Another
NFL Season is in the books. For the eight consecutive season a new champion has
been crowned. The Ravens, a regular playoff entrant since 2008, claimed the
franchise's second Super Bowl with a 34-31 win over the 49ers one week ago this
Sunday.
Super
Bowl XLVII will be remembered for a lot of things. Quarterback Joe Flacco's MVP
performance, the deep touchdown catch by receiver Jacoby Jones late in the
second quarter and then his 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown after
Beyoncé left the field, and then the 49ers comeback in the second half.
San
Francisco almost pulled it off. The 49ers trailed by 22 points and were 5 yards
away from taking their first lead of the game.
I
question the 49ers play calling on their final drive when they were in
goal-to-go. San Francisco gained 182 yards and scored 2 touchdowns on the
ground. Gore, who led the game with 110 yards rushing, got 54 of those yards
running to the left side of the offensive line on just two carries. Where did
Colin Kaepernick's 15 yard touchdown run come from that pulled the 49ers within
2 points with 10 minutes to play...? The left side!
I
am sure 49ers fans are wondering why they didn't run the ball more especially to
that side of the field when they had it goal-to-goal in that situation.
On
the 49ers last offensive play, Coach Jim Harbaugh believed that there should
have been a flag called for either defensive holding or defensive pass
interference.
You
could make the case for offensive pass interference.
I
think it was an uncatchable ball. Just take a look at the video tape.
San
Francisco had several chances to get back into this game. Crabtree dropped a
deep pass with more than 8 minutes to play in the third quarter. Tight end
Vernon Davis had a pass go off of his fingertips on their final offensive drive.
There was also the mismanagement of their timeouts throughout the second half.
Even
though the 49ers lost the Super Bowl, their future looks extremely bright with
Colin Kaepernick at quarterback. I don't expect San Francisco to experience a
lot of roster and coaching turnovers that plague a lot of teams after a Super
Bowl appearance.
Next
year the 49ers along with playing their NFC West division rivals in home
and away series will host the Falcons, Panthers, Packers, Texans and Colts.
Their road games include a return trip to New Orleans to play the Saints,
Tampa, DC, Tennessee, and they will travel to London to play the Jaguars for
the second London game the NFL is hosting in 2013.
For
the champions, the Ravens capped off linebacker Ray Lewis's final NFL season
with a Super Bowl win. Lewis suffered a torn triceps injury in the Ravens' win against
the Cowboys in October and it seemed that Lewis might not return at all. Lewis
returned in time for the Ravens run to their second Super Bowl appearance.
In
addition, the Ravens were honoring the memory of their owner Art Modell. If you
recall Modell was the architect behind football returning to Baltimore in 1996,
but at the same time it cost the Cleveland Browns their franchise. The Browns
relocation controversy is still a sore subject in northern Ohio. Since the Browns
returned to the NFL in 1999 Baltimore has made the playoffs 9 times, won the
AFC North 4 times, posted a 14-7 postseason record, and won two Super Bowls.
Meanwhile Cleveland has finished third or worse in 12 seasons, finished with 10
wins once, and have only one playoff appearance (36-33 loss at Pittsburgh in
2002 playoffs).
Baltimore
started the season looking like a favorite to emerge from the AFC. A three-game
losing streak nearly derailed the Ravens' season. It was during this stretch
that the Ravens fired Cam Cameron as their offensive coordinator and replaced
him with Cam Cameron. Baltimore clinched the AFC North with a dominating home
win against the Giants in Week 16.
In
the AFC Wild Card round, the Ravens hosted the Colts who were having a season
rebounding from their disastrous 2011 campaign. Quarterback Joe Flacco won his
fifth consecutive opening playoff game as the Ravens starting quarterback.
The
AFC Divisional Round featured a double overtime classic in Denver. Even though
Denver scored touchdowns on a punt return and then a kickoff return, their
defense failed to stop Flacco from completing a 70 yard touchdown pass to
Jacoby Jones to send the game to overtime. In the extra period, Broncos
quarterback Peyton Manning threw his second interception of the game to Corey
Graham that set up Justin Tucker's 47 yard field goal that kicked the Ravens
into their second consecutive AFC Title Game.
The
AFC Title Game was a rematch of last year's game in New England. For the second
consecutive season, Joe Flacco outplayed Tom Brady in the AFC Championship Game
and this time came away with the victory thanks to his defense forcing three
turnovers.
