Why I'm Both Nervous and Optimistic About the Niners

With Super Bowl week winding down and every pre-Super Bowl story line beaten into the ground it's finally time to concentrate on the actual game. Right now I'm not as nervous like when the Giants played in the World Series in 2010 and 2012. Still though I have reasons to be nervous but also have reasons to be optimistic.

Nervous

The Pass Rush- Football Outsiders says don't worry about the pass rush or Joe Flacco throwing down the field. I'm still nervous though. Yes as FO said the Niners are excellent at preventing teams from moving the ball on first down. Still though they need a pass rush and they need Aldon Smith to get at least one sack and a half in this game. Without a pass rush my biggest fear is that Flacco will destroy the secondary with long passes to Torrey Smith.

David Akers- Once again a smart football writer says "don't be worried", this case it's Bill Barnwell, but I'm still nervous about Akers. I'm not worried about Akers screwing up a kickoff or an extra point or even a field goal within 30 yards. It's the long kicks that have me worried. It's the kicks that could give the Niners a lead or extend the lead that worry me. Akers has plenty of distance on his kicks, it's been the accuracy. He's pushed the kicks to the left and this scares the shit out of me. I hope he can redeem himself in the Super Bowl, but I'm not confident about it.

Ed Dickson- He destroys Northern California teams. End of story.

kt1000's Q&A with Me About the Niners

Kris answered my questions yesterday so it's time for me to answer his questions today regarding the Super Bowl.

Q. Is the Bay Area becoming the new Boston in terms of teams making championship runs? Who right now is more popular-the Niners or the Giants?

A. That means the Warriors and Sharks would have to win a championship for the Bay Area to become the new "Boston". And I seriously doubt that either team wins a championship this year although you're never sure about a lockout shortened year in the NHL.

I will say this the Giants have definitely become the "new Red Sox" not in terms of going on a spending spree in free agency but by the non-stop marketing they do for that team. The pink hats have been replaced with Panda and Giraffe hats. 'Sweet Caroline' has been replaced by Journey's 'Lights'. It's quite disgusting really.

As far as who is most popular, the Giants or the 49ers? I would still have to go with the 49ers. Even when the Niners were bad they still sold out Candlestick. The Giants meanwhile either have to be good or have Barry Bonds chase a record to draw fans. I remember when after Bonds broke the career home run record which happened in early August, that ballpark became emptied. I mean they barely had 20,000 fans in that park after the record was broken because the team was so bad. There was hardly a moment when Candlestick wasn't at least close to being sold out when the Niners were bad. So the Niners will always hold the people's attention over the Giants.

Q. Is Jim Harbaugh the new Bill Belichick?

A. It's still too early to tell. With Belichick you get the impression he has his hands on everything except offensive play-calling. Belichick picks the players and comes up with the defensive schemes. While Harbaugh has gotten to chose a few players for the team (Randy Moss as an example) I don't get the feeling he's making the final choice on all the personnel decisions. Also I'm not really sure how much of the offensive scheme he's come up with? I'm not sure if the Pistol was his idea or Roman's? So I can't call him the new Belichick until I can confirm he makes the personnel decisions and creates the offensive schemes.

Q. Which 49ers player makes you cringe everytime you see him on the field? 

A. This has become a running joke at the Cantina but it's Delanie Walker. Walker is one of those guys who can't help but cringe when the ball is thrown to him because he's catches about 50 percent of the balls thrown to him. There wasn't one game in the playoffs this year or a game all year where Walker was thrown to and he flat dropped the ball. Even grosser he's been targeted more than Davis when Kaepernick became the starter.

Q&A With Ravens Fan Kris Thompson

My Internet friend Kris Thompson (kt1000) is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan. And I'm a huge San Francisco 49ers fan. Our teams are playing in the Super Bowl. So we're going to ask each other questions about our respective teams. Enjoy.

Q. What's been the most annoying local news story on the Ravens leading up to the Super Bowl?

A. I could definitely do without the stories on New Orleans travel tips. I believe it’s all a plot from BIG TOURISM to remind all of us in Baltimore how awesome New Orleans is and how Baltimore blows. I just want to remind them that “The Wire” is far superior to “Treme,” even if I would trade for Creole and Cajun food in a heartbeat.

Q. What's been the most annoying national story line on the Super Bowl? The Harbaugh brothers? Ray Lewis's character being dissected?

A. At this point, the whole “Is Joe Flacco elite?” story line makes me want to claw my eyes out. Flacco suffers from the fact he isn’t smooth in front of the cameras & just looks like kind of a goof. I mean, has anyone ever been successful with a unibrow?

Q. What are Ravens fans thoughts on John Harbaugh? Do they believe he's a good coach or a great coach? And what are his coaching strengths and weaknesses?

A.Obviously most fans at this point love the guy. I don’t believe his strength lies in X and O scheming. First, he’s embraced technology. The Ravens are at the forefront of the technology revolution in the NFL, from advanced metrics, to putting their playbooks on iPads. More importantly, you can easily tell that Harbaugh absolutely loves on the field competition. But it was more than just coaching–it was clear his passion was leading from the heart and serving as a role-model and mentor to his players. Harbaugh is caring, and passionate about football–and by the smile on his face when he talks about his players, you could tell he really loves them. He has no visible ego, a wonderful sense of humor, and repeatedly pokes fun at himself and his own weaknesses. It’s obvious the players love & respect him & it filters down to the way they stand by each other in the tough times. This also leads to his weakness: he is over-loyal to his assistants & players he likes (most people believe Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti played a huge role in firing Cam Cameron) & stubborn to a fault. Once a player lands in his Chateau Bowwow, it takes a long time for them to escape it. He also takes after his mentor Andy Reid in ridiculous challenges that have no hope of succeeding.