Not much of a playoff rivalry with Atlanta, though the 1998/99 championship game leaves bitter memories. And that game also came off a big emotional win over a Green Bay team with an all-star qb and a recent Superbowl win. So I hope there's no emotional letdown. But after what happened last year and this year's coaching staff being so professional I doubt that will happen.

Sidebar story. Nolan calling defense against his former team. The real irony would be if he was facing Alex Smith. But Nolan has received a lot of credit in recent years as a defensive guru. Which he was for decades before the Niners gig. It will be interesting to see how he schemes against Kap and some of his former players. They had trouble with Wilson most of the game today, allowing over four hundred yards passing. I don't think they have great personnel on defense, but he must have been doing some things right for them to finish first seed.