Well, that was interesting, wasn't it? A Super Bowl that gave us everything. We got an old-fashioned Super Bowl blowout for 31 minutes. We got the great ending that we have been accustomed to as NFL fans over the last decade. We got some referee controversy. We got a few good ads and the annual tradition of people pretty much slamming the vast majority of the ads. We got a good halftime show, and the first good halftime show that didn't feature 50+ year old rockers since who knows how long. And finally we got a blackout, another halftime, for us to get more drunk, more antsy and more interested in how this all went down. Like each of the last two years, I'm doing my Super Bowl review rambling style.
= Let's get to this early; yes that could have easily been called holding on 4th down, but they were letting the receivers and corners play all game long. The only time they called one was on the Culliver DPI on Smith that was far more egregious. I heard some people compare this to Super Bowl XL in terms of the refs ruining the game, which is such an overstatement. I doubt people really remember that call five or ten years from now like they did and will about the calls in Super Bowl XL.
= What's more interesting to note is how stagnant that 49ers offense can look inside the ten yard line. The one glaring weakness in Kaepernick's game is that he doesn't react well to pressure. He rarely is because of how good the 49ers o-line is, but in this game, there were three plays inside the 10 yard line where the Ravens got quick pressure on Kaepernick. The first was Kruger's sack, which is hard to pin on Kaep. The 2nd was the two-point conversion and the final one was the 4th down, and in those last two he just quickly fired an overthrow fade that had no real chance of getting caught. There isn't much that Kaepernick needs to improve on, but throwing under pressure and more importantly, throwing with touch, are things that he does need to.
= Finally with that out of the way, let us get to the Ravens, a great team. They weren't a great team for much of the regular season (even when they started 9-2), but they weren't healthy in the regular season either. The 2011 Ravens were a great team, and the first time they had that lineup together was in the 2012 playoffs, and the Ravens returned to being a great team. Let's start with that defense. They weren't great in the Super Bowl, giving up 468 yards, giving up 25 second half points, but three times the 49ers entered the 10 yard line, and they gave up one TD and two FGs. They stiffened when they needed to and had a great goal line stand to win the game in Ray Lewis' final series. It may have been pass interference, but what a great blitz call on 4th down, making Kaepernick just lob one up there.
= Joe Flacco is not a great QB, but he is a very good one. He is good enough to win a Super Bowl, as are a lot of QBs. Just being able to win the Super Bowl doesn't make you great. It doesn't make you elite (I don't think Eli is elite either), but Joe Flacco played the best four game stretch of his career in the biggest four game stretch of his career. He went from riding along a great defense and running game in 2008 and 2009 playoffs (the guy once was the winning QB going 4/10 for 34 yards and a pick for a game - and his team won that game on the road by 19), to a guy who has been great in the playoffs two straight years. Congratulations to Joe Flacco, but the fact that he now has been given Carte Blanch by Steve Bisciotti to demand whatever he wants might be bad for the long term prospect of that team.
= Ray Lewis is a great player, but way too much has been written about him so let's go to some other people. It's great to see Steve Bisciotti win a ring. He's been a quiet owner, but a damn good one. The Ravens are a great organization from top down, starting with Bisciotti. He's given his team the resources to succeed, he let's his football people run the football side of the team, and man has it worked. Good to also see the more likable, less insane, Harbaugh brother win a ring. He's been such a steady coach in his time in Baltimore. I can remember seeing that underdog Ravens team back in 2008 play their way into the AFC Championship Game. It took four more years to reach destiny, but they did. Ozzie Newsome too. Great player, and in all honesty, a better GM. His drafts have been great, his player management has been great. Just a great nucleus in Baltimore.
= And finally, Ed Reed. As it was mentioned multiple times throughout Super Bowl week, people do erroneously assume that Reed was on that 2000 Super Bowl team. I like for all great players to win a ring at least once, and especially for a guy like Ed Reed, who is all class and has come close numerous times. It was fitting that Reed got a record tying interception in his first Super Bowl. A great final honor for a 1st ballot Hall of Famer. Also, no one can anymore use the "Polamalu has two rings" defense in the 'Reed vs. Polamalu' debates, which Reed should win going away.
