Collegiate Times

Baltimore Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta is brought down by New England Patriots strong safety Steve Gregory after making a key first down catch during Baltimore's second quarter touchdown drive at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, Sunday night, January 20, 2013. (Doug Kapustin/MCT)

Super Bowl XLVII is a matchup of two old-school style teams.

The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are teams that play defense first and have a major focus on the running game.

While these teams are based around traditional football, it could easily be a wide receiver that decides that games.

Ravens receiver Torrey Smith is turning into an elite deep threat wide receiver in the NFL. Smith stands at 6’0”, 205 lbs., and has blazing fast speed. He ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at the NFL combine two years ago.

Smith has just nine catches for almost 200 yards this postseason with two touchdowns, but he has made big plays in almost every game. Smith has the speed to get behind any defense for long pass plays and touchdowns.

In the regular season and the playoffs this year, the Ravens have never lost when Smith has scored a touchdown.

In the playoff game against the Broncos, Smith made all the difference for the Raven. He had two long touchdown grabs and torched the Broncos secondary multiple times.

Even though Smith didn’t have a touchdown catch in either of the other playoff games, he still had several long catches and was able to open up the field for the whole offense.

In Smith’s best game this postseason against the Broncos, he wasn’t lined up against an average cornerback. Smith had Champ Bailey covering him, and Bailey looked overmatched.

While the 49ers are one of the strongest teams in football, their one major weakness is their secondary.

Even at his old age, Bailey is still widely considered a better cornerback than any of those on the 49ers’ roster.

Despite San Francisco’s two wins this postseason, this weakness has shown. Two weeks ago against the Atlanta Falcons, the 49er’s secondary gave up three passing touchdowns in just the first half.

Falcons’ wide receiver Julio Jones seemed to be a major mismatch for the San Francisco’s corners and safeties throughout the game. While Jones is a more complete receiver than Smith, Smith is just as fast, or faster, than Jones.

Between Smith’s speed and the weakness of San Francisco’s secondary, he will be able to make multiple game-changing plays this Sunday. Some of the game-changing plays may not even be passing plays but in the running game.  

When Smith plays well and has multiple catches it is a sign that the Raven’s offense is clicking. The deep passes to Smith make the secondary back off the line of scrimmage, which can greatly help the running game.

This could be a real key in the Super Bowl because San Francisco has one of the best defensive front sevens in the league.

While playing in the Super Bowl is motivation for anyone on either team, Smith may also have some extra motivation that could push him over the top.

Earlier this season Smith lost his brother to a tragic motorcycle accident. The next weekend he went out and played one of the best games of his career. Finishing out this season on top would mean a lot to Smith and his family.

Between the increased motivation and pure speed and skill that Torrey Smith brings to the game, he will be the game changer in Super Bowl XLVII this Sunday. 

----

Super Bowl XL VII is going to be the biggest game of Colin Kaepernick’s young NFL career.

The 49ers will face the Ravens this Sunday in New Orleans for the Lombardi trophy. Everyone knows this will be a game about quarterback Kaepernick who is still trying to prove himself in the league, and quarterback Joe Flacco who is still trying to prove to critics that he is elite.

The Super Bowl usually comes down to the play of the quarterback and who can make more plays, and Kaepernick will be no different. However, look for a different factor to come into play when the Lombardi trophy is on the line.

The 49ers have one of the best running attacks with Frank Gore and LaMichael James, and now with dual threat quarterback Kaepernick they have become a threat on every play.

Continue Reading: 12 Next » 

A version of this article appeared in the Feb 1 issue of the Collegiate Times.