Super Bowl 47 was the
sixth modern classic in a row, in a century that has been a golden
era for the NFL championship game, largely free from the one-sided
encounters of the eighties and nineties. Super Bowl 41, arguably the
last not to be a classic, was nonetheless a close game, staying
within one score until the Indianapolis Colts pulled away from the
Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter.
This incredible run is
partly luck, but also owes a great deal to the league's parity
measures, which make building a truly dominant team difficult. A
gruelling postseason ensures that only battle-hardened teams make it
to the big one, and the rules have been engineered to encourage fast
passing offenses that rack up quick scores and are capable of big
comebacks.
It is no coincidence
that the second coming of the NFL's popularity in the UK and around
the world has taken place during this period, neither is it
coincidence that football is currently America's favourite sport.
Whether the developing crisis over head injuries begins to undo all
that work, remains to be seen, but for now, there have been few
sporting events that have been more consistently dramatic since the
turn of the century.
Even if it had not been
an exciting game, it would have been memorable for other reasons.
Opposing head coaches Jim and John Harbaugh were the first brothers
to face each other in the Super Bowl as head coaches, and it was the
first in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, yet much of the
pre-match build up had focused on the alleged involvement of
Baltimore's talisman, Ray Lewis, in a doping scandal.
Once the game kicked
off though, those storylines became back story for an engrossing
encounter. The events of the third quarter alone, were dramatic
enough to steal the headlines, beginning with Jacoby Jones' record 108 yard kickoff return, which seemed to put the Ravens out of reach.
Then came the 34 minute power cut inside the stadium, during which
players milled around, Baltimore's John Harbaugh screamed at
officials, and commentators waffled. When power was restored, the
Ravens appeared to still be blacked out, losing their confidence and
rhythm as the 49ers roared back with 17 unanswered points.
However, the Ravens awoke from their slumber, resumed putting together drives, applied pressure with their defense, and picked up a couple of field goals that ended up being the difference. In the end, it came down to a desperate final drive from the 49ers, but Baltimore held their nerve and held on.
This game added
credence to the belief that fortune favours the brave. The Ravens'
fake field goal in the first half may have failed, but showed intent,
and was reminiscent of the Saints' first half fourth down attempt
against the Colts in Super Bowl 44. The attempt failed, but showed
their willingness to take risks, and won the title. Likewise, the
Ravens' attempt failed, but left the 49ers with bad field position,
which turned into great field position for Baltimore, leading to a
touchdown. It would be unfair to describe the 49ers as quite so
conservative as the Colts were, but Jim Harbaugh and Kaepernick had
uncharacteristic problems with game and clock management, and
eschewed opportunities to make a bold statement, kicking a field goal
instead of going for it on fourth and two, after a penalty brought
them five yards closer to the marker, and not opting for a two point
conversion on the first touchdown of their comeback, which would have
given them more options later on. Harsh criticism perhaps, but
somewhere along the way, they needed to find more ways to seize the
initiative.
This was in contrast to
John Harbaugh, who made smarter decisions than his younger brother,
typified by the intentional safety Baltimore took at the end of the
game, conceding points, but burning valuable seconds off the clock,
making San Francisco's slim chances even slimmer.
The 49ers have been
vocal about the officiating, but their own game management problems
should concern them more than the refusal of the officials to award
them a penalty for defensive holding in the end zone on their final
drive. It looked like a hold, but some have argued that Michael
Crabtree, their receiver, initiated the contact. More to the point,
San Francisco benefited from bad decisions earlier in the day, such
as a phantom penalty for running into the kicker on a missed field
goal, giving David Akers a mulligan that he converted, or Isaac
Sopoaga escaping punishment for his obvious illegal hit on Joe
Flacco. To say that the officiating favoured Baltimore is wrong, but
the bad decisions did not show the league in the best light,
especially after pre-match claims that the referee was
under-qualified.
