Super Bowl XLVII

[Rockstar Matt]

So here's my predicted score from Madden:

Ravens 27, 49ers 24.

Total Yards: BAL 373.7 SF 380.4

Passing Yards: BAL 302.1 SF 260.2

Rushing Yards: BAL 71.6 SF 120.2

Turnovers BAL 0.7 SF 1

TOP: BAL 28 SF 32

BAL PASS: Flacco, 22/35, 320 yards, 3 TD

BAL RUN: Rice, 15 carries, 55 yards

BAL REC: Boldin, 8 catches, 150 yards, 2 TD

BAL MVP: Flacco or Boldin

SF PASS: Kaepernick, 20/33, 270 yards 2 TD, INT

SF RUN: Gore, 20 carries, 95 yards, TD

SF REC: Davis, 7 catches, 90 yards, TD

SF MVP: Karpernick.

In my simulations, the Ravens won 12 times vs. the Niners 8 times. Let's see how close a video game can get.

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but these Maddrn predictions were surprisingly close to the actual game.

Flacco went 22/33 instead of 22/35. Had 287 instead of 320, but he threw 3 TD and no picks just like Madden predicted. Rice yards were off by 4. Boldin had a good game like it predicted.

It predicted that Karpernick would score two TD's and throw an INT. Correctly predicted Gore would score a TD. Davis had one less catch than predicted.

The final score was only off by 7 points for both teams. Overall, Madden did pretty well.

[Rockstar Matt]

Flacco just did something only Montana and Young have done. That's great company to keep.

Flacco needed 4 games to hang those numbers. Montana and Young did it in 3 (first round bye). Let's not get carried away now.

Not Flaccos fault that his team only earned a 4th seed. Plus, that makes it more impressive. He had one more game than they did to make mistakes but he didn't. But, playing 4 games in the postseason without throwing an INT while throwing 11 TD's? That's impressive and elite.

If Montana or Young had played a Wild Card game versus a 5 or 6-seed, they would probably have ended up with 15 or 16 passing touchdowns. I'm still not sure why you're forcing me to believe that Flacco is in their class.....

But if you insist on putting Flacco among the game's greats because he GOT HIZ RING, I'll help you out....

DiscoDiva Matt's list of all-time elite NFL quarterbacks

Joe Flacco

Joe Montana

Steve Young

Eli Manning

Brad Johnson

Trent Dilfer

Mark Rypien

Jeff Hostetler

Doug Williams

Jim McMahon

Ken Stabler

Earl Morrall

Cute little list you got there.

*facepalm*

You've completely missed the point. Flacco didn't throw a pick while throwing 11 TD's and leading his team in the Super Bowl despite playing 4 games instead of 3. That's elite and impressive.

Who's better than Flacco in the NFL right now? Brees, Brady (who he thoroughly outplayed in the AFC title game), Rodgers and maybe Peyton, in no particular order. That's it. In the current NFL, my elite quarterbacks are Rodgers, Brees, Brady, Eli, Peyton and Flacco.

Also, I'm not putting Flacco among the games greats, I'm just pointing out that he's just done something that only two of the games greats have done. But he's among the best quarterbacks in today's game.

[CS85]

Flacco just did something only Montana and Young have done. That's great company to keep.

Flacco needed 4 games to hang those numbers. Montana and Young did it in 3 (first round bye). Let's not get carried away now.

Not Flaccos fault that his team only earned a 4th seed. Plus, that makes it more impressive. He had one more game than they did to make mistakes but he didn't. But, playing 4 games in the postseason without throwing an INT while throwing 11 TD's? That's impressive and elite.

If Montana or Young had played a Wild Card game versus a 5 or 6-seed, they would probably have ended up with 15 or 16 passing touchdowns. I'm still not sure why you're forcing me to believe that Flacco is in their class.....

But if you insist on putting Flacco among the game's greats because he GOT HIZ RING, I'll help you out....

DiscoDiva Matt's list of all-time elite NFL quarterbacks

Joe Flacco

Joe Montana

Steve Young

Eli Manning

Brad Johnson

Trent Dilfer

Mark Rypien

Jeff Hostetler

Doug Williams

Jim McMahon

Ken Stabler

Earl Morrall

Not to throw a wrench into your fiery ejaculation of braggadocio, but besides the obvious glory that are Young/Montana, that list isn't half bad.

