NFL '12 Dread News - Week 22

So, where were you when the lights went out .... at the Superdome? Well, I know where the Baltimore Ravens were: 22 points ahead in the 3rd quarter and on their way to turning Super Bowl 47 into a blowout. But when played resumed following a 34-minute delay, their would-be romp over the San Francisco 49ers suddenly turned into a lot of hard work. The 28-6 lead vanished as the 49ers closed to within 31-29. But just as they did several times throughout the season, the Ravens found a way to win when they had no business winning, this time holding on for a 34-31 victory at New Orleans last Sunday night.

"It wasn't perfect. It wasn't pretty. But it was us," said Ravens Coach Harbaugh after the game. No doubt "it was us". Of the Ravens' 14 wins (including the playoffs) this was their 7th by a margin of 3 points or less. But hey, they only count W's and L's - not whether the W's and L's are pretty or not. It was the 49ers who dominated in total yards 468-367, gashing the Ravens' D for 7.8 yards per play. It was the 49ers who either scored or reached the red zone on their final 5 possessions of the game. But it was the Ravens who were celebrating when time expired, raising the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the 2nd time since the franchise began in 1996 and the first time since the 2000 season.

After practicing for two weeks, the 49ers came out and had an illegal formation penalty on their very first snap on offense. It doesn't get much worse than that. The penalty wiped out what would have been a 20-yard gain. Instead the 49ers went three-and-out on their first possession. Then the 49ers' defense took the field - and started no better than the offense.
After the Ravens drove to their 19-yard line in just 3 plays, they actually got a stop with an incomplete pass on 3rd and 9 - only to have an offside penalty on the play keep the drive alive. So instead of giving up a FG, the Niners instead fell behind 7-0 on the very next play as WR Anquan Boldin beat Pro Bowl S Donte Whitner for a 13-yard TD catch (photo below).

On their second possession the 49ers drove from their own 20-yard line to a 1st and goal at the Ravens' 8. But after a sack on 3rd down, they settled for a FG. Red zone woes would plague the 49ers all night. Six trips inside the Ravens' 20-yard line resulted in only two touchdowns. And another drive that almost reached the red zone ended at the 24-yard line when rookie RB LaMichael James, fighting for extra yards, was stripped of the ball by rookie LB Courtney Upshaw (photo below), with DE Arthur Jones (#97) coming over to get the recovery. While both of the 49ers' red zone drives in the 1st half were ending with FGs, the Ravens were getting TDs on 2 of their 3 red zone chances - and it might have been 3 of 3 had not the 49ers been alert enough to foil a fake FG attempt in the 2nd quarter. 

With the score 14-3 late in the 2nd quarter, Ravens WR Jacoby Jones, one of my favorite NFL players that doesn't have dreads, took center stage. First, on the first play after the 2-minute warning, Jones - a New Orleans native - beat CB Chris Culliver deep so badly on 3rd and 10 that he was able to fall down while catching the ball (top photo below) at the 7-yard line and still have enough time to get up before being touched. He then ran sideways for about 20 yards to elude defenders before finally falling across the goal line (bottom photo below) for a 56-yard TD and a 21-3 lead. 

 

Then after the 49ers got a FG on the last play of the half, Jones struck again on the first play of the 2nd half, displaying the skills that earned him a spot in the Pro Bowl as a kick returner. The kickoff to begin the half went deep into the end zone but had so little hang time that Jones decided to bring it out. He took it right up the middle - and right to the house, barely being touched on the 108-yard return. Then Jones, arguably the NFL's best TD dancer (now that Kelley Washington's not playing anymore), began to bust a move (photo below), only to have the director on the CBS telecast quickly cut to another shot. Arrrrrgh! I don't know, maybe you wanted to see QB Joe Flacco raising his arms on the Ravens' sideline; but me, I wanted to see Jacoby dance! 

