Ray Lewis celebrates after defeating the 49ers (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

In case you missed it, the Ravens beat the 49ers 34-31 yesterday in Super Bowl XLVII. The Ravens looked strong from the very beginning. The Niners looked pretty awful in the entire first half, and they didn’t look like the Niners we’ve seen all season until the third quarter. It almost looked like they came into the game knowing they were favored, so they were overly cocky and knew that they would win. When the Ravens came on the field at the beginning of the game and their offense looked great, the Niners got a reality check and played tense the rest of the first half. Once the Niners got over their cockiness and the realization sunk in that they might actually lose, they started playing Niner football. It was too little, too late though.

At the end of the game, there was an awful no-call when Michael Crabtree was held by Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith. However, I think fans need to get over the no-call. That was not the sole reason why the Niners lost the game. Yes, a defensive holding call would’ve dramatically improved their chances at getting a touchdown, and, therefore, winning the game, but the Niners had already dug themselves into a deep trench by halftime. They were down 21-6 at halftime, and they were down by as many as 22 points at the beginning of the third quarter, after giving up a 108-yard kickoff return to Jacoby Jones, the longest kickoff return in the history of the NFL. They looked like they were on the verge of yet another miraculous comeback after scoring 17 points in four minutes and ten seconds in the third quarter. Yes, the Niners were close to digging themselves out of a hole and, yes, they have been the “Comeback Kids” this postseason, winning against both the Packers and the Falcons after being down after the first quarter or at halftime. However, the Niners’ poor play in the first half was too much to overcome and was the main reason why they lost.

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

What were some specific aspects that the Niners could have improved upon, mostly in the first half?

1. Play-calling: This was an issue for a lot of the game. The Niners were seven yards away from the end zone and had the possibility of sealing a victory with a touchdown towards the end of the game. They had four chances, seven yards out, and they couldn’t advance the ball at all. There were some serious issues with play-calling in all four of those plays, and in the first half, it seemed like the offense had no idea what to do. Colin Kaepernick had thrown an interception so his confidence was thrown off, Frank Gore wasn’t effective in the first half, and LaMichael James had a huge fumble at the beginning of the second quarter that helped the Ravens take a 14-3 lead. The offensive execution was halted in the first half because of poor play-calling by Greg Roman, the offensive coordinator, and Jim Harbaugh.

2. Poor use of timeouts: The Niners had to use one of their three timeouts in the second half with 7:53 left in the third quarter because of confusion or miscommunication between Harbaugh/Roman and Kaepernick. This is simply unacceptable when a team is already down, in need of some momentum, and playing in the Super Bowl. This has become a pattern for Kaepernick over his 10 starts. He lets the play clock wind down and, many times, is forced to call a timeout to prevent a delay of game call. The Niners screwed themselves over later in the game by having to blow a timeout so early because of confusion or miscommunication.

3. Special Teams: David Akers made three field goals, which was good to see, but he also showed no attempt on kickoffs to kick it away from Jacoby Jones or at least make him work for a good return. The Niners allowed the longest kickoff return in NFL History at the worst possible moment. Enough said.

4. The Secondary: In the first half, Joe Flacco completed 13 of 20 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns. The Ravens also went 9-of-16 on third downs. Again, this is unacceptable. Chris Culliver simply got out-played, and even though Carlos Rogers covered Anquan Boldin pretty well, Boldin was a huge reason the Ravens’ offense was so successful.

5. LaMichael James and Randy Moss: LaMichael James’ fumble in the beginning of the third quarter, mentioned earlier, was huge and occurred, again, at the worst possible moment. The Niners were finally starting to gain a little momentum after a few good offensive plays, and then all that momentum was quickly taken away with that one play. Fumbles are unacceptable during the Super Bowl. In addition, Randy Moss had no impact on this game, and it really hurt the Niners. In addition to his limited production, it seemed like he made no effort whatsoever to catch, or at least deflect, that pass that Ed Reed intercepted with 7:06 left in the second quarter. That pass was probably uncatchable, but Moss has to at least show a little effort and help out his quarterback as much as he can.

**Note: Although Kaepernick threw the first interception in Niners’ Super Bowl history and looked shaky in the first half, he had a stellar second half and almost pulled off one of the most amazing comebacks in Super Bowl history. It also should be noted that Alex Smith would 1) not have gotten the Niners to the Super Bowl in the first place and 2) would not have won that game for the Niners. Kaepernick might be young, but he is already a greater quarterback than Alex Smith. He is more willing to take risks and he is better at improvising when a play breaks down. That’s how the Niners got to the Super Bowl. His interception wasn’t the reason why the Niners lost that game. Alex Smith couldn’t have recovered from a poor first half from the whole team, and he certainly wouldn’t have led that type of comeback. Enough of that rant. Carry on.

