2013 Super Bowl: San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens

I've been extremely lazy thus far in my "analysis" of the NFL playoffs. In fact, I haven't even written anything about any of the games of the past two weeks (however, if you look at my scores, you'll notice that I would have won or pushed on every game in the playoffs. Ha!) so I feel as though I should write something about the Super Bowl since it's the most important event on the sports calendar.

Let me just say, I'm excited about this game. If you read the parentheses, you know that this year's playoffs have gone roughly the way I expected them to, which is unusual. Most of the time, SOMEBODY slips through. Last year, for example, I thought that the Giants were going to play the Ravens, but the Ravens blew the game. That gave me an easy pick in the Super Bowl, just picking against the team that I believed to be fraudulent, the New England Patriots.

This year, they proved it earlier and more definitively.

In retrospect, the Patriots have been a fraud since the 18-1 year. I've mentioned in posts a handful of times how once New England started being an offensive-minded team, while becoming a more impressive regular season team, have not won a Super Bowl and in the past two years, haven't really even competed very well against hard-hitting, tough, talented teams in the regular OR post season. I want to say that they've become the St. Louis Rams team that they beat in Super Bowl XXXVI, but they're not because they're not talented.

Bill Belichick is disgusting, obviously. He won the Super Bowl with a team based on defense that actually had a personality. That personality, to me, was a little bit unlikable simply because Rodney Harrison was on it (he was a dirty player, he did PEDs, and he's a terrible analyst), but at least it had one. These days, now that Belichick has had more time and credibility to mold this team into his own image, there are two things that shock you: 1. How coldly efficient the offense is, and 2. How strangely lacking of talent the offense OR defense is. The stats guys love them, but the scoreboard only likes them.

The way they lost to the Ravens on Championship Sunday was ugly because they didn't fight AT ALL. The whole point of Super Bowl XXXVI was that, even though the Rams had all this offensive talent, the Patriots just hit them so hard that they won. Now, New England wants to do anything but fight.

The two teams left are the two teams who wouldn't mind if the Super Bowl was cancelled and it was just decided that both teams were just going to fight to the death to see who wins, which makes this game very very difficult to pick. In the Super Bowl, you can assume that both teams will be trying and won't be distracted, so it's the only game in the year that you should feel confident betting on. In a regular season game, I could picture a guy being more worried about something his wife said or if he locked his keys in his car. In the Super Bowl, who cares what your wife said?! Get a new wife!! There's only so many Super Bowls.

So here's what I look for...

1. Is one team just way way better than they other one?

In this case....way way better? No. Better? I think so.

I do believe that the 49ers are the better team. They have a better offense, defense and coach...all by a small margin, but I think it adds up. I also think that the NFC has been better than the AFC all year.

2. Is one team more ready to "throw down" than the other?

These two teams are fantastic examples of this (and LeBron leaving for Miami is the opposite of this).

This is concept is the difference between the guy or the team that is secretly hoping to play one team over another or is worried about his own legacy or is hoping to win because wouldn't it be great to win the Super Bowl? Teams that want to "throw down" can smell a challenge and are ready to wager everything on proving they're the best, even if they aren't really sure if they are the best. Does that make sense? Whatever, who cares.

Both these teams are TOTALLY down to throw down...that's almost the whole point of these coaches (and Ray Lewis). The Harbaughs want to throw down. It's gonna be fun.

So what prevails? Is it a younger brother over and older brother (ALWAYS GREAT)? Ray Lewis' tears? Young, athletic Kaepernick over weird boring Frankenstein Flacco? Purple over sparkly?

The deciding factor for me is that I think that the 49ers are the better team without sacrificing anything. They're fancy but they're still tough where the Ravens are just tough. Ray Lewis deserves this run for being such a great player and great teammate, but he, in all likelihood, done terrible things and isn't a great guy. Losing in the Super Bowl to a team coached by the first quarterback he ever sacked in the NFL is a just end to Ray Lewis' career.

Super Bowl XLVII: Jim's Revenge.

49ers over Ravens, 27-17

Championship Weekend

San Francisco over ATLANTA
Sunday, 3:00 pm

31-17

NEW ENGLAND over Baltimore
Sunday, 6:30 pm

33-30

Picks: No Comment

DENVER over BALTIMORE
27-19

SAN FRANCISCO over Green Bay
23-17

Seattle over ATLANTA
17-16

NEW ENGLAND over Houston
28-14

New England has plenty up its sleeve.

NFL Playoffs 2013

I have no delusions about the Bengals. I want you all to know that.

Here is what my gut tells me about these games.

Cincinnati vs. HOUSTON
Saturday, 4:30 pm

The Houston Texans are ready to be upset. The Texans have played poorly and, perhaps more importantly, uninspired football over the past SEVEN WEEKS. At the same time,  Houston is a team that has a short-term track record of being very competent but a long-term record of choking and underachieving. If a team like the Giants (there are no other teams like the Giants) that I felt had a sense of when it's time to show up were playing like this, I wouldn't be worried but Houston hasn't earned that respect.

Another reason I wouldn't be worried? If the Texans are playing the Bengals.

Cincinnati continues to detox from the Palmer/Chad Johnson years with a remarkably not flashy offense and an shockingly solid defense. The Bengals play "the right way" now which is something Bengals fans aren't used to. It's nice to see regular things happen on a football field (like not fumbling punts, making easy game-winning field goals, stopping the other team on third down occasionally...).

That said, playing this way is still new to them. This Bengals team is still full of children basically. If I were going to pick against the Texans, I want to have the feeling that the other team has someone with something up his sleeve...something he knows that you don't. I don't get that feeling here. You can tell that the Bengals are still super excited when they do the mundane things that win games...and so am I. To be a true contender though, you can't get that amped up about routine things. It's a sign that they are still in the phase of learning how to win as opposed to knowing how.

That combined with the fact that this Texans team would be the best team that the Dalton/Green Bengals have ever beaten lead me to be less than optimistic about this game. Still, I'm excited.

28-20, Houston

The rest...

Vikings vs. PACKERS
Saturday, 8:00 pm

31-28, Packers

Colts vs. RAVENS
Sunday, 1:00 pm

31-10, Ravens

Seahawks vs. REDSKINS
Sunday, 4:30 pm

24-17, Seahawks