Alright welcome in to your preview for Super Bowl XLVIII between the NFC champion, Seattle Seahawks and the AFC champion Denver Broncos. We are just now one week away from Super Bowl Sunday and I can't wait for it to get started! Here, I will analyze both of the teams' roster, their season, and I'll give you my final prediction.
No doubt, both the Seahawks and the Broncos are two of the best teams in the NFL right now, both respectively the "Best in their West." The Seahawks of course winning the NFC West and claiming the #1 seed and the Broncos winning the AFC West and claiming the #1 seed in their respective conferences. To add in a little trivia, this is also known as the "Weed Bowl" due to the fact that both Colorado and Washington are two of the states in the U.S. that legalized marijuana.
Let's start with the Seahawks, hands down the #1 defense in the league aided by their elite secondary lead by Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Byron Maxewell, Walter Thurmond, and Kam Chancellor. Sherman this year, another great year, obviously showing why he's the league's premiere shutdown corner. Aside from the Seahawks' Legion of Boom secondary, the defensive line, linebacking corp, just so many depth from that position. The edge rushing triplet of Cliff Avril (one of Seattle's biggest signings), Michael Bennett, and Chris Clemons have torn it up this season, especially up at home feeding off the energy of the ever-boisterous 12th man. The linebacker corp too with Bobby Wagner, Malcolm Smith, KJ Wright, and Bruce Irvin, another solid year as usual for these linebackers. Offensively, the dynamic duo of Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch, one of the best 1-2 QB/RB punch in NFL with Wilson's ability to extend plays with his feet to give his receivers more time aided by Marshawn Lynch's "beast mode" power running style and that's been their formula all season, run the ball with Lynch, pass/run with Wilson. Obviously with what Wilson has to work with, he doesn't have that great of a receiving corp. Percy Harvin's been hurt all season, only played two games, they lost Sidney Rice for the rest of the season and Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, and Zach Miller have been erratic this season. I'm thoroughly surprise that Zach Miller has not been getting more touches because in his time here in Oakland, he proved he can be a solid security blanket for QBs, and they were just not finding him at all this season. Also a negative, Seattle has been one of the most penalized teams, but they're lucky enough penalties don't cost them games. Pete Carroll has done a masterful job keeping the team's composure in check in the midst of all the penalties.
With the Seahawks, at home they've been great, on the road they have not been impressive. Two of their losses on the road came against legit teams in San Francisco and Indianapolis. Even worse, they almost lost to Houston and St. Louis, even also to Tampa Bay on their own floor if it weren't for their defense making great plays. They started off great this season, especially with the impressive 7-34 thrashing they put up against the Saints in Seattle and then things just started cooling down for this Seattle team from there and they almost gave up the division and the #1 seed to the Niners. With the Seahawks, the offense lately has been ultra conservative just handing the ball to Lynch and depending on the defense to make plays and it was evident in the divisional round against the Saints and then onto the NFC Championship against the Niners. With Harvin, no doubt they can be a dynamic team, but his lengthy absence to the team makes the trade a complete bust and made the offense more one-dimensional than it looks. Heading to the Super Bowl, Seattle won't have the 12th man and they need to treat it as an actual road game without the 50/50 split in the crowd.
For the Broncos, Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning, and Peyton Manning. Back when he signed in Denver in 2012, as a Raider fan, I know that the Broncos were going to dominate the west as long as he's under center and they did. Since Manning arrived, the Broncos have compiled a total 26 wins and 6 losses, and back-to-back #1 seeds. Obviously the loss against Baltimore stinged them a lot, and they added a few weapons snagging away Wes Welker and turning Julius Thomas into a star Tight End. The receiving corps of Welker, Julius Thomas, Demaryius Thomas, and Eric Decker proved to be real estate coverage for Manning because every hasn't found an answer to stop Denver's four horsemen receiving corps. No doubt, Denver this season has proven to be the best offense in NFL history with Manning setting a ridiculous amount records and for his age, putting up unbelievable numbers. My opinion, Peyton Manning will go down as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game and it's arguable for sure and he's hands down a first ballot hall of famer. No to mention, Knowshon Moreno is a very capable go to guy in the backfield and he's also put up great numbers for Denver's running game. On the defensive side, they've been decent. Jack Del Rio has always been an underrated defensive coordinator. The defensive line and the linebackers, they've been notorious for stopping the run and getting after the quarterback. Of course, the Broncos are missing some key players. The injury of Ryan Clady on the offensive line, of course and their star rusher Von Miller on the defense and both have left huge voids for the team.
The Broncos, unlike their NFC counterpart in the Seahawks have been consistent all season long and they've beaten the teams they needed to beat. As much as I hate them with a passion, credit where it is due, John Fox has got them to bring their A game on all 16 games. Their objectives basically were to win games and break records. And like I said, the offense has been a juggernaut with Manning under center. They've kept defenses on their heels and opposing secondaries couldn't find any way to stop them no matter many different looks they give Manning to see. Heading to the Super Bowl, the pressure is all on Manning to do it again in the big game like he's done all season long. If he does, it just makes his legacy a lot legendary.
Some matchups we're looking at here is Denver's #1 receiving corps vs. Seattle's #1 secondary, Denver's finesse running game vs. Seattle's power running game, Manning's ability to keep defenses guessing vs. Wilson's ability to extend plays with his legs. A lot of tough matchups here, but it's all going to come down on who musters enough offense and which defense give up less. It'll basically come down to who gets after the quarterback the most and who can run the ball. Denver's D all season long has not faced a very physical running back and they'll get that in Marshawn Lynch and Seattle's D has a very legitimate chance at keeping Moreno in check. Denver's receiving corps is going to have to go through a tight Seattle secondary. Look for both team's kickers, Matt Prater (DEN) and Steven Hauschka (SEA) to be key factors too. As tough as it is, I'm picking Seattle to win it, not because I hate the Broncos, but Seattle has a legitimate chance to wreck Peyton Manning in the pocket. Seattle's secondary will play physical with Denver's receivers and look for the Wilson-Lynch duo to muster just enough for Seattle to win its first Lombardi trophy.
Final Score (projected): SEA 27 DEN 23
No comments:
Post a Comment