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Even though this Super Bowl loss was quite disappointing to fans, the Niners had an incredible season. Fans have a lot to be proud of. The Niners had nine players be named to the Pro Bowl this season, and seven of those players would have been starters. They were: FS Dashon Goldson, LG Mike Iupati, LB Aldon Smith, DT Justin Smith, LT Joe Staley, SS Donte Whitner and LB Patrick Willis (LB NaVorro Bowman and RB Frank Gore would have come off the bench). In addition to those nine players, seven other players were named as alternates at the Pro Bowl. Those players were: RG Alex Boone, LB Ahmad Brooks, OT Anthony Davis, TE Vernon Davis, C Jonathan Goodwin, P Andy Lee, CB Carlos Rogers and C.J. Spillman. Also, we all were witnesses to the emergence of Colin Kaepernick as a starter and potential star quarterback in the NFL. It’ll be great to see a full season of him starting to see what he’s really capable of. With a full season of Kaepernick and perhaps a change in offensive coordinator (or at least some more effective, sensible play-calling), the Niners can get back to the Super Bowl again next year with much more confidence (instead of cockiness) and intelligence. The “Quest For Six” continues.

The stage is set for Super Bowl XLVII. Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh. West Coast vs. East Coast. 49ers vs Ravens. It’s going to be quite a show. The Niners are a storied francise with a history full of Hall of Famer quarterbacks, and who, as of recently, are being led by just a second-year quarterback. The Niners, who have five Super Bowl titles in their history (tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the second-most in NFL history), are also the only team in NFL history to appear in at least one Super Bowl without ever losing. The Ravens are a team with much less NFL history, as they started playing in 1996, compared to the Niners who were founded in 1946. The Ravens beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, which makes them one of four NFL teams to win in their sole Super Bowl appearance. The Ravens have also been AFC North Champions four times and have made the playoffs a total of nine times since 2000. Super Bowl XLVII is bound to be a dramatic one.

This Super Bowl will be known as the Har-Bowl. John Harbaugh, the older brother, is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, and Jim Harbaugh is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. When Jim Harbaugh was named the head coach of the Niners in 2011, the two Harbaughs became the first pair of brothers to serve as coaches in NFL history. John Harbaugh has been the head coach of the Ravens since 2008 and was previously the Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1998-2007. Jim Harbaugh was the Quarterbacks Coach for the Oakland Raiders in 2002, but other than that, his coaching experience was limited to college football with University of San Diego from 2004-2006 and Stanford University from 2006-2010. However, he played quarterback in the NFL for 14 seasons and went to the Pro Bowl once. Their father, Jack Harbaugh, also played quarterback in college and coached at several different colleges. Their rich family history in football and the brotherly rivalry will surely provide some extra excitement to this Super Bowl.

Vernon Davis, Colin Kaepernick, and Frank Gore during the NFC Championship

The Niners had a 11-4-1 regular season record and were known as one of the best defenses in the league. In the regular season, the Niners’ defense was third in the NFL for yards allowed per game with 294.4 yards. The Niners were also fourth in passing yards allowed per game with 200.2 yards, and they were fourth in rushing yards allowed per game with 94.2 yards. Their offense features a strong rushing attack, a Pro-Bowl tight end in Vernon Davis, and an up and coming wide receiver in Michael Crabtree. Alex Smith was originally the 49ers’ quarterback, but after suffering a concussion in week 10, Kaepernick took over in Week 11. Even after Alex Smith recovered from his concussion, Harbaugh decided to continue to start Kaerpernick. To see why Harbaugh decided to keep Kaepernick as the starter, click here. The Niners have gone 7-2 since Kaepernick was named the starter, and they have played an exciting brand of football ever since. Kaepernick hasn’t shown his lack of experience thus far, so we’ll see how he can respond in a high-pressure situation like the Super Bowl.

The Ravens had a 10-6 regular season record and had to overcome several injuries to key players this season, including the future Hall-of-Famer, Ray Lewis. Lewis, playing in his 17th season with the Ravens, tore his triceps midway through October. The Ravens had to play without their star linebacker and team leader for a majority of the season, yet they continued to have an impressive season behind their quarterback Joe Flacco and Ray Rice, one of the best running backs in the league. Lewis returned from injury for the Ravens’ AFC Wild Card game against the Colts, and before the game, he announced that he would retire at the end of this season. The Ravens have been known to be the underdog this season. They came in as serious underdogs in the divisional round against the Broncos, and they won 38-35 in double overtime. They came into the AFC Championships against the Patriots even more as underdogs, and they were able to pull off a miraculous 28-13 win. The Ravens will for sure come into the Super Bowl with a tremendous amount of passion given their underdog mentality and the fact that it’ll be Ray Lewis’ last game in the NFL.

Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh after the AFC Championship

Initially, the 49ers are favored by 4.5 points over the Ravens to win the Super Bowl. However, the Ravens are used to being named the underdog. The Patriots were favored by 7.5 points over the Ravens in the AFC Championship, but the Ravens won by 15 points. The Ravens might even enjoy playing as underdogs, because they seem to like proving people wrong. There will be much emotion swirling around this game, so both the 49ers and Ravens will have to be prepared for the distractions, obstacles, and high stakes. This Super Bowl will most likely be a back-and-forth battle and it’s going to be a close game, no matter who wins. So who will win? The token underdogs, the Ravens, or the defense-oriented, newly-rejuvenated offense of the Niners? I guess we’ll see on February 3rd in New Orleans.

