This weekend's NFC Championship matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons is sure to be a thrilling game.  I’ve already covered the keys to this game and likely outcome on the eDraft Sports Radio show and in my game preview earlier this week; so now I’d like to take a step out of the analytical and practical briefly, and look at some predictions that range from the possible to nearly absurd.

So, without further ado, here are five bold predictions for the NFC Championship game:

1.  Dunta Robinson, Asante Samuel and the Falcons’ secondary will shut down Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss:  With receivers Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams out with injuries and tight end Delanie Walker dropping everything thrown his way; Colin Kaepernick is hurting for receiving targets.  Robinson and Samuel are talented, physical corners and given Moss’ age, they could conceivably do a good job shutting down the 49ers’ top two receivers. 

2.  Jacquizz Rodgers will have more rushing yards than Michael Turner:  Turner is your typical bruiser, up-the-middle kind of running back and it’s plausible to imagine that he might not find much success against the likes of Justin Smith and Patrick Willis the entire game.  Rodgers has the ability to bounce to the outside and make defenders miss on the perimeter with his speed.  If things play out that way, it’s easy to imagine Rodgers finishing the game with more yards than Turner. 

3.  Vernon Davis will have more receiving yards than Tony Gonzalez:  If the Falcons’ secondary can shut down the 49ers’ receivers; Davis will likely be Kaepernick’s favorite target.  Davis matches up well against the Falcons’ linebackers and could have a huge day. 

4.  LaMichael James will have a big impact on the game:  If the above scenarios play out and the Falcons’ secondary can shut down Crabtree and Moss; James is likely to be another go-to target of Kaepernick as the check down, in the flats, on screen passes and more.  James is an electric player and if the Falcons’ corners are busy downfield, he can take advantage of the extra space created on the outside. 

5.  Colin Kaepernick will have more passing yards than Matt Ryan:  This is obviously the most silly of these predictions, but it’s the most fun to imagine.  Pretend for a second that the Falcons’ defense does a tremendous job of shutting down the run and forces Kaepernick and the 49ers to go one-dimensional and lean heavily on the passing game: Kaepernick would finally get a chance to show the world he can throw the ball just as well as he can run it and proceeds to light up the Falcons for 400 yards and four touchdowns.  It’s fun to think about, right? 

In the end it’s highly unlikely that any of these things will actually happen, but they’re fun to imagine and would make this sure-to-be exciting game that much more fun to watch.