My Super Bowl Pick

I currently hold a 4-6 record with my NFL post-season predictions, so I am guaranteed, for the first time in three years of doing this, a losing record in this prognostication department, but I'm going to give you my thoughts anyway.

First off, I am looking forward to the game.  I think it is a match-up that has the potential to be a very entertaining football game.  The opposing quarterbacks, Colin Kaepernick and Joe Flacco, have easily been the most dominant players in this playoff season. and they have certainly earned the right to be on this big stage.  I am somewhat surprised to hear so many people here in Pittsburgh, some of them close friends, who profess to be football fans, say that they have no interest in the game, and probably will watch very little, if any, of the game.  I don't get it.  If you are a pro football fan, why wouldn't you want to watch the Super Bowl, especially one that appears too offer an exciting and competitive match-up?

As to the game itself, I will be rooting for the Forty-Niners.  I really couldn't care less that this will mean that they will tie the Steelers with six Super Bowl wins.  Hey, all you Steelers Nation folks, that doesn't lesson the Steelers accomplishments, and it doesn't really affect YOUR life one way or the other.  I like Jim Harbaugh, despite his tendency to go berserk on the sidelines, Kaepernick is a very exciting player to watch, and I will show my own Black & Gold Bias here by not wanting to see the Steelers most bitter rival, the Ravens, win the big one.

That said, my call for the winner of the big game?

I'm calling for a Ravens win because of the play of Joe Flacco.  He has certainly made a believer out of me, not only for his play in these playoffs, which has been stellar, but for his body of work over the last few years.  Need I remind anyone that he is 3-1 against the Steelers over the past two seasons?  And like it or not, I think there is something about this "Let's Win It for Ray Lewis" fever that seems to be enveloping the Ravens.  Yeah, it's way over the top, but so was the Jerome Bettis Fever that gripped the Steelers on their Super Bowl run in 2005.  It's hokey, corny, and hard to take for the non-fans, but sometimes, it is meaningful for the team involved.

(By the way, the closest thing that I have to an NFL Insider tells me that Lewis is a "good guy." Respectful to the game, a class act and a true leader on the field, and that the "praise-the-Lord" bit of his is genuine and not something he just turns on for the TV cameras.  This doesn't make me do a 180 and become a big fan of Lewis, but it does temper my opinions somewhat.)

So there it is: RAVENS over the Forty-Niners come Sunday in Super Bowl Whatever the Roman Numeral Is.

The Games of Sunday

Someone made the comment on Facebook that NFL Conference Championship Sunday is better than Super Bowl Sunday, and it is hard to argue that point.  The games of two days ago are certainly a case in point with two home, higher seeded (one a #1 seed at that) teams losing and NOT SCORING a point in the second half of each game.  Remarkable.

And here's an amazing fact about the upcoming Super Bowl of which you might not be aware.  The opposing coaches are brothers!  Can you believe that?  Two guys born of the same parents, who grew up in the same house, are actually going to be coaching against each other in the Super Bowl.  I can't believe that no one has mentioned that before.

Anyway, some thoughts and comments on the two games on Sunday, many of which I had previously shared on Facebook.....

• Concerning the results, the Bad News: Two more weeks of Ray Lewis b.s.  The Good News: We won't have to see a thousand or so shots of Bob Kraft in the Owner's Box during the Super Bowl.
• Before you point it out to me, yes, I know I went 0-for-2 on my predictions for these games.
• As mentioned in my pre-game comments, the Atlanta coaches certainly did figure out a way to stop Colin Kaepernick from running all over the place on Sunday.  Too bad for them, it turns out that Kaepernick is a pretty good passer, too.
• I saw Julio Jones did more for the Falcons in three quarters than the Steelers "Young Money" troika of Wallace-Brown-Sanders did all season.   
• The ease with which Frank Gore could get in the end zone when the 49'ers were inside the ten made me wonder if the SF offensive line is THAT much better than the Steelers line, or were the Steelers running backs that much worse than Gore.
• While I did believe that New England would beat Baltimore, I did feel that Baltimore had a reasonable chance to win.  That they won with such dominance and comparative ease amazes me.
• Even though he was on the losing side, Wes Welker is an amazing football player.
• Did you catch the look of complete disbelief on Tom Brady's face in the fourth quarter, particularly after throwing that interception that sealed the deal for Baltimore?
• Speaking of Brady, am I the only guy who thought that his foot was aimed just a bit too high on that Baltimore defender when he slid towards the end of the first half?  Ty Cobb would have loved it, but Czar roger should relieve him of some cash, in my opinion.
• When Matt Ryan threw that incomplete pass on fourth down from the 10 yard line late in the game, how many of you flashed back to Neil O'Donnell against the Chargers in the '94 AFC Championship Game?
• So, Bill Belichick goes true to form and refuses an interview with CBS after losing the game.  (a) Stay classy, Coach, (b) aren't coaches REQUIRED to do such interviews with the NFL's network partners?, (c) if so, will coach Bill be fined by Czar Roger?, (d) Shannon Sharpe now becomes a folk hero, and (e) to take another point of view, did we really miss anything by NOT hearing from Coach Bill?
• Contrary to many Pittsburghers, I do not find the Harbaugh Brothers repellent, in fact, I kind of like both of them (even if I don't care for the Ravens), and I think the Brothers Coaching Against Each Other is a pretty cool story, even if it will get beaten to death over the next two weeks.
• I also know that despite what they may say in public, I am pretty sure that each brother wants to beat the hell out of each other.
• Speaking of coaches, was it Walt Harris or Dave Wannstedt who thought Joe Flaco wasn't worth playing at Pitt?  Yeah, I know, hindsight is 20/20, but still...
• As for me, I will be rooting for San Francisco in the Super Bowl for the following reasons.  (1) In like Jim slightly better than John, (2) I don't like the Ravens, (3) the Ray Lewis sycophantry, (4) The Colin Kaepernick Story is a very cool one, and (5) unlike many Steelers fans, I am not threatened by the idea that a 49'er win will tie them with the Steelers with six Super Bowl titles.