Superbowl XLVII Preview

Baltimore Ravens vs San Francisco 49ers

For the first time in NFL history and most likely the last, we have two head coaches that are brothers (John Harbaugh of the Ravens & Jim Harbaugh of the 49ers) facing off against one another for the right to call themselves world champions. The media will romanticize this story in a hundred different ways so I won't speak on it for very long, although I would be remiss if I didn't mention it at least once. You are 3x more likely to become a U.S. Senator than you are a NFL head coach and the fact that brothers are facing off in the Super Bowl is nothing short of remarkable. 

As a lifelong football fan and a bit of a NFL history buff, this game is a match made in football heaven. These are two of the most physical teams in the NFL led by their defense with an offense built around the running game. Each team has a first ballot hall of famer fighting for the chance to go out a champion - Randy Moss of the 49ers and Ray Lewis of the Ravens.

Season summaries:

Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens had more of a "storybook" season than the 49ers with plenty of ups and downs throughout the entire season. The Ravens former owner Art Modell passed away four days before the start of the regular season and the team dedicated the season in his honor. Baltimore began the year on a tear at 9-2 before losing 4 of their last 5 games to limp into the playoffs. The fans, media, and NFL circles thought this was going to be a short postseason for the Ravens. Terrell Suggs, the team's best pass rusher, went down with a torn achilles in the off-season and it was said that he would miss the entire season. Suggs came back quicker than any NFL player ever has from such a devastating injury, only five months after the tear. Later in the season Suggs tore his bicep muscle and only missed one game. This is one of the least talked about storylines heading into the big game, but one of the more astonishing. What is even more incredible in that this wasn't the most amazing comeback from an injury this year or even on his own team. 

LB Ray Lewis tore his triceps muscle on October 14th and missed just ten games. Before Lewis returned from the injury he also announced that this would be his last season playing football. Lewis knew exactly what he was doing with the timing of his announcement. The team limped into the playoffs with no momentum. With Lewis's retirement at the forefront of the team's mind, it supercharged the entire franchise and infused a sense of urgency only a decision of this magnitude could have done. Not only was he coming back early from a normally season-ending injury, this was the last time #52 will suit up for the Baltimore Ravens. With emotions riding high entering the playoffs the Ravens went on to beat the Indianapolis Colts, the #1 seeded Denver Broncos and the red-hot New England Patriots - both on the road.

At this point, Baltimore's team is being led by the most inspiring leader in sports history and a young, talented quarterback finally coming into his own in Joe Flacco. If you believe in momentum and emotion effecting the outcome of a game you have to give the edge to the Ravens. This team seems destined to end the year as world champions.  

San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have had a bit of a different journey to Super Bowl XLVII. The team had the #3 ranked defense in the NFL and ranked 6th in time of possession at 31:46 a game during the regular season. These two stats make up the basic identity of this team. The 49ers dominate at the line of scrimmage and have a stable of running backs to throw at you all game long. Their defense is led by imposing players on every level (defensive line, linebackers, secondary) and they are flat-out punishing. Defensive end Justin Smith partially tore his left tricep muscle in week 15 but opted against surgery in order to come back in time for the playoffs. His presence is critical for the 49ers and his toughness sets the tone for the entire unit. It also allows linebacker Aldon Smith to avoid double teams which gives one of the league's top pass rushers free reign to harass the quarterback. 

Running the ball and playing great defense were the 49ers staples, that is until Jim Harbaugh made the gutsy decision to bench their starting quarterback Alex Smith for 25 year old 2nd year man Colin Kaepernick in midseason. While this was an extremely controversial decision that took serious conviction, it proved to be the absolute right decision. Kaepernick came on strong right away, playing with poise well beyond his years. These playoffs have made Kaepernick a budding superstar, headlined by his NFL record 181 rushing yards against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round. At this point you can make the case that the 49ers are the most complete team in the entire NFL with their ability to pass, run, and play defense on an elite level.


