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Super Bowl 47 Preview: Baltimore Ravens vs San Francisco 49ers

Quarterbacks will be front and center when the AFC champion Baltimore Ravens battle the NFC champion 49ers from San Francisco this Sunday, Feb 3rd in New Orleans, looking to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy in Super Bowl XLVII.

Colin Kaepernick will be under center for the Niners when kickoff ensues at 6:30pm ET Sunday, while the Ravens will have Joe Flacco leading the way, as the two teams look to add another notch to their respective team’s Super Bowl belts. The 49ers have claimed five championships for their franchise, while the Ravens are looking to add to the one win they claimed back in 2001.

Sportsbook odds makers have the 49ers as the slight favorites, giving them a 3.5 point handicap with the Total now sitting at 47 points.

Kaepernick has been especially impressive since he took over from the incumbent quarterback Alex Smith mid-way through the 2012 season, displaying an ability to not only throw the ball down the field, but using his legs to confuse defences, which was on display when he rushed for an NFL rushing playoff record for a quarterback by hauling the ball 183 yards during a big win over the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round. Flacco has been equally impressive by throwing eight TDs and zero interceptions while spearheading an attack that has knocked off some of the best QBs in the game in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, during wins over the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.

On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers have arguably the best front seven in football, and boast one of the top 3 defenses in the NFL statistically. They have one of the top rush ends in Aldon Smith, DT Justin Smith, middle linebacker Patrick Willis and outside linebacker NaVarro Bowman. The Ravens have been defined by their defence over the past decade, led by all-world middle linebacker Ray Lewis. However this year, the Ravens have struggled to slow down top offences and sat in the middle of the pack, but key to this drop has been injuries to key players such as Lewis, safeties Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard, as well as outside linebacker Jameel McLain.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Niners have Frank Gore leading the way on the ground as one of the best running backs, as well as long time stretch receiver Randy Moss, and wide out Michael Crabtree, who’s become the go-to guy for Kaepernick on 3rd down. For the Ravens, Torrey Smith is the man when it comes to big plays, but Baltimore also has solid receiving weapons in Anquan Boldin and Tight end Jacoby Jones. Ray Rice is the man when it comes to running ball, but he’s also a definite threat to catch the ball out of the backfield, especially on 3rd and long when Flacco has to check down.

Super Bowl XLVII Hosted by New Orleans February 3, 2013

The 47th edition, Super Bowl XLVII, will be played February 3rd, 2013 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. And because it’s annually the biggest single sports day in North America, the 2013 Mardis Gras calendar in Orleans Parish will be changed. This will be the 10th time the city of New Orleans has hosted the Super Bowl, the most of any host city in Super Bowl history.

It will be the first Super Bowl to be held in New Orleans since the Superdome sustained damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The game will be carried by CBS, which plans on charging a record high US$4,000,000 for each thirty-second advertisement. CTV will be the Canadian carrier.

Even after coming up on the short end of the score in last year’s National Football League championship game, the New England Patriots are the oddsmakers’ early favorite to win next season’s Super Bowl. The Patriots are 5-1 to win the 2013 Super Bowl by oddsmakers.

The Green Bay Packers, who had a 15-1 record during the regular season before losing to the Giants in the NFC playoffs, are listed as the second favorite at 11-2, according to offshore sportsbooks.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles are both listed at 6-1, followed by the Giants at 8-1. The Giants finished ahead of the Eagles this season to make the playoffs as the National Football Conference’s East division winner.

The New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers have 10-1 odds, with the San Diego Chargers and Houston Texans at 12-1. The other New York team, the Jets, are tied for the 13th-best odds among 32 NFL teams at 20-1.

The Giants’ odds of winning the Super Bowl at the start of the 2011 season were 25-1, while the the Patriots were the pre-season favorites at 9-2.

ODDS TO WIN 2013 SUPER BOWL

  • New England Patriots 5-1
  • Green Bay Packers 11-2
  • Pittsburgh Steelers 6-1
  • Philadelphia Eagles 6-1
  • New York Giants 8-1
  • New Orleans Saints 10-1
  • San Francisco 49ers 10-1
  • San Diego Chargers 12-1
  • Houston Texans 12-1
  • Chicago Bears 17-1
  • Detroit Lions 18-1
  • Atlanta Falcons 18-1
  • Dallas Cowboys 20-1
  • Baltimore Ravens 20-1
  • New York Jets 20-1
  • Indianapolis Colts 25-1
  • Tennessee Titans 30-1
  • Cincinnati Bengals 30-1
  • Buffalo Bills 50-1
  • Kansas City Chiefs 50-1
  • Seattle Seahawks 50-1
  • Denver Broncos 50-1
  • Carolina Panthers 50-1
  • Miami Dolphins 50-1
  • St. Louis Rams 50-1
  • Oakland Raiders 60-1
  • Minnesota Vikings 60-1
  • Arizona Cardinals 60-1
  • Cleveland Browns 75-1
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 100-1
  • Washington Redskins 125-1
  • Jacksonville Jaguars 150-1