Super Bowl/HarBowl 47 Preview: Ravens V.S. 49ers

Super Bowl 47 will be underway at 5:30 Central Time and should be a fun one. Brother V.S. Brother, Harbaugh V.S. Harbaugh, and two teams that pretty much have the same gameplan, this should be a great game. Last time these two teams met, Thanksgiving 2011, the Ravens beat the 49ers 16-6. Here's my Super Bowl 47 Preview:

Both the Ravens and the 49ers play offense and defense differently, but let's compare offenses first.

The Ravens scored a total of 1 more point than the 49ers did this season, with 398 total points scored. The 49ers scored a total of 397 total points and averaged 24.8 points per game, while the Ravens scored 398 total points and a 24.9 average per game. The 49ers did average more offensive yards per game with 361.8 (11th in the NFL), while Baltimore averaged 352.5 yards per game (16th in the NFL). The 49ers did rank 4th in the NFL with 155.8 rushing yards per game, which was half of their offense. The Ravens though, were more of a balanced attack with 233 through the air and 118 on the ground. Both have two expectional running backs in Ray Rice (Ravens) and Frank Gore (49ers) and two good backup backs in Bernard Pierce (Ravens) and LaMichael James (49ers). We'll also see two new faces in the super bowl this year with Joe Flacco (Ravens) and Colin Kaepernick (49ers). Flacco has great deep ball arm, but Kaepernick, who had once was drafted by the Chiacgo Cubs, with a flame throwing 94 MPH fastball can get the ball where it needs to be in his recievers hands. He can also run and showed he can be a pocket passer last week against Atlanta too. However the same thing between the two is their offensive line. These two teams arguably have the 2 best offensive lines in this game, which will make the running game a huge factor. They both have a premier guard in Mike Upitai (49ers) and Marshal Yanda (Ravens) and two good left tackles in Bryant McKinnie (Ravens) and Joe Staley (49ers). The key in this game is who will have more success at running the football and which QB can stick to his game.

Let's compare defenses now:

Defensivley these two teams might look different stasticially, but they both run the 3-4defense expectionally well. The Ravens did get banged up this season on defense when they lost Ray Lewis and their best cornerback Ladarius Webb (out for season). They still played the same though, but without Webb their pass defense struggled a little more. The Ravens allowed an average of 350 yards per game (17th in the NFL) and did allow 122.8 rushing yards per game (20th in the NFL). Their struggles playing against the run will be a key factor in this one, but can they step up? They still have a great, massive NT in Haloti Ngata, have two good edge rushers in Paul Kruger and Terrell Suggs (Suggs isn't the defensive player he was, but still does a good job chasing down QB), and they have Ray Lewis. The secondary has been woeful though without Ladarius Webb though. However, Former Chicago Bear Special Team Star Corey Graham filled in the spot that Webb was in and has done a decent job. They still do allow big plays down the field becuase they ranked 17th in the NFL in passing defense. If Baltimore wants to win this game, they will need to hold Frank Gore, Colin Kaepernick and LaMichael James from getting open running room in open field. The Ravens also have difficulty playing against TE this season, as their one of the league's worst at doing this. They play a great, speedy TE in Vernon Davis, who could cause trouble for the Ravens secondary. Their LB's aren't fast enough to catch up with Vernon and could have a tough time playing 1-1 against him. On the other hand the 49ers are known for the defense. They ranked 3rd in the NFL allowing 294.4 yards per game, they ranked 3rd in scoring defense (273 allowed total, 17.1 allowed per game), and each ranked 4th in pass defense (200.2 yards per game allowed), and rusing defense (allowed 94.2 rushing yards per game). Run-stopping NT Justin Smith and speedy edge rusher OLB Aldon Smith aren't playing at 100% tonight and could be slown down by the Ravens offensive line. However If Aldon and Justin play like they did in the regular season, they will stop the Ravens rushing attack and force Joe Flacco out of his rythem. The 49ers ILB are key to this defense with Patrick Willis and NaVarro Bowman (2nd in NFL in tackles with 149), leading the charge. If Bowman and Willis stiffle the Ravens TE Dennis Pitta and Joe Flacco from completing passes in the middle of the field, and overpursue Ray Rice and the Ravens running game, 49ers have the edge. Safties Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner are arguably two of the hardest hitting safties of all of football and could put a beating on Raven Recivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin, and tight end Dennis Pitta. They have the speed and awareness to catch up with running backs and recievers and usually don't allow deep balls when helping out their CB's Carlos Rodgers and Chris Culliver. Fortunalletly, niether Rodgers or Culliver have the size to shut down Anquan Boldin, but CB like Charles Tillman have showed how to play against big recievers like Calvin Johnso. Boldin could win a jump ball in the red zone, on single coverage, so Culliver/Rodgers need to play on him like glue. The question is how will both teams recivers do against the opponents okay/decent CB and how will the running game play in this game. Which front 7 will play better? We'll Find out tonight.

Special Teams doesn't seem important to some people, but in this game it could be the difference. Their is a huge difference between the Ravens rookie kicker Justin Tucker and the 49ers veteran kicker David Akers, accuaracy. Tucker has a 94.9% of making a field goal (meaning how accuarate he is of making a field goal), while David Akers has a lowly 67.6%. The Dome shouldn't affet their kicking, but even Akers couldn't make a 42 yarder in a Dome, I know I couldn't, but that should be a chip shot for him. If Akers makes one bad mark in the Niners scoreboard, they could be screwed. Tuckers is very accurate though making him having the edge over Akers. Punters Sam Koch Ravens) and Andy Lee (49ers) have been excellent when pinning their opponents deep inside the 20 yard line. Lee averages 48 yards per punt and Koch averages 47.8, so it's evenly matched between two great punters. Lee or Koch could make a big play that could affect the Niners or Ravens field position. The return game is also huge in this game. Ravens KR Jacouby Jones averaged 30.7 yards per kick return and returned 2 for touchdowns. Jones will be the one helping the Ravens get the good field position and could take one to the house when in open space. The 49ers KR LaMichael James hasn't had as many chances as Jones to return kickoffs, but has been doing a heck of a job, averaging 25 yards per return. James will also be the reasons why the 49ers get good field position. Koch, Lee, Tucker, Akers, Jones, and James will all play a factor in Super Bowl 47.