Just arrived at the Metrodome and workers are going through last-minute preparations before the gates open at 10 a.m. Saw several Cowboys fans waiting to get in. Here a few notes to start you off as we wait for the inactive list to be issued around 10:30 this morning. Don't expect any big surprises.
-- Peter King of Sports Illustrated tweeted this morning that the average margin of victory in the six playoff games entering today has been 17.2 points. The only really entertaining game for a fan just tuning in to watch was Arizona's 51-45 overtime victory over Green Bay last weekend. On Saturday, the Saints beat the Cardinals by 31 and the Colts beat the Ravens by 17. Hopefully, we see a far more competitive game today at the Metrodome. I sure don't expect a one-sided contest.
-- The plan remains for veteran corner Antoine Winfield to play both at the left corner and inside in the nickel today. It sounds like it's going to come down to matchups for Winfield. Winfield made it clear Friday that if he feels any pain in his injured right foot he won't hesitate to take himself out. No matter what happens, I expect to see a healthy dose of corner Benny Sapp. Sapp is a free agent after the season and his performance in place of Winfield in the second half of the season likely has helped him improve his stock.
-- We expect Tyrell Johnson to start at strong safety for the Vikings, but rookie Jamarca Sanford will see playing time. If nothing else, this sets up as a real training-camp battle next season with Sanford pushing Johnson for the job.
-- Chip put this on the blog Saturday but we have confirmed the report by CBS' Charley Casserly that Tony Dungy was in the running for the team president's job in Seattle until last Sunday. And Dungy would have hired Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier as his coach. Put all the pieces together and it now makes sense why NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the Seahawks satisfied the Rooney Rule. Frazier's interview with Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke was so if Dungy took the job the interview process was complete. Here's another interesting nugget we've heard. Leiweke conducted the interview with Frazier for four-plus hours last Saturday and then remained in the Twin Cities until Sunday morning. Supposedly, Dungy turned the job down on Sunday. It was at that point, that Leiweke left for California so he could talk to Pete Carroll. In other words, Carroll was Plan B to Plan A, which was Dungy/Frazier.
