I suppose fans and out-of-town writers could bicker about the cost of parking garages, the swarm of people in the downtown area because of that concentrated run of bars, hotels, and eating establishments. If those were the biggest issues to overcome, then everybody won.

And on Sunday, Lucas Oil Stadium will be front and center in the sporting world. I suspect we’ll be back soon …

So, for the moment, the Midwest has been given a makeup for the ice storms and misery that impacted the greater Super Bowl scene in Dallas last year.

As I drove through the downtown area and surveyed the scene, I liked the little touch of adding honorary street signs for each NFL squad. I saw fans dressed in jerseys representing seemingly every squad in the league and an abundance of No. 18s. The hometown hero dominated the scene, and I know that the show of support coincided with more sound bytes from Manning hitting the airwaves on Tuesday.

Following a brief pause, I’m joining the fray and getting into the mix. Over the next several days, I will be reporting from radio row with sound and images from your favorite players and celebs at the pop-up hot spots and parties that make this a week-long extravaganza.

I like the style and attitude. Get tongues wagging and leave ‘em with a good sound byte. Television and radio shows that normally bypass the action will circle back for a recap when they get a good drop.

Jonas Knox of FOX Sports Radio recently stared into a mirror and tried to get inside Sonnen’s head.

Here’s his vision of the contender. To say he’s a bit of a blowhard is like saying Jeffrey Dahmer was a bit of a meat eater.

Jonas Knox of FOX Sports Radio Introduces Chael Sonnen of the UFC

Chuck Pagano, defensive coordinator of the Ravens, moves into the top spot to usher in the new era of Colts football. He served as the team’s secondary coach before ascending to the coordinator role. Pagano’s hiring speaks to the rebuilding process underway in the Super Bowl host town and a shift in identity.

The Colts have a number of high-priced veterans on both sides of the ball set to hit free agency (Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Robert Mathis and offensive line mainstay Jeff Saturday among them). It is presumed, particularly given his recent comments, that there is no decision to be made concerning Peyton Manning in terms of his future in Indianapolis. Rather, it’s just a matter of timing and how much fanfare goes into the announcement of his departure.

I’ll have more on this shift and other league developments from the floor of the media center next week from Indianapolis.

To those who tuned out the media following the weekend’s Divisional Playoffs, you’d probably assume that this was more of the fallout from the Jets’ locker room. Instead, future Hall of Famer Ed Reed was commenting about the play of quarterback Joe Flacco against the Texans. Reed said that Flacco appeared “rattled” by the Texans.

Now, it’s a comment that has made its way around the Twitterverse and the social media world. On a larger scale, it was Reed’s take on the inefficiency of the Baltimore offense as a whole on Sunday against Houston. The offensive line struggled mightily against Wade Phillips’ front, the receivers missed several opportunities and Flacco was under duress all day. Don’t forget. The Ravens also failed on a fourth-down play at the one-yard line.

Still, in the aftermath of this game, coupled with Reed’s comments, I wonder aloud whether Flacco is destined for a fate similar to Mark Sanchez should the Ravens fall on Sunday. That is to say, will people look past the wins and sharpen their blades as the New York media has done to Sanchez?

I know. The lows experienced by Sanchez have been much, much worse. His mountain of turnovers in the final three weeks of the 2011 season (nine) certainly sent red flares up into the night sky and crushed the “All he does is win” chatter. All we’ve heard in the past three weeks is how fractured the locker room is, complete with shots at Sanchez’s leadership and work ethic.

Let me throw the 2011 tale of the tape in the mix.

• Sanchez produced 32 total touchdowns (six rushing) with 3,474 passing yards and 26 turnovers in 2011.
• Flacco passed for 3,610 yards with 21 total touchdowns (one rushing) and 18 turnovers. His touchdown total dropped by 20% from last year’s career-high output.

*** Flacco’s career completion percentage is 5.5% higher than that of Sanchez (60.8% to 55.3%).

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The running games and defenses were supposed to be front and center for these squads. The Jets failed to establish this identity for much of the season, while Cam Cameron forgot that he had Ray Rice on the field at times (it’s a simplified statement for the purposes of moving things along here, but Baltimore fans aren’t quiet about their thoughts of Cameron).

