4th and Long

The Superdome Snuffed out the Candlestick

By Caleb Musselman

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            In the last weekend of January in the year 2001, a young Ray Lewis led the Baltimore Ravens to a resounding 34-7 demolition of the New York Giants. Almost unbelievably, Ray Lewis won the MVP of that game with a measly 4 tackles and 4 blocked passes. That game, which featured Trent Dilfer and Kerry Collins at QB, can truly be called the most boring Super Bowl since the year 2000. Dilfer completed only 12 passes for 150 yards and a TD and Collins threw 4 interceptions. Even if spoken by a PA announcer, those stat lines sound dismal.

            12 years later, the Baltimore Ravens found themselves in a similar situation at the end of the second quarter. They led 21-6 against a solid 49ers team that was doing there best rendition of the dead fish. It looked like Baltimore was going to break the 50-point mark when Jacoby Jones returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown. But then the Superdome decided to act up. Lights, Camera, Lights...Lights?.....

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            The Superdome may have lost power, but there was a small Candlestick on the sideline that sprung to life. Once the lights returned and Flacco finished his sideline yoga, what looked like a replay of 2001 turned into one of the most exciting halves of football in a long time. Kaepernick seemed to regain his mojo, Gore started turning Hulk-mode, and Vernon Davis was Vernon Davis. In the end, however; poor timeout management and abysmal red zone play selection snuffed out the candle just a few short yards from glory.

            There are so many articles that could be written and so many things to be said about this Super Bowl, but my job is to look back on Ryan’s preview and critique his “performance”.

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            First, he said that the Ravens needed to stop the running game. Basically, the Ravens defense did everything to perfection in the first half. They stopped the running game, they didn’t take bad penalties, and they pressured Kaepernick. They caused quick three and outs and allowed Baltimore to completely dominate time of possession. The Ravens held San Francisco to 3.1 yards per carry in the first half. Mission accomplished, 1 for 1 Ryan.

            Second, Ryan said the Ravens needed to contain Vernon Davis. Well, Davis had 6 catches for 104 yards so they didn’t quite contain him but they did keep him out of the end zone. A definite mission accomplished especially on that final drive. You just have to find Davis on one of those plays. Good gravy. 2 for 2 Ryan. I’ll give you that one.

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            Third, he said the Ravens needed to attack the 49ers secondary. I tried to stick up for Carlos Rogers in our showcase showdown, but you hit this one right on the head. Chris Culliver was atrocious every time he was shown on camera, and Flacco exploited their secondary for almost 300 yards and 2 long touchdown throws over 20 yards. 3 for 3.

            Very solid stuff Ryan. I had a feeling you were going to be correct with these keys and in fact you were. This game truly was a heavy weight battle. The Ravens had San Fran bloodied and bleeding in the first few rounds, but San Francisco came back and took it to Baltimore in the middle of this fight. It took til the last round, and a punter awkwardly shuffling about in the end zone, for Baltimore to deliver the knockout punch. Congratulations to Baltimore and Ray Lewis. Fortunately, we will be seeing much more of these teams in the coming years. The Candlestick is snuffed out, and the Raven soars. Bring it on baseball.