Anyway, that made the score 28-6, and the rout was on. But after the 49ers made one first down on their ensuing drive, they were facing a 3rd and 13 when .......

...... At first you couldn't hear the announcers, so I thought it was just a CBS glitch. But then a few seconds later, when the stadium lights went out too, it was like a rainstorm at a baseball game - you knew there was going to be a lengthy delay. It was announced a few days after the game that the blackout was caused by some sort of equipment failure. But I don't know if I'm buying that. Noticing that the lights went out only on the side of the stadium where the 49ers bench was (photo below), I couldn't help but think of that scene from the movie "The Blues Brothers", when the band tried playing the blues at "Bob's Country Bunker" -- "Maybe thew blew a fuse." "I don't think so, man. Those lights are off for a reason."

The lights going out at the time they did, with the 49ers apparently reeling, was like one of those old Buffalo Wild Wings commercials come true. It was like somebody (CBS? Advertisers? The NFL itself?!) saying, "We've got to do something and we've got to do it now, before this thing turns into a blowout and everybody stops watching." Now, do I actually believe there was any sabotage. No. But it would not surprise me at all if there was. With as much money as it costs companies just to run one 30-second commercial in the Super Bowl, maybe those lights really did go off on purpose.

However the blackout happened, the one good thing about it was that it gave us a chance to see most of the players with their helmets off. But it absolutely killed the Ravens' momentum, while at the same time allowing the 49ers to regroup. The Ravens' offense, with rigor mortis nearly setting in after not taking a snap for more than an hour, picked up one 1st down before punting on their first drive after the delay; then went three-and-out on their next drive; and then went two-and-out on the their next drive, turning the ball over on a fumble by RB Ray Rice. Next thing you knew, the 49ers had gone on a 17-0 run in a span of just 4:10 to get back in the game at 28-23.

With the 49ers' offense now rolling and the Ravens' defense suddenly staggering, and tiring rapidly, give credit to the Ravens' offense for getting back on track - first holding the ball for a 12-play drive to make it 31-23. Then after the 49ers scored again (but failed on the 2-point conversion) to make it 31-29 with 9:57 remaining in the game, the Ravens went on a 10-play drive, with another FG upping their lead to 34-29 with 4:19 to play.

It then took the 49ers just 5 plays to go from their 20 to a 1st and goal at the 7-yard line. But one final time their ineffectiveness in the red zone reared its ugly head. They never made those final 7 yards. LB Dannell Ellerbe's 9th (and last) tackle of the game stopped James at the 5 on the last play before the 2-minute warning. Then after incomplete passes on 2nd and 3rd downs, Ellerbe came in unblocked on a blitz on 4th down, causing QB Colin Kaepernick to throw earlier than he wanted to, and the pass intended for WR Michael Crabtree was incomplete (photo below). As you might already know, 49ers Coach Harbaugh (and probably a few 49ers fans as well) thought that Crabtree was interfered with on the play and that a penalty should have been called. But as ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame WR Cris Carter mentioned after the game, when the receiver initiates contact with the defender - as Crabtree did - it makes it much less likely an official will throw the flag for pass interference.   

The dreads were really flowing in Super Bowl 47, and I mean all of them. It was nice to see a game with no reduced dreads for a change. But unfortunately none of the game's 7 TD was by anyone with dreads. After a 4-year run (2006-09) in which there was at least 1 TD by a player with dreads in the Super Bowl, this makes it three Super Bowls in a row with no touchdowns. Ravens WR Torrey Smith, the most likely player with dreads to take one to the house, had blanket coverage on him for most of the game. Now Torrey will tell you that it was a lot of illegal blanket coverage. But hey, it's not illegal if they're not calling it; and the officials certainly were "letting them play" throughout the game. That wasn't a good thing for Torrey, but the Ravens actually ended up benefiting the most with that no-call on the 49ers' final snap. Smith finished with 2 catches for 35 yards and also drew a key pass interference penalty against Culliver on 3rd and 9 just after the 49ers had closed to within 31-29. He also made a big 'defensive' play when he prevented Culliver from getting an INT (photo below) on a pass in the 2nd quarter. 

