There we have it. Superbowl XLVII is in the books and it was the Baltimore Ravens who picked up the Lombardi Trophy after another fantastic game. The game looked over when Jacoby Jones scored a touchdown after a 108 yard kick off return to open the second half. It looked like something dramatic and crazy would have to happen to allow the 49ers to get back into the game. Something dramatic and crazy like a power cut? Obviously we can't say for definite that it changed the game but it certainly looked like the 49ers dealt with it better and came out flying after the interruption.
Up until then it had been all Baltimore and they led 28-6 when one half of the stadium was plunged into darkness. The Ravens were well on top on both sides of the ball and had scored four touchdowns while restricting the 49ers to just two field goals. After the break the 49ers came back with a bang and scored seventeen unanswered points to reduce the gap to five points at the end of the third quarter. The Ravens responded with a field goal but the 49ers scored a touchdown to reduce the deficit to two points. They decided to go for the two point conversion to level the game but the Ravens ran a blitz and the attempt failed. In my opinion the Ravens had a bit of luck as it looked like there was an offside on the play. As it was the officials missed it and the Ravens went on a clock killing, 10 play drive that took 5:38 off the clock. The drive ended with a Ravens field goal that left the score at 34-29 with 4:19 remaining. The 49ers got down to work and made good progress down the field. After five plays the 49ers had first and goal on the Baltimore seven yard line and looked sure to score. They tried a run play on first down that got the ball to the five and took the game to the two minute warning. Two incompletions later and the ball was still on the five as the 49ers lined up for fourth down. Kaepernick got a pass off and it seemed clear to everyone watching that Michael Crabtree was held but bizarrely the officials let the play go.
The Ravens now had the ball with 1:46 left on the clock. San Francisco had one timeout left after wasting their second one on the previous drive when it looked as though they were about to be hit with a delay of game penalty. Due to the lack of timeouts, the Ravens were able to run the ball on the first three downs which left just twelve seconds on the clock. Instead of punting from the back of the endzone they very cleverly took an intentional safety which allowed them to run eight seconds off the clock and then punt from their own twenty which made things a lot more difficult for the 49ers. As it was Sam Koch hit a booming kick right down the field which Ted Ginn Jr managed to get back to midfield but after breaking a few tackles he was eventually brought down which set off the purple ticker tape much to the delight of everyone involved with the Baltimore Ravens.
It's hard to take the victory away from the Ravens but I would point to two dubious calls late in the game which may have changed the outcome. However, it wasn't to be and in a few years time it will only be the San Francisco 49ers fans who remember those bad calls and everyone else will remember that Joe Flacco, Ray Lewis, John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens won Superbowl XLVII.
Once again, the most important statistic in football reared it's head and the team who lost the turnovers battle, lost the game. The Baltimore Ravens turned the ball over once and the 49ers turned it over twice. The 49ers went close to beating that stat but not close enough and in each of this years eleven playoff games, the winner of the turnover battle was the winner of the game. If that doesn't underline how important it is to take care of the football, then nothing will.
The San Francisco 49ers put together a good run this year and got an extra step closer to success but they will no doubt be developing a few scars after last years defeat in the NFC title game and this years Superbowl loss. I imagine next seasons mantra will be, "one more win" or something to that effect. The 49ers deserve a lot of credit for their performances in the last two years but as an Eagles fan I know as well as anyone that when you make it to these games, you have to take advantage of it as it can all go very wrong, very quickly.
In the game itself, Colin Kaepernick finished with 302 yards, a touchdown and an interception. On the ground he ran for 62 yards and a touchdown. Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis were his leading receivers. Crabtree caught 5 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. Davis caught 6 passes for 104 yards. Frank Gore also had a good game on the ground, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown.
The Ravens struggled on the ground and averaged just 2.7 yards per carry. Ray Rice picked up 59 yards from 20 carries and Bernard Pierce ran for 33 yards from 12 carries. Anquan Boldin was their leading receiver, catching 6 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Jacoby Jones also had a great day, catching a 56 yard touchdown pass and he also returned a kickoff for a 108 yard touchdown. All those players played well but the MVP for this game and right through the playoffs was Joe Flacco. Flacco completed two thirds of his passes for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has been outstanding throughout and nobody deserves more credit for this Superbowl win than Joe Flacco. He has been a bit of a joke figure throughout his career but eleven touchdowns and no interceptions on the way to a Superbowl victory is the best way anyone can stick two fingers up to their critics. Flacco will now get a huge contract with the Ravens and if he can carry his current form into next season then there's no doubt that Flacco will be in that elite bracket with other Superbowl champions like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.
