"Why not us?" Smith said Sunday.

As in why can't they march through the playoffs and win the Super Bowl.

"There are going to be 12 teams that have an opportunity to win this thing," Smith said. "We're one of the teams."

The Falcons' quest for the Vince Lombardi trophy will start in the desert on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. against the Arizona Cardinals.

Smith's "Why not us?" theme seems like a fitting mantra. The Falcons rise from last season's 4-12 mark to 11-5 and the No. 5 playoff seed in the NFC playoffs is rather remarkable.

A long trip in the playoffs might be pushing the envelope for a team that does have warts after Sunday's 31-27 win over St. Louis.

However, not many predicted that the Falcons would nearly win the NFC South Division title and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. But when Carolina won in the final seconds at New Orleans, the Falcons had to settle for the No. 5 seed and a first-round game against No. 4 seeded Cardinals (9-7).

The Falcons will roll into Phoenix on a three-game winning streak, and they've won seven of their past nine.

"Why not us?" center Todd McClure said. "Why can't we do it? I think everybody believes in that. They know we can go out there and compete with anybody in the league."

The Falcons' road to the Super Bowl became tougher when the visiting Panthers beat the Saints on a last-minute field goal. Instead of having a week off and a home game, the Falcons will hit the road.

The Falcons, in a surprising dogfight with the Rams, knew the result of the other game. They were elated when the Saints took a 31-30 lead with less than four minutes left in their game.

"The information highway got it to us," Smith said. "We were aware of it."

With the No. 5 seed, the Falcons are not assured of having a home playoff game.

"It was a downer," McClure said following the Panthers' win. "We came in here and everybody knew what had happened on the other end. It was almost like we'd lost the game.

"But we had a opportunity to take care of our half. We just needed some help. We are in the playoffs, and that's all you can ask for at this point."

Just like all season, the Falcons are buying what Smith is selling. It didn't take long for the players to start asking themselves the same question: "Why not us?"

"The Giants won three road games and went to the Super Bowl [last season]," wide receiver Roddy White said. "The Patriots won two or three road games a couple of years ago, and they won the Super Bowl when nobody thought they'd win it.

"So yeah, why not us? We're a good team. We've beaten a lot of good teams. We've beaten teams that are in the playoffs now."

The Rams play in the same division with the Cardinals and were beaten by them twice this season.

"You better be ready to play some defense," St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger said. "The Cardinals have a good back. They have a great quarterback, and they've got about 20 receivers who can catch the ball, and they are big.

"You see them throw the ball all over the place. It's never fun playing those guys. [The Falcons] will definitely have to score some points."

St. Louis defensive tackle Clifton Ryan said the Falcons defense will have to play much better against the Cardinals if they are going to advance.

"The responsibility is going to fall on whichever defense comes to play," Ryan said. "Whichever defense creates the most turnovers and the most three-and-outs is going to win that game."

Smith is ready for the playoffs.

"It's really the second season," Smith said. "That's what we talked about there in the locker room. We are very proud of what we have accomplished up to this point, with 11 wins.

"But now we are all 0-0. We want to try to get ready for this tournament. Make some corrections from this ballgame and get rolling to start this postseason off."

The Falcons will lean heavily on their running game in the playoffs --- rookie quarterback Matt Ryan seemed to fade down the stretch.

He threw five interceptions in the last four games and has missed some open throws.

"Going into the playoffs you want to be able to run the Football, and it looks like Michael [Turner] is very healthy and we're getting Jerious [Norwood] to start feeling better," Smith said.

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