THEY'VE SEEN HIM BEFORE: Members of the University of Rhode Island football team will be watching a familiar face when they see rookie quarterback Joe Flacco lead his Baltimore Ravens into a divisional playoff game Saturday in Tennessee. As quarterback at the University of Delaware, Flacco faced division rival URI twice. He was dominant in one of those games, and pretty shaky in the other, but came away with the victory in both.

In 2007, at Delaware, Flacco was 25 of 39 for 337 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions as the Blue Hens beat the Rams, 38-9. Delaware went on to the title game of the Football Championship Subdivision, where it lost to Appalachian State. The previous season, URI played much tougher against the Blue Hens, and they limited Flacco to 15-of-30 passing for no touchdowns and one interception. But it was a 3-yard quarterback sneak by Flacco for a touchdown that proved decisive in Delaware's 24-17 victory.

SHIFTING LOYALTIES: Steve McNair played most of his career for the Titans, and he was the losing quarterback in the 2000 AFC Divisional Playoff Game against Baltimore. He went on to make a late-career, not-very-successful cameo with the Ravens. So it's a little surprising to read that McNair is hosting a Ravens rally on Friday night in Nashville, although he says the point is really just to raise money for charity (WKRN in Nashville).

THE WAITING GAME: No one ever accused Brett Favre of rushing into his decisions, and apparently that is going to continue. Favre said that, although he has nothing left to prove and believes he can "turn it off just like that," he's not going to make a decision on returning to the league for several weeks (ESPN). Whether the Jets are willing to wait that long to figure out whether Favre should or should not be in their plans for next season is, of course, another matter.

HE'S NOT GOING THERE: In his first news conference as Browns coach, Eric Mangini was not willing to commit to Brady Quinn as his starting quarterback for next season. He also said that he hopes to bring Jets quarterback coach Brian Daboll out to the Midwest to serve as his offensive coordinator (Cleveland Plain Dealer).

GREATEST SHOW, PART TWO: Mike Martz, canned by Mike Singletary from the 49ers offensive coordinator job, is interested in returning to St. Louis to retake the job in which he made his name under Dick Vermeil (St. Louis Post Dispatch).

THIS WEEK'S PREDICTIONS: I was 3-1 in Wildcard Weekend, but the loss was a pretty big one, as my AFC Super Bowl pick (the Colts) went down to defeat in San Diego. This week presents some tough, evenly matched games between teams that have seen one another before. Here's what might happen, with home teams listed in caps:

Ravens over TITANS: This meeting of two of the NFL's best defenses gains a little luster with the probable return to Tennessee's defense of Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch. This should be a particularly brutal game since both teams like to pound the ball on offense. For the Ravens, there has been a familiar pattern lately: Execute a physical, run-oriented game plan and pound the opponent into submission. That has worked in three consecutive weeks against Dallas, Jacksonville and Miami. It's less likely to work on Saturday, particularly since the Titans' defense is feeling disrespected and eager to make a statement in this game. Tennessee was brilliant last month against Pittsburgh in similar circumstances. So how does Baltimore win this game? By creating big plays on defense. Kerry Collins could not have like what he saw the Ravens do to Chad Pennington last week. It could happen again.

PANTHERS over Cardinals: Quick -- Which team gave up the fewest total yards out of the eight that played on Wildcard Weekend? Pat yourself on the back if you say the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona's matchup with the Carolina Panthers seems to be the easy pick of the week, but winning is not inconceivable for them, because the Cardinals stand up against the run reasonably well, and Carolina is good -- but not great -- at defending the pass. The weather forecast for Charlotte is not particularly inhospitable. Do I think it's going to happen? No. The Panthers are a very good home team, Arizona is not a good road team, and DeAngelo Williams has a knack for playing big in big games. Expect Steve Smith to get into the end zone against Arizona's poor pass defense, too.

GIANTS over Eagles: The Eagles and the Giants split their two meetings this season, with the Eagles upsetting New York in the Meadowlands at a time when the Giants were in turmoil because of the Plaxico Burress shooting mess. New York also lost Brandon Jacobs in that game to an injury. When the two teams met a few weeks before, Jacobs bludgeoned the Eagles for 126 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Jacobs is back, he's healthy, and he's fired up for this game. Philadelphia presents a stout challenge, and they're a team that has been riding an emotional high after their near-death experience at the end of the regular season. The Giants, though, will be rested and focused (an especially good thing in their case, given all they had to endure thanks to ol' Plax), and ready play their best game. One other thing favoring the Giants: The Eagles' big offensive line is prone to struggle against speed pass rushers, like the Giants have.

Chargers over STEELERS: How do you beat the best defense in the NFL? You send one of the league's hottest offenses to town, one that can mix the run and the pass, and is led by a quarterback who doesn't make many mistakes. Your own defense is playing more than adequately to shut down your opponent's weak offensive attack. Oh, and by the way, that team's quarterback is coming off a concussion, and no one really knows how well he's going to play. Pittsburgh is going to be rocking for this game, but the San Diego Chargers have shown time and again these last two seasons that if it's winter and the opponent isn't the Patriots, they win. The NFL gets one step closer to an 8-8 regular-season team qualifying for the Super Bowl.