The Falcons coach Mike Smith might be the worst playoff coach of the past 25 years. Has his team up 27-7 and needed a miracle to win. Even with that Smith did everything to give it away. Not letting the clock wind down for that final FG attempt was utterly stupid. Then Smith makes an even dumber move to squib kick, giving Seattle two plays to win near midfield. Had Atlanta lost, Smith would have - and should have - been fired.

Well, I ended up 3 for 4.

I'm picking hte Pats and 49ers in SB and Pats to win.

I might be wrong, but is marty schottenheimer considered the worst?

I actually agree with Smith for letting extra seconds remain on the clock. In the event of a bad or bobbled snap, the holder could spike the ball without penalty or loss of yardage, allowing the Falcons an opportunity to attempt the field goal. It doesn't happen often, but it's happened twice in the postseason in the past 20 years.

The squib kick was ugly and was more the fault of the kicker, who inexplicably failed to execute it.

But like you, I'm not sold on Smith overall. I like Matt Ryan a lot and the receiving corps is the best in the game, but the Falcons have always lacked the slobber, intensity and physicality that consistent champions possess.

I too went 3 for 4, missing on the Ravens.

I like Peyton Manning, but he's not been an outstanding postseason player, and for that reason, I feel, he can't be included in the discussion of "Best Ever." Yesterday Manning took only what the Ravens gave him and managed only one scoring drive in the 3+ periods in the second half. As soon as he started running out of the pocket, I told my wife and son, "This isn't going to end up good."

His career postseason performance has inargueably been one of underachievement.

Peyton Manning career in the NFL playoffs what Barry Bonds & A Rod are to baseball: consistently coming up small in pressure packed situations. Some guys just cannot handle the bigness of the big stage. While the Denver secondary did Manning no favors, he also had two crushing and inexcusable turnovers that helped Baltimore tremendously. His last INT was eerily reminiscent of that boneheaded pick Favre threw against the Saints in the 2010 NFC Championship game.

My picks for this Sunday:

Clam chowder over crab cakes, New England 31 Baltimore 23

Sushi over pecan pie, San Francisco 27 Atlanta 20

I concur counselor.

As would i.

I will be rooting against the Harbaugh sisters in both games, but I could actually live with Jim making it to the Super Bowl.

I will be very surprised if it is not NE vs. SF in the Super Bowl. It's a shame Seattle did not win because that would have been a much better NFC Championship game than the actual matchup. While the NE-Balt game should be a close one, I see the 49ers winning by double digits.

I presume that if the Harbaugh's made it to the Superbowl, it would be the first time brothers met each other as coaches in it?

I agree. Seattle was not only very good, but they were fun to watch on both sides of the ball. Russell Wilson amazed me all year.

You'd be correct. There were two sets of brothers, who played in the same Super Bowl. Lyle and Glenn Blackwood, known as the Bruise Brothers, started in the Miami secondary as part of the Killer Bs defense in '83 and '85. The year before their SSB debut Archie and Ray Griffin were on the Bengal roster. All three instances where a SB team had a pair of brothers on the team, the team lost (twice to SF).

The Bruise Brothers sound like a pretty awesome wrestling tag team

As a Steeler fan I'm reluctant to root for the 49ers to win a Super Bowl as that would give them six and tie them with Pittsburgh for most all time. New England winning would mean Tom Brady would tie Terry Bradshaw and Pittsburgh born Joe Montana as the winningest Super Bowl qbs with four. And rooting for the Ravens is like rooting for al Qaeda, so that's the last thing I want to happen

That leaves me to hope for the Falcons to win the Super Bowl.

Kly, I'm pulling for the Pats to go all the way. Tom deserves to be ranked with TB and JM.

That's reason enough for me to root FOR the 49ers!

I can't root for Brady except when it's versus the Jets. Brady left that hot chick from "Blue Bloods" high and dry while she was pregnant all for that Brazilian bimbo .

If it's New England against San Fran, I'll root for the Pats, and I'll certainly be pulling for Brady on Sunday. I admit that Brady is the best qb since Montana.

Now the Falcons have choked away a 17-0 lead. Mike Smith plays not to lose. Let's call him Schottenheimer 2.0

7th AFC title game for Pats since 2001 (5-1 record), if they win tonight this will be the 6th Super Bowl trip for Brady/Belichik. A record I'm certain. Regardless of today's result, Brady is the best QB of his generation. I used to have trouble deciding if it was him or Peyton Manning.

If Ravens win, ESPN will be obnoxious in covering the riveting brother rivalry in the "Harbaugh Bowl."

Anyway congrats to SF for going to their first SB game without Joe or Steve. Randy Moss gets another shot at his long-desired SB ring, and that would be a nice story that he gets it after retiring for a year and coming back to football. (Nevermind his ugly "last season" 2 years ago when he somehow found a way to play for 3 teams, and wasn't missed by either franchise when he departed.)

Oh and yes, ATL choked today away. I wonder if the jerking off slang will now change to "choking the falcon"?

I still think - in a strict QB comparison - Manning is better than Brady. Brady always benefited from having a superior coach and a better run program. People can talk about Brady having more Super Bowls but, according to that logic, Ben Roethlisberger is better than Dan Marino. And who really believes that?

Brady's first two Super Bowl wins were by 3 pts. The first vs St. Louis came in a 2 minute drill. Brady has won the sport's biggest game three times. Manning may be the best regular season QB, but there is no denying his postseason failures. Brady has not had a quality running game once (Corey Dillon) in his five SB appearances. Yet he still doesn't get the credit Manning does despite more accomplishments.

The Roethlisberger argument doesn't hold water either. He was a non-factor in the win vs. Seattle. They won with trick plays and a big run by Parker. If I'm not mistaken he was the worst rated QB ever for a winning SB team. Sure some bums (Dilfer, Johnson) have won rings as bad QBs, but most of the SB winning signal callers are (minimally) worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.

In the modern era, the best QB discussion begins and ends with Joe Montana.

I do agree with that.

Well there you have it - Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh in the Super Bowl. Can't believe Baltimore came back like that in the 2nd half. I'll be rooting for them against San Francisco because of Pitta.

Don't particularly care for either team in the SuperBowl......

I'm with you Yogi. The media is going to go berserk with this one. We will be so tired of the Harbaugh-Harbaugh stuff and worst of all - Ray Lewis. There will be no end to that coverage. By the time the game comes around we'll know EVERYTHING there is to know about Ray Lewis.

I know quite enough about Mr Lewis already thank you!!!

I'm rooting for Baltimore because of Ray Lewis and b/c their coach is the older brother.