Super Bowl XLVII - Recap

      
Baltimore 34 San Francisco 31

Super Bowl XLVII will be remembered for many things. Ray Lewis playing his last game. Brothers, John and Jim Harbaugh coaching against one another. The blackout. The 49ers near historic comeback. When it was all said and one though, it was the Baltimore Ravens being crowned as world champions. The Ravens held off a furious 49er comeback to win 34-31. This was the second Super Bowl victory for the Ravens' franchise.

Joe Flacco ascended himself into that elite status with his performance throughout the entire postseason. It culminated with 287 yard, 3 TD, no INT performance and a Super Bowl MVP award. In the 2012 NFL Playoffs, Flacco threw 11 TDs and 0 INTs. The offense moved the ball on one of the league's best defenses. They also got help with a Super Bowl record 108 yard kick return for a TD. The defense did not play too well, but they came up big when they had to with a goal line stand that could have given San Francisco the lead in the final minutes.

The Ravens came out and punched the 49ers in the mouth, both offensively and defensively. San Francisco took the opening kick and quickly went three and out. Baltimore got the ball and marched right down the field with a TD pass from Flacco to Anquan Boldin. Colin Kaepernick answered, but the 49ers were forced to settle for a field goal to make it 7-3 after one.

Flacco struck back with another long drive that finished with him finding Dennis Pitta in the end zone. After trading possessions, Baltimore scored on a bomb from Flacco to Jacoby Jones to give the Ravens a commanding 21-3 lead. San Francisco added another field goal to make it 21-6 at the half.

Jacoby Jones wasn't done, he took the opening kick of the 2nd half 108 yards for a Super Bowl record TD and blew the gates wide open. It was lights out San Francisco. Or was it? The Superdome lost power for about 34 minutes, delaying the game and allowing the 49ers to regroup. When play resumed, it was suddenly San Francisco that seized momentum. Kaepernick hit Michael Crabtree for a TD to make it 28-13. A forced three and out and a shanked punt gave the 49ers superb field position. They capitalized with a TD run by Frank Gore and suddenly we had a game. On the next possession, Ray Rice fumbled and gave San Francisco another field goal cutting the lead to 28-23 heading into the final quarter.

Baltimore added a field goal of their own to make it 31-23. Kaepernick then marched his team down the field and capped off a drive with a rushing TD. A failed 2-point conversion kept the 49ers trailing 31-29. Flacco was calm, cool, and collected as he lead the Ravens toanother field goal giving them a 34-29 lead to set up a fantastic finish. Kaepernick again marched his team down the field only to stall out inside the 10 yard line. On 4th and Goal Kaepernick's pass sailed over Crabtree's head on a play that Jim Harbaugh through Crabtree was held on. There was no call, and following a safety that the Ravens took on purpose and a stop on the free kick, the Baltimore Ravens were officially champions.

Joe Flacco answered all of his critics. He is clearly one of the top QBs in the league now. His coach, John Harbaugh, out dueled his brother and won the "Har Bowl". The Ravens followed the recent trend, of playing poor football near the end of the regular season only to hit their stride in the playoffs and ride all the way to a Super Bowl victory. The Lombardi Trophy is headed to Baltimore for the first time since the 2000 season. And Ray Lewis can officially ride into the sunset because the Baltimore Ravens are Super Bowl champions.

Super Bowl XLVII - Prediction

      
Baltimore (+3.5) vs. San Francisco

Super Bowl XLVII will kickoff in less than 48 hours. For the first time in NFL history, two brothers will meet on the game's grandest stage as coaches. San Francisco enters the game as a 3.5 point favorite. The 49ers finished 11-4-1 in the regular season, while the Ravens finished 10-6. San Francisco used strong second halves versus Green Bay and Atlanta to advance to their first Super Bowl since the 1994 season. Baltimore got healthy at the right time and surprised AFC favorites Denver and New England to reach their first Super Bowl since the 2000 season. Brotherly love will be put aside for at least one night for the Harbaugh family.

Baltimore enters the Super Bowl playing their best football of the season. They went through a rough patch towards the end of the year, but have completely steered things back in the right direction. Their defense is finally healthy and playing Raven football. The offense has been clicking ever since Jim Caldwell took over as OC. Joe Flacco has played spectacularly in the postseason. Even his biggest critics, can't dispute 8 TDs and no INTs in wins over Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Ray Lewis is playing his final game. He is leading the NFL in tackles throughout the postseason, and even in his 17th season is showing why he is widely considered one of the greatest to ever play the game. Flacco will need to keep up his high level of play, and Lewis will need to inspire his defense to continue their recent trend of great play if Baltimore plans to send Ray out on top.

The 49ers have been considered one of the Super Bowl favorites since the season began. Here they are. They have a chance to join the Pittsburgh Steelers with six Super Bowl victories, which is more than any other franchise in the league. Colin Kaepernick will need to continue his dynamic play. A lot of attention gets placed on his legs, but it is his arm that can kill you if you're not careful. If the 49ers are going to win this game, he will have to make plays with his arm and his legs. He is the next big thing in the NFL right now and can rocket to superstar status with a win. Kaepernick will need some help from his D. This defense is nasty and is undefeated when they hold the opposing team to less than four yards a carry. Watch this stat throughout the game.