No Superbowl review would be complete without mentioning the two stories that dominated the build up to the big game, Ray Lewis' retirement and the battle of the Harbaugh brothers. Ray Lewis got the end to his hall of fame career that he could only have dreamt of. No professional sports man fits the marmite tag more than Lewis. Some hate him, some love him but nobody can deny that on the field he has been a pleasure to watch over the years and will go down as one of the best linebackers in the games illustrious history.
The other story was the amazing circumstances that led to two brothers standing on opposing sidelines. Jim and John Harbaugh have proven themselves to be excellent coaches in the NFL and with them both being in the early stages of their careers, this may not be the last time that they go head to head in the Superbowl. It is an amazing story though and when you consider the amount of coaches at every NFL franchise and throughout college football it is remarkable that they have been able to work their way up the coaching ranks to be the head coaches in a Superbowl. Their family will be extremely proud of their achievements but at the same time it will also have been an extremely difficult time for them. In the end John is the brother who will be getting fitted for a Superbowl ring and as happy an occasion as that is, there will always be the sadness that it came at Jim's expense. The brothers seem solid though and I've no doubt that nothing would please John more than to see his younger brother follow in his footsteps and get his ring in the next few years.
49ers Offensive Star : Frank Gore - Gore just edges Kaepernick for me. His 5.8 yards per carry and a touchdown was a good return and Kaepernick gets a negative mark for what was a very poor and costly interception.
49ers Defensive Star : NaVorro Bowman - 9 tackles including 2 for a loss and 2 hits on Joe Flacco were enough to earn Bowman this prize but unfortunately for him, it wasn't enough to win the game for the 49ers.
Ravens Offensive Star : Joe Flacco - Who else but the Superbowl's MVP? Flacco has been excellent throughout and although he was run close by Jacoby Jones, he deserves it for his play right through the playoffs.
Ravens Defensive Star : Corey Graham - This guy has shown himself to be a top class cornerback in this playoff run and he was on top of his game last night. He made 6 tackles but more importantly he made 2 crucial pass deflections that had a big impact on the result.
NFL PLAYOFF CHALLENGE AND PICKS
Big congratulations to Edward McMullan whose Mallbrohimovic team won the blog's league on NFL.com. Edward is a New York Giants fan but we won't hold that against him. My own challenge went much the same way as my predictions. After a 4-0 start and getting all eight of my team through the wildcard round, things took a bad turn for me. After that I went 2-5 to finish 6-5 for the playoffs and I never managed to pick one player who won a divisional round match or a conference championship match. It wasn't to be for me and it looks like I will have to abandon my gung ho style and take a safer approach in next years competition.
THANK YOU
Finally, I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who has read the blog over the course of the season. It has had thousands of hits and it makes all the time I have put into it worthwhile. Next up for me is the birth of my third child. My wife is due in the next few days and fingers crossed all goes well. I will most likely take a short break when that happens but rest assured I will be back posting within a few weeks although I'm not sure what subject it will be on. I've no doubt, I'll have plenty to say on Free Agency, the NFL Draft and I will most definitely be back posting on the 2013 NFL season in September where I WILL finish with a better record than I did this year. Once again thanks and in the mean time feel free to follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/gjsportsblog
Showing posts with label Superbowl XLVII. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Superbowl XLVII. Show all posts
Monday, 4 February 2013
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Superbowl XLVII - Baltimore Ravens v San Francisco 49ers
So after almost five months and over eighty NFL related posts on my blog, we are finally here and Superbowl XLVII is just hours away. It's been a long season but it has been another good one. We've had some great moments along the way and what better way to end it than with a bit of history in the Superbowl. It is amazing to think that the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are coached by two brothers and one can only imagine the pride that their parents must be feeling right now.
