Super Bowl XLVII Recap
Ravens 34, 49ers 31
These Ravens won't go down as the best team of all time or anything, but one of the best players to every take the field was able to win his second Super Bowl ring on his final ride. Ray Lewis, who was the center of attention for the early part of the week because of the deer antler spray revelation, told his team that he was going to retire after this season. This seemed to inspire Baltimore during its magical run to the Super Bowl. Lewis did not play well physically, but he was instrumental mentally and inspired his team like no one else could. In the triumph, Lewis became the first player in NFL history to claim consecutive Super Bowl rings 12 or more seasons apart.
It was also nice to see the other Ravens win the Lombardi. Contrary to popular belief, Ed Reed was not part of the stalwart 2000 Baltimore defense, so this was his first championship. Terrell Suggs, Bryant McKinnie, Anquan Boldin, Ray Rice, Marshal Yanda and others served as great players in this league over the years, so they deserved this trophy as much as anyone.
Of course, the person primarily responsible for making this happen was Joe Flacco, who claimed the MVP trophy - and rightfully so. There have been arguments for Jacoby Jones, but one of Jones' two scores came via a Flacco bomb. Granted, it was underthrown, and Jones had to juke two 49ers to reach the end zone, but without Flacco, there's no chance Baltimore would have won the Super Bowl. If Jones wasn't on the roster, the Ravens would have definitely still had a legitimate chance, so it would be very contrarian to state that Jones deserved the award.
Flacco was outstanding. He went 22-of-33 for 287 yards and three touchdowns. He was unreal on third down, converting 9-of-16 attempts. He was hot in the first half, torching a helpless San Francisco secondary with his monstrous arm. He was barely able to do anything in the third quarter after the infamous blackout because the 49ers held all of the momentum, but he made enough clutch throws to lead his team to field-goal drives of 71 and 59 yards in the fourth quarter, occupying nearly 11 minutes of the clock on those two possessions.
Colin Kaepernick was awful early on. CBS analyst Bill Cowher even suggested that the 49ers should bench Kaepernick in favor of Alex Smith. This was a completely ridiculous notion at the time, and it proved to be so as Kaepernick finished 16-of-28 for 302 yards, one touchdown and an interception along with seven carries for 62 rushing yards and a second score on the ground. Kaepernick wasn't very good in the red zone, however, thanks to Baltimore's No. 1 red-zone defense. However, 49er fans may point to poor officiating as a reason for that. They certainly have some beef - Michael Crabtree was clearly held in the end zone on San Francisco's final offensive play, but the refs' whistles were silent.
The officiating was putrid throughout. The Ravens benefited from most of the calls, though they were screwed over by a phantom running-into-the-kicker penalty on a David Akers miss. However, San Francisco has only itself to blame for this defeat. The team committed too many mental errors. The first play of the game, a 20-yard completion to Vernon Davis, was wiped out by illegal formation. The 49ers also wasted two crucial timeouts in the second half, and the play-calling in the red zone on the final offensive drive was abysmal. If it wasn't for the blackout, Baltimore may have run away with a victory of at least two touchdowns.
For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.
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Spraynard
01-21-2013
09:31 pm
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After every Ravens playoff win Walt has done nothing but make excuses for why the other team dropped the ball and lost rather than why the Ravens won. Ever think that beating Luck then going on the road to beat Manning and then going on the road again to beat Brady might just mean something else is going on besides the opponents messing up? Give credit where credit is due and stop making excuses.
Big C
01-21-2013
08:45 pm
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I hate to say I told you so, but I did tell you so. The Patriots offense is such a gimmicky, tricky-dicky system that thrives on mistakes and mis alignment. I knew the 2nd half was going to be a problem for the Patriots when they threw every razzle-dazzle play in the book at the Ravens in the 1st half. Plus they aren't build for the physical game the Ravens were going to play. You're damn right Brady quit, he threw that ball away and still got hit. If he'd have kept running, not only would Ngata have stopped him short (uhh he's way faster than Brady) but I promise his night would have ended right there. But this was going to happen. The Ravens have a lot of Talent and the Patriots have a lot of tricks and play in a weak division.
Josh
01-21-2013
05:53 pm
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Even if Brady had gotten the 4 yards, Haloti would have made him pay for it. They were still behind, and they wouldn't be able to come back anyway with a flattened Brady.
Ridley
01-21-2013
04:28 pm
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Ridley lowered his head to deliver the hit/run over Pollard, though....
Zach
01-21-2013
03:09 pm
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The patriots got a few lucky calls
The hit on pitta over the middle: if that wasnt a hit on a defenseless receiver then I don't know what is, if that was Bernard pollard instead of mayo there would have been 9 flag on the field. Ed Reed also got hit on a fair catch and there was no call there. But we're on to the Super Bowl Go ravens! Ps Walt that was a very short recap in which you talked about what the patriots Didnt do rather than what the ravens did do.
f**ing retards
01-21-2013
12:11 pm
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I'm mad because walter is horrible but I comment every week on every single one of his awful articles. I only come to this site to make fun of walter because I have nothing better to do with my life. I hate his analysis and he has nothing good to say...yet here I am...ebonnnnyyyyy and ivooorrryyyyy
AMD
01-21-2013
10:53 am
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Give the Ravens defense the credit it deserves Walter. They beat Manning and Brady on the road in consecutive playoff games. Admittedly this is not the dominant Ravens defense we have seen much of the past decade, but they still got it done when it mattered most.
New England averaged 35 points a game. Baltimore SHUT THEM OUT at home in the second half.
Run-DMG
01-21-2013
10:06 am
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It's time to trade Peytom Branning. He completely melts down come playoff time nowadays.
Sampetra
01-21-2013
09:58 am
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@ Run-DMG
There was nothing dirty about the hit on Ridley. Hard hit? Yes. Dirty? No.
Run-DMG
01-21-2013
09:39 am
xxx.xxx.xxx4.11
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Pollard needs to be suspended before he ends someone's career or kills them. He's not a monster; he's a dirty punk.
Sherm13
01-21-2013
08:52 am
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On what planet is Patrick Ching's injury considered "key"?
He is terrible, a penalty machine on special teams an is behind Gregory and Wilson on the depth chart. Chung will be gone anyway after the season and has been completely useless this year.
Jimmy the Duke
01-21-2013
03:29 am
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So I wonder what the over-under is going to be on the number of times analysts say "Harbowl" over the next two weeks? even if it is 4 million Id still bet on over...
Adam C
01-20-2013
11:46 pm
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That NFC Championship was mostly due to the 49ers defense not Colin Kaepernick.
Walter's Ravens Patriots Recap
01-20-2013
11:31 pm
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The Ravens are clearly the worst team in football. Look at all the things that had to happen for them to win.
-- The officiating sucked. The Patriots were flagged for 4 penalties. If it was called properly the Ravens would have had 190 yards worth. -- The instant replay was also flawed. Clearly the Patriots never really turned the ball over, these should have been overturned. -- The weather was clearly a factor. Tom Brady was clearly out of his element. -- 2 of Baltimore's 3 touchdowns should not have counted because I bet on New England, but Vegas rigged the game anyway. -- Finally, aliens changed the outcome by using mind control on Bill Belichick. Basically the Ravens suck and should have lost about 48-2. Next week they will lose by at least that much.
Stupid Articles
01-14-2013
11:26 pm
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Ravens-Broncos analysis summary - Officiating went ravens way (boy, who didn't expect that from Walt), Flacco's big day was only because of Bailey (he is not the only DB on the field you know)
^ More BS excuses from "I bet against the ravens again" Walt |
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