This isn’t to put any pressure on Michael Vick or anything, but it’s all in his hands. And legs. This is Michael Vick we’re talking about.

Vick, the greatest thrill ride in the NFL, can bring Atlanta its first Super Bowl championship. All by himself. Or he can break the city’s collective heart. All by himself.

As the NFL playoffs reach the divisional round, there is no player playing this weekend who has more of an impact on his team. The Falcons are Vick’s team. He’s the modern-day version of the 1980s John Elway. It’s all up to Vick.

However, unlike Elway, Vick’s matches his ability to lead with his ability to destroy his team’s chances.

This season has been an uneven one for Vick. As wonderfully talented and dangerous as he is, Vick has developed a wicked inconsistency that hurts his team. He has regressed in his third season as a starter.

Sometimes, we get the wonderful combination of a solid passing quarterback and unique runner who can paralyze an opposing defense with his mere presence. Watching a locked-in Vick is simply a treat.

Really, what is so fun is watching the defense attempt to deal with him. It’s the pick-your-poison effect. Never good.

Do you commit to the pass defense and let Vick take advantage of the open real estate and have him zigzag all over the field? Or do you spy the run and let his arm beat you. Again, when Vick is on his run-pass game, he’s devastating.

But this season, he hasn’t always been on.

Sometimes, Vick has run tentatively and passed inaccurately. We get the Vick who is still trying to get used to first-year coach Jim Mora’s version of the West Coast offense. We get the confused Vick.

That’s just a waste.

Now, to be fair, we get the good Vick -- the video game Vick -- more often than not.

But the threat of a short circuit is always there.

That’s what makes Vick so intriguing. That’s what makes him the playoff wild card. That’s what makes him the most closely watched football player this weekend.

More so than Peyton Manning trying to end his Foxboro jinx. More so than Randy "Moon Man" Moss trying to lead the Vikings to an upset of the Eagles. More so than undefeated rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh.

Vick was on his game Saturday against St. Louis, and the Falcons -- the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs -- won handily.

Come next week in the NFC title game against the Eages, if Vick is the loose, run-and-gun player he can be, the Falcons will win again.

Vick is that good. He’s that important to the Falcons’ success. Mora has done an admirable job in his first season with the team, and the defense has been strong. But there’s no doubt this team revolves around Vick.

If he struggles, there is no one who can save the Falcons. And if Vick gets hot, he can’t be stopped. All the Falcons need is one more high-caliber performance from Vick and they’re in the Super Bowl.

And then all bets are off. The AFC representative in the Super Bowl will be the favorite to win it all.

But if the Falcons are in, would you bet against Vick? In one game, he can beat anyone.

The only thing defensive coordinators can do is hope Vick stops himself.

If he does, the Falcons’ season will end this weekend. If Vick doesn’t stop himself, he could be a world champion.

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