Game Thread: Super Bowl XLVIII

[blstoker]

Positives:

Marshawn Lynch - Beast Mode is most important player on the offense. His success forces the defense to overcompensate to stop him, giving the receivers better matchups, and taking pressure off Russell and the OLine's pass protection. He's 3rd right now in playoffs yards per game rushing, and he's been on a roll the post season.

LOB - If you have been listening to some of the talking points for the week, you'd think that Richard Sherman is the only quality DB in the Seahawks defensive backfield. Denver fans and the pundits can't understand why the Seahawks fans aren't afraid of Denver's WRs. Over the last 2 seasons the Seahawks D has shut down some of the best TEs and WRs in the NFL. In fact, the only receivers that give the Seahawks fits are guys like Welker who line up outside, but since Browner went down, that hasn't been much a problem.

Strengths Collide - Not only is the #1 offense playing the #1 defense, and the #1 passing offense against the #1 passing defense, but the #1 yard after catch offense against the #1 yard after catch pass defense. Seattle allows only 4.6 yards per catch on passes within 10 yards of the LOS, best in the NFL, and that's 71% of Manning's passes. If the Hawks continue to break on short throws and tackle well, the Bronco's offense will have a difficult time breaking the game open. All time, #1 defense has won 3 of 4 SBs against the #1 offense.

Russell Wilson - There's been a lot of talk about Russell's recent performances and how they've not produced exceptional numbers. The numbers may not be flashy, but he's leading an offense that has a whopping 4 turnovers in the last 9 games, which as allowed the team to have a +18 differential over that span. He never seems rattled, and is always the ultimate professional. If Russell plays mistake free, then the Hawks have a good chance in this game.

Defense Travels - The Seahawks defense has actually been better on the road this season than they have been at home. People still think that the Hawks can't travel, but they've been really good away from CenturyLink.

Negatives:

Inexperience - Seattle is the first team since the 1990 Buffalo Bills to not have even 1 player on the roster who has played in at least 1 Super Bowl. It seems that the winner of the Super Bowl is usually the team that handles the circus surrounding the game better. Sometimes, it's really the team that comes in with the fewest distractions that wins. Players who've experienced the hype usually help. Though this isn't the worst thing possible, since I do believe that Peyton Manning is the only Bronco player to have been in a SB.

Peyton Manning - Manning is the smartest QB that I have ever seen play. If the Hawks can't get pressure on him, then he'll be very difficult to stop, as he always knows the best place to go with the ball (and he isn't likely to try to force that fade that Kaepernick forced in the NFCCG).

Overly Conservative Play Calling - Since the week 13 game against NO, Seattle has gone to a very conservative play calling on offense. Going into that game, Seattle averaged 364.3 yards per game, which had that continued it would've ranked 11th on the year. Since then, the offense hasn't had a game with that much production and are averaging only 272.8 yards. The offense needs to sustain long time consuming drives to take some of the pressure off the defense and put it on the Bronco's offense.

Overview:

Really, this game seems to be extremely even on paper. From my perspective, it looks like the game could come down to which team wins on turnovers and penalties. Both teams are coming in with strengths that matchup well with the other teams' strengths, and even their "weaknesses" aren't exactly weaknesses. These are two complete teams that should provide a very competitive game that most likely goes right down to the wire.

 

[MileHigh64]

Great post, blstoker! I think this could be one of the most epic Super Bowls in recent years.

Obviously, I'm a Denver Broncos fan but I have mad respect for this Seahawks team. I agree with you that most people's perception of the Seahawks when on the road, has been formulated from years past. They've looked good away from Century Link all year. Of course, with an identical 13-3 record, the Broncos have also fared well away from Mile High.

I have confidence that the Broncos can move the ball and score points but I also think that the Seattle defense won't make it easy on them. There is no doubt that the Broncos have not faced a defense even remotely as strong from top to bottom as the one that they will face today.

Ultimately, I continue to believe that this game may come down to how effective Russel Wilson and Marshawn Lynch are. The Broncos will be focused on stopping Lynch but it's extremely difficult to hold him down all day, especially if Pete Carrol stays committed to the running game. Denver's defense had a tough year statistically, but part of that was created from going into a prevent defense with a large lead. They've been better in the post season. I don't expect the Bronco's D to be playing with a large lead at any point in this game, so I'm hoping that translates into a sharper focus for the entire match.

The Seattle defense will have their hands full with the arsenal of weaponry at Peyton's disposal. Although the Seahawks can match up with all of Denver's receivers the wild card is Peyton Manning's brain. He won't be shy about calling audible running plays if the front of the Seahawks shows an opportunity. I know the Seahawks are going to be bringing the wood though.