Instead the 49ers
should focus on the positives, and on the small improvements they
need to make for next year. They are a young side, with many of their
star names locked up in long term contracts. The biggest worry for
Jim Harbaugh is how one of the best defences in the league became
relatively toothless once defensive end Justin Smith picked up his
triceps injury late in the year. Not only was he less effective, but
star pass rusher Aldon Smith, so dominant throughout most of the
season, was completely neutralised. Smith picked up 19.5 sacks during
the first 13 games, only two short of Michael Strahan's single-season
record, yet he picked up none after that, a barren run that coincides
with his namesake's injury, because offenses were able to double team
him. With Justin Smith in his 30s, the 49ers would be well advised to
find themselves alternative options, should his health or
performances start to decline.
As for Kaepernick, he
was a revelation after coming into the line-up midway through the
season. Many had predicted that he would take over at some point
during the year, as Harbaugh had drafted him. However, the timing was
surprising, given Alex Smith's good form. The assured manner in which
he led his team to the Super Bowl was reminiscent of another second
year quarterback, Tom Brady, in the 2001 season. He is a very
different player to Brady, and ultimately did not emulate the New
England quarterback's victory, but it was a similarly meteoric rise.
Nonetheless, his lack of experience showed at key moments against
Baltimore. He failed to connect on any throws into the end zone, and
he will have to learn clock management. However, few quarterbacks
master those areas of the game in their second year.
As for the Ravens, they
have had incredible success since their 1996 foundation. A league
best 14-7 playoff record, two Super Bowls and regular trips to the
postseason make them a model franchise. The development of Joe Flacco
in the playoffs is a significant step towards continuing that
success. He shrugged off his regular season inconsistency to produce
11 touchdowns and no interceptions during the postseason, a feat only
equalled by Joe Montana. His challenge is to become more consistent,
but his success is reminiscent of Eli Manning, whose first title led
to a growth in confidence and consistency in subsequent seasons.
Flacco is also similar to Ben Roethlisberger, another tall
quarterback with a strong arm who is surprisingly mobile, and
sometimes produces indifferent regular season performances, but comes
alive when the games matter most. Like the Pittsburgh quarterback,
Flacco's initial success came thanks to a dominant defense and a
powerful running game, which has now given way to a more expanded
offense and more responsibility on his shoulders.
Flacco is clearly the
Ravens' quarterback for several years to come, but otherwise they are
entering a transitional phase. Ray Lewis, whose personality has been
stamped all over this franchise since he was their first ever draft
choice, is retiring. The Ravens have never experienced life without
Lewis' leadership, and, it will be interesting to see how the
personalities in the locker room hold together in his absence. He is
retiring at the right time, he was poor against the 49ers, and
although there were some good performances in his final season, the
consistency was no longer there, his legendary preparation work and
ability to read the game only went so far in making up for the
decline in his physical abilities. The Ravens managed well without
him on the field towards the end of the regular season, but Lewis was
still present as a leader. The franchise has taken risks on troubled
personalities such as Jimmy Smith in recent years, in the knowledge
that Lewis would keep them in line, but new leaders must now emerge.
In the meantime, they have a number of veteran free agents on
defense, and it seems unlikely that they will be able to re-sign them
all, so it may be a new, younger team that we see defending the title
next season. They must also decide on the future of the offense,
which seemed simplistic and uninspired under former coordinator Cam
Cameron. After his replacement with Jim Caldwell two thirds of the
way through the season, there was a clear improvement, but whether
the former Indianapolis head coach can provide greater variety and
incisiveness across the course of a season remains unproven.
Nonetheless, the franchise will be rebuilding on strong foundations.
In their first five years, Harbaugh and Flacco have had five trips to
the playoffs and one title.
The Ravens may have
ridden their luck, especially with Denver's implosion in the dying
moments of regulation time in their divisional round playoff game,
but so do all Super Bowl teams, and like recent New York Giants and
Green Bay Packers teams, they did it the hard way, going on the road
to win the championship.
For fans of the NFL, it
is now be a long wait until the 2013 season, although free agency and
the draft will provide some relief as a source of intrigue and
speculation. For real action though, the seven month wait begins.
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