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.
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