Sports

49ers secondary leery of Ravens’ threats

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NEW ORLEANS — There’s a rhyme and reason to how the 49ers are attacked on defense, and it goes something like this:

“Our guys up front do a good job of stopping the run, so the quarterbacks we face just drop back and throw the ball,’’ cornerback Carlos Rogers said. “Guys just abandon the run. Of course they’re going to call for more yards on the defense, more plays that the secondary is going to have to deal with.

“We’re up to the challenge. It’s something we’re used to. It’s because of our front seven. When we have a safety down in the block, they shut the run off and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to throw the ball at least 50 times.’ ’’

It likely won’t become that lopsided a situation in Super Bowl XLVII, but there is no doubt the Ravens are eager to see if the 49ers can hold up on the back end. Anyone who watched as the Falcons threw early, often and with great success on the Niners in the NFC Championship Game — often targeting cornerback Tarell Brown — realizes that if there’s glitch in the defensive machinery, it is in the secondary. Blessed with four athletic, rugged and diverse starting linebackers — the best unit in the league — the 49ers’ front seven is a brick wall. Pounding away time and again with Ray Rice is not going to tear down that wall, so Joe Flacco is going to take aim, with his cannon right arm launching passes to deep threats Torrey Smith, Anquan Boldin, Jacoby Jones and tight end Dennis Pitta. Rice is also one of the best pass-catching backs in the league, adept at turning a seemingly harmless completion into a big gain.

“Our secondary is going to be huge,’’ safety Donte Whitner said. “Not allowing the guys to get behind us and keeping them to a certain amount of big plays in the football game is going to be huge. It’s huge each and every week, but they have, arguably, one of the fastest guys in the National Football League in Torrey Smith. He’s been getting behind the defense all year long, especially over the last four games.’’

The Broncos were unable to keep the Ravens in front of them, which is why they are home, as Jones inexplicably got behind their defense in an AFC divisional playoff game to force overtime with a 70-yard touchdown catch. Jones is averaging an outrageous 22.8 yards per catch in the postseason and Smith is right behind at 22 yards per catch. Boldin comes in averaging 17.3 yards as Flacco has put on display what many believe is the strongest arm in the league.

“I was there when Flacco was drafted in Baltimore,’’ said 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, a former Ravens assistant. “Right from the beginning, I was very impressed with him. He has a big arm, throws the ball very easily and naturally. He’s calm. He’s knowledgeable. The game is not too big for him. In fact, I told John Harbaugh early on in the process the first offseason we were there with him he has his horse that he can ride the next 10-to-15 years as his quarterback in Baltimore. I thought that then and I still think that.”

In the NFC title game, Matt Ryan shredded the 49ers in the first half and the result was a 17-0 lead for the Falcons. It’s safe to assume the Niners cannot fall as far behind against the Ravens and hope to walk away with the Lombardi Trophy.

Boldin is the cagey veteran, and Rogers knows he is going to see him lined up in the slot. Smith is the game-breaker and he will seek to inflict the damage Atlanta’s Julio Jones did two weeks ago, completely abusing Brown over the top. The 49ers haven’t mounted much of a pass rush in the playoffs; sack-master Aldon Smith had 19.5 sacks this season, but has none in the past five games. When the Patriots were unable to reach Flacco in the AFC title game, it was curtains for New England.

“Extremely, extremely strong arm,’’ Whitner said of Flacco, who has eight touchdown passes and no interceptions in three playoff games this season. “Likes to take chances, but he’s extremely accurate on the deep ball, also. If you’re not continuing to stay deep in your deep zones, then that’s when you’ll get beat.’’

paul.schwartz@nypost.com