Mr. Armchair’s Super Bowl Wrap up – For One Day, They Were Better / Prop Bets Results.

 Let this be the first and only time I do this.  Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens and their fans on winning the Super Bowl.  It was well-earned and deserved. 

Ok, now that that’s over, let’s get onto the game.  I thought overall it was a great game and one of the better Super Bowls in recent years.  It was high scoring, drama filled, and had exciting plays that kept the interest of the general football fan; and that’s ultimately the goal of the Super Bowl.  Even with the blackout and 35 minute delay; I thought it only added to the game and will be another element that makes this game memorable. 

For the Ravens, it was the perfect ending to their perfect postseason.  Joe Flacco played perfect football and well undoubtedly get paid this offseason as he is set to become a free agent.  Expect a top 5 QB salary contract coming his way, even if his regular season stats don't merit his upcoming contract.  And the franchise's best and most memorable player, Ray Lewis, gets to walk off into the sunset.  I respect Ray Lewis as a football player and enjoyed watching him throughout his career, but I couldn't help but resent him a little bit for the abundance of media coverage he garnered this Super Bowl.  

For the 49ers, it just wasn’t there day.  Going into the game, I thought they were the clear-cut favor.  They were the more talented, balanced, and complete team; and should have walked away with this Super Bowl championship.  I predicted a 31-17 49ers victory.  I got the 49ers score correct, as I knew their offense would score points, but their defense just didn't come to play.  Their secondary got beat on a lot of plays and the lack of depth and pass rusher on the D-Line was apparent.  Luckily for the 49ers, they have 14 picks in this upcoming draft, and I have no doubt they will look to improve in those two areas.  In the end, they just made too many mistakes; the defense missed tackles, the coverage broke down, the offense was stagnant in the first half, and they had costly penalties.    

There were three mistakes that ultimately cost the 49ers the Super Bowl that I want to focus on.  The first mistake came on the Ravens very first offensive possession.  The 49ers had stopped the Ravens on a 3^rd inside the Ravens 20 yard line that would have results in a FG attempt; however Ahmad Brooks jumped offside, negating the defensive stop and giving the Ravens the down over.  The very next play, Joe Flacco goes up top to Anquan Boldin in the endzone for a Ravens’ TD.  That right there is 4 points given to the Ravens, and the 49ers lost by 3.  The math is simple.

The second mistake was the LaMichael James fumble.  The 49ers were down 7-3 but had moved the ball down the field and were in Ravens' territory.  James takes the handoff on an option right and after fighting off tackles to gain positive yards, he fought too hard and fumbled the ball, with the Ravens recovering.  The Ravens would eventually march down the field to score their second TD of the game, a one-yard TD pass to Dennis Pitta, making the score 14-3.  This was a huge turning point early.  I believe that if James hadn’t fumbled the ball, the 49ers were deep enough in Ravens’ territory that they would have scored on either a TD or FG.  If they did score a TD, they would have taken the lead 10-7, and I think that would have completely changed the whole dynamics of the Super Bowl.  The 49ers playing with a lead are a much different team than when playing from behind.  If they had only gotten a FG, they would have still only been down 1 point, but no air wouldn't have been deflated from their balloon.   

The third mistake was obviously the poor kickoff coverage on the Jacoby Jones’ kickoff return for a TD at the start of the second half, making the score 28-6.  Coming out of halftime down 21-6 and having to kick the ball off to the Ravens, the last thing the 49ers could afford was for the Ravens to score on that drive.  I won’t mention here that the refs missed an obvious holding call on the Ravens that should have negated the TD and brought the ball back, as I’m saving the poor officiating for another paragraph, but the 49ers needed a stop on that first possession of the second half in the worst way, and to not only give up a TD, but have it come on the opening kickoff had to be somewhat deflating.  Yes I know the 49ers fought back and had a chance to win the game, but its simple math again; take away that return TD and the 49ers win.

Now it’s time for me to get a little salty and address a couple a things.  First the blackout, I actually didn’t mind the blackout.  As someone who was hosting a Super Bowl mini-gathering and was responsible for clean-up, a promise made to Mrs. Armchair, the 35 minute break actually helped me out.  I was able to get most of the cleaning done and food put away during that time without having to miss any plays.  Brilliant move to whoever flipped that switch.  I also want to discount this notion that the blackout helped the 49ers and that if the 49ers had won the Super Bowl the blackout would have been the cause for the Ravens lose.  Stop it, Ravens fans.  The blackout had nothing to do with the momentum of the game or would have had any effect on the outcome if the 49ers had won.  Both teams had to sit through the delay.  Both teams were getting restless.  Stop. 

