ATLANTA — He stood on the sideline cursing his fate, convinced that playoff satisfaction was not meant to be — for him or his frustrated franchise.

(Expletive), it's over. It's (expletive) over. We had it, and we blew a 20-point lead? I guess this is how I go out. I can't believe it …

Suddenly and defiantly, he snapped out of his trance and rallied his teammates, imploring them to fight to the finish.

Tony Gonzalez celebrates the Falcons' win over the 'Hawks. (Getty Images)Then, with his career hanging in the balance and the Atlanta Falcons' season one misstep away from a crushing conclusion, Tony Gonzalez did what he has done better and more frequently than any tight end in NFL history: He got open and caught the ball.

Who better than one of the most sure-handed football players of all time to seize the moment?

Thanks to the sweetest reception of Gonzalez's storied career, a 19-yard catch of a Matt Ryan spiral into the middle of the Seattle Seahawks' defense, the Falcons didn't go down as postseason chokers of epic proportions. And

Read More »from Morning Rush: Years of 'frustration' made Falcons' Tony Gonzalez more emotional than ever before

For most of his 10-year NFL career, Terrell Suggs has been the life of the party, a voluble, disruptive and often uproarious presence in the Baltimore Ravens' locker room and in opposing backfields.

So it's odd to see Suggs, the Ravens' star pass rusher and reigning NFL defensive player of the year, looking suspiciously like a low-key dude happy to have scored a courtesy invitation to the Rager in the Rockies — or whatever you want to call Saturday's AFC divisional-round playoff game between the Ravens and Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Terrell Suggs pursues Andrew Luck in the Ravens' victory over the Colts last Sunday. (Getty Images)For Baltimore to have a chance to upset the top-seeded Broncos, winners of 11 consecutive games, having Suggs bear some resemblance to his havoc-wreaking, pre-2012 self would be a huge boost. To be fair, given that T-Sizzle has fought through a pair of serious injuries that would sideline most players, his mere presence on the field is somewhat of a shocker.

Yet if the Ravens hope to reach their second consecutive AFC

Read More »from Ravens need Terrell Suggs to regain his 'sizzle' against Peyton Manning, Broncos

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — When Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers makes his first career appearance at Candlestick Park, the home stadium of the team he idolized as a child, all eyes will be on the former Cal star who was notoriously spurned by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2005 NFL draft.

For 49ers cornerbacks Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers, two men whose mission is to prevent the 'Stick from becoming Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood, Saturday night's NFC divisional playoff game represents a golden opportunity to display their shutdown skills to the masses.

Tarell Brown breaks up a pass in the end zone intended for Patriots WR Deion Branch last month. (AP)"When you make it to the playoffs, man, you want to go against the best, just to prove to everybody else that you can play with the elite players," Brown said Wednesday. "Anytime you're playing a big-time game, you definitely want the pressure to be on you. So, for us, it's a challenge — and it's a challenge we're going to live up to. It's gonna be fun. It's exciting. They'll make plays as well as we will, and let the best

Read More »from Niners DB admits it's 'gonna be real tough' keeping Aaron Rodgers in check again

Nick Saban, the undisputed emperor of college football, has everything he could ever want in Tuscaloosa: Three national titles in four seasons; a great shot at another one a year from now; the best players; no static from anyone, including the browbeaten reporters who cover him; and the whole world kissing his feet.

Thus it's no surprise that I think Saban, whose name has naturally come up in conversations among some NFL teams conducting coaching searches, should stay in Tuscaloosa.

Nick Saban is dunked with Gatorade in the final seconds of the BCS title game win over Notre Dame. (AP)Yet there's another, far more compelling reason Saban should stick to the college game: He's too much of a hard ass — and too much of a lightweight — to survive in the big leagues.

As with Crash Davis, he's far more suited to being the king of the minors.

After coaching Alabama to a 42-14 victory in Monday night's BCS title game, Saban told reporters he's staying at the school, saying, "Maybe this is where I belong, and I'm really happy and at peace with that."

