What can you say?  The Baltimore Ravens made plays when they needed to.  I being like most 49ers fans was disappointed for a moment. They came so close to completing the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.  Yet I believe the 49ers are far too talented to not get back to the Super Bowl in the near future. With that aside you have to give all the credit to the Ravens. 

First and foremost to their MVP QB Joe Flacco. His hot streak continued right from the start of the game. He threw three touchdown passes early in the first half to propel them to an eventual title. The game probably shouldn’t have been as close as it was if the power didn’t go out early in the third quarter. That did help the 49ers get more time to regroup for the rest of the game. 

Flacco’s poise under pressure was flawless. He made big throws in tight windows to WR Anquan Boldin and TE Dennis Pitta for touchdowns. His trademark deep pass connected with WR Jacoby Jones just before halftime. But two of his completions to Boldin on third down in the second half were instrumental in their victory. 

Jacoby Jones did have a big impact on special teams as he opened the second half with a kickoff return for a touchdown. Some argued that he should have been the MVP, but no matter who won the award it was Flacco’s year. 

Does this put Joe Flacco at the top of the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks? No. Not yet at least. Winning a Super Bowl definitely puts you in a different class. Some will say he won with less talent around him. The same can be said of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, who has two rings. But does that put him in the running as the best quarterback in the league? No it certainly doesn’t. 

For my list Flacco is still not in my top five, but he’s right there. Either six or seven. Just outside the top five. Another Super Bowl title certainly will make me rethink my top five, but for now he knows that everyone has to start including him in the conversation. Just like Eli Manning a few years ago everyone, including myself, scoffed at Flacco when he said he was the best quarterback in the NFL. 

Now I’m eating some crow, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Just like I did for Eli Manning last year after he beat the 49ers, I’m doing the same with Flacco. They had an amazing run. Things will probably be different for them next year. Especially on defense, but at least they know they have a franchise quarterback leading the way for them for the foreseeable future. 

Baltimore Ravens (10-6) vs. San Francisco 49ers (11-4-1)

Ravens – 16th

49ers – 11th

Ravens – 17th

49ers – 3rd

Two weeks is way too long to have to wait for the Super Bowl to start.  This year is a little more nerve racking for me.  I’m a 49ers fan.  If you don’t know that by now, well the secret is out.  What you probably don’t know is that this is the first time I’ve predicted my team to be in the Super Bowl since I started this website.  I have tried my best to be a realistic fan.  Granted those days of screaming at the TV are still in me, but I’d like to think I’ve done a good job of keeping that back.  With that said this years Super Bowl is going to be a dandy.  So many great players that will be putting their talents on display.  It’s going to be a fantastic day.

If you haven’t hear yet, both head coaches are brothers.  The only thing that I have in common with both Harbaughs’ is that I have brothers, three to be exact.  Going against one another we’re always competitive with each other.  That will be no different between John and Jim.  Both go about their business in almost the exact same way.  Their teams’ style reflects their head coaches’. Jim had to deal with a bit of a quarterback controversy in the middle of the season as he chose Colin Kaepernick over Alex Smith.  John had to make a change at offensive coordinator firing Cam Cameron and promoting Jim Caldwell to the same position. Both moves had risk, but both coaches were rewarded for their bold moves.  The one advantage that goes in John’s favor is that he has beaten Jim once before, last Thanksgiving in Baltimore. Both seem to have no problem talking about playing against one another, but when it gets to game time they both know what will be at stake.  Never again will the majority of the headlines for a Super Bowl be about the head coaches than the one this year.

As I mentioned before, there are a lot of great players playing in this game.  Everyone is focusing on Ravens LB Ray Lewis going for another Super Bowl title.  That is just one story.  Another is seeing 49ers WR Randy Moss try to win his first Super Bowl title. He had one previous opportunity with the Patriots in 2007.  Other great players like Ravens S Ed Reed, LB Terrell Suggs and 49ers LB Patrick Willis, DT Justin Smith and RB Frank Gore will be going after their first Super Bowl titles as well.  All of those players mentioned are going to be talked about all day Sunday.  The Ravens and 49ers have three players each that haven’t been talked about as much this week.  For the Ravens it’s QB Joe Flacco, WR Anquan Boldin and S Bernard Pollard.  For the 49ers it’s LB Navorro Bowman, LB Aldon Smith and S Donte Whitner.  Baltimore will need to tandem of Joe Flacco and Anquan Boldin to be at their best.  Bernard Pollard will need to do his best to help cover the middle of the field and stop the run.  Bowman is among the best linebackers in the game right now.  He will be tasked with covering the Ravens TE Dennis Pitta and RB Ray Rice.  Smith and Whitner are excellent attacking defenders.  Smith is among the best pass rushers and Whitner is a fearless hard hitting safety.  The 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick will be a major part of their gameplan as well.

