Azul Fria : They won't pick. Everytime someone from the media asks them, they will just smile and say that they are routing for both of them.

But if we have to pick one, I'll say they are routing for the older brother.

So, I was 1 for 2 on sunday. I called the Baltimore win, and I chose Atlanta. I really thought Atlanta was the 2012-2013 superbowl champs, but I was wrong. I'm calling Baltimore over San Fran for a few reasons. I think Baltimore's D is just too good for the San Fran QB (whatever his name is), and Flacco's been hot recently. I just can't see the 49'ers pulling it off. Oh, go Baltimore!

Oldschool41 :

The kids are lucky then. Whenever me and my younger brother competed against each other, they rooted for him. It was crushing to know no one was really rooting for me :/

mrfe :

I was 2-2 this time..... but dont feel bad. Ithought the Broncos and Seahawks would make it.

It should be an awesome Super Bowl. I have to admit that I have stated on this website before that I didn't think the Ravens could beat the Broncos on the road, let alone follow it up with a road win against the Pats.

Give them credit though the defense has been great and Flacco has proven the doubters wrong (Including myself)

That being said, I'm rooting for the 49ers. They have a balanced team unlike the others the Ravens have faced to get here. Kaepernick has looked poised in each of his starts in the playoffs and his a threat to run whenever a play breaks down.

I'm predicting a 49ers win 27-20

I'm rooting for the Ravens. I hope it's a good game; I hate it when Super Bowls are boring. 

My uncle's a huge 49's fan, so guess who's not invited to his Super Bowl party?

It's funny... a week ago on the break room white board at work... someone wrote "Go 49ers!" and someone later crossed out "49ers" and wrote "Falcons" Someone else then crossed out Falcons and wrote "Niners - Future Champs". All the crossed out stuff was eventually erased entirely and "Do it, Falcons!" was written. After Atlanta lost, the person who wrote that crossed out "Falcons" and wrote "Ravens?"

I think there's a single anti-SF person who's just rooting for whoever matches against the Niners. At this point, they seem more hopeful than rooting, though xp

Did anyone hear that while the Harbaugh parents were being interviewed, John called in and asked "Is it true that you like Jim better than John?"

NFL Network at work all week... hearing the same stuff over and over again. So why don't I arrange some of that information in what I think are the keys to winning for each team.

Baltimore Ravens

First and foremost, they'll need to account for Kaepernick's scrambling ability. It has completely devastated teams this year. If Frank Gore's running game isn't bad enough, this guy can make the ground attack worse by being unexpected. Baltimore will need to use spies on pretty much every passing down if they want to be safe. At least one if not two linebackers spying to keep him in check. Of course, this takes away from coverage a little... but they can potentially make up for that by blitzing.

I think they need to get good pressure on the quarterback. That worked well for them last year and with Kaepernick being inexperienced, he may make poor decisions when under pressure. They need to get to him before plays can really develop. If you rush inside, he can roll out and really be dangerous. Corner blitzes are probably the best (from both sides, anyway). This will force him to have to find a running lane up the middle to escape and while he's very good at that, if you're using your spy, he'll run right into a linebacker.

Lock down Crabtree. Michael Crabtree is Kaepernick's favorite target and if you can take him out of the picture, you'll make it hard for their passing game to develop a rhythm.

Stay strong inside the red zone. The 49ers will make big plays here and there and move the ball down the field well on some drives. There's no way you can force them to go 3-and-out every drive. They WILL get on your side of the field. The important part is to deny the end zone. This is especially true now that Akers is kicking field goals worse than even I probably would. Making a stop on 3rd will be a victory for the Ravens defense more than ever in this game. I think last year, the Niners only scored 6 points in the first half. With the same defense, they could be shut out this year.

Establish the run. The 49ers have a good run defense but if you can get them to cheat against runs, you'll create an opportunity to exploit their secondary on big passing plays. Ray Rice is a good enough back to make defenses worry so the Ravens need to use this to their advantage. The best way to beat the Niners is ultimately through the air.

San Francisco 49ers

Take away the run early. If you can limit Baltimore's ground game early in the game and make it ineffective, you'll force them to the air. This will make their offense one-dimensional.

Get to Flacco early. You'll want to rush the QB a little more than normal in the first half to create some extra pressure. If you can get to him early, you'll disrupt the passing game and make it harder for him to really get in a rhythm. This may cause him to be uncomfortable in the pocket and make bad throws that lead to easy picks.

Protect your quarterback. This is huge. Last year, Alex Smith got sacked what... 6 times? Now obviously, part of that was that he's Alex Smith (the guy seems very prone to getting sacked) and Kaepernick can avoid the rush a bit better... but you still don't want the pocket collapsing too much. He needs adequate protection to allow routes to develop.

Take advantage of mismatches. Most of the time, tight ends are covered by linebackers. There probably isn't a linebacker in the NFL who can actually cover Vernon Davis. The 49ers are most dangerous when they exploit this type of match-up. Kapernick seems to just be starting to realize Davis exists. He'll need to continue to utilize his talents properly in order to be successful.

Make good pre-snap reads. I'm not sure how good Colin is at this due to his lack of experience, but it's crucial to recognize what the defense is trying to do before the snap. If you can figure out who's covering who... if it'll be man or zone... blitz or not... you can make good judgements ahead of time and have the ideal play prepared before the ball is even snapped. You might also be able to create a better play with audibles or hot routes.

Stay aggressive in the red zone. Sometimes teams like to run on 3rd and short when close to the end zone. Best case scenario, you get a First Down/Touchdown. Worst case scenario, you get a field goal (well, you COULD fumble the ball and turn it over... but this is less likely than your QB throwing an interception). Right now, there is no "settling for a field goal". You're basically resigning to turn over the ball on downs if the would-be FG attempt is 30 yards or more. It's too much of a gamble right now to bank of a field goal, so the best bet is to try for the endzone. It's probably even better to go for it on 4th down than try a long FG.

I think the team that can use those strategies the best will be in the best position for winning this super bowl.

You all are lucky. I went 3-7 in this postseason. I guess I should stick to predicting basketball lol. Anyways I'm waiting for the Super Bowl. I feel that it'll be quite the game with it being Capernick's big chance to show he is an elite QB and Ray Lewis' last game, there's a lot at steak in this game. Also, 2 brothers coaching against each other will make the Super Bowl atmosphere that much better (if that makes sense). I'm sticking with the 49ers because of their excellence at defending the run and they'll give Ray Rice a very hard time but as I said in my last post I think it'll be a close game.

I predict the Ravens to win the Super Bowl, 27-20 over the 49ers.

Teams that make the least mistakes tend to win games. So far, SF has 3 penatlies and 2 turnovers (as well as a botched throw with 2 wideouts open in the end zone). Ravens have 0 mistakes.

No surprise it's 14-3 Baltimore.

Crazy Li : ask me, this game is already open.

Wow. This is just crazy! 21-3! I was hoping for a game...

Kick return TD now. Nail in the coffin. The Niners were quite clearly outmatched with an inexperienced QB and nothing to handle Baltimore's momentum. I can fairly confidently say this one is done.

I wasn't expecting this to be a blowout.  And that opening kickoff return TD just ended the whole game.  I feel a bit sorry for the 49ers though but then again the last Super Bowl the Ravens were in was like this.

DJ2536 : you know what, you are right. i just realized that too. 

WHOOT that kick return! Go Ravens! I wish they'd get the lights back on, lmao. Hard to play football in the dark.