Special Teams hasn't been discussed much but as fans, we've all seen ST change a championship game dramatically. I'm predicting that today's game will be no different on that front. Both teams have good players on Special Teams, so it's anyone's guess who will get the upper hand in this category.

By the way, the Broncos are actually fielding four players that have played on a Super Bowl team. Manning, Welker, Tamme and DRC. John Fox also coached the Carolina Panthers in their Super Bowl run. I'm glad that some experience is there for the Broncos but I think Pete Carrol will have his squad ready regardless.

This game is so tough to call. I don't remember a Super Bowl in a long time where I didn't feel confident in predicting the winner. I think both teams and both cities have a ton to be proud of. These are two excellent franchises that both deserve to be in the big game. Obviously, I'm hoping and praying for a Broncos victory but I will send my congrats to Seattle if they come out on top. I know how much it means to bring home a championship and you might just have the team to get the job done!

I'm nervous as hell and super pumped at the same time! I'm sure that's similar to how all of you are feeling.

Here's to a great game! Cheers!

MH64

 

[TheDman875]

Here we go!!

 

[TheDman875]

Cheers MH64. Here's to a great game.

 

[blstoker]

Great post, blstoker! I think this could be one of the most epic Super Bowls in recent years.

Obviously, I'm a Denver Broncos fan but I have mad respect for this Seahawks team. I agree with you that most people's perception of the Seahawks when on the road, has been formulated from years past. They've looked good away from Century Link all year. Of course, with an identical 13-3 record, the Broncos have also fared well away from Mile High.

I have confidence that the Broncos can move the ball and score points but I also think that the Seattle defense won't make it easy on them. There is no doubt that the Broncos have not faced a defense even remotely as strong from top to bottom as the one that they will face today.

Ultimately, I continue to believe that this game may come down to how effective Russel Wilson and Marshawn Lynch are. The Broncos will be focused on stopping Lynch but it's extremely difficult to hold him down all day, especially if Pete Carrol stays committed to the running game. Denver's defense had a tough year statistically, but part of that was created from going into a prevent defense with a large lead. They've been better in the post season. I don't expect the Bronco's D to be playing with a large lead at any point in this game, so I'm hoping that translates into a sharper focus for the entire match.

The Seattle defense will have their hands full with the arsenal of weaponry at Peyton's disposal. Although the Seahawks can match up with all of Denver's receivers the wild card is Peyton Manning's brain. He won't be shy about calling audible running plays if the front of the Seahawks shows an opportunity. I know the Seahawks are going to be bringing the wood though.

Special Teams hasn't been discussed much but as fans, we've all seen ST change a championship game dramatically. I'm predicting that today's game will be no different on that front. Both teams have good players on Special Teams, so it's anyone's guess who will get the upper hand in this category.

By the way, the Broncos are actually fielding four players that have played on a Super Bowl team. Manning, Welker, Tamme and DRC. John Fox also coached the Carolina Panthers in their Super Bowl run. I'm glad that some experience is there for the Broncos but I think Pete Carrol will have his squad ready regardless.

This game is so tough to call. I don't remember a Super Bowl in a long time where I didn't feel confident in predicting the winner. I think both teams and both cities have a ton to be proud of. These are two excellent franchises that both deserve to be in the big game. Obviously, I'm hoping and praying for a Broncos victory but I will send my congrats to Seattle if they come out on top. I know how much it means to bring home a championship and you might just have the team to get the job done!

I'm nervous as hell and super pumped at the same time! I'm sure that's similar to how all of you are feeling.

Here's to a great game! Cheers!

MH64

Good post, thank you. How I forgot Welker and Super Bowl experience I don't know.....

 

[Logicallylethal]

As always great post Blstoker!

Here are some of my concerns about the game

1) This Denver defense reminds me of the 2006 Colts defense
- In the regular season that 06 Colts defense was picked apart and was ranked #21 in yards and #23 in pts. In the playoffs, however, they held two teams under 10 pts and averaged only giving up 16 ppg on route to winning a superbowl. This year's Denver team in the regular season they were #19 in yds and #22 in pts and so far in the post season their defense has only given up...you guessed it 16 ppg. I still feel like the Seahawks can find holes in the defense to exploit for some big plays, but it really scares me to see this trend

2) Earl Thomas's over aggressiveness
- Earl probably has the highest motor of anyone on the defense...probably of anyone on the team and arguably of anyone in the league. The guy makes a read, reacts, and within a blink of a second he's shooting 110 mph at the play. Now usually this is a great attribute to have...but when you are going against the master of all quarterbacks it might be used against him.

