Super Bowl XLVII: Emerging from the shadows

While I had anticipated the fortnight leading up to the Super Bowl to be dominated by being reminded over and over and over again that the brothers Harbaugh would be standing on opposite sidelines this Sunday, a number of other stories have made it such that I can't wait to just get the game going already. With the exception of the foolish remarks made by San Francisco cornerback Chris Culliver, perhaps I should not have been too terribly surprised that retiring Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis dominated a lot of discussion these past two weeks. In addition to the revelation about deer antler spray, there was the inevitable revisiting of the 2000 murders that—for many people—will forever overshadow Lewis' accomplishments on the field.

Story after story, some featuring comments from the victims' families, and even Lewis' likely future employer couldn't resist. However, I thought that one of the true must-read columns about the Lewis coverage came from former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Stephen White. While I completely understand the people who have become annoyed by Lewis' frequent Bible-thumping, White made some important points about how many in the media characterized the linebacker's role in those murders and the prosecution's case afterward:

I can't and won't try to tell people how to feel about Ray Lewis, I just feel like if anyone in the media wants to write about the murders they should at least include more than their own characterization of his testimony which may or may not be accurate. At the very least include a link to the testimony so readers can come to their own conclusions about how cooperative he was and how much it helped the prosecution. It only took five hours to find Oakley and Sweeting not guilty, how long do you think it might have taken without Lewis' testimony?

Anyway, at long last, we'll finally have a game on Sunday. And it should be a pretty damn good one at that.

After last week, here's how the records of the "experts" and I stand:

1. (1) Mike Golic, ESPN: 9-1 (2-0)
2. (1)  Eric Allen, ESPN: 8-2 (1-1)
3. (3) Accuscore, ESPN: 7-3 (1-1)
3. (9) Les Carpenter, Yahoo: 7-3 (2-0) 

3. (3) Jason Cole, Yahoo: 7-3 (1-1)

3. (3) Mike Freeman, CBS Sports: 7-3 (1-1) 
3. (3) Ron Jaworski, ESPN: 7-3 (1-1)

3. (3) Prediction Machine, CBS Sports: 7-3 (1-1) 
3. (3) Adam Schefter, ESPN: 7-3 (1-1)
3. (9) Seth Wickersham, ESPN: 7-3 (2-0) 
3. (9) YOURS TRULY: 7-3 (2-0)
12. (19) Merril Hoge, ESPN: 6-4 (2-0)

12. (9) Tom Jackson, ESPN: 6-4 (1-1)

12. (9) Clark Judge, CBS Sports: 6-4 (1-1)
12. (19) Jason La Canfora, CBS Sports: 6-4 (2-0)
12. (9) Chris Mortensen, ESPN: 6-4 (1-1)

12. (9) Dave Richard, CBS Sports: 6-4 (1-1)
12. (9) Mike Silver, Yahoo: 6-4 (1-1)
12. (9) Yahoo Users: 6-4 (1-1)
20. (9) Will Brinson, CBS Sports: 5-5 (0-2) 

20. (19) Josh Katzowitz, CBS Sports: 5-5 (1-1)
20. (19) Mark Schlereth, ESPN: 5-5 (1-1)

20. (19) SportsNation, ESPN: 5-5 (1-1) 
24. (19) Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: 4-6 (0-2)

24. (25) Ryan Wilson, CBS Sports: 4-6 (1-1)

24. (25) Mike Ditka, ESPN: 4-6 (1-1)

As documented not only here on BMC, but also this WEEI-FM post and one of ESPN's own blogs, it is clear that current displays on the Mother Ship's page indicates Keyshawn Johnson once again shamelessly switched a pick after the fact. So again, as a result, here's the records of both he and Carter at the bottom of the list of prognosticators since anything they've picked (as is the case with pretty much anything they ever say anyway) is completely without merit:

27. (27) Cris Carter, ESPN: 7-3 8-2 (1-1)
28. (28) Keyshawn Johnson, ESPN: 5-5 7-3 (0-2 1-1)

As for Super Bowl XLVII, here's how the ESPN crew sees things:

... and Yahoo:

... and CBS Sports:

That just leaves my own pick:

Baltimore Ravens (13-6) over San Francisco 49ers (13-4-1)

I have to admit to being surprised that there are actually more picks for Baltimore in those previous experts than San Francisco, but I'm also expecting a Ravens victory. The 49ers were considered contenders at the very beginning of the year by many people, and there's very good reason to believe that they're going to finish the job. However, I think that Baltimore has a number of things going for them that will carry them to victory. The first is that Joe Flacco has seemingly excelled under the spotlight, and it can get no brighter than the biggest game of the year. Furthermore, while the Niners have arguable the superior defense, their corners are probably the weakest link. Both Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith may be able to expose that weakness, but the Ravens certainly have other options as well in Dennis Pitta and even Ray Rice out of the backfield. In the end, I anticipate a close game, but Baltimore is the team that has looked more impressive in the playoffs. San Francisco has erred occasionally on its run to the Super Bowl, and this will be the game where a miscue will ultimately leave the team settling for runner-up. 

NOTE: Images in graphic taken from HERE, HERE, HERE AND HERE