Ten Things I Think I Think

Shaun Alexander had nine carries for just 20 yards in the Seahawks' loss to the Packers on Saturday. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

MAILBAG Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

1. I think these are my quick-hit thoughts of the playoff weekend:

a. If Pete Carroll ever gets to second base with Arthur Blank, I'm turning in my sportswriter's license. I give up. I will be ... well, let's see. What is the word beyond "shocked?'' Um, whatever that is, that's what I'll be.

b. The Chargers have a right to be furious. The officiating was beyond uneven in that game.

c. Tony Romo's girlfriend has nothing to do with his spirals. We all need to get lives.

d. Those toasty battery-powered warmup pants really helped Josh Brown.

e. Atari Bigby. Great name. Played a great game for the Packers.

f. Shaun Alexander is not a good football player anymore. A running back has to be hungry to be good. Alexander plays like he just finished the hot-dog-eating contest at Coney Island.

g. I hope the Elias Sports Bureau, keepers of all NFL stats, take a look at replays of the lone sack Seattle was credited with at Lambeau. Because it wasn't a sack. Leroy Hill caught Brett Favre at the line of scrimmage in the first quarter and downed him for no gain. But Favre had pulled the ball down and was clearly attempting to run for it. I make the point only because I'm sure the Green Bay offensive line would take it as a badge of honor if the record showed Seattle, second in the league in sacks this season, was held sackless.

h. Then, In Indy, Shawne Merriman had a legitimate sack of Peyton Manning for 6 yards in the first quarter ... and the call was reversed to a 6-yard loss on a rushing play. Ridiculous call. Manning was not running on that play any more than Dick Cheney is running in this election. Do something, Elias.

i. The Colts were lucky -- very lucky -- Antonio Cromartie's interception return for a touchdown didn't count as the first half wound down. Look at that holding call. There was holding on both players, and if anything, the hold was on the Colts' Joseph Addai for throwing Chargers safety Eric Weddle to the ground during the runback. But the flag was on Weddle. Instead of the Chargers being up 14-10 and getting the second-half kickoff, they went into halftime fighting mad and trailing 10-7.

j. Ever sit in a domed stadium for a playoff game? A swell time -- but only if you've got earplugs. The volume in the RCA Dome might be great for the home team, but it's a living, breathing headache for the impartial people. I've never seen Judas Priest in a phone booth, but I imagine the effect on the ears is about the same.

k. Amazing, isn't it, that the Giants and Cowboys have been in the league together for 48 years and yesterday was their first playoff meeting.

2. I think I've never seen a son follow in the footsteps of his coaching father quite like Kyle Shanahan with his dad, Mike. An offensive coordinator with the Texans at 28. Amazing. "His knowledge is far beyond his years,'' said Texans coach Gary Kubiak.

Obviously. But the hiring of Alex Gibbs, who has been such an excellent tactician in the running game, as assistant head coach, is just as important. It's likely Kubiak will still call the plays on offense, and Gibbs, who has coached offensive line play in the league for 23 years, will orchestrate the running game. It's a brilliant way to work Shanahan into a lead role in the offense over time, with two tutors he knows from his years being around his father, the Denver coach. That's where Kubiak and Gibbs cut their NFL teeth.

Smart move by Kubiak. Plus, the quarterbacks trust Shanahan and know he doesn't have his job just because he's Mike's son.

3. I think the coaching situations will start to get much more interesting this week, with Tony Dungy possibly making his decision to stay or go, Mike Holmgren leaning toward leaving, and Bill Parcells likely finishing the process that should result in Tony Sparano getting the Miami job. I'm not buying the Mike Tice-getting-the-job reports in Miami, though I do know Parcells likes Tice a lot.

4. I think ProFootballTalk.com had the guts of the Thomas Dimitroff-to-Atlanta weirdness correct in that owner Arthur Blank never met him face-to-face before making the hire. Here are the details: Dimitroff was interviewed via video conference from his home in Colorado and did get the job before meeting with the Falcons personally. With all of the money and time Atlanta took to hire coaches, that sure seems like an odd way to choose the man who will head all of your football operations.

Some people have asked why Dimitroff was getting that job instead of a more prominent guy like his boss in New England, Scott Pioli. or Philadelphia's Tom Heckert Jr. I think it's probably safe to say that Pioli would not have gone to Atlanta, and I also think it's safe to say the Falcons didn't think Heckert was a perfect candidate for them. Keep in mind that Atlanta has a significant structure already in place that a general manager is going to have to fit into. It's not the kind of place where a GM can come in and start firing people with both barrels.

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