NEW ORLEANS – Brendon Ayanbadejo arrived in the Crescent City on Monday on the Baltimore Ravens' team plane, and if it felt like more than the usual tailwind was facilitating his flight, it's tough to blame the veteran linebacker.

With the underdog Ravens having prevailed in road playoff victories over the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots – and Ayanbadejo's improbable professional football journey possibly culminating in a Super Bowl XLVII appearance against the San Francisco 49ers – it's little wonder that the veteran linebacker and special-teams ace feels "an incredible energy, like there's something extra ordinary going on driving this team to win."

Brendon Ayanbadejo with his son, Amadeus Prime. (Courtesy of Brendon Ayanbadejo)By all appearances, Ayanbadejo, 36, is living the dream. He's about to play in his second Super Bowl, this time with a platform to speak his mind on causes ranging from gay-marriage advocacy to a push for ALS research. He's riding shotgun, literally and figuratively, as his close friend and teammate, legendary linebacker

NEW ORLEANS – Welcome to the Crescent City, a.k.a. The City of Brotherly Hype, at least for the next seven days.

In case you've been holing up in an Afghani cave, or taking up permanent residence in the Friendly Skies (and thus deprived of Wi-Fi), Super Bowl XLVII will be a battle of coaching siblings.

Sunday's Bro Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome matches the AFC champion Baltimore Ravens, coached by John Harbaugh, and the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, coached by John's kid brother, Jim.

John Harbaugh (second from right) and Jim Harbaugh (far right) with their parents before a 2011 game. (AP)Wretched excess being what it is in the 21st century, with the Ultimate Game as its most conspicuously over-promoted spectacle, you'll be hearing all about the brother thing at increasing volumes, with the postgame handshake/bro hug looming as the cacophonous crescendo.

The Harbaugh Brothers' accomplishment will almost certainly be framed as one of the most remarkable in the history of siblings. According to Kathy Ensor, the statistical department chair at Rice University – and a

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – When Colin Kaepernick made his stunning debut as an NFL starting quarterback last November, performing so prolifically that he would supplant Alex Smith atop the San Francisco 49ers' depth chart and spark a Super Bowl run, Vernon Davis played a pivotal role, catching six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Three days after that productive Monday Night Football performance in a win over the Chicago Bears, the Niners' talented tight end enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast. Then famine set in: Over the final six games of the regular season, Davis caught a grand total of six passes for 61 yards without reaching the end zone.

During that perplexing stretch, Lennay Kekua was less invisible than the former Pro Bowler.

Vernon Davis was crucial in the 49ers' NFC title game victory. (USA TODAY Sports)Yet Davis never turned negative, displaying the maturity and perspective the sixth overall pick of the 2006 draft lacked early in his career. Back then, the player who former Niners coach Mike Singletary notoriously sent to the showers during his

He bought the San Francisco 49ers in 1977 at age 30 — then, over the next two-plus decades, helped them become the most consistently successful franchise in professional sports. So when Eddie DeBartolo tells me he feels very, very upbeat about the Niners' chances heading into a big game, as he did about an hour before last Sunday’s NFC championship showdown with the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome, I tend to pay attention.

DeBartolo, who sold his interest in the 49ers 13 years ago, was serving as an honorary captain at the behest of his nephew, Jed York, the organization’s 31-year-old CEO. Standing on the Niners' sideline, gesturing toward a Patrick Willis-led group of linebackers backpedaling during a warmup drill, Eddie D. confidently referenced the most resounding victory of his ownership tenure while predicting a San Francisco triumph.

Colin Kaepernick is helping to usher in a new chapter of 49ers success. (REUTERS)"I think it’s gonna be like our game against Denver," DeBartolo said. "I think we’re gonna jump all over them and never let up."

He

ATLANTA – The football left Matt Ryan's right hand and floated gently toward the left corner of the end zone, a tantalizing testament to the home team's bravado. When Julio Jones rose up to seize it, the catch stood as a perfect metaphor for the way the Atlanta Falcons were grabbing hold of during Sunday's NFC championship game at the Georgia Dome.

As Jones ignored the flailing arms of cornerback Tarell Brown, corralled the ball and gracefully dragged his feet on the last available inches of green turf, the San Francisco 49ers absolutely seemed headed for a hard, inglorious fall.

Jim Harbaugh celebrates with his team after the Niners' victory over the Falcons. (AP)Following the replay confirmation of Jones' second touchdown catch and Matt Bryant's extra point, the Niners – one play into the second quarter – trailed 17-0 and seemed to have misplaced their "Silver Linings Playbook". San Francisco had been outgained 202-to-minus-2 (yes, negative 2 yards) and had yet to record a first down. With the cacophonous cheers of 70,863 fans swirling through the

Last Sunday, in the aftermath of the first postseason victory of his eight-year career, Roddy White sat at his locker looking anything but elated. As the Atlanta Falcons' four-time Pro Bowl receiver talked about his team's dramatic, 30-28 triumph over the Seattle Seahawks, he was interrupted by his 6-year-old son, Roddy Jr., who informed him, "Daddy, they passed it to you 10 times. You caught it five times."

White smiled and patted the boy on the back of his Falcons No. 84 jersey with "THE FUTURE" inscribed as the nameplate. Then he turned his attention back to the immediate past.

"I felt like in the first half we did a heck of a job, just coming out with attitude and executing at a high level," White said. "We got a little lazy in the second half. We kind of got too complacent, too relaxed. You can't do that in the playoffs. Every series matters. You can't have lulls, man."

Roddy White (84) has words with Seahawks CB Richard Sherman after scoring in the second quarter. (USA Today Sports)White was referring to himself and his Falcons teammates, but anyone who watched Sunday's NFC

The Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles unveiled unconventional coaching hires Wednesday, and in many ways their respective choices, Marc Trestman and Chip Kelly, are quite similar.

Each man is an innovative offensive strategist with out-of-the-box overtones. Trestman, who once quit the coaching profession to become a stockbroker, spent the last five seasons thriving north of the border in the Canadian Football League. Kelly, meanwhile, has shaken up the college football world with his spread attack at Oregon.

Chip Kelly guided the Ducks to a Fiesta Bowl victory over Kansas State two weeks ago. (AP)In that respect, in a vacuum, there is reason for the Trestman and Kelly hires to be celebrated. So many NFL franchises are unimaginative when it comes to choosing coaches that when two of them take chances on men who aren't among the usual suspects, it's refreshing.

Yet a look at the larger landscape highlights a depressing overtone, one which I explored three weeks ago, when I documented the dearth of minorities in offensive play-caller roles.

More than ever

Anquan Boldin remembers the abrupt, merciless end to the Baltimore Ravens' 2011 season, and the helpless despair he felt on that cold evening in Foxborough, Mass., a year ago.

Most vividly of all, he recalls the inconsolable tears of teammate Lee Evans, whose failure to secure an apparent game-winning touchdown pass from Joe Flacco helped send the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl – and the Ravens into an offseason of deep, searing disappointment.

"The guy I felt the worst for was Lee Evans," Boldin said recently, harkening back to that 23-20 AFC championship game defeat, which also included Billy Cundiff's missed 32-yard field-goal attempt with 11 seconds remaining. "In his career, he had never been to the playoffs. Then you get in that position and have a chance to be the hero – and to have him have that situation happen to him, it was really tough.

Anquan Boldin is ready to put away the feelings of last season's disappointment. (USA Today)"I remember seeing him in the locker room with his head in his hands, sobbing, just heartbroken. I was trying to