It’s simple for both teams.  Stop the run.  The Ravens will need to get RB Ray Rice and RB Bernard Pierce involved early and they need to be productive.  They have been quiet for most of these playoffs, but they need to show their capable of performing on this stage.  The 49ers will need to get RB Frank Gore going as well. With the speedy complement of RB LaMichael James the 49ers have a perfect combination for their pistol offense.  Baltimore and San Francisco both take pride in stopping the other teams running game.  This will be a tough task for both, but whomever is able to run the ball more and control the clock will be victorious.

You all know who I want to win.  I have waited almost 20 years to see my team get back to the Super Bowl.  I take pride in knowing that this team has been through some rough patches and still remained confident to appear in two consecutive conference championship games.  The Baltimore Ravens will provide a great matchup.  They have been waiting for a long time as well to get back to the Super Bowl.  There have been a lot of good teams in their history, but I will argue that this team is perhaps the best in their franchise’s history.  Both teams play the old school, smash mouth type of football that I grew up loving.  This will be a great game regardless of the outcome.  49ers win 24-21.

First I want to say that I’m a die hard 49ers fan.  Been a fan since 1992.  Right at the beginning of the Steve Young era.  You can imagine that watching them play in the NFC Championship was both a good and a bad thing.  Well, they have finally returned to the Super Bowl after a nearly 20 year absence.  This is basically the same team from last year.  The same 49ers team that was defeated by the New York Giants.  This time around the 49ers knew what had to be done if they wanted to advance to the Super Bowl.  They were down early.  A 17-0 deficit to the Atlanta Falcons.  Yet there was no panic from their sidelines.  That’s what amazed me about this team.  Their focus remained on playing the entire 60 minutes of the football game.  Right after the Falcons scored to make it 17-0, the Niners drove down the field to score 14 unanswered points in the 2nd quarter.  Atlanta did score another touchdown before halftime, but they wouldn’t score another point the rest of the game.  It’s amazing to think that with the amount of points the Falcons were able to put up that they were stopped for an entire half playing at home nonetheless.  San Francisco’s defense prides themselves on stopping the opponents running game.  Atlanta was only able to gain 81 yards the entire game.  An interception and a fumble by Falcons QB Matt Ryan in the second half didn’t help their cause either as the 49ers were able to keep the ball away from the Falcons high flying offense.  San Francisco’s resolve to not give in when others might have is something to cherish.  They have learned from their mistakes of the past year and are hell bent on correcting them for one final game in New Orleans.

San Francisco 49ers (11-4-1) vs. Atlanta Falcons (13-3)

49ers – 11th

Falcons – 8th

49ers – 3rd

Falcons – 24th

What will we get with this years NFC Championship game?  What we got last year was a New York Giants team that couldn’t do anything wrong and a San Francisco 49ers team that hadn’t experienced that kind of a game before.  This year is kind of the same.  The 49ers know what to expect and the Atlanta Falcons haven’t been here for a long time.  Both of these teams have some history.  They used to be division rivals, but now they are looking to start something different.  Everyone will be watching to see if Matt Ryan can defeat one of the best defenses in the NFL.  But others will be watching if 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick can continue his success against another defense.  Whether the Falcons can contain the 49ers rushing attack will be their key to appearing in only their second Super Bowl game in franchise history.  And can the 49ers cover all of the Falcons weapons in their passing attack. Matchups are everything this time of year and this will be a dandy.

Matchup to watch for: 49ers offense vs. Falcons defense

Baltimore Ravens (10-6) vs. New England Patriots (12-4)

Ravens – 16th

Patriots – 1st

Defense 

Ravens – 17th

Patriots – 25th

Can the impossible happen?  Will the Baltimore Ravens get LB Ray Lewis another Super Bowl ring before he hangs up his cleats? There is another challenge in front of them with the New England Patriots.  After an emotional double overtime victory against the Denver Broncos, the Ravens believe anything is possible.  Patriots QB Tom Brady knows that he cannot make any mistakes against this team.  The Ravens aren’t afraid of the Patriots and New England knows the stakes.  Baltimore should try to make some big plays with Joe Flacco going deep a few times.  But if they want to win they will need to run the ball effectively with Ray Rice.  The Patriots will need to keep the Ravens defense on the field often as well and they need to run the ball even more than the Ravens do. New England’s defense is vulnerable to the pass as is the Ravens. Whichever team’s defense has more energy at the end of the game will be the victor.

Matchup to watch for: Ravens defense vs. Patriots offense