I did not put Ellerbe on the dread stars list, but he was the dread MVP of the game, leading the Ravens with 9 tackles (6-3), including 1 TFL. Upshaw (photo below), who also finished last season celebrating on the Superdome field after Alabama's victory over LSU in the BCS title game, had 5 tackles (4-1), including one for that big FF. LB Josh Bynes and DT Terrence Cody had 1 tackle each ...... Although Flacco, the game MVP, burned the 49ers' secondary (22 for 33 for 287 yards with 3 TD and 0 INT), I don't recall Pro Bowl S Dashon Goldson getting beat in coverage on any plays. Of course, I don't recall any passes thrown in his direction either. Goldson finished with 9 tackles - and 1 big missed tackle, whiffing on an attempt to stop Jones on his TD catch in the 2nd quarter. DE Ray McDonald  had a quiet 3 tackles (2-1, 1 sack); and DT Ricky Jean Francois finished with 2 tackles (1-1).

You could have made a ton of money betting against my crystal ball's predictions over the years. But CB burned you this time. Even though it was not the low-scoring, 13-12 game CB predicted back in September, it was a very close game, so I'm giving CB an 'A' for the pick. It's either feast or famine with CB. In the 5 years I've been doing this blog, CB has now twice correctly predicted the Super Bowl winner. And the other three years? CB's pick to win didn't even make the playoffs.