Secondly, unlike most of the national media, I thought the officiating was below average to poor.  I understand that the refs wanted to let the players play and have their play determine the outcome, but it just got ridiculous.  The officiating crew only called 7 penalties the entire game.  You are kidding me??  You can call 7 penalties on an entire drive let alone an entire game.  I get that the refs didn’t want to overtake the game or be the story at the end, but there comes a point where if you don’t officiate the game properly and do nothing in terms of calling penalties, you have the opposite effect and still become the story.  How Corey Williams can blatantly shove an official and not get ejected, let alone not even draw a penalty, is ridiculous.  And Corey Williams was a determining factor in the outcome.  He played well after that incident and broke up a potential game-tying TD for the 49ers late in the 3^rd quarter, making the 49ers settle for a FG.  I already mentioned the missed holding call on the Jacoby Jones’ return TD to open the second half.  On the Chris Culliver missed INT, Torrey Smith completely offensive pass interfered with Culliver, preventing him from completing the INT.  And not to pile on, but I echo the sentiments of Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.  The refs missed two defensive penalties on that last goal-line series.  On the second down play, Jimmy Smith completely shoves Michael Crabtree in the back at the goal-line, preventing him from making a TD catch.  AND HOW DO YOU NOT CALL DEFENSIVE HOLDING ON JIMMY SMITH ON 4^TH AND GOAL!!!  Granted, it wasn’t the best play call and I don’t agree with the play; but that was a DEFENSIVE HOLDING, 5 YARD PENALTY, HALF THE DISTANCE TO THE GOAL, and AUTOMATIC FIRST DOWN!!!!  AND THE EXCUSE OF “WE DON’T MAKE THAT CALL AT THE END OF GAMES,” WRONG!!!!  THAT’S WHEN YOU NEED TO MAKE THAT CALL!!!!!!  IT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE GAME!!!!!!  BLOW THE WHISTLE!!!!!!  MAKE THE CALL!!!!!!!!  UUUUUURRRRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!

I digress.          

Prop Bets –

Every year, I participate in betting on the numerous, outrageous prop bets that Vegas creates for the Super Bowl.  This year, I wagered $30 on the prop bets this Super Bowl.  Here are the results:

Total bets wagered:  $30.00

Total winnings:  $27.56

Net Loss:  -$2.44

Will there be a Safety:  Yes +650 (bet $1.00 to win $6.50) – WON!

Team to Commit the 1^st Penalty:  Ravens -120 (bet $1.00 to win $0.83) – LOST!

O/U Jersey Number of Player to score First TD:  Over 27.5 even (bet $1.00 to win $1.00) – WON!

Team to Use Coaches Challenge First:  49ers -105 (bet $1.00 to win $0.95) – WON!

Distance of First Punt of the Game:  Over 48.5 -110 (bet $1.00 to win $0.91) – WON!

Will Both Teams Make a 33 or Longer FG:  Yes +120 (bet $1.00 to win $1.20) – WON!

Longest Made FG of the Game:  Over 45.5 -110 (bet $1.00 to win $0.91) – LOST!

Longest TD of the Game:  Over 45.5 -105 (bet $1.00 to win $0.95) – WON!

49ers Total Points:  Over 26.5 -120 (bet $1.00 to win $0.83) – WON!

Ravens Total Points:  Under 22.5 -110 (bet $1.00 to win $0.91) – LOST!

Team to Win the Coin Toss:  49ers -105 (bet $1.00 to win $0.95) – LOST!

Coin Toss:  Tails -102 (bet $2.00 to win $1.96) – LOST!

Player to score the 1^st TD:  Vernon Davis +1200 (bet $1.00 to win $12.00) – LOST!

Player to score the 1^st TD:  Frank Gore +800 (bet $1.00 to win $8.00) – LOST!

Super Bowl MVP:  NaVorro Bowman +7500 (bet $1.00 to win $75.00) – LOST!

Super Bowl MVP:  Michael Crabtree +1800 (bet $1.00 to win $18.00) – LOST!

Super Bowl MVP:  Patrick Willis +5000 (bet $1.00 to win $50.00) – LOST!

Super Bowl MVP:  Justin Smith +10000 (bet $1.00 to win 100.00) – LOST!

Super Bowl MVP:  Frank Gore +1000 (bet $1.00 to win $10.00) – LOST!

Super Bowl MVP:  Aldon Smith +4500 (bet $1.00 to win $45.00) – LOST!

Super Bowl MVP:  Ray Lewis +800 (bet $1.00 to win $8.00) – LOST!

What Color Gatorade that is dumped on HC:  Lime +550 (bet $1.00 to win $5.50) – NO ACTION!    

What Color Gatorade that is dumped on HC:  Blue +600 (bet $1.00 to win $6.00) – NO ACTION!

What Color Gatorade that is dumped on HC:  Red +350 (bet $1.00 to win $3.50) – NO ACTION!

Who will the Winning Coach Thank First:  Family +600 (bet $1.00 to win $6.00) – LOST!

Who will the MVP Thank First:  Coaches/Owner +500 (bet $1.00 to win $5.00) – LOST!

O/U Alicia Keys Singing the Anthem:  Over 2:05 minutes -135 (bet $3.00 to win $2.22) – WON!

In the end, the 49ers lost this game, just as much as I would say the Ravens won it.  If the ball bounces the other way or if the 49ers don’t make one or two of those bad mistakes, this is a more rejoicing blog post.  But it’s not, and we have to live with that.  I still think the 49ers are a better team.  I think if this game were played over again, or played 10 times; the 49ers would win 7-8 of them.  But on February 3^rd, 2013, for one day, the Baltimore Ravens were better.     

Mr. Armchair Speaking!!!