Flacco Closing In On Idol Montana
Joe Flacco remembers being a little kid watching legendary quarterback Joe Montana and the 49ers in the Super Bowl.
Now Flacco has a chance to surpass one of his idols.
With eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions, Flacco only trails Montana for the most touchdown passes without throwing an interception in a single postseason, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Montana threw 11 touchdowns without getting picked off in 1989.
So if Flacco tosses three touchdowns and no interceptions at the Superdome he ties. Four and he breaks the record.
Try this one on for size too. Every quarterback who has finished a postseason throwing at least eight touchdowns without a pick has not only won the Super Bowl, but also the Super Bowl MVP.
The other quarterbacks are Montana (1989), San Francisco's Steve Young (1994), New Orleans' Drew Brees (2009), Dallas' Troy Aikman (1992) and New York Giants' Phil Simms (1986).
"I think it is just one of those things you dream of when you are a little kid," Flacco said. "You watch [Joe] Montana and those guys light them up in the Super Bowl. So, to be here at this point is pretty special."
Flacco hasn't thrown an interception since Dec. 16 against the Broncos, the play that started the trend of "Flaccoing" around Baltimore. Well, we haven't seen any of that since. Flacco has tossed 10 touchdowns and no interceptions in the last five games.
Ray Lewis' First Sack Was Jim Harbaugh
Perhaps the biggest storyline entering Super Bowl XLVII is Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh.
But what about Harbaugh vs. Lewis? Yeah, Jim Harbaugh and Ray Lewis know each other a little bit.
They played together in Baltimore in 1998. But they met before that when Lewis notched his first career sack against Harbaugh during his rookie 1996 season.
"Let's go all the way back to 1996, Week 7," Yahoo! Sports blogger Jay Busbee wrote.
"The Oilers were still in Houston. Brett Favre was still a young quarterback for the Packers. The Patriots had pinned their hopes on Drew Bledsoe. And a 21-year-old kid out of The U, one of the rookies in the Baltimore Ravens' inaugural season, was lining up against the Indianapolis Colts."
Lewis didn't get a massive shot on Harbaugh, but hey, it was a solid takedown. And I love the shimmy Lewis gives afterwards.
Check out the video of the sack.
Dr. Dre Rooting For Lewis, Ravens
There will be a whole lot of celebrity picks leading up to the Super Bowl (which I promise to accumulate and deliver to you).
But I couldn't wait on this one. I mean, c'mon, it's Dr. Dre.
The legendary producer, rapper, entrepreneur and actor was caught by TMZ and asked for his Super Bowl pick. Dr. Dre is from California (Compton to be exact), but he won't be rooting for the home team.
"I'm excited for Ray Lewis," Dr. Dre said. "He's a good guy, man. I'm a fan of his. I wish the best for him."
Side note: Seriously, I feel bad for people who do these interviews. Ugh.
Harbaugh Sons Helped Dad
The Harbaugh brothers rave about their father, Jack Harbaugh, with good reason. They learned how to be a coach, a competitor, a man, a husband and a father from him.
But Jack was in a tough place in 1994 when his Western Kentucky University program suffered its fourth losing season in five years. That's when the Harbaugh brothers, John and Jim, swooped in to help.
Jim was an NFL quarterback playing for Indianapolis who owned a home in Orlando , a.k.a. the mecca of recruiting. John was a college coach at Cincinnati, which had much more resources in terms of scouting services, contacts and high school footage than WKU.
So with their powers combined, John would locate potential hidden gem prospects in Florida that wouldn't be a fit for Cincinnati, and Jim would recruit them.
"Next Sunday the brothers meet with a Super Bowl on the line – John's Baltimore Ravens against Jim's San Francisco 49ers," Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel writes.
"Not two decades ago they teamed up to help their dad and in the process built the foundation for a championship program – in this case at a lower-division college that neither even officially worked for at the time."
Hensley: Ravens Happy To See 49ers
If you had to choose who you wanted to play in Super Bowl XLVII, would you have wanted the San Francisco 49ers or Atlanta Falcons?
ESPN blogger Jamison Hensley says the Ravens are happy to face the 49ers.
His reason is that the high-flying Atlanta Falcons are used to playing in a dome, and would have been traveling to the nearby Superdome.
The 49ers, however, are more of a mirror image of the Ravens – a version of a physical AFC North team. Baltimore has won its division in back-to-back seasons.
"The reason they believe they'll win the Super Bowl is they believe they're the team that packs the bigger punch," Hensley said.
Quick Hits
- There was no Sports Illustrated cover curse last week. Now Joe Flacco and the Ravens are all over the cover again leading up to the Super Bowl. [Twitter/@SInow]
- Kurt Warner says Joe Flacco has earned a $100 million contract." [The Baltimore Sun]
- Torrey Smith says Patriots fans taunted him over the death of his brother. [NFL.com]
- Jim Caldwell says it's been a "great learning process" for he and Flacco since joining forces. [The Baltimore Sun]
- Tale of the Tape: Bernard Pollard's hit on Stevan Ridley. [The Baltimore Sun]
- Ed Reed overshadowed by Ray Lewis' last hurrah. [Yahoo! Sports]
- Is it smart for Ravens to pressure 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick? [ESPN]
- A look at the art of the long snap in the Super Bowl. It could make a huge difference. [Sporting News]
- The average ticket price for Super Bowl XLVII is $3,083. [Baltimore Business Journal]
- Check out how the whole New England vs. Baltimore billboard battle played out and the power of social media to fuel it. [ESPN.com]
- Unsung heroes of Super Bowl XLVII, including Ravens linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. [ESPN]
- Look whose back. It's the Baltimore Ravens defense. [CBSSports.com]
- Phone calls have been officially cut off between the Harbaugh brothers. It’s only texting now. [ESPN]
- Ravens defensive tackle Terrence Cody is selling some pit bull puppies if anyone is interested. [Twitter]
- John Harbaugh: "My mom's really emotional. Whenever you see Jim on the sideline, give credit to my mom for that." [CSNBaltimore.com]
