Super Bowl XLVII Preview

The Super Bowl is almost here and this year’s game between the Ravens and the Niners haven’t had the juice that we have seen in past matchups. Why does this game not have the “sexy” appeal of the prior games? It is easy to answer that question: Quarterbacks. The Super Bowl always benefits to have a big time team, coach and most importantly a big name quarterback. This game does not feature Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, or Aaron Rodgers. It doesn’t even feature a lightning rod quarterback a step below those elite players like a Tony Romo or Jay Culter. It features Joe Flacco. A solid QB, who is not in that elite class yet, but a player that no one really cares about. We don’t have one of the terrific young QBs like Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck. Instead, this game features Colin Kaepernick, a spectacular young QB, but a player that a lot of casual fans didn’t hear about until two months ago. The Super Bowl needs star power just like the NBA needs Lebron, Kobe, and Durant in the finals. We want to see the stars going against each other, and in the NFL it revolves around the quarterback position. We want Peyton vs. El or Rodgers vs. Brady, or Big Ben vs. Brees. We don’t have that this year, and the game suffers as a result. It still is the Super Bowl, and it still is a happening, but it just doesn’t have the same appeal as we have had in the prior Super Bowls.

Now, there are some intriguing storylines for this year’s game. Here are my four big storylines that will add to this game and create the legacies for each going forward:

1)    The Harbaugh Brothers: Make no mistake this is the coolest aspect of this game. Both brothers have made the playoffs each season that they are a coach. John has made the Ravens a perennial playoff contender every season. Jim has transformed the 49ers from a crummy, non-playoff team to a Super Bowl contender overnight. It will be fascinating to see how these two react to each other after the game, and their family relationship will be a great storyline to watch play out.

2)    The Ray Lewis swansong: Ray Lewis is retiring at the end of the game, and his run in the playoffs has been a really interesting aspect to the entire playoffs this year. Ray Lewis is a Hall of Famer, and he has already won a Super Bowl, so his legacy is cemented, but it would add to his “mythical” status if he went out with a Super Bowl victory in his last ever game.

Joe Flacco’s moment: When Flacco entered the league, he was basically asked to manage the offense and not screw it up for his defense. You can see how he has taken control of the offense each year since his rookie season, and by the end of last year, Flacco became one of the top young QBs who was only missing a Super Bowl ring to make him one of the game’s elite level players. This year he was up and down at points, but he was solid enough to get his team back into the playoffs. In the playoffs, he has been outstanding. He outplayed Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in consecutive weeks, and 1)    now stands on the brink of his first Super Bowl. Maybe it is his time and he will get his first Super Bowl and start his new legacy as an elite level quarterback.

2)    Kaepernick’s time: Colin Kaepernick burst onto the scene this year and he hasn’t stopped playing well since. There is a good reason to think that Kaepernick is the real reason why the 49ers made the Super Bowl this year. If Alex Smith is the starter, then maybe the Niners are at home watching the Super Bowl. Is this now Kaepernick’s time? Maybe this is the beginning of his run as one of the top young QBs in the NFL. Maybe he will be battling Luck, RG III, and Russell Wilson for Super Bowls the next 10 years. We might be looking at the future of the NFL this Sunday.

Here are some other “minor” storylines that I will be watching this Sunday…….

1)    Nantz’s Call: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms are at the controls for this year’s Super Bowl on CBS, and once again they will do a great job. My favorite storyline involving the broadcast is wondering what “cheesy” catchphrase Nantz will use as the game ends. He is the king of the “corny” phrase whenever he does a big event like the NCAA Final Four, the Masters, or the NFL. I can’t wait to see what Nantz breaks out for this game. My two that I would go with if I were Nantz would be “The Niners strike gold in New Orleans!” or “Crabcakes and Super Bowls, that’s what Maryland does!” Nantz shouldn’t disappoint on Sunday.

2)    The fanbases: If you are a Baltimore fan, you can’t imagine a scenario where you all-time franchise player retires after losing his last game in Super Bowl XLVII. It would be so disappointing to see Ray Lewis and this run end in defeat in the Super Bowl right? If you are a Niner fan, it has been so long since the 49ers have been on top of the mountain. You dealt with a long era of futility(2003-2010) and now you have made it back. You are the franchise that doesn’t lose Super Bowls, there is no way you can lose this game right? The fans of both teams will definitely be in my mind as I watch this game play out.

3)    The Bitter Bowl: To say that I am still bitter about the Broncos not making this Super Bowl is an understatement. I really envisioned the Broncos taking the field in the Superdome on Sunday, and it will be hard to watch this game and not think about that. I will be watching with a very empty feeling, and if there is grief and sadness for one of these teams, then I guess a part of me will be happy. That is why I am rooting for the 49ers. I’m just still too bitter to want to see the Ravens win.

With the storylines out of the way, here are the chances for each team as we breakdown Super Bowl XLVII………..

Last Week’s Record: 2-0

Playoff Record: 7-3

(DESIGNATED HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

A CASE FOR THE NINERS: The Niners might have the most talented roster in the NFL. Pound-for-pound their team can go up against anyone else in the league. It will be very difficult for the Ravens to figure out how to stop Kaepernick, Frank Gore, and that run game. The Ravens can’t use their Thanksgiving 2011 win over the 49ers as a reference because Alex Smith was at the controls in that game, and this is a completely different offense. Defensively, the 49ers have struggled in these playoffs. Aaron Rodgers had some success against them, and Matt Ryan basically picked them apart in the NFC Championship. You would think that the 49ers defense would step up and play their best game of the year in this spot. They have too good of a defense to lay an egg three weeks in a row. Plus, if you really break down the matchup between the coaches, I would take Jim Harbaugh and his staff over John Harbaugh and his staff any day of the week.

A CASE FOR THE RAVENS: Fate and destiny seem to be on their side. First, the season was dedicated to their late, former owner Art Modell. Next, Ray Lewis announced his retirement before the playoffs, and finally, the miracle win in Denver all point to the fact that the Ravens are riding a magic carpet all the way to a Super Bowl win. Offensively, I think the Ravens can push the ball deep on the Niners secondary. The Niners defense has been exploited in the playoffs, and the Ravens might be the perfect team to take advantage of that. Also, the Ravens offensive line has held up very well in these playoffs. They shut down Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they shut down Aldon Smith. The Ravens defense is older and slower, but they have played great in the playoffs, and you will get everything in this game from Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed, and Haloti Ngata. They will play inspired on that side of the ball to say the least. Can’t you see Kapernick struggling and just playing like a quarterback that has only started a handful of games this year?

PREDICTION:

Baltimore (+3) over SAN FRANCISCO: This should and will be a close and entertaining game, but I just think it is the Ravens time. Sometimes it just looks like it is the year for a certain team, and the Ravens have that look the past month. I just envision Ray Lewis dancing his way into retirement with the Lombardi Trophy under his arm.

Final Score: Ravens-27 Niners-17