The game itself is very intriguing. Both sides lost Conference Championship games last year but have bounced back from the disappointment to go one step further and reach the Superbowl. Both sides have done things a little different this year and whilst I haven't always agreed with it, I've been proved wrong. Initially I had them both as playoff teams and in my preseason predictions, I even picked the 49ers to win the Superbowl. As much as I'd love to sit here and bask in the glow of that prediction, I have to be honest and say once Alex Smith was replaced by Colin Kaepernick that went out the window. I still have issues with Kaepernick and it was a risky strategy from Jim Harbaugh to make such a big personnel change midway through the season. However, as much as I can look for ways to argue, the bottom line is Kapaernick, Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers have made it work and they have earned the right to represent the NFC in Superbowl XLVII.
In the regular season, these teams won their divisions but neither held their conferences top seed. The Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons held that honour and it is no coincidence that the 49ers and Ravens have had to beat those two along the way to getting this far. The 49ers and Ravens both had decent regular seasons but more importantly, they improved in the playoffs. All year I have been looking at certain statistics to help me gage how good certain teams are. The Ravens have improved in 63% of the statistics I look at and the 49ers have improved in 75%. It just goes to show how important it is to peak at the right time in the NFL.
It will be no secret to anyone that the statistic I believe to be the most important is turnovers. I have looked at all ten playoff games so far and in every single game the team who has won the turnover battle has won the match. There was a few games were the teams had the same amount of turnovers but in the games were their was an outright winner, that team won the match. It will also not come as a surprise to learn that when I looked at the turnover differential table, the top two teams are the Baltimore Ravens (+5) and the San Francisco 49ers (+2).
One of the things I am looking forward to, is seeing how the Baltimore Ravens cope with the 49ers offense. In their three games so far, the Ravens have faced three passing teams. They have managed to get the better of Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady but they face a totally different task when they take on Colin Kaepernick. The Ravens haven't done well against mobile quarterbacks and lost to Michael Vick and Robert Griffin III. Another of their defeats came against the Houston Texans who don't have a mobile quarterback but I would consider them to be a run first offense. The 49ers will combine a mobile quarterback with a run first offense and the Ravens will have to find a way to deal with that. They have improved on a lot of things throughout this playoff run so it's certainly possible that they will have a plan to deal with the 49ers.
In their two playoff games so far, the 49ers offense has put up some great numbers. In the regular season they averaged 362 yards of offense per game. In the playoffs they have improved their passing and their running. They are averaging 476 yards per game and most of that improvement has come on the ground. They are averaging almost as many yards on the ground as they are in the air with 236 rushing yards and 240 passing yards.
The one big issue is they have struggled against the pass so far. In the regular season they gave up just over 200 yards per game in the air. In their two playoff wins they have gave up a total of 644 yards. That's a huge increase but it can be offset a little by the fact that they played two pass heavy teams and a lot of their regular season schedule was against teams who prefer to run the ball. The 49ers will face a difficult task on defense as the Ravens have shown that they can win the game on the ground or in the air. Joe Flacco has done a great job in the playoffs but it things aren't working out for him he can always turn to Ray Rice who is among the best rushers in the NFL.
I can't write my preview without mentioning that this is the final game in the career of an NFL legend, Ray Lewis. Nobody can deny his achievements on the field and he has been a fantastic player for the Ravens over the years. He has had his fair share of controversies, including one this week when it has been claimed that he has been using illegal substances but that's a story for someone else and unless it's proven that he broke the rules, it's not a subject I will be talking about. Lewis has always been a controversial character but he is one of few players who will be able to say that he left everything on the field each and every time he stepped onto it.
Prediction - My final prediction of the season. Who will be crowned as King of the Harbaugh's? I'd like to say John as I like him but this isn't a personality contest and everything I know about football and everything I have learned this year about football tells me that the San Francisco 49ers will be crowned Superbowl XLVII champions.
