I've been going back and forth for almost two weeks now, and if I don't write this quickly enough, I may change my prediction again. For those people who didn't get caught up in the deer antler spray drama and Chris Culliver's remarks on gay athletes in the NFL, there were two major questions constantly brought up this week regarding real football in Sunday's game.

The first question is will the San Francisco secondary be able to stop, or slow, Baltimore's deep passing attack? The second is will the Ravens defensive front be able to force 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick into making bad decisions in the read option. Whichever team wins these two battles will win. Guaranteed.

Now if the only Super Bowl coverage you watched the past two weeks was the stuff that would appear in the New York Post, these matchups are probably new news to you. But if you’ve actually watched or listened to something with substance, you are hopefully nodding your head right now.

First, how will San Francisco attempt to slow down the Joe Flacco to Torrey Smith connection? There are two reasonable options San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. He could either add extra help in covering Smith, and trust the rest of his secondary can cover in 1-on-1 matchups, or he can trust his front-seven in pass rushing and leave his secondary alone. It’s not that easy, though.

Aldon Smith, the 49ers most productive player during the regular season, is not a great cover linebacker, and is also injured. He’s only recorded three tackles so far in this postseason, with no sacks. During the regular season, he only had one pass defended. Compare that to JJ Watt (16), who plays a similar position as an edge-rusher, and Stephen Tulloch (6), who rarely blitzes, and it doesn’t look good for the 49ers.

What does that all mean? If Aldon Smith isn’t sacking the quarterback when he blitzes, he isn’t that effective. Also, if he is dropping into coverage, he isn’t that effective. It’s boom or bust. With that said, it looks like Joe Flacco will have the time and protection to deliver on some of the deep strikes throughout the game.

Second, can the Ravens confuse Colin Kaepernick when he’s running the read option? This week we’ve consistently heard the term “mesh point” when referring to the point in which Kaepernick sticks the ball in the chest of the running back and decides whether or not to give or keep the ball. Teams have had trouble not only stopping Kaepernick, but also pretty much any quarterback who runs this well. But the Ravens have a different strategy.

Instead of sitting back on the read option, they have said they will attack the mesh point and force Kaepernick to make a quicker decision. Sitting back usually gives the defense leverage because they let the play develop in front of them. However, Kaepernick is so effective at continuing the mesh point towards the line of scrimmage, that it gives him the advantage. If the Ravens can attack that point, and not let Kaepernick think about his decision, they’ll have the edge.

So it’s that simple. It sure sounds good in theory, and that’s what we make predictions on, right? Theory? And based on my theory, the Ravens will come out on top.

Ravens 24, 49ers 20