Bill Williamson

The story of the first weekend of the NFL playoffs is simple. It has to be the postseason arrival of Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young.

If you can’t catch Young’s playoff debut, don’t fret. You’ll probably get 10-12 more chances down the road.

While the Washington Redskins fittingly get attention for making their playoff drive in the aftermath of the murder of Sean Taylor; while the New York Giants will be watched closely to see if quarterback Eli Manning can handle the playoff heat; and while the Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking at to see if they can pull off another win at Pittsburgh; the top storyline of the wild-card round is obvious.

It’s the playoff christening of Young.

It should be no surprise that Young has advanced to the postseason in just his second season. That’s why the Titans took Young with the No. 3 overall pick. They knew he was their best potion for winning games.

Young may have issues and may not be a fully developed QB, but the kid wins and that’s why San Diego has to be nervous this week.

The idea of facing Young for three hours is not soothing for any opponent. He is a matchup problem because of his legs, his will and ability to win.

It doesn’t matter that he is yet to become a reliable NFL passer. The guy wins and he wins in big games. You remember his last postseason game, don’t you?

He put together perhaps the greatest single individual performance by a college player as Texas came from behind late to beat USC and win the national championship two years ago in Young’s’ final collegiate game.

And he’s had that type of impact on the Titans. He keeps them in games because of his talent.

Chargers 17, Titans 9 Chargers wear down Titans, Colts up next Young has tough baptism in NFL playoffs   Discuss: What did you think of game? Team pages: Titans  |  Chargers

Young is far from perfect, but in the postseason, there are few players in the NFL that are more dangerous than Young. This is his first NFL playoff appearance, but his brilliant play against USC shows that Young is ready for the spotlight.

And that’s why he is must-see viewing this weekend.

Should we shake up the divisions?
The AFC and NFC playoffs will have a familiar look. Half of the six-team playoff pools will be coming from one division in both conferences.

In the AFC, the South is represented by division-winner Indianapolis and wild-card entries Jacksonville and Tennessee. In the NFC, the same thing goes with three East teams. The contingent is led by division-champion Dallas with wild-card teams New York and Washington.

Novacek's picks Cardinal rule In what should be a tight, exciting game, Arizona will find enough 4th-quarter offense to beat Pittsburgh NBCSports.com

Thus, the other six divisions have just one playoff entry, the division champions. So what does this mean? Does the makeup of the divisions need to change?

No. So what that the two wild-card teams come from the same division. It means that the NFC East and the AFC South are stout and there are a cluster of quality teams in the division.

The bigger issue is that the league as a whole is not very good. There aren’t that many great teams. Because some of the good teams reside in the same division doesn’t mean much.

The league is cyclical. Maybe in a couple of years, the Broncos, Chiefs and Raiders will improve and the Colts, Jaguars and Titans will falter. Maybe in the NFC, the teams in the West will put it together.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Broncos buck trend, beat Giants Romo, Austin help ’Boys gobble up Raiders Packers able to feast on overmatched Lions Pompei: Like it or not, Lions to stay on Thanksgiving NFL Network accidentally airs coach's curse words McDaniels’ trash talk strikes chord across NFL   Slideshow: Top plays from Week 12 Unbeaten Saints seek signature win vs. Pats PFT’s Picks: Colts, Saints to finally taste defeat   PFTV Video: Possible coaching change for Jets NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: