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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Dave P
11-28-2011
09:19 am
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He was probably referring to the editors note.
Sense
11-28-2011
05:46 am
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Hey Nonsense, the Broncos recap was written by Charlie Campbell, not Walt. Labeling people who point out that Tebow wins despite his flaws does you no cretit.
Nonsense?
11-28-2011
04:37 am
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Hey Walt, your Teboner is showing.
Tebow sucks as a passer, that's common sense. Thus far he's proven that he can hand the ball off and not lose games for his team, also he can win if his defense holds his opponents to under 17 points. G.O.A.T status i'm sure. Labeling people who point out the obvious as "haters" does you no credit.
Matt Moore Good?
11-25-2011
07:18 pm
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No, just no. He missed open recievers all game, and on that Brandon Marshall throw he massively underthrew the ball and if not for Brandon Marshall making an amazing catch that pass is incomplete.
He's a backup QB a best who looks good because the guy before him was Chad Henne. If the Dolphins really try to roll with him as a starter they'll remain in the purgatory of being a 7 to 9 win team for longer. If they've got a chance to get a franchise QB they need to take it.
Doug
11-25-2011
07:02 pm
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I keep seeing people spout of these ridiculous conspiracy theories. What is the NFL's motivation in wanting to keep Green Bay undefeated?
Take the Ewing conspiracy theory. Though ridiculous, the NBA would have motivation to give the Knicks the first pick, because having a visible star in the biggest market in the league is a positive. How does the NFL benefit from the Packers being undefeated? I need more of a reason than you're rooting against Green Bay and you don't like the calls.
Kev
11-25-2011
11:51 am
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That officiating in the Packers-Lions game was a complete joke. I hate conspiracies but I'm honestly starting to think the refs are trying to help the Packers go 16-0. Every time the Packers get in trouble there's some BS pass interference or roughing the passer call. Last weeks Bucs-Packers game was the exact same way. The Bucs corners were getting called for next to nothing while Charles Woodson was mugging receivers all day long. It's absolutely ridiculous.
Tony
11-25-2011
01:46 am
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Hey Walt, error in your Pack/Lions review.
"The killer, however, happened after the Lions forced the Lions into a field goal in the third quarter."
JT
11-22-2011
03:41 am
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Phillip Rivers is the Lebron James of the NFL. Amazing gifted talent that chokes when the pressure becomes too much!
db
11-21-2011
11:27 pm
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lol @ the panthers being the "right" side. you're right, there was NO WAY carolina's stingy defense could possibly give up 5 td passes to one of the most explosive offenses in the league. I mean who could have seen that coming?
larry
11-21-2011
03:24 pm
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panther's loss was FUKKKKKKKKKKED up. sorry walter, i had that one too.
Jason
11-21-2011
01:56 pm
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Hey walt thanks for the craptastic picks this week..I will say this at least looking at how much money you lost makes me feel better about losing 600 this week.
Denver Phin Phan
11-21-2011
01:51 pm
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Maybe I was right after ripping Walt about his preseason fish prediction. He said they'd "give up" on their "lame duck" coach. They've anyting but given up. Turning around an 0-7 start shows a lot of heart, even if they're playing themselves out of the Luckstakes. But after what I saw of Luck this weekend against Oregon, he's way overrated and should be behind Barkley in the mock drafts...
Nick B
11-20-2011
07:42 pm
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Greg Cox's game recaps suck! Walter and Charlies are 10x better!
chuckster
11-19-2011
07:31 pm
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Great call Walter!! I believe your bad karma is just about over. That Panthers pick? Ballsy brother!!!!
PhillyGreen
11-18-2011
09:34 pm
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Yea Tebow and all the other poor Christians suffer from so much persecution in this country. Give me a break dude. If he was praying to Allah after TD's you might be on to something.
Tebow has a crappy throwing motion and unorthodox style yet gets ridiculous amounts of coverage on ESPN. The more coverage someone undeservingly gets, the more haters he will have. |
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