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DG

1. Ravens WRs Jacoby Jones and Torrey Smith practice their TD celebrations during Super Bowl Media Day at the Superdome on Jan. 29, five days before the game. 
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2. S Dashon Goldson takes questions during the 49ers' mandatory media session on Jan. 30. The NFL fined Goldson $7,500 for wearing his jersey backward ...... no, no, I'm just joking about that. Actually Dashon's got the right idea. This way reporters don't have to check their roster sheet to know it's him.
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3. Torrey Smith gets loose during early warmups before the game ......
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4. ..... as does 49ers reserve RB Anthony Dixon.
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5. Perhaps dreaming of scoring a TD in the Super Bowl, 49ers DT Ricky Jean Francois carries the ball during early warmups.
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6. The game gets off to a good start for Torrey Smith, as he goes high for a 20-yard reception in front of S Donte Whitner at the 19-yard line on the Ravens' 3rd play from scrimmage. But he would have only one more reception all game. Four plays later ......
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7. ..... On 3rd and 4 (after an offside penalty on 3rd and 9 kept the drive going) the ball is not there yet, but Torrey Smith already knows this is a TD as he and Dashon Goldson watch WR Anquan Boldin beat Donte Whitner for a 13-yard reception to put Ravens on the board with 10:36 remaining in 1st quarter.
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8. DE Pernell McPhee tries for the sack on 3rd and goal, but teammate LB Paul Kruger beats him to it, dropping QB Colin Kaepernick at the 18-yard line for a loss of 10 with 4:20 remaining in 1st quarter. 49ers settled for a FG on the next play to cut Ravens' lead to 7-3.
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9. DE Ray McDonald is heard from for the only time all night, celebrating his sack of QB Joe Flacco for a loss of 5 at the SF 42-yard line on 3rd and 13 on the final play of 1st quarter. The sack moved Ravens out of FG range and they punted on next play. McDonald finished with 3 tackles (2-1).
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10. Two plays after the punt, LB Courtney Upshaw makes his 1st tackle of the game, knocking down TE Vernon Davis for a 1st down at the BAL 40 after an 11-yard reception.
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11. Two plays later, despite being blocked by FB Bruce Miller, LB Dannell Ellerbe is able to tackle RB Frank Gore at the 24-yard line after a 7-yard run on 2nd and 1.
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12. On the next play Ellerbe tries to take down RB LaMichael James on a run toward the right sideline, but James breaks the tackle .....
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13. ...... As it turned out though, James should have let Ellerbe tackle him - because immediately after he broke the tackle, he is hit low by CB Corey Graham and then fumbles the ball when hit high by Courtney Upshaw. The Ravens recovered the fumble, keeping the score at 7-3. Since the hit occurred at the 25-yard line, Upshaw got credit for a TFL in addition to the FF.  
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14. Three plays later, Ricky Jean Francois makes his 1st tackle of the game, but RB Bernard Pierce picks up the 1st down with a 3-yard run on 3rd and 1. The drive ended 7 plays later with a 1-yard TD catch by TE Dennis Pitta to increase Ravens' lead to 14-3. 
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15. On the first play after the TD, 49ers turn the ball over; and after the INT return by S Ed Reed to the 38-yard line, a brawl nearly breaks out. Dannell Ellerbe and Dashon Goldson play peacemaker, trying to calm down CB Cary Williams. Offsetting penalties were called, and nobody was ejected.
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16. On the 6th play of Ravens' drive following the INT, Bernard Pierce breaks to the outside on 1st and 10, with Dashon Goldson and LB Patrick Willis in pursuit .....
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17. ..... Pierce outruns Willis, but Goldson gets enough of a piece of him to knock him out of bounds at the BAL 14 after a gain of only 1.
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18. On 4th and 9 (after 2 incomplete passes) Ravens fake the FG attempt. Dashon Goldson comes over late, but D Darcel McBath makes the play, knocking K Justin Tucker out of bounds at the 6-yard line, 1 yard short of the 1st down. The play almost had the 49ers fooled. But Patrick Willis, the only one not fooled, slowed the play up enough until helped arrived, keeping the score at 14-3.
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19. 49ers went three-and-out after stopping the fake FG, and on the second play after Ravens got ball back on a punt, Torrey Smith reaches over the top of CB Chris Culliver trying to catch a deep pass down the right sideline .....
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20. ..... But Smith can't make the catch, and Culliver can't either as Smith grabs his head to make sure he doesn't get the INT .....
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21. ...... As the ball falls to the ground incomplete, Culliver is taken to the ground by Smith and is lucky not to have injured his knee and/or leg on the play ...... Preventing the INT turned out to be a big play for the Ravens, because on the next play, 3rd and 10, WR Jacoby Jones got behind Culliver on another deep route, making the reception at the 7-yard line .....
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22. ...... Jones fell down while making the catch but got back up and headed for the house, but he has to throw on the brakes as Dashon Goldson comes over to stop him .....
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23. ..... As Jones comes to a complete stop, Goldson goes low to try to trip him up .....
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24. ...... But Goldson can only get a hand on Jones' foot, and Jacoby easily spins away from his tackle attempt and now looks for a way to get past Culliver .......
