ATLANTA -- Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin had plenty of praise for the Atlanta Falcons after Saturday's divisional-round loss, even expressing a belief that Dan Quinn's team could win it all.
The Falcons are one of the NFL's last four teams standing and will host the Green Bay Packers in Sunday's NFC Championship Game (3:05 p.m. ET, Fox), while the New England Patriots will host the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC title (6:40 p.m. ET, CBS).
"Absolutely his team can win the Super Bowl," Baldwin said of Quinn. "He's got a great offense, and he's the one who has implemented a defense that can be great."
Baldwin knows Quinn has a championship mentality. They won a Super Bowl together when Quinn was the Seahawks' defensive coordinator.
"He's a great human being," Baldwin said of Quinn. "He was one of my favorite coaches and is still one of my favorite coaches. ... He's personable. He doesn't just understand X's and O's in football, he understands personalities. He's always aware of the people around him and how to connect to them. He's just a good dude."
Quinn has built a strong foundation focused on "brotherhood" as the Falcons find themselves one step away from this year's Super Bowl in Houston. The No. 2 seed Falcons are favored to beat the No. 4 seed Packers at home after Green Bay upended top-seeded Dallas.
The Falcons, of course, led the league with an average of 33.8 points per game during the regular season. The Patriots were third at 27.6, the Packers fourth at 27.0, and the Steelers tied for 10th at 24.9. From a defensive perspective, the Patriots boasted the league's top-scoring defense, yielding just 15.6 points per game. The Steelers were 10th at 20.4 points per game, the Packers 21st at 24.3 and the Falcons 27th at 25.4.
The Super Bowl champion could all come down to quarterback play. Falcons signal-caller Matt Ryan is the leading MVP candidate and has a five-game winning streak going back to the regular season, but Aaron Rodgers is considered the hottest player in the league right now and has the Packers riding an eight-game winning streak.
"Aaron Rodgers is amazing," Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen said. "He's really, really good. But I'm ready to see anybody."
Over in the AFC, Tom Brady has the Patriots on an eight-game winning streak, while Ben Roethlisberger has the Steelers on a nine-game run.
Brady, Rodgers and Roethlisberger all have won Super Bowls. Ryan hasn't.
Maybe Ryan will get his in a few weeks. Baldwin certainly thinks it's possible.
