I have to say I would have preferred to face New England than Baltimore. We seem to struggle with teams that are 'like us' - strong balanced offensive teams with tough, physical defenses (e.g. Seahawks, Vikings, Ravens, Giants etc). We seem to play a lot better against the high-powered passing offenses of the league like New England and Green Bay (and Atlanta, eventually).
Anyway, can't pick against the Niners in this one on general principles but it is going to be an extremely difficult game. I think this could be a low-scoring defensive tussle which doesn't work well for us with our problems in the Field Goal kicking game. Although the Ravens defense is not as strong as in years past, they have really improved in the playoffs - holding Denver and New England to a combined 34 points on offense is pretty impressive (I took out Trindon Holliday's TDs for Denver). Their special teams are very reliable. Flacco is on fire at the moment and their deep passing offense is scary. We need to get out to a good start and get ahead - I don't want to be playing from behind in this one. Their defense is aging and maybe we can exploit that - but on the other hand we have struggled to rush the passer and this is going to bite us at some point if we can't get it fixed (we did do better in the second half even though there weren't many sacks - Ryan seemed a bit more pressured).
I'm going to say 49ers 24 Ravens 21 - but I don't feel good at all about that pick.
I also wanted NE to win so the niners could beat the snot outta Brady. However, congrats to you guys for holding up your end of the bargin. May you piss all over Ray Lewis
Should be a pretty good game, don't see either team winning big.
If we're to take anything away from our last enounter last year I think it bodes well for the 49ers. Obviously things are different - new year, new situation and all that.
However despite the long trip on a short week and Ginn's TD being called back, the horrible job by the OL(bye Chilo) we only lost by 10 points.
I think we can find that tape a lot more useful than the Ravens will. We have a new QB, different type of offense and some new key players while the Ravens have a very similar team on the field for the most part - especially on offense.
If we play smart and execute we win. I think it's a simple as that..unfortuantely it's never THAT simple.
Their OL has played very well this postseason so we need to find a way to generate a pass rush which has become a big issue with the Smiths hurting.
And as many have alluded to we defnitely can't turn this into a FG battle cuz we'll lose that one quickly.
We will have ten more days to prepare for this game as compared to last time. Boone instead of Rachal/Snyder. Kaepernick instead of Smith. It will be on a neutral field. There are a lot of things more favorable for us as compared to last time.
We will have ten more days to prepare for this game as compared to last time. Boone instead of Rachal/Snyder. Kaepernick instead of Smith. It will be on a neutral field. There are a lot of things more favorable for us as compared to last time.
We travelled across the country and played that game on 3 days rest. Not many teams would have faired any better.
These teams are so evenly matched I think it will come down to Flacco vs Kaepernick. I will take my chances with Kaepernick. And I think our Harbaugh and staff is better than their Harbaugh and staff.
Ray Lewis can only cry so much when the camera's are on him to try to motivate his team.
--Colorado Avalanche
--San Francisco 49ers
--Washington Nationals
--San Antonio Spurs
I think our pass rush will be stronger in the SB. Ryan was throwing a number of quick passes, especially in the 1st when they were marching up and down the field. (Not counting the blown-coverage bomb, of course.) That's got to mess with your motivation when your rushing a passer and you never get a chance at him.
Flacco seems to hold the ball longer, even when he's not waiting for Torrey Smith to clear the safety.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by seahawksfan837
Bookmarks