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25. ..... Jones leaves Goldson in the dust and starts running sideways, from outside the right hashmarks to all the over to outside the left hashmarks, eluding Culliver and another defender before falling across the goal line for a TD ......
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26. ..... As Jones celebrates his 56-yard TD, Torrey Smith waits to let him finish before congratulating him.
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27. DT Ian Williams, inactive for the game, fiddles around with his dreads while standing next to Ricky Jean Francois on the sideline, as Coach Harbaugh suffers through 49ers' disastrous 1st half. The caption with this photo didn't say exactly when in 1st half it was taken, but Harbaugh might well have been like this for the entire half.
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28. No, this is not the Black Power salute; in football the raised fist is the officials' signal for 4th down, and LBs Dannell Ellerbe and Ray Lewis let everyone know it indeed is 4th down after Paul Kruger (on ground) sacked Colin Kaepernick for no gain at the 9-yard line on 3rd and 2 just before halftime. 49ers kicked a FG on the next play to cut Ravens' lead to 21-6 at the half.
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29. ..... On the first play following the 34-minute blackout delay early in 3rd quarter, Pernell McPhee puts the heat on Colin Kaepernick on 3rd and 13, and Kaepernick dumps off a short pass for a 6-yard gain, forcing a punt on the next play.
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30. After Ravens picked up one 1st down on their next possession, Dashon Goldson makes sure they don't get another, making his 4th tackle of the game at the BAL 44-yard line as he stops RB Ray Rice 1 yard short of the 1st down after a reception on 3rd and 8.
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31. 49ers went 80 yards in 7 plays on their next drive to score their 1st TD of the game; and after Ravens then went three-and-out, Dashon Goldson congratulates WR Ted Ginn as he comes to the sideline after his 32-yard punt return gives 49ers excellent field position at the 20-yard line with 5:47 remaining in 3rd quarter.
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32. On the next play after Ginn's return, Courtney Upshaw makes the last of his 5 tackles, stopping Vernon Davis after a 14-yard catch and run to the 6-yard line. A TD run by Frank Gore on next play brought 49ers to within 28-20.
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33. On the 2nd play of Ravens' next possession things just keep getting better for 49ers. Dashon Goldson congratulates CB Tarell Brown after Brown's outstanding strip of Ray Rice in the open field and fumble recovery at the BAL 24-yard line. But 49ers went three-and-out on the ensuing possession and then missed the 39-yard FG attempt. A running into the kicker penalty, however, gave 49ers another shot at the FG, and K David Akers connected from 34 yards out to make the score 28-23. 
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34. With their lead shrinking rapidly, Ravens' offense finally got going again, driving from their own 28 to the SF 5; and on 1st and goal Dashon Goldson saves the TD, tackling Ray Rice at the 1-yard line on the 3rd play of 4th quarter. It turned out to be a huge stop, because Ravens couldn't get the TD on 2nd or 3rd down either and settled for a FG and a 31-23 lead.
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35. After a TD by 49ers on their next drive and another FG by Ravens on their next drive made the score 34-29, 49ers were in great shape to take the lead after this 33-yard run by Frank Gore, with Dannell Ellerbe knocking him out of bounds at the 5-yard line with 2:39 to play. Actually though, Ed Reed (#20) got enough of Gore to cause him to step out of bounds at the 7 just before Ellerbe drove him out.
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36. But 49ers failed again to score a TD in the red zone, and Courtney Upshaw comes over to congratulate Dannell Ellerbe, on his knees giving thanks, after the controversial incomplete pass on 4th and goal. A blitz by Ellerbe on the play caused Colin Kaepernick to throw the pass early and slightly off target.
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37. Ravens were unable to run out the clock and took an intentional safety with :04 remaining, making the score 34-31. And on the ensuing kick return, Ted Ginn, after breaking 2 tackles, is finally stopped by LB Josh Bynes at the 50-yard line after a 31-yard return to end the game. It was the only tackle of the game for Bynes, who also had his helmet pop off while covering a kickoff earlier in the 4th quarter.  
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38. Pernell McPhee (0 tackles) and Jacoby Jones (2 TD) celebrate as a thunderstorm of confetti falls just after time expires. 
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39. RB Damien Berry (not in uniform because he's on injured reserve), QB Tyrod Taylor (#2), and DT Bryan Hall (#95) celebrate with Ray Lewis as Lewis does his familiar dance on the field after his final game for Ravens, wrapping up a 17-year career.
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40. In a quieter moment during the postgame celebration, Lewis gets a hug from Torrey Smith. Torrey says, "Thanks Ray and I hope to join you in the Hall of Fame some day." Lewis, one of the best leaders ever to play in the NFL, returned from injury for the the playoffs after missing the last 10 games of the regular season; and it's highly unlikely Ravens would have won the championship without him.
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41. It's no rehearsal this time. Torrey Smith holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy as the Ravens celebrate their title in a parade in Baltimore, two days after the game. It wasn't pretty. It certainly wasn't perfect. But Ravens are the NFL champs for 2012, the 2nd championship in franchise history. 
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PLAYOFF DREAD STARS