My prediction: 49ers win by 6.

This week’s Monday Night Football game featured the 49ers and Bears, which was going to be an intense defensive battle. It turns out though that after the game, all people could talk about was the 49ers’ offense. The 49ers beat the Bears 32-7 behind a breakout performance from backup quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick not only slaughtered one of the best defenses in the league, but he also has caused the 49ers coaches and fans to question if he should take over the starting role. Alex Smith hasn’t been cleared yet to play, because he’s still experiencing concussive symptoms. Coach Jim Harbaugh announced Wednesday night that Kaepernick will start this upcoming Sunday against the Saints, but should he be the starter for the rest of the season as well, even if Smith is healthy?

In Kaepernick’s first start in the NFL, he completed 16 of 23 passes for 243 yards, 2 TDs, and he ended up with a QB rating of 133.1. His first career touchdown pass was to Vernon Davis in the fourth quarter, and his second touchdown was to Michael Crabtree in the third quarter. Kaepernick also led a 96-yard touchdown drive (the longest of the season), and completed a beautiful 57-yard pass to Kyle Williams, which led to the Davis touchdown. Kaepernick and his teammates looked like they were having even more fun than any other time in the season. He was an inspiring and passionate leader in his first win as a starter.

I saw this tweet the other day from sports analyst Brandon Tierney, and I think this is the absolute perfect description of the situation. Read below:

Smith truly is a Honda. He’s reliable, he’s sturdy, and you know exactly what you’re getting from him, which isn’t bad. Kaepernick is the fun, exciting, flashy Porsche that the fans finally got to see on Monday night. The game against the Bears was one of the most entertaining 49ers games I’ve seen in a long time. In addition to Aldon Smith’s 5.5 sacks, Kaepernick’s performance made this game so much fun to watch. Even though he’s known for his running and his speed, he executed some absolutely perfect throws, which were beautiful. “I’m just so proud of him in that moment because the ball that he threw me, it was just one of those balls that you see Tom Brady throw,” Davis said. “Second window, right on the money. Surprise. I didn’t expect the ball to come because we ran that play quite a few times and the tight end usually don’t get the ball on that play.” Vernon Davis must have been so happy that Kaepernick started, because Alex Smith had a lot of trouble finding him in the past few games.

With a coach like Harbaugh and the same offense as last year, we’ve seen Alex Smith at his best. We’ve seen him have some great games, but he we all know that Alex Smith will always be just a game manager. Don’t get me wrong, he manages games very well and knows this team very well. However, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Alex Smith is a good enough quarterback to get a team to the playoffs, but he’s not good enough to win a Super Bowl. He will never be a Tom Brady, a Peyton Manning, a Drew Brees, or an Eli Manning. Kaepernick might not be one of those quarterbacks either, but he at least has the potential to become a great quarterback. He hasn’t just shown flashes of greatness through various games. He showed a whole game of greatness on Monday night. His performance was completely dominant and practically flawless.

Harbaugh said Wednesday morning on KNBR that Smith would probably be cleared later this week, but, on Wednesday night, he still named Kaepernick the starter for the Saints game. In the press conference after Monday night’s game though, Harbaugh wouldn’t clearly state who he was planning on starting Sunday against the Saints. He claimed that he would start whoever had the “hot hand.” Tim Kawakami brought up an excellent point recently about Harbaugh’s comment. Read below:

“Last night, Harbaugh could’ve said Smith is his starter, period, when healthy… but that things remain uncertain until Smith is fully healthy, but Harbaugh definitely didn’t say that. I fully expected a version of that last night. That’s been Harbaugh’s singular stance since he got this job–Smith is his starter, that’s not up for debate. And if he said it that way, the Saints would still have to game plan for both Smith and Kaepernick. It’s not like Harbaugh loses any strategic advantage for Sunday’s game in New Orleans by saying Smith is 1 and Kaepernick is 1A in case of further injury. I mean, if Harbaugh flat-out said Smith IS starting Sunday, you think the Saints would just ignore what Kaepernick did last night and only game plan for Smith? That’s not how the NFL works. If you’re arguing that Harbaugh is only leaving it open as a strategic pose, you’re over-thinking this.”

Kawakami brings up a great point about Harbaugh, who has been supporting Smith since the second he was named the Head Coach. Harbaugh could’ve easily said he’d most likely go with Smith, even when it wasn’t clear when Smith would be cleared, but he chose not to. Also, Harbaugh said this morning that Smith would be cleared later in the week, but he chose to name Kaepernick the starter the same night. This announcement is a strong indication that Harbaugh really does want to see what Kaepernick can do as a full-time starter. The timing of this announcement and the update on Smith is too coincidental and meaningful. Harbaugh wants to see if Kaepernick’s Monday night performance was just a “fluke,” and if he can be effective against a surging Saints team. Don’t get me wrong, Harbaugh has faith in Kaepernick and his abilities.Harbaugh has been given many reasons why he should keep starting Kaepernick, and he’s finally accepting it. Kaepernick will remain the starter, he will keep producing at a high level, and he will only keep improving.