to say that Sparano can't be a good coach. But Parcells isn't always right, you know. Just because he likes the guy doesn't mean he will succeed. By the way, the league is bound to look into the leak that Sparano has been offered the job. If so, it came before they interviewed Leslie Frazier, which is a move many think is being made to appease the Rooney Rule about talking to minorities. I like Frazier and think going forward with the interview is the right thing to do for his career, but he has to know it's a farce.

• San Francisco coach Mike Nolan will interview Mike Martz for his vacant offensive coordinator position. That's a smart move. Somebody told me Sunday that he might be interviewing his possible replacement. Really? If he doesn't win, he's getting replaced anyway. Martz, despite all his pettiness, is an offensive wizard. He will get the 49ers playing better offense. If they don't Nolan is gone anyway. So why not get one of the best and just deal with the baggage that goes with it.

• Do coaches get blackballed? That's something to consider when looking at New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. He flopped as a head coach in San Diego, but he remains one of the better offensive minds in the game. He's worked miracles with a Giants offense that lacks real talent. They don't have great tackles and they don't have deep speed outside. That's a bad combination. Yet you never hear Gilbride mentioned for any jobs. Is he blackballed? If that's true, why is it? If the Giants make a playoff run to a Super Bowl, you can bet Gilbride's play calling will be a big reason why.

• One of the things that is quite clear as you watched this past weekend's games and then look at the teams that had the bye is the how much better the passing games are among the bye teams. The Patriots, Colts, Cowboys and Packers can all throw the football well. They all also have quality receivers. Most of the teams that played this past weekend lack big-play receivers. For a league that supposedly says receivers are a dime a dozen, why do so many teams, including several of the playoff teams, lack speed threats outside? For those that do, it really shows up.

• Even though the Ravens interviewed defensive coordinator Rex Ryan for the head coaching job, it's not expected he will get the job. But the Ravens are doing Ryan a favor by talking to him to make him look more attractive for some of the other jobs. As strange as that sounds, that's how the league works.

• So Keyshawn Johnson is open to returning to play next season? So what. I always loved the way Johnson played, but who needs an old receiver who can't run? Stay in broadcasting, Keyshawn. You're pretty good at it.

The moral of the Brian Billick firing in Baltimore is this: If you come in with a reputation as a wizard on one side of the ball, the best thing you can do as a head coach is to make sure that side works.

It never did for Billick in his nine years in Baltimore.

Even when Billick led the Ravens to the Super Bowl in 2001, the team did it with defense. He came as coach because of his offensive abilities.

One has to wonder if Randy Moss was the offensive wizard when Billick was calling all those plays in Minnesota.

During his time in Baltimore, the Ravens never could find the franchise passer who could key their offense. That led to a passing game that was downright woeful at times, which was magnified even more since that was a Billick strength in Minnesota.

The Ravens finished 22nd in total offense this season and 23rd in passing. They averaged only 17.2 points per game.

Billick's team lost nine out of 10 games to close out the season, and the word is the locker room was turning on him.

So where do the Ravens turn?

They will talk to defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who was also let go. Ryan has the demeanor the players would respond to, but he would have to bring in an offensive wizard.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is a possibility since he once worked for Ravens as a line coach. San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach Mike Singletary is another possibility.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio is close with Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, but he is under contract. Del Rio has one more year left on his deal, but there is some talk that he can opt out after this season.

If that's the case, Del Rio could get into the mix -- or at least force Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver to up his price.

Quick hits

•  If Warren Sapp is retiring, which is the talk, good riddance. He was one of the biggest jerks this league has seen. Having said that, none of that should impact his chance of getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There is no doubt he should get inducted. During his time in Tampa, Sapp was the league's most dominant lineman. It's not the life Hall of Fame. If it were, O.J. Simpson and some others would come out. It's about football. And Sapp deserves to be in.

•  It's great watching Bill Parcells put the wheels in work in Miami. As expected, it will all be about "Parcells guys" getting jobs. General manager Randy Mueller was fired Monday, which opens the door for Jeff Ireland, the Cowboys vice president of college and pro scouting, to take over as general manager of the Dolphins. He's a Parcells guys. As for a coaching candidate, the talk is he would love to land Cowboys assistant head coach Tony Sparano, who was his offensive coordinator in Dallas or maybe even Todd Haley, the Cardinals offensive coordinator who was Parcells' receivers coach with the Jets and the Cowboys. If there's any doubt as to who will be running this whole show, there isn't by the way things are looking now. Parcells will hire two puppets and then pull the strings. Power, baby, power.

•  If the Lions do fire offensive coordinator Mike Martz, it won't be because of his abilities to run an offense. It will be because of his inability to work closely with other coaches. According to a source on the Lions staff, Martz tried to dominate the meetings in a my-way manner. The source said he was inflexible. That sounds like Martz. It's too bad he's letting his pettiness get in the way of a coach who is one of the most creative offensive coaches in the game.

•  So the Browns are willing to listen to offers for quarterback Derek Anderson? Really? What did you expect? They drafted Brady Quinn in the first round last year and they now have a marketable commodity in Anderson, who is a restricted free agent. If they get the right price for Anderson, of course they would trade him. Quinn has star talent. Anderson has played well, but if some team is dumb enough to give up a first and a third-round pick for him, why not take them and move on? Browns general manager Phil Savage is a smart man. He'll do the right thing. But listen to offers? Who wouldn't?