= As for the game, I actually do think the blackout had a real impact, although that is nearly an impossible angle to defend since right after the blackout ended, the 49ers had to punt and the Ravens were half a yard away from starting a nice little drive up 28-6. I was shocked the game was that one-sided and I figured the 49ers would go on a run, but still have to credit them for making it that close. The Ravens kind of shot themselves in the foot with their two good 2nd half drives. First, they couldn't punch it in on 1st and Goal from the 5 (after getting like 9 straight TDs in goal-to-go situations in the playoffs), and then Dennis Pitta dropped a catchable ball that could have extended the drive that made it 34-29. It all led to a great finish, and the smartest coaching decision I have ever seen. No, the decision to take the safety wasn't that great, but telling his o-lineman to egregiously hold to make sure Koch gets a ton of time to waste was genius. Holding in the end zone makes it a safety anyway, so there was nothing to lose. Just genius.
= Considering the strength of recent Super Bowls, this probably slots in at 5th of the last 11. That doesn't sound so great, but there haven't been many bad ones recently. I would put Pats-Panthers, Pats-Giants I & II, and Steelers-Cards ahead of it. I just think this was a slightly better version of the Steelers-Packers game two years ago. Same with a team coming back from a big deficit. Same 3TD game from the winning QB. Just this time the comeback came a bit closer to actually being made.
= Overall, these playoffs were good but not great. Four great games, with a great Super Bowl, great NFC Title Game, great NFC Divisional Game (Seahawks @ Falcons) and an absolutely epic Divisional Game with the Ravens winning that battle in Denver. From what the Ravens did in their other three playoff games, to me the Broncos look better in my eyes. They gave the Ravens a tougher game than any other team. The Ravens were exceedingly lucky to win that game. The Ravens were clearly the better team on the field in all the three other games. Rahim Moore falling over himself is the lasting image of these NFL Playoffs.
= The 49ers will be good for a while, but as I said about the Packers in 2010, you never know if you get another shot. They played a great 2nd Half, but they looked unprepared early. How is it possible for you to be in an illegal formation in the first play of the game. How many times can they have practiced that play coming into the game? Just bizarre. This wasn't Jim Harbaugh's brightest moment, but the guy is still a fabulous coach. They are stocked with young talent. The one question I have with the 49ers is that so much of what they do on defense seems to be tied to Justin Smith, and Justin Smith is quite old. They need to be able to replace him going forward.
= Now, it is time to flip the page to 2013. There are a couple things to look forward to. There are a lot free agent receivers to come up this year, headed by Greg Jennings, Mike Wallace and Dwayne Bowe, and possible Wes Welker. Then there is the huge Alex Smith question. He would be perfect, in my eyes, in Minnesota, so it will be interesting to see if Minnesota stays with Christian Ponder. Finally, it will be interesting to see if we see as little turnover in playoffs teams as we did in 2012. 8 playoff teams returned in 2012, with only the Steelers, Giants, Lions and Saints failing to make it back. All four division winners in the AFC repeated. That could easily happen again. If I had to bet, I would say that the Ravens are the most likely AFC division winner to not repeat. The lesser tier of the AFC has to rise some time.
= This was a fun season overall. It was great to watch that Colts team play so inspired all year long for their ill coach. It was great to watch the great defenses of 2013, like the Bears and Seahawks. It was great to watch the three great rookie QBs. It was great to watch Adrian Peterson do Adrian Peterson like things. It was great to watch JJ Watt have the best season a 3-4 DE has ever had. It was great to watch Peyton Manning play again, as the league is just better when #18 is flinging the ball around. And finally, it was great to watch a deserving Ravens team take their heartbreaking loss from January 2012 in stride, making it a launching pad for a great postseason run, and finish of winning a memorable Super Bowl. A football season is never bad, but this was a particularly good one.
