I'm Surprisingly OK with the Harlem Shake.

This is a quick post but as I see and feel the backlash coming against the Harlem Shake I gotta say, 'I don't know where the haters are coming from?'

Where were these people when PSY was in our face for almost a whole year?

Plus, if we are going to have viral music artist who take over the internet I'm proud to say that this one is American!!! USA USA USA.

Also the great thing about the Harlem Shake movement is that it's only 30 seconds. In. Out. BOOM! Remember last year when everyone and their mother was doing a Call Me Maybe lip dub video? Those things were three minutes long. After 30 seconds you get the point, I don't need to watch anything longer.

Plus the Harlem Shake phenomenon leads us to explore other topics such as:
How the hell did this start?
Why isn't the Harlem Shake a limited time drink from McDonalds yet?
Why isn't Dave Chapelle getting more credit for keeping the Harlem Shake alive as a dance?

Baauer, Harlem, your shake, people with free time on your hands and the internet, you have my support.

Plus anything that gets Al Roker to do this is great in my book:

Super Bowl 47

So it's time again for the big game.

So I did some research yesterday on what I thought would be keys to the game.

Turnovers and Sacks:

Terrell Suggs is not a handsome man.

San Francisco has been great at protecting their quarterback and ball. SF only allowed two sacks and two turnovers this postseason. In contrast the Ravens have caused 6 sacks and 8 forced turnovers (3 and 6 respectively in the last two games). So the key would appear to be getting pressure on SF quarterback Colin Kaepernick and force some bad throws. Here's the problem, the Ravens have faced two older, less mobile quarterbacks in their last two games. If they force Colin Kaepernick to break the pocket, Kaepernick can extend the play and create some big plays.

Big Plays:

The Baltimore Ravens apparently love this pose.

San Francisco has had 6 plays of over 25 yards this postseason and this is something that an older Ravens team is going to have to avoid to win this game. 

It goes without saying that the Ravens have relied heavily on their big play making ability over the course of their three  playoff games. With the San Francisco defense focused on Ravens receivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin I think there is a possibility for third wide receiver Jacoby Jones and running back Ray Rice to exploit the middle of the field and break some big yardage plays.

The Running Game

There's no way to do this and not look like a tool.

The Ravens run defense has gotten better over the course of their three playoff games giving up 151 yards, 125 yards and 108 yards in that order. However, they face a three headed running threat tonight: QB Colin Kaepernick and running backs Frank Gore and La'Michael James. 

James is a forgotten part of this combo but with backfield defenders forced to spy Kaepernick and Gore pounding the ball between the tackles James has the explosiveness to break a big play. 

How good is the San Francisco running game?

They had over 300 yards running against Green Bay and 150 against the Falcons in a game where they trailed for most of the first half and were forced to throw the ball more than they'd like. 

As for the Ravens running over 125 yards would be a big win against San Francisco's run defense and would force the secondary to not cheat on their coverage.

Special Teams and the new Red Zone

David Akers and 49er fans hope to look happier after SB47

Inspite of the two, count em': two, special teams touchdowns they allowed against Denver Baltimore's special teams have been amongst the best in the league. but they will be facing the afore mentioned La'Michael James. So this should be an interesting battle.

If I were a fan of either team I would be worried about my field goal unit. Even though Ravens rookie kicker Justin Tucker has made some big kicks this season (against New England early in the season and at Denver in the playoffs he is still a rookie). 

And if there were a prop bet for "player most likely to receive death threats via Twitter after then game" it would be San Francisco kicker David Akers. He's missed 13 field goals including 5 in the last five games. That's why the 30 yard line should be considered the red zone for this game. If either team gets inside the 30 they should feel a sense of urgency to not leave it to their kicker to put points on the board.

Final Prediction:
If you average the margin of victory from Super Bowl 18-33 that number would have been nearly 18 points. There was a time when the Super Bowl meant watching one team get killed by another. In recent years we've had great nail biters. But something leads me to believe that we are going to have a double digit victory tonight. 

As much as I am trying to convince myself that the Ravens will win the 49ers have the personnel on offense to exploit an aging defense. The Ravens lost each time they faced an elusive NFC quarterback this season Michael Vick and RGIII. And on defense the 49ers have enough athletes to shut down the big play making skills of the Ravens. The only way i can see the Ravens winning is if they force atleast two turnovers and Anquan Boldin and Ray Rice have 100 yards a piece of offense. 

Otherwise: 28-17 San Francisco