Defensively, we know about the “name” veterans: Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs. The Ravens ranked third in total defense this season. The Jets, despite the presence of those high-priced cornerbacks, ranked 20th.

For this week’s tilt, everyone is leaning on the “terrible” New England defense and saying that Flacco needs to air it out. They’re enamored with the passing yardage and big play stats allowed by the Patriots (79 passes in the regular season of at least 20 yards). The fact that the Patriots ranked 15th in total defense hasn’t been cited anywhere (except my rants).

Harmon joined Bob & Rob on 105.7 The Fan

Coming into 2011, the big line on Flacco was that he couldn’t beat the Steelers. The Ravens thumped the Steelers 35-7 in front of the home crowd in the season opener. They later eked out a three-point win in Pittsburgh. He’s brought attention to himself in the past several weeks and has delivered the Ravens to the AFC Championship Game. I know. The win over Houston wasn’t pretty, but he did enough to advance with the support of his defense.

If he wins Sunday (the Ravens are heavy underdogs: 7 1/2 – 9 points), will the critics back off?

I leave with this note. “The Dan Patrick Show” did a poll this week. “Would you rather have Alex Smith or Joe Flacco for one game?” Smith won the polling decisively. Chew on that.

Tebowing leads to violence in South Carolina

Knapp notes that there were several extra security officers on the premises for this heated rivalry.

The new guy wants his guy, and that guy might be Winston Moss – the current assistant head coach in Green Bay.

Jackson’s team was undisciplined and fell short in an “all-in” campaign after acquiring Carson Palmer.

More on this as it develops.

It has truly been a 24-hour marathon of 140-character slogans and one-liners alternating between messages of love and hate. Sports talk shows that opened their phone lines literally had to say, “So …” and the lines lit up. I traversed the radio dial – actual radio, internet and IHeartRadio – to listen to the opinions and reactions.

• In Denver, they were understandably giddy about the result (it’s good for business) and let fans bask in the glory in praise of Tebow.
• In Pittsburgh, many started to look ahead to 2012 and the myriad roster decisions facing the Steelers.
• Nationally, the discussion pulled back from the game itself and put Tebow’s performance into a whole other light.

We previewed the game on our FOX Sports Radio show Sunday morning and brought it back to the basest terms. Could Tebow and the Broncos execute against the upper-tier Steelers pass defense and win the chess match with Dick LeBeau? Would LeBeau overload against the run and force the action? Could Tebow deliver the ball if he did?

I pulled Vizzini and “The Princess Bride” into the fray as a reference point. Obviously, we know that Tebow made the most of his 10 completions. I was so proud of the public school systems across America when I heard countless callers and hosts cite the average gains on Tebow’s completions. The losses of Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel obviously changed the complexion of the Pittsburgh defense, but LeBeau failed to adjust the game plan.

• I must note this as well. The loss of Eric Decker because of a knee injury shouldn’t be dismissed, but let’s make one point clear. Decker has not been Tebow’s No. 1 receiver for quite some time. He caught a total of 11 passes in the Broncos’ final eight games.

Before I get to the heart of this post, I would like to throw another film into the mix to describe the action. LeBeau dared Tebow to throw the ball downfield by sucking his safeties up to the line to thwart the running game. The 51-yard pass to Thomas on the drive that ultimately completed with a touchdown toss to Eddie Royal (a brilliant reception while looking through the defender) was Tebow’s answer. LeBeau would “double-dog dare” and triple and quadruple dare Tebow, forcing his cornerbacks to play on islands without safety aid. Yes, I threw out “A Christmas Story” reference. It was the football equivalent of sticking the cornerbacks’ tongues on the frozen telephone pole. The Steelers gave up five pass plays over 30 yards.

Now, let’s get back to this business at hand. The vast collection of pundits and talking heads (self included) had a little fun with his 316 passing yards in the Twitterverse. I just wished that I owned a t-shirt printing business within steps of Invesco. I could have printed money as jubilant fans wandered away from the stadium.

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The game played by Tebow and his flawless delivery against the Steelers flew in the face of everything we’d seen in the past several weeks. He was awful against the Bills in Week 16 and flopped miserably against the Chiefs in Week 17. You cannot call it any other way if you watched those games. I cringed every time I heard the line “All he does is win” during this past 24-hour period.