• Brad Johnson's got a better passer rating than Troy Aikman and Warren Moon
  
• Eli Manning won two superbowls by orchestrating game-winning drives late in the 4th quarter, among other things
  
• Ken Stabler is one of only three QBs to get to 100 wins as a starter faster than Johnny Unitas, the other two being Tom Brady and Joe Montana
  
• Earl Morrall won a league MVP award
  

[Cujo]

- Brad Johnson's got a better passer rating than Troy Aikman and Warren Moon

Did Warren Moon just make his way into a Super Bowl discussion?

Sorry. I stopped reading after that.

[CS85]

- Brad Johnson's got a better passer rating than Troy Aikman and Warren Moon

Did Warren Moon just make his way into a Super Bowl discussion?

Sorry. I stopped reading after that.

False - Warren Moon, the 9x pro bowler, former NFL offensive player of the year, and football hall of famer was introduced into a conversation comparing quarterbacks who just so happened to make the title game.

So yeah. Go back and read it.

[Cujo]

Okayy.... Now let's hear what you have to say to validate Doug Williams and your boy, Jim McMahon.

[CS85]

Okayy.... Now let's hear what you have to say to validate Doug Williams and your boy, Jim McMahon.

1. I didn't validate the other quarterbacks because they mostly sucked. "My boy" Jim McMahon was kinda cool, but I'm not afraid to admit he sucked. Please also note that I said the list "wasn't half bad." I used those words for a reason.
   
2. Are you still reading? I know how you like to not do that sometimes.
   
3. Let's not cease to acknowledge that you, while in the midst of invalidating several Superbowl winning quarterbacks, wasted no time in dismissing Warren Moon, an actual great quarterback, because he hasn't won a title.
   

[DEAD!]

Forget Mardi Gras, today, it's Cinco de Flacco!

[Cujo]

Let's not cease to acknowledge that youwasted no time in dismissing Warren Moon, an actual great quarterback, because he hasn't won a title.

Anytime Warren Moon's name enters a Super Bowl debate, well, that's when you just know you're beat. Just because he never sniffed the Super Bowl doesn't mean he wasn't one of the game's best ever. Not only could he occasionally put up some arcade numbers inside the dome, dude was absolutely MONEY when it came to making it beyond the Wild Card round!

So yeah... you're right... Brad Johnson WAS elite!

[CS85]

Let's not cease to acknowledge that youwasted no time in dismissing Warren Moon, an actual great quarterback, because he hasn't won a title.

Anytime Warren Moon's name enters a Super Bowl debate, well, that's when you just know you're beat. Just because he never sniffed the Super Bowl doesn't mean he wasn't one of the game's best ever. Not only could he occasionally put up some arcade numbers inside the dome, dude was absolutely MONEY when it came to making it beyond the Wild Card round!

So yeah... you're right... Brad Johnson WAS elite!

All I'm saying is pick a side. You're saying Superbowl Winning Quarterbacks Don't Graduate Them Into Greatness while at the same time chiding Moon, who had a very decorated career, sans rings. You might as well say that about Dan Marino (just don't let him near your wife), Jim Kelly, Fran Tarkenton, and Dan Fouts, among others.

Brad Johnson was, admittedly, just a guy, but my counter argument to your lambasting wasn't meant to incite a total change of opinion on any of those guys on your list. All I was initially saying was that the SB-title winning guys on that list, while not shiny and encrusted with jewels, weren't necessarily all Trent Dilfers.

[tBBP]

As a point of order, it should be noted that while Warrrn Moon may not have any Super Bowl rings, dude dors have five Grey Cup titles to his credit...five consecutive titles, at that (with two MVP awards for good measure). Add also that its called the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not the NFL Hall of Fame.

Take that and run whichever way y'all wish with it....

[Mac the Knife]

As a point of order, it should be noted that while Warrrn Moon may not have any Super Bowl rings, dude dors have five Grey Cup titles to his credit...five consecutive titles, at that (with two MVP awards for good measure). Add also that its called the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not the NFL Hall of Fame.

Take that and run whichever way y'all wish with it....

Unfortunately that argument doesn't seem to hold water in other cases (e.g., making the very legitimate case that Herschel Walker should be in the HOF, but because nearly half his career rushing yardage was accrued in the USFL it "doesn't count").

[tBBP]

And I, for one, fail to understand why that's held against him. Which is to say, I agree.

[Sport]

A lot of my Browns fan friends are grumpy about the Ravens winning saying it's now the second super bowl that belongs to Cleveland.

Can we put that to bed? It's been over 15 years since they left. At this point, the timelines between what is actually happening versus the universe where the Browns stayed in Cleveland have diverged completely.

