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

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

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

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