The envelope, please .... who's
going to win the Super Bowl?
Our experts at ProFootballTalk and Comcast SportsNet make their predictions
Reuters, AP, AP, Getty Images (a
Joe Flacco, John Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Jim Harbaugh.
NEW
ORLEANS - It's a battle of the brother coaches, a duel between an
upstart second-year quarterback and another who hasn't gotten enough
credit over the years and perhaps the swan song for a couple of future
Hall of Famers.
So, who will win when the
San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens lock shoulder pads at 6:30 p.m.
ET Sunday in the Superdome in New Orleans?
Our experts at ProFootballTalk, Comcast SportsNet and Yahoo! give their predictions:
Michael David Smith, ProFootballTalk.com: 49ers 28, Ravens 17There
wasn’t a single point in the regular season when I would have said the
Ravens were a better team than the 49ers. Baltimore had a better record
than San Francisco during much of the first part of the regular the
season, but the 49ers looked like a more impressive, more complete football team
than the Ravens. And down the stretch in the regular season, the 49ers
got even better after replacing Alex Smith with Colin Kaepernick, while
the Ravens lost four of their last five to close out 2012.
So,
the only way I could pick the Ravens now is if I think their three-game
playoff run has shown that they’ve become a significantly better team.
And while I do think the Ravens are playing their best football at the
right time, I simply don’t see them as better than the 49ers on either
side of the ball.
than the Ravens. And down the stretch in the regular season, the 49ers
got even better after replacing Alex Smith with Colin Kaepernick, while
the Ravens lost four of their last five to close out 2012.
When San Francisco has
the ball, the running of Frank Gore and LaMichael James is going to
pose big problems for the Ravens’ defense. (And the running of Colin
Kaepernick will be a nice bonus for the 49ers.) When Baltimore has the
ball, the San Francisco safety combination of Donte Whitner and Dashon
Goldson is going to make it tough for Joe Flacco to do what he likes to
do best, attack opposing secondaries deep downfield.
I
do expect Baltimore to have a decided special-teams advantage in this
game, but I don’t think that’s going to produce enough game-changing
plays to make the difference. The 49ers are the better team, and they’ll
hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night.
Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk.com: Ravens 30, 49ers 27I’ve
gone back and forth all week on this game. When I convince myself that
the 49ers will win, I think of the reasons why the Ravens will
prevail. And then I think of the reasons the 49ers will prevail. And
then I think of the reasons the Ravens will prevail.
And then I wish there could be ties in the Super Bowl.
.
I’ll
agree with MDS on one point — if the 49ers win, it likely will be by
seven or more points. For the Ravens, it likely will be a close game
with one score deciding the winner of the Lombardi Trophy.
The Ravens
defense will need to contain Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore. The
concern is that, if the Ravens figure out a way to solve the read-option
in a way that keeps both from burning them, Kaepernick will pull the
ball back out and fire a pass to Randy Moss, who will lollygag off the line of scrimmage before sprinting down the field.
before sprinting down the field.
Still,
there’s something about the Ravens this year, between the impact of Ray
Lewis and the emergence of Joe Flacco and the reality that, after this
season, Baltimore could have some rebuilding to do. For the 49ers, they
could be back on a much more regular basis. In the end, there’s a good
chance that each Harbaugh brother will get a ring. For now, the
first-born son becomes the first one to hoist the trophy.
Ray Ratto, CSNBayArea.com Senior Insider: Ravens 23, 49ers 21I
believe in Baltimore's ability to slow the game down to a crawl and
keep the ball in Joe Flacco's hands long enough to limit the 49ers'
offensive opportunities. I also believe that the Ravens' defensive
players will be in closer proximity to their actual assignments on a
more regular basis than their Packer or Falcon counterparts. Finally,
take the 3 1/2 and the under. Your children, the ungrateful swine, will
thank you for it.
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Matt Maiocco, CSNBayArea.com 49ers Insider: 49ers 31, Ravens 23Colin Kaepernick is a big-play threat every time he takes a snap, whether through the air or on the ground. And this isn’t just the Kaepernick Show, as the 49ers feature a strong offensive line, one of the game’s top all-around running backs, Frank Gore, and a defense that features six players selected to the Pro Bowl.
Paul Gutierrez, CSNBayArea.com Raiders Insider: 49ers 27, Ravens 23Little
brother Jim gets the last laugh (or is it the first of many Super Bowl
matches to come between the battlin' Harbaughs?) as the Niners are
simply too young, too fresh and too hungry for those old war horses from
Baltimore, who have been living on borrowed time since winning their
first playoff game against Indy.
Jim Kozimor, CSNBayArea.com host of Chronicle Live: 49ers 31, Ravens 17Colin Kaepernick will get hurt at the end of the first quarter.
Alex Smith will triumphantly lead them to victory and at the podium,
when he accepts the MVP, he will tell the 49ers to release him.
.
Alex Smith will triumphantly lead them to victory and at the podium,
when he accepts the MVP, he will tell the 49ers to release him.
J. Michael, CSNBaltimore.com Ravens Insider: Ravens 24, 49ers 21They
contained Robert Griffin III and the read-option, limiting him to 34
yards rushing without Ray Lewis, Dannell Ellerbe or Terrell Suggs. And
they've got two weeks to prepare for Colin Kaepernick after winning at
Denver and at New England.
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