Key Matchups
LBs Terrell Suggs and Paul Kruger vs QB Colin Kaepernick - Since naming Kaepernick their starting quarterback, the 49ers have incorporated the "Pistol" into their offense and NFL teams were nowhere near ready for what has ensued. Kaepernick has run this offense since college and is the ideal player for the system. The 49ers also run a zone read option out of this and it is predicated on what the outside linebackers/defensive ends do. Kruger and Suggs will be the keys to the entire game because they will have to decide to key on Kaepernick or whoever the running back is on the given play. The Green Bay Packers took away the running backs and Kaepernick set a NFL record for most rushing yards ever by a quarterback. The Atlanta Falcons decided to take away Kaepernick, so RB Frank Gore and RB LaMichael James took over instead. It will be fascinating to see which way the Ravens decide to go in defending the 49ers dynamic offense.

LBs Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman vs RB Ray Rice - When Baltimore's offense is at it's best, running back Ray Rice is the focal point. Whether it be Rice running the ball or catching it out of the backfield, he is the offense's workhorse and best player. QB Joe Flacco has proven he can get the job done, yet in a game of this magnitude it is crucial that Baltimore gets Rice going early. Linebackers Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman are two of the best inside linebackers in the NFL today and one of them at a time will be tasked with shadowing Rice everywhere he goes. If Willis and Bowman can prevent Rice from being a major factor, their chance of shutting down the rest of this offense raise significantly.

The final questions remain: Does Ray Lewis ride out into the sunset like John Elway, Michael Strahan, and Jerome Bettis did by winning a Super Bowl in his last game? Or does San Francisco win their record-tying 6th Super Bowl? This may be the only time Pittsburgh Steelers fans will be rooting for the Ravens in order to remain the only team in history with six Super Bowl victories. February 3rd can't come fast enough.

Super Bowl XLVII prediction - Ravens 27 49ers 26. This is a matter of me going with my heart over my head. My logic tells me the 49ers have a better team but my heart tells me this is Baltimore's year.

By Brandon Thorn
@OneDayGM

+NFL Draft Dog 

Fantasy Football Stud: WR Julio Jones

Everyone that plays Fantasy Football is looking for the next unheralded super-star. We all have players like Drew Brees, Andre Johnson, Ray Rice and Calvin Johnson on our first round draft boards, but not everyone will have Falcons WR Julio Jones that high on their boards.

Well they should; WR Julio Jones is on the cusp of being the next Pro-Bowl NFL receiver. This is Jones' second year with QB Matt Ryan and Ryan has developed an unbelievable chemistry with Jones. In the pre-season thus far Jones has been unstoppable, in six quarters of three pre-season games Jones has recorded 13 catches for 240 yards and 1 TD. There is no reason to think his amazing pre-seaon performance won't transfer to the regular season. He is replacing Roddy White as the number one option on many of the Falcons pass plays.

Julio Jones was a five star recruit and the top rated receiver in the nation coming out of high school. He had a solid career for powerhouse Alabama and entered the 2011 NFL Draft a year early as a junior. Alabama under Nick Saban relies mainly on the running game and a stifling defense so Jones didn't put up huge numbers while in college.

But after an eye popping display of athletic ability at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine the Atlanta Falcons fell in love with Jones. The Falcons made a blockbuster trade with the Browns giving up five picks to move up in the 2011 NFL Draft from 27th to 6th overall where they selected Alabama WR Julio Jones. I would venture to say the Falcons have a lot invested in Julio Jones.

His Combine performance in itself was pretty amazing. Remember he's not one of those small, speedy, little scatback receivers that run blazing fast, but aren't big or strong enough to hold up in the NFL.  Julio Jones is a big, strong, fearless receiver with with the strength, size and speed to embarrass almost any cornerback. At the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine Jones weighed in at 6' 3" 220 pounds and ran a 4.39 forty yard dash and his broad jump recording of 11' 3" was just two inches short of an all time combine best.

So Fantasy Football General Managers, when its time to conduct your Fantasy drafts, pass on Julio Jones at your peril, for he is a budding star and will almost certainly become one of the elite receivers in the NFL this season.

