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Two of the NFL's biggest storylines collide on Sunday afternoon as the Indianapolis Colts head to Baltimore Mike Iupati Womens Jersey to take on the Ravens in the NFL Wild Card Round.

The Colts (11-5) weren't supposed to be a playoff team this year, but Andrew Luck has done it all for this team, as he's shouldered a gigantic load in the Bruce Arians offense, which asked him to take Womens Aldon Smith Jersey consistent risks without any sort of legitimate blocking in front of him. Now, with their head coach back, the Colts look to get even better for playoff time.

The Ravens (10-6) have dealt with injury after injury this season, which is more than enough excuses, but the Ravens historically haven't dealt in excuses. The offense peaked and sputtered under Cam Cameron, who was jettisoned in favor of former Colts head coach Jim Caldwell. The Ravens O will look to ride Ray Rice to victory, but the real question will be if their defense can find its old form against Luck.

Who wins this first-round matchup?

The Titans have only one more week to strike a long-term deal with defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who carries their franchise tag.

While there is always potential for something to happen as the July 15 deadline approaches, it sure looks unlikely.

I swapped emails with Haynesworth's agent, Chad Speck, this morning. Speck said he hasn't spoken to the Titans since I last saw him in person, when he was with Haynesworth at a public appearance on June 24. Tennessee has never given any public indication that it's willing to www.49ersfootballprostore.com/Authentic-Vernon-Davis-Jersey give Haynesworth a big-dollar deal with major guaranteed money.

Speck has talked with the team about a scenario where Haynesworth would sign his one-year tender offer of $7.25 million in exchange for some provisions that would prevent the team from tagging him again next year.

It seems unlikely to me that the Titans, who operate with a lawyerly mentality, would give up their ability to use the tag again without some big tradeoff, and it's hard to figure exactly what would qualify.

Given that, I'd say it's a major long shot that Haynesworth signs the tender and is at camp on July 25.

A History of NFL Slot Receivers: Are They Playing with Fire in Today's League?

Anyone who saw it happen will never forget it. In a November 2010 game, Indianapolis Colts receiver Austin Collie lay stricken on the ground, arms involuntarily held in the www.49ersfootballprostore.com/Authentic-Justin-Smith-Jersey "fencing response" pose that indicates brain trauma:

Collie was stretchered off, and every football fan watching it felt their stomach churn. It was just one of four concussions he suffered during the 2010 season.

Violent hits to the head, neck and chest happen when linebackers and safeties are flying at you from opposite directions. When your job is to get into the spaces between defenders, you end up between defenders.

As such, when NFL receivers play in the slot, they play with fire.

Mark Sanchez had a mixed night of results in the preseason opener vs. the Lions on Friday, leaving the quarterback competition wide open, but Geno Smith injured his ankle in the third quarter, and he has yet to return to the game.

Instead, third-string quarterback Greg McElroy has entered the game as reports trickled in that Smith was having his right ankle taped on the bench.

The injury occurred when Smith had to www.49ersfootballprostore.com/Authentic-Vernon-Davis-Jersey leave the pocket, and while scrambling, he tried to cut to his right. Unfortunately for Smith, he appeared to turn his ankle and went down to the turf without taking any contact.

He limped off the field and a few minutes later, Smith slowly walked to the locker room with a team trainer.

After Sanchez completed 10 of 13 passes for 125 yards, a touchdown and an interception, Smith went 6 for 7 for 47 yards on the night.

All Cris Carter did, as the legendary Chris Berman made famous, was catch touchdowns. There were 130 of them in all, a total that ranked second in NFL history when he retired in 2002.

But behind the touchdowns, and at the root of the shoestring catches and sideline acrobatics, was a much more basic and fundamental accomplishment. It is said that the most important NFL attribute is availability, and in truth, all Cris Carter did was play -- every week, every month and every year.

As the chart shows, Carter played in more games than all but five receivers in NFL history. Between 1988 and 2001, essentially his entire career, Carter missed only four games; that absence came when he fractured his collarbone in 1992. His availability, sustained by elite conditioning and selective avoidance of contact, seems appropriate to recall as he heads toward his induction Saturday into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"I tried to be one of the best-conditioned athletes," Carter said, "and I just think that's a part of the level of success you have in the NFL. You already have www.49ersfootballprostore.com/Authentic-Justin-Smith-Jersey some level of success if you make it. … But I believe that availability sets you apart from a lot of different people. It's a rugged game, and [availability] is underrated."

Most of you who watched Carter play would accept implicitly that he was in phenomenal physical condition. Toward the end of his career, he opened a speed camp for high school, college and NFL players to use during the offseason -- an operation that pre-dated today's agent-driven workout facilities. Carter's philosophy was simple: Receivers run more than any other position group, so they need to be in better shape than anyone else.

If he left a legacy in the game, Carter hopes that was it.

HALL OF FAME: CLASS OF 2013

The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducts seven new members this weekend. Watch full coverage of the ceremony Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and online via ESPN3 and WatchESPN.com.

"We wanted to be the best conditioned players on the field," he said. "Now, you just don't see good receivers out of shape. You see them being some of the hardest workers if you look at it now. Andre Johnson, one of the hardest workers. Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, Roddy White, A.J. Green. That's one of the things that are common with most of the receivers now is they're hard workers. They realize that. I would say that Jerry Rice set that standard also. You've got to be in great shape."

And, quite frankly, you also have to be a realist. A receiver who regularly takes direct shots from defenders is going to find himself in the trainer's room. Carter recalled this pertinent advice he received from Chip Myers, who at the time was his receivers coach with the Minnesota Vikings: "Football is not a contact sport for wide receivers. It's an avoid-the-contact sport."

It might run counter to the macho vision of football, but a receiver can best help his team when he is healthy and available. Carter accepted contact when it was inevitable, avoided it when possible and has no shame admitting it.

"You have to be smart as a football player," he said. "The number one thing is to catch the football and maintain possession. … There is a fine balance there to when to get down and save yourself from some of those blows."

Maybe my appreciation for availability is too rooted in personal experience. I covered Cal Ripken and Brett Favre in my day, and while Carter never built a comparable streak of consecutive games played, he did share the same respect for the game. He wanted to play. Every day. All the time. And look where it got him.