FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - For all the amazing things Michael Vick has done on football fields the past two months, his most breathtaking maneuvers have been in huddles and in the Atlanta Falcons' locker room.

Vick's team, which has won three straight heading into tomorrow's game against the Ravens, is convinced that the second-year quarterback has what it takes - physically and mentally - to lead it to the playoffs.

His composure was on full display Sunday at New Orleans when the Falcons got the ball at their 11-yard line with 2:12 left, no timeouts and trailing by a point.

Amid raucous noise, he hit on four of six passes for 48 yards (the incompletions were clock-stopping spikes) and ran twice for 14 yards.

Atlanta then beat the Saints, a team ranked atop most NFL power polls at the time, on Jay Feely's 47-yard field goal as time expired, 37-35.

"As the game went on ... guys kept hanging in there," Falcons coach Dan Reeves said. "That starts with the quarterback. It starts with the demeanor he has, the ability that he has to keep everybody calm."

Nothing Vick, 22, has done this season was expected so soon, least of all the way he has handled himself and his team.

It's well-documented that he attempted just 313 passes in two seasons at Virginia Tech, or roughly one-third the number tried by most pro quarterbacks, and that the Hokies' passing offense was painfully basic compared with a pro attack.

These facts make it hard to believe he has completed 62.2 percent of his passes and hasn't thrown an interception in 163 attempts since last season.

In 2001, Vick completed 44.2 percent of his passes and lost five of six fumbles. He has lost one fumble this season.

His supersonic runs, many off called plays? "He's Barry Sanders with an arm," said Bengals linebacker Takeo Spikes after a preseason game.

Those around him have come to expect these things. They continue to drop their jaws at the way Vick handles himself.

After the Falcons traded the No. 5 spot in the 2001 draft to San Diego to select Vick first overall, he was painfully quiet and hard to understand - in the huddle or behind a tape recorder. He mumbled.

Not this year.

"The way he handles himself all day, he's very poised," said 12-year veteran wide receiver Shawn Jefferson. "When things got raggedy, he said, 'Let's go. Everybody settle down.' It was like he'd been here before, and seen the way it was going to go."

The transformation began when Falcons officials decided to cut quarterback Chris Chandler in February, a year before some observers thought that move would be made.

Then, Vick met public speaking coach Gary Hankins of Los Angeles several times in June at the team's expense.

"It's helped me on and off the field," Vick said. "It's about speaking up, looking at people in the eye."

There have been other changes.

Vick abandoned most of the night life that slowed his pace as a rookie. He pored over the Falcons' newly simplified playbook in the offseason. He and his girlfriend, who's still in college in his native Virginia, became the parents of Michael Jr.

His knowledge of the offense was barely passable last season, when at times he called plays out of formations that didn't exist. This season, he has a grip on the ball, his life and the offense.

"A lot of things I used to do, I can't do now," Vick said. "It gives me a totally different outlook on life."

Despite missing a game with a sprained non-throwing shoulder, Vick leads all quarterbacks with a franchise-record 367 rushing yards. He's the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for 90 or more yards in consecutive games.

He's got reason to strut. He doesn't. Instead, he fishes, plays video games and rides his four-wheeler on his 15 or so acres near the team headquarters.

"Mike is easy to like," said Falcons backup quarterback Doug Johnson. "He's not full of himself. He's one of the guys."

But Vick will chastise any player, no matter age, if he sees need.

"I'm the focal point of this team, and I've got to put everything to work." he said. "Hopefully, it'll turn out well for all of us. We won't be satisfied until we make the playoffs."