TD Celebrations: Having fun or showing off?

Chad Ochocinco, I hope you're listening.

Two incidents involving touchdown celebrations occurred this weekend. The first involved Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Falcons defensive lineman John Abraham. The second involved a CBS broadcaster and a lot of New York Jets, particularly Shonn Greene and Rex Ryan.

So, now we examine the difference between having a good time and rubbing it in.

In the case of Aaron Rodgers, Abraham decided that, being down by two touchdowns against one of the league's most talented quarterbacks, a sack entitled him to make fun of Rodgers's championship belt celebration. Rodgers responded by driving down for an eventual rushing touchdown (which he himself ran) and exaggerating the celebration.

As far as the original cele goes, there's really no problem. The guy likes it when his team scores, so he does a cool little move as part of the excitement. It's not like he demands attention or gets in anybody's face.

How do I know? The simplicity of Rodgers's move is the big clue here. If he wanted attention he'd come up with something that got his whole body involved and probably lasted at least a little longer. But this is no different than a fist pump, except that it's much more original.

In the case of the two staging a celebration battle over it, I don't see a problem either. Abraham was foolish to do what he did given the circumstances, there's no doubt about that. But he did it because he was caught up in the moment. When you're as frustrated as the Falcons were, you look for small things to get adrenaline pumping. That's exactly why he did what he did. And as for Rodgers's response, good for him. He was basically showing Abraham what happens when you mock an opponent stronger than you.

But the celebration involving Shonn Greene and many Jets teammates was completely uncalled for.

I didn't have a problem with his Jets teammates running into the end zone. I did have a problem with Rex Ryan joining them. Sorry, but you're the head coach, dude. Celebrate on the sidelines all you want. But running onto the field as a coach is a no-no. Period. You can say Ryan was caught up in the moment. Uh, so? How many coaches do you think have been in the same situation? How many ran onto the field? That's what I thought. Coaches are held to a higher standard than players. They are expected to behave in a way that provides a good example. But Ryan proved once again that he never grew up. Coaches are supposed to be mature, Rex, and you've been anything but.

And Greene's celebration was fine. Until it became a "nap time" celebration. Such a celebration clearly was made so he could get a camera to look at him. Not to mention the disrespect of it. The game wasn't over yet, but Greene was basically saying that given the circumstances, he might as well sleep for the rest of it. Unacceptable. Get excited all you want. Have your players run in, but no coaches and no "nap time". It goes too far.

People seem to be on opposite ends of the coin when it comes to celebrations, but the truth is that some are OK because they are the result of pure excitement and emotion or the desire to have fun, but there comes a point where a player must remember that the game must be treated with respect.

Act like you've been there before.

Round 3 picks

Forgot to post last week's picks. I split them. Got both of Saturday's right and both of Sunday's wrong.

Forget that though, time for Round 3.

AFC Championship

I was disappointed and infuriated to see the Jets move on yet again. Now they'll face a tough Steelers team that's been lights-out in the playoffs.

Bottom line: I'm not sure I consider Ben Roethlisberger a future Hall of Famer, but when playoff time comes around, he's one of the best in the business. Two Super Bowl rings at his age is pretty good. Sanchez won't be able to handle the defense that the Steelers bring. He just isn't good enough. Troy and Co. will shut down the New York offense, while Big Ben leads the Pittsburgh offense to a couple of touchdowns, which is all that they'll need.

Steelers 17, Jets 6

NFC Championship

Will somebody pour a bucket of water on Aaron Rodgers? The man has been unbelievably good. Good enough for me to stick by the team I had originally picked to win the Super Bowl. The Pack is dynamic on both sides of the ball, and now they've beaten Philly and CRUSHED a universally-considered powerful Atlanta Falcons team.

Don't get me wrong, the Bears are good too. If any defense can handle Rodgers and Co., it's them. But I don't see them doing it.

Packers 24, Bears 10

Last week: 2-2

Playoffs Overall: 3-5

NFL Playoffs: Round 1 picks

The playoffs are back, and it's time to start picking again.

Today we have the Seahawks, winners of the "Shortcut Bowl" going up against the defending champion New Orleans Saints. Not exactly hard to match up. One team is 7-9 and lucky to be here, the other 10-6 and arguably one of the best in the league. And as fun as it is to go underdog, I'm taking the Saints in this one.

At night, Peyton Manning leads a wounded offense against I-can't-keep-my-trap-shut-even-when-I-lose Rex Ryan and his Jets. As bad as the Colts have been this year, they closed on a 4-game winning streak, and they are still the Colts. The Jets receive what they deserve for the sidelines incident and get pounded by the Colts in a blowout.

Tomorrow sees the third-seeded Philadelphia Eagles go up against the Aaron Rodgers-led Packers. The Green Bay defense doesn't screw around, so I see Vick getting shut down in this one. On the other side of the ball, the thing that the Eagles do well is what Aaron Rodgers does well against: Blitz. The Packers match up good in this one an get the win.

And last but not least it's Ravens vs Chiefs. As good as Baltimore is, they remain a bad turnover team, and you don't win playoff games when you don't take care of the football. I'm going Chiefs in what should be perhaps the closest of all four games.