Super Bowl XLVII (47) Prediction

Sunday , February 3, 2013 

Photo courtesy of Aeryssports.com

CBS 6:30 pm EST

Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers (Mercedes-Benz Super Dome)

New Orleans, Louisiana.  Known to some as the NOLA or Weezy, New Orleans will be host to this year's Super Bowl 47.

You can call it the Harbaugh Bowl, the Harbowl, the brothers bowl, or whatever.  One thing is for sure….

this will be a well coached and hard hitting football game.  This is the type of super bowl that fans have been clamoring for.  Yes, the Giants vs. the Pats two games were good and yes the Packers vs. the Steelers was good, but this game here is old school. 

Both football teams are are coached very well.  Both teams like to run the ball with Ray Rice for the Ravens and Frank Gore for the 49ers.  Both teams have great defenses.  The Ravens obviously have #52 Ray Lewis and the 49ers have #52 Patrick Willis, who ironically grew up idolizing Ray Lewis. 

LB #52 Ray Lewis

LB #52 Patrick Willis

The key for me will be the quarterbacks and the receivers.  Lets break down the offense for both teams:

Ravens Offense

QB #5 - Joe Flacco

Ole Joe Flacco.  At the beginning of the season Joe Flacco, stated he was an elite QB, according to Pro Football Talk.com.  Eli Manning stated the same thing at the beginning of the 2011 season.  What happened to Eli…the Giants went on to become Super Bowl champs last year by beating the Patriots for the second time in four years.  Will Flacco do the same?  Tune into CBS on Sunday and see.

The Ravens have a very good receiving core in Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones, Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson.  Boldin is the most experienced of the bunch, but Torrey Smith brings his big capabilities to the table as well.  Jacoby Jones is the special teams guru who can take a kickoff return back in a few seconds like he did against the Cowboys for 108 yards (see video). 

These guys are not the most popular names on television, but they get the job done week after week.  Just ask NFL defenses in the AFC if they know who these guys are?

49ers Offense

QB #7 Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick is the most intriguing story of the post season for me.  Here is a guy who could have been up for rookie of the year, if he were starting at the beginning of the season.  He cannot be because he is a 2nd year player, but clearly he belongs with Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, and Russell Wilson.  Kaepernick will be the wildcard in this game if offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, uses him wisely.  Roman has done a great job so far and I do not see it stopping now.

The 49ers receivers consist of Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, Randy Moss, and Ted Ginn, Jr.  Since the playoffs began, Kaepernick has found a favorite target in Michael Crabtree.  Crabtree caught 9 passes for 119 yards and 2TD's against the Packers and 6 catches for 57 yards against the Falcons.  While all eyes are on Crabtree, Vernon Davis still makes a huge impact.    

Davis will be a center point for the Ravens defense, but there is still one guy who has not made a big splash this season….Randy Moss.  During one of the Super Bowl media days, Moss considered himself as the greatest receiver of all time.  According to Yahoo Sports, Moss was quoted as saying “I changed the game”.  This is all the Super Bowl needed to make this one game bigger than what it already is.

 With all of that said, the last game of the NFL season comes down to the Ravens and the 49ers.  I see it as a great game.  My buddy "DannyBoy" calls the Ravens, Ray Ray & Company, meaning Ray Rice and Ray Lewis.  I feel Ray Ray & Co. will pull off the big upset in the Big Easy of New Orleans and win Super Bowl 47.  The sports betting lines have the 49ers favored to win by 4, but I have the Ravens winning by 4.  My final score is...

Ravens win 27-23!

Joe Flacco photo: courtesy of Getty Images
Ray Lewis photo: courtesy of the Associated Press