Ozzie and Jose Canseco. Michael and Ralf Schumacher. Patrick
and John McEnroe. Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. Serena and Venus Williams. Eli
and Peyton Manning. These are just a few of the biggest sibling rivalries in
sports, and it may be that little brother Jim may beat John to the Vince
Lombardi Trophy tonight with his Baltimore Ravens favored to pull off the 14th
upset in Superbowl history and overcome the San Francisco 49ers.
On the other side, Joe Flacco and Baltimore have come from
relative obscurity. Baltimore were beaten 4 times in their last 5 regular
season games but have become a different team since entering the playoffs, with
Jim Caldwell’s appointment as offensive coordinator bringing them far more
power when taking the game to the opposition. Since coming into the postseason,
Flacco has been near untouchable, throwing for 853 yards, eight touchdowns and
no interceptions, while only being sacked 4 times in three playoff games. With
9 players from the 49ers roster having made at least 90% of their defence snaps
this season, it’s understandable that some will be thinking that he can be
negated, but the veterans on the Ravens have protected him admirably since the
postseason began and with Kapernick making only his 10th career
start, there has to be a slight advantage for the older of the two playmakers
on the head to head.
The ‘Brotherbowl’ could easily have been last year’s Superbowl,
had both the 49ers and Ravens not lost their respective championship games last
year, but in a remarkable turnaround of fortune both sides have shot up a level
since the playoffs began and the least that can be said is that there will be a
very worthy NFL Championship winner early tomorrow morning. The 49ers come into
this match as the warm favourites for a 6th superbowl, but they can
expect as tough a test as any from the Ravens if they’re going to be celebrating
tonight.
The mid-season decision to give rookie Click Kapernick his
chance after Alex Smith was unfortunately concussed in week 10 has changed the
course of the whole NFL season. It’s incredible to think that the Superbowl
will be Kapernick’s tenth career start, but anyone who’s had the fortune to
watch him in full flow will know he’s a truly special talent. On his first
start in Week 12, he threw for two touchdowns in a dominant 31-7 win at
Chicago, following that up with his first individual score against New Orleans
just a week later; Little did most fans know what heights the relative rookie
would reach. Against Green Bay, he rushed for a quarterback-record 181 yards, passed
for 263 yards, and two touchdowns and threw two scoring passes to Michael
Crabtree in a record for a play-off quarterback performance. It would have been
easy for him to panic and collapse when the 49ers went 17-0 down against the
Atlanta Falcons, but in arguably the finest performance of his career so far he
completed 76% of his passes for 233 yards, one TD and no picks, bringing the
49ers to the Superbowl.
On the other side, Joe Flacco and Baltimore have come from
relative obscurity. Baltimore were beaten 4 times in their last 5 regular
season games but have become a different team since entering the playoffs, with
Jim Caldwell’s appointment as offensive coordinator bringing them far more
power when taking the game to the opposition. Since coming into the postseason,
Flacco has been near untouchable, throwing for 853 yards, eight touchdowns and
no interceptions, while only being sacked 4 times in three playoff games. With
9 players from the 49ers roster having made at least 90% of their defence snaps
this season, it’s understandable that some will be thinking that he can be
negated, but the veterans on the Ravens have protected him admirably since the
postseason began and with Kapernick making only his 10th career
start, there has to be a slight advantage for the older of the two playmakers
on the head to head.
Baltimore can also call upon the weapons to successfully
negate the 49ers; Wideouts Torry Smith – particularly notable for running a
deep threat - and Jacoby Jones can boast pace and power in abundance while
Anquan Boldin is one of the most physical receivers in the whole league. Barnard
Pierce’s lateral agility to go outside of Ray Rice, who could find himself in
for a long night with the Ravens far superior in the yardage department then the
last meeting between the two, when the 49’ers won 16-6 on Thanksgiving night of
2011.
The 49ers are a popular choice to go 6-0 in Superbowls, but
the Ravens may have been easily underestimated and may have the uber crucial
element of proper preparation against Colin Kapernick’s piston system, and if
going down, should go down with an almighty fight; The lengthening of the
points spread to 4.5 across the board looks to be an excellent opportunity given
that 5 Superbowls since 2000 have been decided by 3 points.
Advice
4 pts Baltimore Ravens +4.5 (10/11 general)
1 pt Baltimore Ravens to win by 1-6 points (9/2 general)
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