Super Bowl XLVII Preview
Teams: San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens
When: February 3rd, 2013 6:30PM ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Super Dome, New Orleans, Louisiana
TV: CBS
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
Betting Line: The 49ers are (4) Point Favorites. The Total is set at (48) Points
The Build Up: Are you prepared to be bombarded with Ray Lewis and "Harbaugh Brother" stories!? If not, stay away from ESPN for a couple weeks... Even though the Brothers will pretty much cancel themselves out, you are going to hear about them... Even though Ray Lewis is nothing more than an average football player these days, you are going to hear about him... The eventual MVP of this game will get a little bit of coverage, but not as much as he deserves, as he will make history on February 3rd...
A look at the Ravens: I never had them ranked higher than 5th in my Power Rankings, and they were only that high for a week. They hovered around tenth all season and for good reason, this team is not as good as you might think even though they have reached the Super Bowl...
-They were lucky to face a Byron Leftwich led Steelers team (Week 11) the first time they played. (barely winning 13-10) The next week they needed a 4th and 29 miracle to beat the lowly San Diego Chargers. A week after the miracle they lost to a Charlie Batch led Steelers team.
-But any team that makes the Super Bowl has to be really good, right? Wrong, this team isn't a bad team, but they aren't a great team either. They are the benefactors of the NFL's second biggest flaw, scheduling. They had a favorable schedule and were actually pretty lucky in the playoffs. Their first game against the Colts was the closest thing you can have to a bye, Indianapolis isn't a "playoff" football team, they were just an anomaly with a great young QB that had the easiest schedule in the league... But they beat the Broncos at home? True, but the broncos only beat 2 teams with a winning record all year... They were another team that took advantage of an easy schedule, and lets not forget the miracle the Ravens pulled off to beat this overrated team as well... And lastly the Patriots, sure they beat them fair and square, just like they did in week 3, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say they missed Gronk and didn't really like the windy conditions... The one thing you must be able to do to beat the Ravens is rush the passer, it's the only thing the Patriots can't do, but guess who is really, really, really good at it...?
A look at the 49ers: Unlike the Ravens, the 49ers Super Bowl appearance isn't shocking at all. They started and finished the year #1 on my power rankings, never falling below the #4 spot. You can make the argument that they are "great" in every aspect of the game, except maybe field goal-kicking and pass-coverage by their safeties... These may be the only two advantages the Ravens will have on February 3rd. But will they be able to capitalize on their "advantages?" For the kicking-game to be a factor, the game must be close, which I don't think it will be... And for the 49ers safeties to be exploited, Flacco must have a bunch of time to throw, which I can promise he wont... As you can tell, I really like the 49ers in this game...
-As I look back for flaws in the 49ers season, I instantly zero in on the beating they took from the Seahawks in Week 16. (I am going to ignore the Alex Smith led losses to the Vikings and Giants in Weeks 3 & 6) What were the reasons the 49ers struggled vs. the Seahawks? And can the Ravens duplicate this gameplan/model?
To me, there were two major factors in the Seahawks loss. The first one being Russell Wilson's ability to both run and throw. The read-option and ability to both run and throw by Russell Wilson completely neutralized the 49ers defense! This was one of the few times that their defense looked bad all year. Can the Ravens duplicate this with Flacco? NO
The second factor was the Seahawks home-field advantage. It was and is one of the great advantages in the NFL right now. They were 8-0 at home this season and beat some very capable teams. It is LOUD and most of the time cold and dreary... Will the Ravens have Home-Field Advantage in the Super Bowl? NO, for the most part, people that go to the Super Bowl are rich and or more concerned with other things besides making noise for one team or the other...
-The 49ers benefited from having a bye, but faced legitimate top-5 teams in their 2 playoff games. They completely crushed the Packers after Kaepernick handed them a 7-0 lead, and came back to beat a Falcons team on the road after falling behind 17-0. This tells me Kaepernick is ready for the big stage. After all, the only way I see the Ravens even coming close to beating San Francisco is if Colin Kaepernick shrivels up under the pressure... Which I don't see happening...
Matchup Advantages:
Quarterback: 49ers
Running Backs: Push
Receivers: 49ers
Offensive Line: 49ers
Defensive Line: 49ers
Linebackers: 49ers
Secondary: Push
Kicker: Ravens
Punting: Push
Coaching: Push
Prediction: As you can tell from my ramblings up until now, I think the 49ers will win this game rather easily, but let me give a few more thoughts. Regardless of how well Kaepernick plays, it's the 49ers defense that will win the game. Colin will win the MVP and get all the glory, but it is the legendary greatness of this defense on all three levels (D-Line, Linebackers, Secondary) that true football fans will remember. The dominance of Aldon and Justin Smith on the defensive line, Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman at Middle Linebacker, the head-hunters in the secondary... These physical guys in the days of pussified football are the reason the 49ers will win...
Final Score:
49ers: 38
Ravens: 13
(Jim won't rub it in on John or it would be 52-13)
