Some will watch old friends, such as former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter with Miami.

Some will avoid the four televised NFL playoff games this weekend as these Steelers figure they'll get an eyeful next week of the opponent that matters most: their next one.

"I don't watch Football games," linebacker James Harrison said. "I don't say I dislike it. But that's my job. That's sort of like you sitting there and watching somebody else report -- do you do that when you go home?"

"I don't watch any Football," defensive end Aaron Smith added. "None. I get enough of that here, you know? I don't watch college, pro, anything. I got four kids, I don't have much time to watch TV. When I get a chance to watch TV, a game isn't on.

"I'd rather watch a movie. Something maybe to get away from it. I don't think doctors go home and watch 'ER,' do you? Or that plastic-surgeon show?"

Whether there's a nip-tuck finish to tonight's Indianapolis-San Diego game or tomorrow's Baltimore-Miami match, the wild-card round will produce plenty of must-see viewing for these members of the AFC's No. 2 seed in the next few days.

Indianapolis, San Diego or Miami will be coming to Heinz Field for a divisional playoff next Sunday. One will be coming soon to a meeting room near the Steelers.

"I don't need to watch them if we're not going to play them," receiver Hines Ward said.

"I may catch them if somebody else [in the same room] is watching them," Harrison added, "but I don't make a plan to watch. Usually just film study is when I see them."

Count defensive end Brett Keisel among the curious few. He watches for the potential opposition, for the information that can be gleaned from a TV screen.

"You can just get a little edge on them, you know: Watch them, see what they're running, try to pick up on formations and that. But nothing too serious," Keisel said.

"No, I'm not sitting there with a notepad going: 'All right, first down they're going to run a lead to the left.'

"But I will watch, mainly to get a look at who you could possibly be going against: See how he plays, see what type of technique he uses, things he got beat on, things he beat them on."

Nose guard Casey Hampton is one of those casual viewers.

He may find himself among the majority of the Steelers tomorrow, primarily because they -- like the rest of Steelers Nation -- still can hardly take their eyes off the former sack artist known here as J-Peezy, Porter.

"I'll check them out," Hampton said of the wild-card weekend broadcasts.

"Other than that, I won't be, like, scouting them or seeing who we'll play. I'll check out Miami, see how Joey's going to do. Or somebody I know who plays on those teams.

"But it doesn't matter to me who wins. I know that's the next question. It doesn't matter to me. Whoever we get, they got to come see us."

For the record, Harrison doesn't have to watch the Miami game to find out the result: "I'll hear about it. He'll call me. Or somebody else will call. I'll hear about it."

True, Indianapolis and NFL MVP Peyton Manning already have beaten the Steelers on the North Shore, registering a 24-20 victory Nov. 9. San Diego gave the Steelers a tussle there a week later before falling, 11-10, in the game with the debated was-it-a-Troy-Polamalu-touchdown-or-not finish.

Steelers players surveyed earlier this week, before they dispersed New Year's Day for a weekend off, seemed intrigued by the prospect of having Porter on the other side of the field.

Especially in warmups.

"He showed us. He showed us how to stand across that line," linebacker James Farrior said. "Now we're going to see if he comes across our field."

With that, Farrior rolled his shoulders backward, posturing like Porter as if to protect his territory.

"I would like to see Joey because he's a friend of mine," Keisel added. "But we'll take who we get."

Unlike their weekend TV viewing, they won't have a choice.