• I digress again. The Twitterverse was abuzz with conspiracy theorists going crazy about the penalties and the fumbled lateral that was whistled dead. “The NFL wants the Steelers to win!” Seriously, you’re going to go conspiracy. This game drew a 25 rating. The power of the Tebow brand is magnetically drawing eyeballs to television sets and watering holes nationwide. Are you kidding me?

These moments performed by Tebow on the big stage certainly capture our imagination. Following a tepid start to the game, Tebow made play after play during that second quarter explosion. LeBeau and Tomlin challenged him, and Tebow didn’t blink. There is still much more work and refinement to be done to make him a consistent quarterback. He answered the challenge and produced a huge playoff win – I do not discount the win nor do I discount his performance here – but we can still talk about the three points that the Broncos scored in the first, third and fourth quarters, right?

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I couldn’t write about the phenomenon of Tebow without crossing into the dangerous third rail of sports writing and, well, conversation in general. The question of “Is there something more?” is as old as time itself. Tebow’s religion has been front and center for years, and he’s certainly not the first athlete to vocalize his beliefs. But, something about his life story, how he conducts himself in interviews and the ridiculous disconnect between how he starts games and finishes them elevates this story.

Look to the ratings. The Broncos’ victory over the Steelers registered a 25.9 rating on CBS. A total of 54.3 million people were reportedly watching when the game concluded. By way of contrast, the BCS Championship Game between LSU and Alabama earned a 13.8 rating on ESPN.

There’s something more to the Tebow story that draws in the eyeballs of non-sports fans, both positive and negative.

• Some want to denigrate Tebow’s public declarations of faith and use pejorative terms when discussing the topic. They actively cheer against Tebow and the Broncos as if a loss in the playoffs would end the debates about the other side once and for all.
• On the other side of the equation, Tebow’s physical skills and work ethic are sometimes dismissed to give full credit to a higher power.

I enjoy the debates and arguments. Let’s just be respectful on both sides of this religious discussion. Tebow praises – he doesn’t preach.

If you don’t want to hear him evangelize, then mute your television before the microphone is thrust toward him in the post-game. Change the channel when the final gun sounds.

If you count yourself as a believer, then you need to respect that others aren’t. Freedom goes both ways.

Can’t we just enjoy a positive story in the midst of a sea of negativity? He’s polite, respectful, does charity work and embodies the term “team player.” He’s exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. That’s a good thing, right?

As I wrote before, some of Tebow’s performances and the outcomes of games defy logic, and the analyst in me wants to see it more consistently (he completed 10-of-21 attempts against Pittsburgh). This NFL machine is built on close games where a single play makes all the difference. You have punt returns for touchdowns, tipped balls returned for touchdowns, “Hail Mary” passes, gadget plays and so on. We’ve come to expect the unexpected when consuming our football, and certainly Tebow gives us plenty of those moments. Forgive us in the media, “the haters,” who still like to see controlled drives and consistent play out of quarterbacks. To be fair, Tebow’s receivers have betrayed him (and Kyle Orton before him) by dropping an inordinate number of passes (12th in the NFL).

“It’s not personal. It’s business.”

And Tebow is good for business. It’s good for us in punditry and the yelling world. It’s good for the league to bring in new eyeballs and a new audience. And good for t-shirt sales (Damn it!).

I can’t say I always understand it (or some of the defenses put in front of him), but I just want to sit back and watch it. That’s the point, as I understand it. You play these things out on the field. If things played completely to the numbers, then we’d run simulations and move on to something else. We wouldn’t need to watch if we worked completely off of the Nevada point lines.

But we do watch, and a ridiculous number of people will sit down for the showdown between Tebow and Brady this Saturday night in Foxboro.

54.3 million fans for a Wild Card game can’t be wrong.

So, let’s make it short and sweet.

CIN at HOU: Houston sputtered down the stretch. I expect Gary Kubiak to get back to basics and run, run, run Arian Foster and Ben Tate time and again. Wade Phillips will have the defense dialed up to make things difficult for Andy Dalton. I’ll take the home team.

DET at NO: I picked New Orleans to crash the party in Indianapolis before the season. I see no reason to abandon that selection now. Brees and company are clicking on all cylinders, with Darren Sproles playing the role of “Firestarter.” Go ahead and make the video mix to his highlights – just give me a little nod for planting the idea. My gut says that Gregg Williams’ secondary gets active today to frustrate Stafford. New Orleans advances.