In
the Super Bowl, Flacco threw for three touchdowns that was part of the Ravens
building a 22 point lead in the third quarter. The defense held off the 49ers
scoring barrage just enough for them to escape New Orleans with a three-point
victory and the ultimate prize: the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Flacco's
Super Bowl MVP performance capped a remarkable post-season where he threw 11
touchdowns and ZERO interceptions. The only other quarterback to do that in a
post-season was Joe Montana in the 1989 playoffs en route to the 49ers fourth
Super Bowl Title in the 1980s as that season ended in New Orleans.
Flacco
had one more game in the 2012 Playoffs than Montana did in the 1989 Playoffs,
but I am willing to make the argument that Flacco's performance was better than
Montana's 1989.
|
Montana
1989
|
Score
|
C-A
|
CMP %
|
YDS
|
TD-INT
|
RATE
|
|
Vikings
|
41-13
|
17-24
|
70.8
|
241
|
4-0
|
142.5
|
|
Rams
|
30-3
|
26-30
|
86.7
|
262
|
2-0
|
125.3
|
|
Broncos
|
55-10
|
22-29
|
75.9
|
297
|
5-0
|
147.6
|
|
TOTAL
|
|
65-83
|
78.3
|
800
|
11-0
|
146.4
|
|
Flacco
2012
|
Score
|
C-A
|
CMP %
|
YDS
|
TD-INT
|
RATE
|
|
Colts
|
24-9
|
12-23
|
52.2
|
282
|
2-0
|
125.6
|
|
At
Broncos
|
38-35 (2OT)
|
18-34
|
52.9
|
331
|
3-0
|
116.2
|
|
At
Patriots
|
28-13
|
21-36
|
58.3
|
240
|
3-0
|
106.2
|
|
49ers
|
34-31
|
22-33
|
66.7
|
287
|
3-0
|
124.2
|
|
TOTAL
|
|
73-126
|
57.9
|
1140
|
11-0
|
117.2
|
Montana's
49ers did not leave the Golden Gate State until it was time to play the Broncos
in Super Bowl XXIV. The Ravens had only one home playoff game en route to the
Super Bowl this season.
Look
at who the 49ers played en route to the Super Bowl? The Vikings who had Rich
Gannon, Wade Wilson, and Tommy Kramer come in to play quarterback during that
game. Yes, the same Rich Gannon who would throw 5 interceptions for the Raiders
in their Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers 10 years ago. And Wade Wilson, the
same one who was the Cowboys quarterback coach the past few seasons. Their
Conference Championship Game opponent was the Los Angeles Rams quarterbacked by
Jim "Don't Call Me
Chris" Everett. The only Hall of Famer on that list is John Elway, and
that was back when Elway couldn't win the Big One.
The
Ravens went on the road to play the Broncos and the Patriots. Peyton Manning
and Tom Brady are going to be in the Hall of Fame when they hang it up. Andrew
Luck and Colin Kaepernick are going to be perennial Pro Bowlers for seasons to
come.
I
know it is sacrilegious to make a statement that Flacco is better than Montana.
Yes, Montana had a better QB rating and completion percentage than Flacco, but
when you have Jerry Rice as your top receiver you better have good numbers.
It
should be noted that Flacco was in a contract year. If I was his agent, I make
this argument.
This
Super Bowl will be remembered for a lot of things. This is the second Super
Bowl where both teams scored more than 30 points (Super
Bowl XIII). The Ravens in their two Super Bowl appearances scored 34
points. The 49ers are the second team to score 31 points in a Super Bowl and
lose the game (1978 Cowboys). Also the 49ers had a 300-yard passer
(Kaepernick), a 100-yard rusher (Gore), and two 100-yard receivers (Davis and
Crabtree) and LOST the game. Kaepernick's 15 yard touchdown run was the longest
run for a touchdown by a quarterback since Montana's 6 yard touchdown run
against the Dolphins in Super
Bowl XIX. The Ravens Super Bowl wins came as the AFC 4-seed (2000 AFC Wild
Card team, 2012 AFC North Champion). This the third season where the Super Bowl
Champion played in the Wild Card Round.
But...
this is NOT what this game will be remembered for...
You
know something... this game has the same feeling as Super
Bowl XXXVIII. Great game, BUT what do we remember that game for....
Anyways,
this was a memorable season. Three rookie quarterbacks made the playoffs. The
return of Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson as they led their teams to the
playoffs. The Replacement
Refs, the Loudest Manure
Chant, and the Fail
Mary. Calvin Johnson sets the single-season record for receiving yards in a
season.
And
another team hoists the Lombardi Trophy...
Here's
to a great 2013 NFL Season!
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