Quoth the Raven: "WE ARE THE CHAMPS"

Who would've thought that turning off the lights and part of the power would've flipped a switch and turned this Super Bowl from a rout into a thrilling showdown? The city that never lacks excitement had one more great sports moment to add to its history and what a win for the Baltimore Ravens! 

Joe Flacco made himself a very rich man in victory. 11 touchdowns, 0 INT's this postseason means he's validated himself as a franchise quarterback. As a free agent Super Bowl MVP, he just earned his huge paycheck and showed why I call him Pretty Flacco or now Trinidad Flacco. "Don't Believe Me, Just Watch"

Jim Caldwell deserves a ton of credit as well. He turned Flacco loose calling the plays and as offensive coordinator, he was the driving force of this turnaround. The coach who lost Super Bowl XLIV, was fired from the Colts last year and didn't get offered a head coaching gig last month found redemption in New Orleans. I'm happy for him because he got back to the mountaintop and now has another ring on his resume. Memo to the NFL, he's living proof the Rooney Rule must be expanded to coordinators.

Super Bowl 47 Predictions and Tidbits

In between me being jealous of my media brethren and sisthren partying and occasionally working in New Orleans, there is a game we all want to see Sunday. And if you ask me, it's hard to predict and figure out what could happen.

The red-hot 49ers and their red-hot QB Colin Kaepernick, the 4th Black signalcaller to appear in the Big Game. The surging Ravens powered by an incredible postseason by Joe Flacco and the last game of leader Ray Lewis. Who to choose, who to choose.

Oh yeah, did you hear both coaches are brothers? Don't think I heard that enough yet.

Anyways, picking this game is pretty hard. My inner Cowboys fan wants to say no to San Francisco, the 90's rival I grew up despising and respecting. Yet they have several factors.

Ray Lewis: A Tale of Redemption and Rehabilition

There's a great irony in Ray Lewis ending his career in the Super Bowl. It's where his life transformed twice before our eyes and now he's back. The last game he will ever play and the final football chapter of one of the greatest redemption stories of my lifetime.

Lewis will go down as one of the greatest leaders/defenders of all time. But every time I hear somebody continue to bring up his murder trial as a joke or to degrade Lewis shows a terrible side of people not seeing the beauty of what's in front of us.

Let me take you back to 2001.  When I was filling out college applications, I struggled with what to write on my personal statement. I ended up talking about how I wasn't a typical sports fan and how I tried to learn from the folks I saw.

I used great citizens like Grant Hill and Tim Duncan to show me positive ways to live my life and I mentioned Ray Lewis as somebody who taught me what not to do when he got mixed up in that double murder charge.

Football Wrap: 49ers/Ravens Heading To the Bayou!

I’m bringing it back for old time’s sake. The Return of the Football Wrap to offer some takes on the NFC/AFC title games cause there’s a lot I saw Sunday.

                      

I’ve doubted Joe Flacco for a while. I’ve criticized him as much as anybody. But it’s clear that he’s proved himself. All 5 years of his career has ended with at least one playoff win. He’s been in 3 AFC Title Games and now is in the Super Bowl. He’s called his shot and now he’s backing it up.

What more can you say after outplaying Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in their houses? He's no longer a game manager. Pretty Flacco can win with his arm now and he's starting to live up that nickname I gave him (hat tip to Mos Def)

Even more impressive that the Ravens’ defense shut out New England in the second half.  That was vintage Baltimore – hard hitting, playmaking (3 turnovers) and frustrating a great quarterback. 

Football Wrap Week 1B (RG3's DEBUT, The Kicker and 40 Point Specials)

It was last year that I wrote about how Cam Newton had one of the most impressive debuts of anybody I had seen in any sport. He shattered the rookie record for passing yards and showed everybody that he could indeed be a passing QB, not just a runner.

One year later, what then can I say about Robert Griffin III in his debut?? 320 passing yards, 2 TD's (including an 88-yarder, the 2nd longest debut TD pass in history), ZERO Interceptions and defeated the Saints in the Superdome in front of his family and friends from New Orleans.

It's as good as you can expect a rookie to play. It's poise, command and great skill on display. It's the further evolution of the Black quarterback as a true dual-threat who can hurt you with his arm and legs.  And as Skins fan DragonflyJonez frequently announced on Twitter, he outplayed the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year in his house.