Most people think this game is going to be close. I am one of them. I don't think it is far-fetched to see either of these teams hoisting the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night. The 49ers have more talent on their roster, but Baltimore didn't get here by mistake. Plus the Ravens have the emotional lift of the most emotional player in the NFL playing in his last game. I picked the Ravens to make the Super Bowl in my preseason picks (http://ringersports.blogspot.com/2012/08/2012-nfl-predictions.html). And I picked them to lose. I am sticking with that, although it's against a different team than I picked in the preseason. I do like the Ravens to cover though. Give me the San Francisco 49ers in a close one.

Prediction - San Francisco 23 Baltimore 21

Ringer's Playoff Record
ATS: 7-3
SU: 8-2

Super Bowl XLVII Preview - Coaching

      
Baltimore: John Harbaugh, Jim Caldwell, Dean Pees
San Francisco: Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman, Vic Fangio

Career Records
Baltimore: John Harbaugh 54-26, 8-4 playoffs
San Francisco: Jim Harbaugh 24-7-1, 3-1 playoffs

You've heard it all about this sibling rivalry by now. Unless you've been living in a cave for the past two weeks, you undoubtedly know that Jim and John Harbaugh will against one another in Super Bowl XLVII. It has been dubbed the "HarBowl". One of these brothers will become the seventh coach in the NFL today to have won a Super Bowl ring. This game is historic beacuse of the Harbaugh brothers no matter what the outcome is. But anyone who has siblings knows there will be no love loss in this game.

This is John Harbaugh's fifth season as the man in charge in Baltimore. He has been superb since taking over. The Ravens have won at least one playoff game in each of his five seasons. Despite all of this success, this is his first trip to the Super Bowl. He got over thump after losing two previous trips to the AFC Championship. John made one of the most gutsy moves of the season when he fired Cam Cameron as OC in early December. The play calling was handed over to Jim Caldwell who had never held that responsibility before. The move worked wonders. The Ravens offense has been clicking much better since. On the defensive side of the ball, Dean Pees calls the shots. John Harbaugh is very involved with the gameplan though, as is Ray Lewis.

Jim Harbaugh has turned everything he has touched into gold since beginning his coaching career. He started out at FCS school San Diego and turned their program completely around in three short years. That lead to an opportunity at Stanford. The Cardinal went from irrelevant to Orange Bowl champs in four years. And now in just two years, Jim has the 49ers in the Super Bowl. He has tremendous assistants too. His OC is Greg Roman. Roman was one of the hot names for Head Coaching vacancies this year. He has been very instrumental in the development of Colin Kaeprnick. The DC is Vic Fangio. Fangio has converted the 49ers D into a nasty group amongst the league's best the past couple seasons.

How do you pick between brothers? You don't. I think San Francisco has the advantage here because of the assistants. I know the Ravens have played well offensively under Caldwell, but I can't take him over Roman. And defensively Fangio has done too good of job with the 49ers. John Harbaugh is a fine coach. Jim happens to have better coaches surrounding him though.

Advantage - San Francisco

Super Bowl XLVII Preview - Special Teams

      
Baltimore: Justin Tucker, Sam Koch, Jacoby Jones
San Francisco: David Akers, Andy Lee, LaMichael James, Ted Ginn

Most people think that this is going to be a close game. If that is indeed the case, special teams will likely play a pivotal role in who wins. In the last nine Super Bowls, six of them have been decided by a TD or less, increasing the importance of strong special teams.

Baltimore has been good on special teams all year. Remember that John Harbaugh was the Special Teams Coordinator in Philadelphia before he became the Head Coach of the Ravens. They have a dangerous return man in Jacoby Jones. Jones is as dangerous as they have come this season. He returned 3 kicks for TDs for the year. Their kicking game has been ultra-reliable. After a missed FG cost the Ravens a spot in the Super Bowl last year, Baltimore went out and signed undrafted rookie Justin Tucker. Tucker has been money all year. He made 30 of 33 FGs. Sam Koch was just as automatic at punter. Jones, Tucker, and Koch are as good as they come as a group of special teams guys.

San Francisco was perceived to be one of the top special teams units in the league coming into the year. It didn't turn out that way. David Akers missed more FGs than any other kicker in the league. The strong-legged Andy Lee went from the top of punters to the middle of the pack. And burners LaMichael James and Ted Ginn have failed to return a kick to paydirt all year. This is a capable bunch, they just haven't proved to be reliable throughout this season.

The special teams could decide who wins Super Bowl XLVII. Baltimore has been outstanding in this regard all year. San Francisco has failed to live up to expectations as a unit. We are talking about the current season, and at the moment the Ravens have a clear advantage in special teams.

Advantage - Baltimore