Finally, I'd just like to thank everyone for all their support this season. A blog is pointless without readers and I have enjoyed reading all the comments, debates and encouragement received. I will do a review of the game but after that I'm not sure what I will be doing with regards the blog. You can follow me on Twitter if you want to keep up to date with any future plans. Thanks everyone and hopefully we will enjoy a great game. Good luck folks. Twitter - https://twitter.com/gjsportsblog
The game itself is very intriguing. Both sides lost Conference Championship games last year but have bounced back from the disappointment to go one step further and reach the Superbowl. Both sides have done things a little different this year and whilst I haven't always agreed with it, I've been proved wrong. Initially I had them both as playoff teams and in my preseason predictions, I even picked the 49ers to win the Superbowl. As much as I'd love to sit here and bask in the glow of that prediction, I have to be honest and say once Alex Smith was replaced by Colin Kaepernick that went out the window. I still have issues with Kaepernick and it was a risky strategy from Jim Harbaugh to make such a big personnel change midway through the season. However, as much as I can look for ways to argue, the bottom line is Kapaernick, Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers have made it work and they have earned the right to represent the NFC in Superbowl XLVII.
In the regular season, these teams won their divisions but neither held their conferences top seed. The Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons held that honour and it is no coincidence that the 49ers and Ravens have had to beat those two along the way to getting this far. The 49ers and Ravens both had decent regular seasons but more importantly, they improved in the playoffs. All year I have been looking at certain statistics to help me gage how good certain teams are. The Ravens have improved in 63% of the statistics I look at and the 49ers have improved in 75%. It just goes to show how important it is to peak at the right time in the NFL.
It will be no secret to anyone that the statistic I believe to be the most important is turnovers. I have looked at all ten playoff games so far and in every single game the team who has won the turnover battle has won the match. There was a few games were the teams had the same amount of turnovers but in the games were their was an outright winner, that team won the match. It will also not come as a surprise to learn that when I looked at the turnover differential table, the top two teams are the Baltimore Ravens (+5) and the San Francisco 49ers (+2).
One of the things I am looking forward to, is seeing how the Baltimore Ravens cope with the 49ers offense. In their three games so far, the Ravens have faced three passing teams. They have managed to get the better of Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady but they face a totally different task when they take on Colin Kaepernick. The Ravens haven't done well against mobile quarterbacks and lost to Michael Vick and Robert Griffin III. Another of their defeats came against the Houston Texans who don't have a mobile quarterback but I would consider them to be a run first offense. The 49ers will combine a mobile quarterback with a run first offense and the Ravens will have to find a way to deal with that. They have improved on a lot of things throughout this playoff run so it's certainly possible that they will have a plan to deal with the 49ers.
In their two playoff games so far, the 49ers offense has put up some great numbers. In the regular season they averaged 362 yards of offense per game. In the playoffs they have improved their passing and their running. They are averaging 476 yards per game and most of that improvement has come on the ground. They are averaging almost as many yards on the ground as they are in the air with 236 rushing yards and 240 passing yards.
The one big issue is they have struggled against the pass so far. In the regular season they gave up just over 200 yards per game in the air. In their two playoff wins they have gave up a total of 644 yards. That's a huge increase but it can be offset a little by the fact that they played two pass heavy teams and a lot of their regular season schedule was against teams who prefer to run the ball. The 49ers will face a difficult task on defense as the Ravens have shown that they can win the game on the ground or in the air. Joe Flacco has done a great job in the playoffs but it things aren't working out for him he can always turn to Ray Rice who is among the best rushers in the NFL.
I can't write my preview without mentioning that this is the final game in the career of an NFL legend, Ray Lewis. Nobody can deny his achievements on the field and he has been a fantastic player for the Ravens over the years. He has had his fair share of controversies, including one this week when it has been claimed that he has been using illegal substances but that's a story for someone else and unless it's proven that he broke the rules, it's not a subject I will be talking about. Lewis has always been a controversial character but he is one of few players who will be able to say that he left everything on the field each and every time he stepped onto it.
Prediction - My final prediction of the season. Who will be crowned as King of the Harbaugh's? I'd like to say John as I like him but this isn't a personality contest and everything I know about football and everything I have learned this year about football tells me that the San Francisco 49ers will be crowned Superbowl XLVII champions.
Finally, I'd just like to thank everyone for all their support this season. A blog is pointless without readers and I have enjoyed reading all the comments, debates and encouragement received. I will do a review of the game but after that I'm not sure what I will be doing with regards the blog. You can follow me on Twitter if you want to keep up to date with any future plans. Thanks everyone and hopefully we will enjoy a great game. Good luck folks. Twitter - https://twitter.com/gjsportsblog
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