I think every sports fan knows by now that the underdog Baltimore Ravens beat the favored SF 49ers in this year’s Superbowl on Sunday, February 3rd by a 34-31 score. The Vegas oddsmakers originally had the 49ers favored by 4.5 points but money flowed toward the underdog Ravens which dropped the odds to SF 49ers to 3.5 points.
In 2011 the Ravens beat the 49ers 16-6 when Alex Smith was the quarterback. Smith was sacked nine times in that game. That was the only time before the Superbowl that the two brothers (Jim and John Harbaugh) had played against each other. I personally think that game is when 49er Head Coach Jim Harbaugh made the decision that he had to have Colin Kaepernick as his quarterback before the playoffs in 2012. Coach Harbaugh wanted a quarterback who could run fast as well as pass deep with accuracy. Kaepernick was going to be moved ahead of Smith. After starting nine games, Kaepernick was the starting quarterback for the 49ers in the Super Bowl.
I recall former Oakland Raider coach and popular TV color man John Madden saying that (to paraphrase) the 49ers had the best personnel in the NFL, particularly their offensive line and their front seven on defense. But, the Ravens will win the Superbowl.
In the Superbowl game the Ravens tore up the 49ers on defense and scored 21 points. In the second half, Jacoby Jones, a speedy Ravens receiver, ran back the kickoff more than 100 yards for a touchdown to make the score 28-6 Ravens. Then the power went out in the New Orleans SuperDome for 26 minutes and everything changed.
The 49ers had started the game tight and flat while the Ravens surged with power. Now the 49ers were loose and the Ravens had relaxed too early and lost their emotional surge.
The 49ers came almost all the way back to have a chance to win.
They reached the Ravens seven yard line needing a touchdown to win because the Ravens lead was five points. But, the 49ers were in four-down territory with the clock being the enemy.
On first down, LaMichael James ran for two yards to reach the five yard line. The Raven’s great defensive nose tackle Haloti Ngata was out of the game because of a sprained knee so I thought the 49ers terrific running back Frank Gore would run the ball and bring it close to the goal line. Or Kaepernick would run an option play with Gore or he would spread out the offense and find a gap in the Raven’s line and explode into the gap and dive toward the goal line and if needed extend the ball in one big hand over the goal line to score. Instead, they tried three similar plays which were all short passes to their best receiver Crabtree. I couldn’t believe that they were so uncreative with the play calling. They chose Kaepernick in the first place so they wouldn't have to always call stationary quarterback plays.
Already the Vegas oddsmakers have made the Denver Broncos the favorite team to win the Superbowl in 2014. The New England Patriots and the 49ers are tied for the second best chance to win the next Super Bowl. But, several experts are already picking the Seattle Seahawks to win it all in the 2013-2014 season.
Still, I am happy that the 49ers and Coach Jim Harbaugh will always have the 49ers in the hunt. I like the scrappy Warriors basketball team, too. And, I love that Tim Lincecum showed up in San Francisco looking like Harry Potter. Soon, we’ll have the SF Giants contending for a pennant. It’s great to be a San Francisco sports fan right now.
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