ATL at NYG: I hear all of the chatter about the 2007 playoff run for the Giants and a possible repeat scenario. Two things have to happen in this game to get that road started. First, the Giants can’t leave balls on the carpet as they did for much of the season (drops played a huge role). Second, the Giants will need to get pressure on Matt Ryan from the front four. If they need to bring extra bodies to try and disrupt the passing game, the depleted secondary will be abused as it was for much of the season. I fear the sight of Julio Jones sprinting free and clear in the secondary, but expect the salsa-dancing Victor Cruz (burn some calories during the game and win the ladies’ hearts by practicing) will match him. Giants advance.

PIT at DEN: Most people I’ve talked to this week have given the Broncos little to no chance of defending their home turf as heavy underdogs. The absences of Maurkice Pouncey, Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Clark shouldn’t be dismissed altogether, and lest we forget, Ben Roethlisberger is still hobbled. My thoughts go out to Pittsburgh running back coach Kirby Wilson, who was injured in fire in his home.

For the Broncos to win this game, it is incumbent upon Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil to get pressure on Roethlisberger and try to force the action. The myriad speed options available to Roethlisberger will be too much for the Denver secondary.

Offensively, I do believe that the Broncos will need to push downfield more, as John Elway suggested earlier in the week. Unless the Broncos mix it up early (maybe some play-action), it could be a long day. The master, Dick LeBeau, will crush the Broncos if they follow the predictable formula.

You can count me among them. Of course, the Chargers performed their annual late-season charge with another big December. Unfortunately, they fell short of an entry into the AFC Playoffs and will sit home while the Broncos represent the division.

It was another topsy-turvy season for the injury-riddled San Diego squad. San Diego raced out to an uncharacteristic 4-1 start before sliding into a six-game losing streak after the Chargers’ Week 6 Bye. That 34-point barrage and dismantling of the Ravens in Week 15 came too late for a playoff berth, but Dean Spanos and the Chargers’ fans were reminded about how good this team can be down the stretch.

I guess it came down to a simple question. Was there a better option on the board to coach the squad if Turner had been relieved of his job? Jeff Fisher is the “name” guy being followed in the interview process. All of the usual suspects, Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden (although MIA has been rumored), Brian Billick and Tony Dungy, are all expected to remain in their respective television roles.

The Week 17 victory over Oakland to knock them out of the playoffs couldn’t have hurt the cause.

We know that Philip Rivers and fantasy owners are happy. What changes can this squad make to put them over the top and capitalize on the unit’s potential?

We watched as a better schedule devoured both of these squads in 2011. As expected, Raheem Morris and Steve Spagnuolo were shown the door by the Buccaneers and Rams, respectively. Morris’ Buccaneers began a downward spiral in London against Chicago and never saw the win column again. The Week 17 loss to Atlanta was a flat-out embarrassment. I have no other word for it.

Spagnuolo’s team never found an identity and Sam Bradford struggled mightily when healthy.

I’ll be posting season reviews for each team later in the week and I’ll get deeper into these dismissals.

Who’s next?

Well, Week 17 of the 2011 season certainly had its fair share of twists and turns … and “operation shutdown” for a few teams and individual players.

1. Santonio Holmes was pulled from the Jets’ season-ending defeat to the Dolphins, and several teammates, including LaDainian Tomlinson, cited his attitude and “lack of fire” as the reason. This story is just getting started.
2. Matt Flynn blew up the scoreboard in the Packers’ win over Detroit. He passed for 480 yards with six touchdowns to set team records. Jordy Nelson caught three touchdown passes (nine receptions for 162 yards overall) to complete the season with at least one touchdown reception in each of the Packers’ eight home games.
3. Matthew Stafford loaded up and passed for 520 yards with five touchdowns. Calvin Johnson logged 11 receptions for 244 yards with a touchdown.
4. Jimmy Graham & Rob Gronkowski set new bars for tight ends.
5. Drew Brees dominated – go figure.
6. The Bears snapped their losing streak.
7. Indianapolis clinched the #1 draft pick.
8. Tampa Bay didn’t bother to show up ….

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1,001 observations to come as the regular season closes. Now, let’s get that final 1/2-minute of DEN-KC.