Super Bowl Info For San Francisco 49ers vs Baltimore Ravens
Let’s start with the basics and give you the NFL Super Bowl info that you need to watch the game then we will break down the match-up between the 49ers and Ravens. Here is the game time, TV listing, and location for Super Bowl XLVII.
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This year’s NFL Playoffs were a mystery to me when it came to the results. I knew San Francisco had a great team but certainly didn’t think the change head coach Jim Harbaugh made to replace Alex Smith with Colin Kaepernick would yield the result that it has. The pistol offense that Harbaugh runs using Kaepernick has caused fits for defenses and the Ravens will have to game plan a way to stop it, if they can.
This Super Bowl info report wouldn’t be complete if we don’t mention that for the first time in NFL history two brothers will face off as NFL head coaches in the Super Bowl. While this adds a fun fact it really has no relationship to the game. In spite of that there will be an enormous amount of media coverage on it. Let’s break down the game for each team.
Baltimore Ravens:
What the Baltimore Ravens did to earn their Super Bowl Birth is nothing short of amazing. After a roller coaster regular season where they won their division on a day the team lost and multiple injuries to key players, including Ray Lewis, the team found themselves with an uphill post season battle.
The Ravens went into the post season having to face the best rookie quarterback in the NFL and follow that up by beating two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history…all in road games. As if the challenge wasn’t daunting enough for the Ravens they were lucky enough to play a double OT game in Denver in the Divisional round. The Baltimore Ravens rose to the task in each game and took down Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady in consecutive road games. A fun fact about the Ravens AFC Championship game, Tom Brady was 67-0 when leading at the half in his NFL career, now he is 67-1.
Now the Ravens head to New Orleans to play the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. This game will have unique challenges for the Ravens in the form of the Pistol offense the team now runs with QB Kaepernick. No NFL defense has found an answer to this offense that allows for a much more efficient running game that can lead to an explosive play from anywhere on the field. The Baltimore defense does have Ed Reed and Ray Lewis as long time veterans that will help in the game planning over the next two weeks.
On the offensive side of the ball Joe Flacco has been amazing this post season. With the Ray Lewis news over shadowing most other stories Flacco’s play has gone widely unnoticed. Ray Lewis has also gotten a lot of the credit for the team success, and Lewis’ play has been fantastic, the Ravens are much more than Ray Lewis. The team extends the field and the offensive line has performed better than any other in the league over the last month. That’s a dangerous combination that allows Boldin and Smith to go vertically down field while giving Flacco the ability to make an exact throw. Some other Super Bowl info that will help the Ravens is that they won a Super Bowl in 2001 and carry more playoff experience and wins into the game than the younger 49ers team.
We can wrap up the Super Bowl info session on Baltimore by looking at the road they took to get here and ask yourself if you would want to play this Ravens team? The victory over the Patriots wasn’t a close game. Baltimore dominated New England and showed no signs that they were fatigued. Ray Rice also provides the Ravens with a weapon to compliment the deep game. Rice is an elusive back that can catch out of the back field. While some may doubt their ability to beat San Francisco, It’s too early for me to rule them out as a favorite.
San Francisco 49ers:
While the Ravens regular season was tested by injury and a difficult schedule, the 49ers has a whole other type of difficulty. Head coach Jim Harbaugh made a controversial decision to replace starting quarterback Alex Smith with 2nd year Colin Kaepernick (Nevada) after Smith suffered a concussion. While many, myself included, questioned the decision it turns out we were the fools. That may be why he is coaching and I’m typing now? Colin Kaepernick provided a brilliant performance in the Playoffs and has proven he doesn’t fear the big game. He will be a problem for Baltimore.
San Francisco has a top 5 NFL defense in every statistical category that matters. They will need it against the Ravens vertical attack and still focus on Ray Rice. The defensive front four will have to keep up the pressure, which they are capable of doing, on Joe Flacco to force him out of his comfort zone. One play that the 49ers better pay attention to is “big play” Torrey Smith who is lighting up teams on the deep patterns.
In closing I would say that the San Francisco 49ers SHOULD be the winning team given the combination of offensive fire power and defensive prowess but, as I said earlier, it’s far too early to tell. A lot of things can happen in two weeks. Well I know this was lengthy Super Bowl info piece and there will be more but that’s my take on the initial view of Super Bowl XLVII.
Conference title games most watch since Super Bowl (The SportsXchange): The AFC and NFC Championship… http://t.co/oTOkvSl1 (per Yahoo)
— falconshub (Falcons Hub) (@falconshub) Mon Jan 21 2013
NFL Super Bowl XLVII ratings should also be record-setting. Hope this Super Bowl info was helpful, I know it’s long.
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Chris
NFL News Desk Staff Reporter
