Super Bowl 47 practice pool report: 49ers, Ravens wrap up main practice sessions

The 49ers and Ravens wrapped up their formal practices on Friday, which means all that is left is a walkthrough on Saturday, and then game day on Sunday. It's about damn time. We'll have practice pool reports tomorrow, but I don't imagine they will be too detailed. The highlight of Friday's would probably be Andy Lee booming some punts off the top of Saints indoor facility.

Friday, Feb. 1, 2013
San Francisco 49ers Practice Pool Report
By John Clayton
Pro Football Writers of America

San Francisco 49ers Jim Harbaugh accomplished his coaching plan of trying to make Super Bowl week a normal week for his team both in practice and in preparation.

The players responded by being efficient. On Friday, the 49ers held an 80-minute practice at the New Orleans Saints indoor facility in Metairie, La., with practice ending 15 minutes early. If you include Wednesday and Thursday, the 49ers went through their normal week of work with 40 minutes less time on the practice field.

"We got everything done we normally do,'' Harbaugh said. ``There were only one or two repeats. The whole tempo was good in and out of the huddle and that might reflect that the most. There was good attention to detail and a crisp tempo.''

Harbaugh decided to practice indoors Friday because the 49ers are playing in a dome Sunday. He said he thought it was better for the players to get used to the lights and the artificial turf surface rather than being outside as the team was Friday.

The team also brought out the noise. The 49ers used the ``12 Man Crowd Simulator'' on offense, defense and special teams, which was a first for this team.

"Normally, we would use the noise for just one side of the ball,'' Harbaugh said. ``If it's a home game, we'd use it for the defense. If it's a road game, we'd use it for the offense and special teams. But this is a neutral site.''

Punter Andy Lee hit the ceiling several times with his powerful leg and had to lower his trajectory on some just to get his punts downfield.

"I'm glad he didn't hit those lights,'' Harbaugh said. ``David Akers didn't miss a kick all week. Those guys had good weeks.''

The 49ers coach also praised the way quarterback Colin Kaepernick has handled the three days of work in New Orleans.

"Exemplary,'' he said of his quarterback. ``That's the way he always is since we've known him. This is always the way he handles himself _ A plus, plus. He's very focused on the game plan. He's ready to go.''

Linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith were limited for the third consecutive day, but they will be listed as probable, according to Harbaugh. Any player with an injury will be probable, Harbaugh said.

The 49ers will hold a walk through Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to conclude their preparation for Super Bowl XLVII. They also don't plan to move hotels Saturday night.

"We're staying at the hotel,'' he said. ``Unless we change our mind.''

Baltimore Ravens Practice Pool Report
By Peter King
Pro Football Writers of America

Linebacker Ray Lewis, drafted in the first round in the history of the new Baltimore Ravens in 1996 and retiring after Sunday's Super Bowl against San Francisco, walked off the practice field for the last time Friday as the Ravens concluded full-scale workouts at the New Orleans Saints' practice facility.

The Ravens will have a short walk-through Saturday, but players don't even break a sweat in those sessions. This was it after 17 seasons of practices for Lewis, who seemed somber and serious for much of the practice, as he has all week. There were little reminders of the last practice for Lewis. As he always does on Friday, running back Ray Rice, mentored by Lewis since being drafted by the Ravens in 2008, wore Lewis' number 52 and at one pointed shouted to Lewis and pointed to the number on his jersey. The Ravens play music at most practice sessions, and the first two songs played at the practice session were Lewis favorites: "Spiritual,'' a gospel number by Donald Lawrence and Company, and "Hot in Herre'' by Nelly, the song the Ravens blared when Lewis was introduced at home games.

Lewis wore number 1 without a name on the back, a Friday game-week tradition dating back to 2001. When the 65-minute practice ended, Lewis walked off the Saints' grass field onto a team bus, talking with tackle Bryant McKinnie all the way. Outward signs of emotion by Lewis if he was feeling any? None. The game could also be the last one for 36-year-old center Matt Birk, whose plans for 2013 are unclear, and the last one in Baltimore for free-agent-to-be Ed Reed, but many eyes on the sidelines were fixed on Lewis.

"I didn't even think of it,'' said coach John Harbaugh before boarding the bus for the 15-minute trip back to Baltimore's team hotel in downtown New Orleans. "That's not where Ray's head is either, I'm sure. He's thinking about the game. We all are.''

The Ravens, practicing under blue skies with 8-mph winds and a temperature of 63, preceded the 49ers on the field late Friday morning. The two teams have been in a rare practice-sharing arrangement because Baltimore's practice site eight miles away at Tulane had artificial turf, and the Ravens players preferred grass. That necessitated Baltimore following San Francisco on the Saints' field late Thursday afternoon, and the two teams switched Friday: Ravens first, Niners second. As the Ravens finished their work and boarded five buses outside the fence next to the field, the 49ers players and coached disembarked in the parking lot next to the building. There was no contact between the two teams.

Baltimore couldn't be healthier heading into the biggest game of its season. For the third straight day, all 53 players on the active roster were full participants in practice, a rarity for any Super Bowl team after four preseason games, 16 regular-season games and three playoff games.

Asked for his review of the practice week, Harbaugh said: "It was an A-plus. A-plus-plus. We're at the stage where we're clicking on all cylinders and practicing very, very well. We've had a few assignment errors, but they've been corrected right away. I'm very pleased with how the week has gone.''

After practice, Harbaugh gathered the team at midfield and thanked them, he said, "for how hard they've worked both this week and this season, and for who they are.'' He urged his players earlier in the day to get some time to themselves and rest. "Family, we love ‘em, but they're not playing in the game. Only the players are, and they need to be at their best Sunday at 6:30,'' Harbaugh said. He told them to stay well-hydrated in the next 48 hours before the game.