[Mac the Knife]

A lot of my Browns fan friends are grumpy about the Ravens winning saying it's now the second super bowl that belongs to Cleveland.

Can we put that to bed? It's been over 15 years since they left. At this point, the timelines between what is actually happening versus the universe where the Browns stayed in Cleveland have diverged completely.

Even I, as someone who upon hearing the news that Fart Modell had died gave an audible cheer of "All right!", have now let that go. My blood-red hatred of the Ravens died once he did. Now while I won't pull for them, I was able to enjoy the game without being terribly upset that the 49'ers didn't win.

[njmeadowlanders]

A lot of my Browns fan friends are grumpy about the Ravens winning saying it's now the second super bowl that belongs to Cleveland.

Can we put that to bed? It's been over 15 years since they left. At this point, the timelines between what is actually happening versus the universe where the Browns stayed in Cleveland have diverged completely.

Even I, as someone who upon hearing the news that Fart Modell had died gave an audible cheer of "All right!", have now let that go. My blood-red hatred of the Ravens died once he did. Now while I won't pull for them, I was able to enjoy the game without being terribly upset that the 49'ers didn't win.

Exactly. A year or two after they left is one thing. By this point there's zero correlation between the two franchises. If the Ravens stayed in Cleveland and the new Browns were actually an expansion team awarded to Baltimore lets say, the Browns probably wouldn't have two Super Bowl titles at this point.

[Sport]

A lot of my Browns fan friends are grumpy about the Ravens winning saying it's now the second super bowl that belongs to Cleveland.

Can we put that to bed? It's been over 15 years since they left. At this point, the timelines between what is actually happening versus the universe where the Browns stayed in Cleveland have diverged completely.

Even I, as someone who upon hearing the news that Fart Modell had died gave an audible cheer of "All right!", have now let that go. My blood-red hatred of the Ravens died once he did. Now while I won't pull for them, I was able to enjoy the game without being terribly upset that the 49'ers didn't win.

Exactly. A year or two after they left is one thing. By this point there's zero correlation between the two franchises. If the Ravens stayed in Cleveland and the new Browns were actually an expansion team awarded to Baltimore lets say, the Browns probably wouldn't have two Super Bowl titles at this point.

A butterfly flaps it's wings.....If they had stayed in Cleveland they'd be under different ownership, they'd have different coaching personnell, they'd have made different draft choices, Maybe they'd have Ray Lewis, but who knows what would've played out on the field. You can't say.

I even argue that the 2000 Super Bowl was too long after the move to say that that Super Bowl would've been Cleveland's had the Browns never moved.

[pcgd]

A lot of my Browns fan friends are grumpy about the Ravens winning saying it's now the second super bowl that belongs to Cleveland.

Can we put that to bed? It's been over 15 years since they left. At this point, the timelines between what is actually happening versus the universe where the Browns stayed in Cleveland have diverged completely.

Even I, as someone who upon hearing the news that Fart Modell had died gave an audible cheer of "All right!", have now let that go. My blood-red hatred of the Ravens died once he did. Now while I won't pull for them, I was able to enjoy the game without being terribly upset that the 49'ers didn't win.

Exactly. A year or two after they left is one thing. By this point there's zero correlation between the two franchises. If the Ravens stayed in Cleveland and the new Browns were actually an expansion team awarded to Baltimore lets say, the Browns probably wouldn't have two Super Bowl titles at this point.

A butterfly flaps it's wings.....If they had stayed in Cleveland they'd be under different ownership, they'd have different coaching personnell, they'd have made different draft choices, Maybe they'd have Ray Lewis, but who knows what would've played out on the field. You can't say.

I even argue that the 2000 Super Bowl was too long after the move to say that that Super Bowl would've been Cleveland's had the Browns never moved.

Plus I believe location plays a role for free agents. Not everything as money matters most but all things being equal it plays a role.

I'm not saying Baltimore is more appealing than Cleveland, but Baltimore is more appealing than Cleveland.

[njmeadowlanders]

(There's one quick f-bomb in this if you're at work or whatever).

[rams80]

I'd rather have a QB who plays great when the pressure is on and in the postseason then having great or good regular season numbers (trust me, I know the difference because Romo is my teams QB). But, to me, by putting on the performance he did to win the title, he's earned the elite status. That's the difference between a good quarterback and an elite one. One who plays best when his team needs it the most.

Yeah man, those two field goals when San Francisco's in the process of potentially staging the biggest Super Bowl comeback ever. That's great play there.