Baltimore will take the same approach Atlanta did with Kaepernick, i.e., keep the OLBs wide to take away Ck's outside running lane and keep him in the pocket. Only the Ravens are better and more disciplined on the outside than the Falcons.
Haloti Ngata is the key to stopping Gore. As the season has gone along, Ngata has gotten healthy and controlling the middle of the OL. If he has a good game, Baltimore has a good chance of winning a low scoring game.
Ravens secondary is better and more physical than Atlanta. They will try to beat up Crabtree and take away his enthusiasm for going over the middle. Other receivers will have to play a roll if the passing game is to succeed.
49ers must hit Flacco early and often. If they can force him to start moving around he will lose his effectiveness. If he has time to get comfortable in the pocket he will make some big plays.
SF must control Ray Rice. He is a big part of that offense both running and receiving. If he gets over 125 yards total offense it may be a long day for 49er defenders.
Dashon Goldson must play under control. No late hit penalties. He must also control his desire to look for the big hit. He must stay home and help defend Torrey Smith. It the Balti run game gets going, Flacco will use play action to influence Goldson and single Smith on Culliver or Brown. In either matchup, Smith will make some plays if Flacco has time to deliver the ball.
Finally, don't underestimate JOHN Harbaugh. The guy can coach. He changes things up to take away the momentum of the opponent. He will allow the emotion of Ray Lewis to fire up his team but he also controls that well.
If the game is close, it favors the Ravens. If it is high scoring, the 49ers will prevail.
[ Edited by dj43 on Feb 2, 2013 at 11:27 AM ]