The Case for Brandon Weeden

By Raul Colon

recolon@live.com

One of the most interesting storylines in this year's NFL Draft is when and where Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden will be selected. There has been some speculations that the talented signal caller could be drafted as high as the end of the first round or as low as the bottom of the third. But before evaluating the round on which the former Oklahoma State Cowboy star would be picked, we have to analyze the player. Yes he is definitely in the Top 100 of the prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft, that's pretty much a consensus.

First, Weeden is a solid 6-4, 221 ponder with a good, live arm. Although he does not have the rare, elite arm strength that make many NFL teams drool, he has the ability to make every NFL throw when he stride into it. He does have to correct a small wind up in his delivery.  

Weeden's accuracy depends, not on the length of his throws, but on his mechanics. He has above-average mechanics, the problem is that sometimes he doesn't set up well and throws off his his back foot to often.

Because of the offense that he ran in Oklahoma State, the vaunted spread, he was not asked to not make a deep progression pattern. Thus he has shown a bad habit of "eyeballing" his primary target.

That's said, Weeden reads defenses very well. Is an intelligent player who will undauntedly get better with more experience in a pro style system. He will never win a track meet, but he has some elusive ability which will enable him to side step the pressure. He also has good pocket presence.

Overall, Weeden is definitely not in the class of Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III, but he is right in with projected top 10 pick, Texas A&m QB Ryan Tannehill.

So now to the question when and where will he land?

It's easy to point to his age (28 years old) and said that his shelf life will be less than 10 years. Still, an 8 to 9 year career is above the average of many NFL QBs.

One of the most rumored teams associated with Weeden is Kansas City. GM, Scott Pioli does not like to draft quarterbacks in the early rounds, but he will likely make an exemption here. Weeden could give enigmatic starting QB Matt Cassel some competition this year. Don't read too much into the Kyle Orton signing last year. Weeden have a much higher ceiling that the well traveled Orton.

Another possibility will be the Buffalo Bills. Yes, they do have Ryan Fitzpatrick, but until last year, the former Yale QB was viewed by many around the league as career backup. Weeden could flourish in Chan Gailey's offense which incorporates some concepts from the spread system.

San Diego is another destination. Although the Chargers have a Pro Bowl signal caller in Phillip Rivers, they could add Weeden as insurance policy and develop him for trade value later on, like the team did with Charlie Whitehurst a few years ago.

But the best place for Weeden to land is Denver. The Broncos have a nucleus of young and talented playmakers on offense ready to take the next step. They now have a Hall of Fame quarterback in Payton Manning and the defense needed to win in January. Manning will probably play two to three more years, if he is completely healthy, leaving Weeden at least a 5 year window as Denver's starting QB. That's why Denver will not hesitate to grab Weeden with its second round pick, 57^th overall.

The Cleveland Browns with their 2nd first round pick, #22 overall is also a likey candidate to draft Weeden. With two number one picks this year they could get an elite player like RB Trent Richardson with their fourth overall pick and use their second on a replacement for struggling QB Colt McCoy.

In three years we might look at this draft and wonder why Weeden lasted until the middle of the second round.

How Will the NFL Lockout Affect the NFL Draft

With the NFL lockout in place, NFL teams are currently unable to sign free agents and address their needs before the draft.

Therefore NFL teams will take the best player available approach with the hope of signing a few free agents later when and if the NFL owners and players reach an agreement.

The NFL Draft will take place, even if their is a boycott on the draft, the teams will still make their selections, they will "own" the rights to the player, they just won't be able to sign them to a contract. The teams won't be able to hold their rookie mini-camps and subsequently their rookie development will likely be hindered.

So if the lockout bleeds into late July and August it might be next to impossible for one of these rookie quarterbacks to come in and start their rookie year. There just won't be enough time for them to be able to come in and adjust to the speed of the pro game and learn the complicated offenses and defenses before the first game.

So will an NFL team draft a QB in the first round now knowing that they might not see the field for two years? Smart teams will just follow their draft boards and not worry about the what-ifs, but then again, a lot of NFL owners aren't very smart when it comes to the NFL Draft....Al Davis and Jerry Jones immediately come to mind.