• Torrey Smith - Ravens - 3 catches for 98 yard and 2 TD in 38-35 double overtime road W over Broncos in 2nd round
• DuJuan Harris - Packers - 100 total yards and 1 TD (on 17 rushes and 5 receptions) in 24-10 home W over Vikings in 1st round
• Marshawn Lynch - Seahawks - 20 carries for 132 yards and 1 TD rushing, and had 1 catch for 9 yards, in 24-14 road W over Redskins in 1st round

•  Roddy White - Falcons - 7 receptions for 100 yards in 28-24 home L to 49ers in NFC championship game

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HOUSE OF DREAD
There were 3 TD by players with dreads in the Pro Bowl, but that's not a real game; so the playoff HOD award goes to the end zones in the 3 stadiums where there were 2 TD scored by players with dreads - all three coming in the 2nd round. At the Georgia Dome, WR Roddy White had a 47-yard TD catch and RB Marshawn Lynch a 2-yard TD run in Falcons' thrilling 30-28 win over Seahawks. At Candlestick Park, Anthony Dixon had a 2-yard TD run for 49ers in their 45-31 win over Green Bay, with RB DuJuan Harris scoring on an 18-yard run for Packers (photo below). And at Sports Authority Field Torrey Smith, of course, had those 2 big TD catches, covering 59 and 32 yards, in Ravens 38-35 road win over Broncos in 2 OT.

HEAD DREAD
For the second year in a row a member of the Baltimore Ravens' defense takes the award for the best player with dreads during the playoffs. I know I didn't mention anything about it, but last year CB Lardarius Webb (3 INT in 2 games) edged Patriots LB Brandon Spikes for the honor. This year's postseason head dread is none other than LB Dannell Ellerbe. Even though the Ravens D might have given up a few more yards than they would have liked, Ellerbe for the most part was steady and solid in Baltimore's 4 playoff victories. He had 9 tackles (6-1), including 1 TFL, in the 24-9 win over the Colts in round 1; followed that with 9 tackles (9-0) and 1 PBU in the 38-35 2nd round win at Denver; then recorded 5 tackles (2-3) and a huge INT in the 4th quarter of the 28-13 win at New England in the AFC title game; and finished up with 9 tackles (6-3), including 1 TFL, in the Super Bowl. A couple of days after the Super Bowl, Ellerbe did an interview on the NFL Network, which (if interested) you may see by clicking on the link below. 
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-am/0ap2000000136929/Ellerbe-I-never-experienced-anything-like-that-before

It seems I might have erred last week not including Dannell on the list for those under consideration for the longest dreads in the NFL. Consider him included now. And you can also consider him in the money. His play these last 6 games (since returning from injury) no doubt has earned him a lot more money for his next contract. Ellerbe, a free agent to be, would love to remain in Baltimore; but the Ravens have serious salary cap issues coming up this offseason and may not be able to afford to keep him. Remember also that Dannell entered the league in 2009 as an undrafted free agent; so he never got that huge signing bonus you get just for being drafted. Hopefully the Ravens will step up with a good enough offer so that we'll be able to see him in the purple and black for years to come. But this is his time to get paid; and if it has to be somewhere else, so be it.  




NEXT
That's not all, folks, for my coverage of the NFL 2012 season. But that's all for now. I'll have my usual dreaded dozen and 'CB' report card posts, along with some dread galleries, but I'm not going to do those until probably this summer. While spending the last two months doing NFL stuff, instead of being way behind on my college football stuff, I'm way, way behind. So it's time to catch up on that. But unless something unexpected pops up, I won't be posting anything for a couple weeks or so. Please stay tuned.