Football Wrap: Defense Still Dominates in NFL

So what do we know at this point, kiddies? No matter how good your offense is, come playoff time, your defense will be the deciding factor.

How else can you explain the 49ers and Giants still being here? It wasn’t just Alex Smith/Vernon Davis and Eli Manning/Hakeem Nicks. It was more of their defenses doing their part as well.

Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers had two amazing seasons which could either have them share the MVP or finish 1-2 with Rodgers winning. Yet all their throwing was no use to staring at a great defense or watching their defense finally let them down.

Consider the AFC too. Baltimore forced four turnovers on a rookie QB-led offense. And New England? Well, besides Tom Brady being Brady, ask Tim Tebow about that beating he took BEFORE halftime, let alone after.

Even in this offensive era, you still need a team to play great defense. I remember the Greatest Show on Turf being hampered by this 10 years ago. Super Bowl 34, they were up 16-0 and nearly gave the game back. The next two years, their defense let them down despite them trying to beef it up.

We all know what happened to New England in 2007, one of the greatest offenses in NFL history. Couldn’t sack Eli Manning, defend David Tyree or not let Plaxico Burress catch the GW TD wide open. Sometimes you can’t just outshoot teams off the field. Even in this offensive era, you have to have some semblance of a great D. That’s your NFL Truth from last week. On to the tidbits.

- Despite what I just said, give it up to Calvin Johnson, DeMaryius Thomas, Vernon Davis, Jimmy Graham, Darren Sproles and Hakeem Nicks putting up record postseason catching numbers

- So 49ers/Saints for Game of the Year right? What more can you say. A 17-0 lead, a great comeback and a frenzied 4:02 to remember ending with the Catch 3. Vernon Davis crying reminded me of Terrell Owens crying after the Catch 2 although VD played much better than TO did.

- Want some more irony? Alex Smith got his revenge against Drew Brees and the Saints for what they did in Week 2 last year. For those who forgot, Smith led a late scoring drive against the Saints in SF only to watch Brees march down the field and set up a GW FG.

- Goodbye, Tebowmania. This is the postseason. You know? Where Brady shows his true genius. The Broncos getting housed by halftime made it feel even better.

- Genius strategy by the Pats running Aaron Hernandez out of the backfield. That’s a tight end, folks. Poetic justice of him being a factor in running his former college QB off the field.

- Joe Flacco: 4 straight seasons with a playoff win. As much as you want to love Tim Tebow, Joe Flacco just wins ball games. He wins on the road too. Quietly consistent doing his job.

- Yo, Arian Foster was a beast in defeat. Loved how he and Ray Lewis traded jerseys because if there is one person in the league you want respect from, it’s Ray Lewis.

- Eli Manning’s new nickname should be The Bride cause who dishes out revenge better? Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, now Aaron Rodgers. As much as I want the 49ers to win, revenge is a dish Eli serves as well as anybody.

Oh yeah, that pass to Hakeem Nicks before halftime was beautiful/poor D.  That’s how you kill a team’s spirit (and my blog post praising Aaron Rodgers)

Looking ahead to this week, 49ers-Giants – a rematch the game where the 49ers earned national respect shutting down Eli’s last drive. But it reminds me of another famous meeting.

10 years ago, both teams met in the wild card and it was one of the craziest comebacks/collapses I ever saw. Giants were up 38-14 and cruising in the 3^rd and all a sudden, the Niners caught fire quick. They scored 25 points and survived a botched field goal attempt for the win.

It was the last time the 49ers were in the playoffs before this year. Here they are now. Finally better. Finally back to where they used to be in my youth. I’m sure older heads will remember the 1991 NFC title game where the Giants survived a slugfest with them.

Meanwhile, I remember the Pats-Ravens game in 09. The day I realized Ray Rice was a beast and Tom Brady isn’t invincible (even though Denver and Champ Bailey showed me that before). The Ravens thrashed the Patriots in a way I hadn’t seen them look in years. Think they remember that one?

The game could hinge on how Ed Reed is feeling after injuring his foot in the waning moments of last week. It’s hard to stop Rob Gronkowski but can the Patriots stop Ray Rice and force Joe Flacco to beat them?

My picks: 49ers (Can’t go with the Midgets despite Eli swinging his Hattori Hanzo so I go with the miracle worker Jim Harbaugh) and Baltimore.  Harbaugh Bowl Part 2 for all the marbles.