Then again, this is the

Read More »from Dictator Nick Saban indeed better off staying in school instead of returning to NFL

BALTIMORE — During his 14 seasons of professional football, Brendon Ayanbadejo has enjoyed an abundance of enriching experiences. He has seen the world, having played for teams in Vancouver, Toronto and Amsterdam; he has worn the uniforms of the Dolphins, Bears and Ravens; he has played in three Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl; he has been publicly rebuked by a politician for speaking his mind; and he once sat in Nick Saban's office and told him he "should devote more time to coaching and less time to being a jerk."

On Sunday morning, however, Ayanbadejo was privy to a moment that may move right to the top shelf of his memory bank. As the passenger in fellow Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis' white Infiniti on the drive from the team's downtown hotel to M&T Bank Stadium, where Baltimore was hosting the Indianapolis Colts in a first-round AFC playoff game, he had a shotgun seat on one of football's most celebrated last rides.

Ray Lewis celebrates with a victory lap around the field following the Ravens' win over the Colts. (AP)What Ayanbadejo witnessed was an outpouring of

Read More »from Morning Rush: Teammate says Ray Lewis was 'nervous' prior to last home game with Ravens

BALTIMORE — As the roaring lungs and stomping feet of 71,379 fans had M&T Bank Stadium pulsating with energy early in the fourth quarter Sunday, Ravens star pass rusher Terrell Suggs felt an equally intense throbbing in his surgically repaired right heel.

With the home team protecting an eight-point lead against an Indianapolis Colts offense that had yet to reach the end zone, Suggs briefly considered heading to the sidelines. Just as quickly, "T-Sizzle,"  whose mere presence in the Ravens' lineup is considered somewhat of a, minor medical miracle, bit his lip and rejected the possibility.

On this emotional, ceremonial and utterly surreal afternoon, leaving was not an option.

Ray Lewis celebrates after a play during the first half. (AP)"My Achilles started acting up, and it felt pretty bad, but I was like, '[Expletive] that,' " Suggs said shortly after the Ravens had closed out a 24-9 AFC wild-card victory over the franchise that formerly played in Baltimore. "I wasn't going to let a repaired tendon steal our glory. We had

Read More »from Fired-up Ravens complete first step of sending iconic LB Ray Lewis off in style

Two years ago, the earth shook in Seattle, and Pete Carroll stood at the epicenter, harboring no illusions about his football team's flimsy foundation.

In the first season of his third stint as an NFL head coach, after having restored USC to national prominence during a wildly successful nine-year run, Carroll watched excitedly as his Seattle Seahawks surged to a stunning first-round upset of the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. So energized was the crowd at CenturyLink Field that during the night's most scintillating sequence, Marshawn Lynch's epic, 67-yard, game-clinching touchdown run, a seismic event literally took place.

Yet even amid the madness of that Saturday night, and certainly in the aftermath of the Seahawks' 35-24 divisional-round defeat to the Chicago Bears the following weekend, Carroll and his closest confidante, rookie general manager John Schneider, stood their ground and stuck to their plan.

Instead of viewing the team's unlikely

Read More »from USC 2.0: Pete Carroll brings same approach to Seahawks that made his Trojans champs

The man in the black pullover, black pants and black skullcap crouched next to the visitors' bench at Qualcomm Stadium, his hands on his knees, his energy emanating everywhere. Just before the ball was snapped, he reached down, grabbed a bit of sideline chalk and rubbed it vigorously in his hands.

I couldn't tell if Ray Lewis was doing this for good luck, or as a means of trying to convince himself he was actually part of the action. Whatever the great linebacker's intent, his intensity was awe-inspiring.

As Baltimore Ravens receiver Tandon Doss took a short pass from Joe Flacco and slithered across midfield with three minutes left in overtime of a Nov. 25 game between the Ravens and San Diego Chargers, the 37-year-old Lewis still served as his team's emotional epicenter.

Ray Lewis speaks to referee Gene Steratore during the Ravens' victory over the Chargers. (Getty Images)"That's a first down!" Lewis screamed as he sprung from his crouch and uncoiled his sculpted body, making the corresponding arm gesture for effect. "Let's go! Come on!"

A few minutes later, as rookie

Read More »from Is Ray Lewis the greatest gridiron leader ever?