Let me ask a legitimate question, are we ever going to have a bad Super Bowl game again?!?! I’m not sure we’ve seen one in the past decade! The last blowout game I can remember was the Buccaneers vs Raiders game in 2003, but let’s face it, that game is still causing excitement (ahem, Mr. Bill Callahan). Otherwise, every single game has come down to the fourth quarter, most of them the final drive, and even some the final play! After the first play of the 2nd half (Kickoff return for TD), I began to get disappointed as I could tell this was becoming a blowout and we wouldn’t get an exciting game. But apparently the SuperDome “wasn’t ready for this jelly,” and the lights fizzled out just a few minutes after Beyonce’s performance. Or it could have been the 49ers fan who worked at Entergy. Either way, they went out and all momentum for the Ravens was killed and they wouldn’t score another TD in the final 28 minutes. The 49ers did what they do best, and mounted a valiant comeback only to fall short. Let’s dive into the game a bit more:
Quote of the Week:
First we had a blowout, then we had a blackout, then we had a shootout! Rick Reilly
Quote of the Week #2:
This time, it’s the rich people trapped in the Superdome- Neal Pollack
Quote of the Week #3:
I love how CBS now has a post-power outage stat- FFMQB
Quote of the Week #4:
Maybe Ray Lewis killed the lights too- Random Tweet
Quote of the Week #5:
“Were you shocked that you won the MVP?” Reporter
“I wouldn’t say I was shocked…” Joe Flacco
Story of the Game:
The story of the game wasn’t the blackout, it was 3rd Down penalties for the 49ers Defense. For the Ravens first TD, the 49ers held but also drew a flag extending the Ravens drive. This was a 4 point swing (enough to win the game). In the second half, the 49ers held again on 3rd down, but a penalty kept a drive alive long enough to get to a FG. Those penalties alone would have knocked off 7 points from the Ravens, and the Niners could have kicked a FG on that final drive. San Francisco should have won by 10!
2nd Story of the Game:
The actual deciding factor of the game was the LACK of a penalty. On 4th and Goal from the 5yd line, Kaepernick heaved up a fade to Crabtree. Initially it looked like the Ravens defender was all over him, and a flag should have been thrown. But looking at it in the days since, Crabtree was initiating a ton of contact himself. There’s just no way you can throw that flag as a ref. That’s the deciding play of the game, and the refs can’t be the ones to decide it. Unless it was absolutely blatant, you just can’t do that.
Run it with Kaepernick!
I know the Ravens were gunning for him the entire game, but the few times Colin actually kept it, he had good runs. How do you not go to him even once when you’re at the 7 yd line with 4 tries to get in against a tired Ravens D?!?! Instead, it was 2 yd run, incomplete pass, incomplete pass, incomplete pass. I have a beef with 2 of the pass plays as well. First off, the fade to the endzone on 4th down. Everybody knows that Fades are a 50% play, you’re seriously willing to flip a coin on whether you’ll win the Super Bowl or not? Then, on 3rd down, Kaepernick took the snap and immediately sprinted right, once again taking the entire left half of the field out of play. Another flip of the coin. The Ravens won the opening toss, history should have told you both were bad calls.
Stat of the Week:
This was only the second Super Bowl where both teams scored over 30 points.
Stat of the Week #2:
In the playoffs, Joe Flacco had 11 TD’s and 0 INTs
Stat of the Week #3:
San Francisco had 101 yards more than the Ravens
Stat of the Week #4:
With the halftime show and the blackout, the Ravens went 84 actual minutes without an offensive snap
Stolen Stat of the Week #5:
Six of the past eight Super Bowl winners did not have a bye week to start the postseason- TMQ
Stolen Stat of the Week #6:
31 years after the first of six San Francisco appearances in the Super Bowl — a Niners quarterback finally threw an interception- TMQ
Stat of the Week #7:
San Francisco was 2-9 on 3rd Downs
Blackout Helped 49ers:
Of course CBS showed it, but I vividly remember the 49ers vs Steelers game last year on Monday Night where Candlestick Park went completely black! Both teams needed to stand around or keep warm for over a half hour until power was restored. Well this year, with the niners down by 22, the power outage came at the perfect time. The Ravens looked like they really weren’t sure what to do, and John Harbaugh was screaming at NFL officials, while SF didn’t really care. Why? Because they went through this a year before and knew what to do with the break! The Niners came back fresh and were able to put together a heck of a run.
Cool Venue:
For the Super Bowl, FFMQB and I decided to go to the New Hope Cinema Grille. Typically a movie theater, they have tables instead of hundreds of chairs, and waiters come out and serve you food and drinks. They also had free admittance for the game, so we got to watch it on a 30 foot movie theater screen while we ate wings, cheese curds (of course), and had some drinks. Fun experience!
Gutsy Call:
While up 14-3 and at around the 20 yd line, the Ravens called the first Fake Field Goal in Super Bowl history. They didn’t get it, but wow that was a gutsy call! Had they gotten it, it would be just like when the Saints kicked onside at halftime against the Colts. Could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, and also nearly backfired late in the game when the Ravens’ lead kept shrinking!
One Prediction Right:
Sure, I picked the wrong team to win. I did think it would be a high scoring game though! In fact, I had 49ers 34-28. Only off by 3 points and had the team wrong. BUT! Akers did miss a kick! Although it was called back and the 49ers kept the drive alive.
Cheatriots Part Deux (Almost):
So apparently there is a recording out there coming from the final play of the game, a kick to San Francisco. Apparently Joe Flacco started running up and down the sidelines, telling his teammates that they needed to tackle kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. This normally wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that everybody he was telling was on the sidelines! His plan? Should Ginn break a tackle, he wanted the bench to clear to take him down! Theoretically, this may have worked. The Ravens would have been flagged for too many men on the field, a 15 yd penalty. But it prevents a score. It would have been interesting to see this happen. Apparently there is a miniscule rule that says if a team pulls off an un-fair act that is above the standard rules, refs can award whatever yardage they want, including a score. But I guarantee this would have taken another half hour to figure out! Had it have worked, it would have been worse than the Cheatriots…oops, I meant the Patriots, videotaping scandal in the 2001 Super Bowl.
Next Week:
One final post of the 2012-13 Season, as a Season Recap reviewing all of my amazing predictions and flops!
FMQB 