The 'Brrrrrrrrrrr' edition of the playoffs

AP photo I WANT YOU — New York's Antonio Pierce gestures during football practice Friday at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants host the Philadelphia Eagles there today in an NFL divisional playoff football game. And it will definitely be cold and icy. The NFC semifinal between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants today probably will be played in near-freezing temperatures with wind gusts reaching 25 mph.

The National Weather Service said Friday a storm was expected to start Saturday afternoon and end early today, leaving 6 to 8 inches of snow in the area where Giants Stadium is located.

"It looks like by gametime, it should be dry, but it will be cold," meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki told The Associated Press on Friday.

Ciemnecki said temperatures for the noon kickoff will hover around 32 degrees, with winds gusting out of the northwest from 15 to 25 mph.

"It looks like classic cold football weather," Ciemnecki said. "There could be some snow showers left over for those heading to tailgate really early. That also could be an issue for clearing the parking lots."

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operates the 78,000-seat stadium in the Meadowlands sports complex, salted the plazas, seating areas and stadium spirals on Friday and covered the field after the Giants practiced.

And as for the game...

One of the enduring images from the New York Giants' Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots was Tom Brady being pounded by Justin Tuck and the rest of the defense.

The Patriots quarterback absorbed five sacks in the title game and was either hit or hurried at least a dozen other times. It was the difference between winning and losing for Tom Coughlin's team.

Fast forward a year.

The Giants (12-4) are beginning their quest to repeat and that ferocious pass rush that led to a title is very much in question heading into today's NFC semifinal against the Philadelphia Eagles (10-6-1) at Giants Stadium.

While the Giants had 42 sacks this season, they have failed to get one against Donovan McNabb and the Eagles in two meetings. They also only had a dozen in the second half of the season.

"You don't really sit back and think about why you didn't get the sacks," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said of the lack of production against the Eagles. "You think about getting the sacks the next time. You very rarely get an opportunity to play a team three times, so if I had to choose to get sacks in any game, it would be this one. So this is the game we are looking forward to and we know that if we're able to pressure McNabb then that will slow the whole offense."

What the Eagles' offensive line has done this season against the Giants is remarkable. A year ago, the Giants sacked McNabb 15 times in winning two regular-season games. The bulk of that total came in the first game at Giants Stadium when Osi Umenyiora recorded six and the Giants set a franchise-record with 12.

The Eagles made protecting McNabb an emphasis this season. They allowed only 23 sacks and set a team record by not giving up a sack in five games.

"It's all-encompassing," Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. "First, the offensive line has done a good job and the past history means nothing going into this game, so they have to do it again. And I think our backs and tight ends have done an excellent job in some of the aspects within the protection."

The Eagles have also helped McNabb with the play calling, using three-step drops and quick releases, short pass patterns and a variety of swing passes and screens to Brian Westbrook.

And when Westbrook can run the ball, like he did in Philadelphia's 20-14 win over the Giants on Dec. 7, that also slows down the pass rush.

"They are pretty good at what they do," said Tuck, who led the Giants with 12 sacks. "I think after last year when we had the 12-sack game against them they made a true emphasis on protecting their quarterback. They are keeping a lot of guys in. But that is no excuse for it. We just have to play better. It is as simple as that."

What needs to be pointed out is that the Giants' defensive line is not the same as a year ago. Seven-time Pro Bowler Michael Strahan retired after last season and Umenyiora was lost for the season when he suffered a major knee injury in a preseason game against the Jets.

Tuck, who moved into one of the starting defensive end positions, has been slowed for more than a month with a lower leg injury.

Still, McNabb expects Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, a former Philadelphia assistant, to have some new wrinkles for his blitz package this weekend.

"We expect him to bring the heat," McNabb said. "Obviously, coming off a bye week and seeing how we played last week, we expect them to bring the heat. And we will be prepared and go out and try to make some big plays."

• San Diego at Pittsburgh: As the Steelers move into the playoffs with a divisional game against San Diego today, the linemen think the time was well spent.

"We got tired of hearing, 'You're not on the same page,' we got tired of all the criticism, so as a unit we took it upon ourselves," right tackle Willie Colon said. "If we've got to take an hour outside of this place to get on the same page, that's what we've chosen to do and it's been successful so far."

Their on-field results told them something different was needed. Traditionally one of the NFL's best rushing offenses, the Steelers slipped to 23rd this season — partly because Willie Parker, who gained at least 1,200 yards in each of the previous three seasons, fought through knee and shoulder injuries.

Ben Roethlisberger also was sacked 46 times, an unusually high number for a quarterback good enough to have won a Super Bowl.

"Sometimes there's not enough time in the day to get into details with stuff, so we wanted to make sure to cover all our bases," said Colon, the only Steelers lineman starting at the same position as last year. "We kind of started in the middle of the season. Someone just came up with the bright idea."

Roethlisberger could have been angry after being sacked so often — 23 times in the first eight games — and sustaining a concussion while being sacked late in the first half against Cleveland on Dec. 28.

Roethlisberger is cleared to play against the Chargers, though it remains uncertain how much the concussion will affect him.

The Steelers are encouraged going into this game because Parker ran for 115 yards during their 11-10 victory over San Diego on Nov. 16. His only other 100-yard game during the second half of the season was a 116-yard effort in the meaningless game against Cleveland.

"If I was on the defensive side of the ball, I wouldn't respect the running game because we haven't been that special this year," Parker said. "So we've just got to make our own respect."