Over the span of a season Earl makes his fair share of big plays but every now and then he'll get caught being too over aggressive. There'll be some plays where he'll take a bad angle in the open field and it'll lead to a big play (Frank Gore run for example). There'll be other plays where he's going for the big hit and bounces off the rb leading to a big play (Atlanta game last year in the playoffs). But the thing I'm worried about that doesn't happen as often but there is tape of it happening is Earl Thomas being manipulated by the quarterback's eye forcing him to go one way and having the quarterback strike the ball down the seams or down the other sidelines (Houston game this year when the Seahawks gave up the td to the TE down the seams).

Peyton is the master at manipulating safeties so Earl is going to have to play his game but also play sound.

3) Peyton Manning is on fire
- This is the best that Peyton has played in the playoffs since his 2009 superbowl run. It's also the best regular season and most talent he has ever had around him as well. However, the one positive that Seattle can take from this is that despite the stellar play the Broncos have only put up 24 and 26 pts. Which is a lot for most teams but really low for Denver's standards. Now the 26 against the Patriots is a bit misleading, because it could have easily been 40. In that game Denver averaged something crazy like 8 plays per drive, 65 yds per drive and 5 mins per drive...all season highs. So it shows that even when Denver's defense is clicking on all cylinders we can still limit them to 20 some pts as long as we play stout defense in the red zone.

 

[Perpetual_Beast_Mode]

I heard an interesting stat on NFL Gameday Morning. Michael Irvin says that Percy Harvin is second all time in all purpose yards per game (Gayle Sayers is first).

 

[Logicallylethal]

I heard an interesting stat on NFL Gameday Morning. Michael Irvin says that Percy Harvin is second all time in all purpose yards per game (Gayle Sayers is first).

Also heard on the radio that the Broncos are bottom 5 in the NFL in kickoff coverage!

Without that mile high atmosphere I'm hoping kicks don't go out and the end zone and give Percy some opportunities to run one back

 

[Itsmytime]

Going a bit off topic but did any of you see the interview they did with John Moffit asking him why he retired and such. It was some pretty heavy stuff.

 

[wingsauce7]

 

[Logicallylethal]

 

[kcden]

Going a bit off topic but did any of you see the interview they did with John Moffit asking him why he retired and such. It was some pretty heavy stuff.

I read the article about him in ESPN the mag a few months ago... interesting guy. He's very funny, if you've ever heard him as a guest on many of the radio programs he's shown up on. I thought it was really interesting that he said that he probably would still be playing if the Seahawks had kept him.

 

[MrS]

Everyone is giving the denver defense too much credit. They have one pass rusher who is old as the hills, one DT that nobody heard of before two weeks ago, and a bunch of geezers playing DB. This is going to be the weakest defense we have played in a long time.

 

[wingsauce7]

Everyone is giving the denver defense too much credit. They have one pass rusher who is old as the hills, one DT that nobody heard of before two weeks ago, and a bunch of geezers playing DB. This is going to be the weakest defense we have played in a long time.

I wish like hell we had Von Miller playing....

Here's to a great FB game

 

[Wedgie]

Everyone is giving the denver defense too much credit. They have one pass rusher who is old as the hills, one DT that nobody heard of before two weeks ago, and a bunch of geezers playing DB. This is going to be the weakest defense we have played in a long time.

This!

 

[Doublejive]

Everyone is giving the denver defense too much credit. They have one pass rusher who is old as the hills, one DT that nobody heard of before two weeks ago, and a bunch of geezers playing DB. This is going to be the weakest defense we have played in a long time.

That's what i have been saying,and look who the Hawks have played the last six games.

BIG DIFFERENCE!

Oh and thanks blstoker as always.

 

[Doublejive]

 

[Perpetual_Beast_Mode]

Everyone is giving the denver defense too much credit. They have one pass rusher who is old as the hills, one DT that nobody heard of before two weeks ago, and a bunch of geezers playing DB. This is going to be the weakest defense we have played in a long time.

Yeah, I heard some stats on KJR that show that the Broncos pass defense is pretty weak. The KJR guys said that against QBs on teams that are .500 or better the Broncos give up something like 24 TD passes while getting only 4 INTs and Denver gives up a QB rating of about 99 to above .500 teams.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Guy to look out for IMO is Wes Welker. When the Seahawks played the Patriots last year, Welker had a huge game with 10 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown.

 

[RegentDenali]

Go Hawks!!!