There's really no other way to put it. It was a good old-fashioned ass whupping. 43-8? Oh yeah, for Denver that's gettting taken to the woodshed in front of a world-wide audience.
Yours truly, along with I dare say most other people, didn't foresee this happening. I thought the Seahawks would win (see previous post), but it would at least be a close game. Wrong. It was a rout, from start to finish.
It seemed to start from the first play, where somehow Peyton Manning and his Broncos got their signals crossed, and the ball was snapped over his head into the end zone for a Seattle safety. 2 points in 12 seconds, Seattle gets the ball, and the tone was set.
Who would have thought the high-flying Denver offense, ranked #1 in the NFL, with Manning having set touchdown and scoring records for the season, averaging about 40 points a game -- would find themselves shut out -- skunked -- in the first half? They wouldn't score at all until the very last play of the third quarter -- and that was it for the offensive juggernaut that had ruled the roost throughout the regular season.
But maybe this is what happens when the #1 defense (Seattle) is on the field against it. How many times have you heard the adage -- offense wins games, but defense wins championships? It was never more apparent than in this game.
To Denver's credit -- their offensive line held up fairly well protecting Manning from the fierce Seattle pass rush. But when he was hurried and/or hit, he made some dumb throws which resulted in interceptions. And it seemed like most times he made a decent throw to one of his receivers -- the Seattle defense would jar it loose with an immediate big hit. Throw in a fumble here and there on top of the picks and, next thing ya know, things weren't looking so good for Eli's big brother.
To no one's great surprise, neither team could run much, and also to no great surprise Seattle QB Russell Wilson missed a few easy throws to wide open receivers in the early stages of the game. Wilson's only a second year player, and Super Bowl jitters are what they are with young guys. It happens. But Wilson eventually settled into the flow of things to play a very good game, whereby Manning appeared confused throughout.
For sure, Denver kept trying to run their notorious "pick" play, where two wide receivers criss-cross their patterns and one of them blocks a defensive back trying to cover the other receiver, leaving him wide open. But that didn't work well against Seattle, because they had obviously done their homework and were ready for it.
It was also interesting that Peyton Manning never threw a single pass in the direction of Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman (he of the famous rant) until the second half. Previous smack talk or not, Sherman is likely the best corner in the entire league, and I suspect Peyton didn't want to challenge him.
So now, after all the hype about Peyton this and Peyton that, he has to slither off with his tail between his legs after having failed to win his 2nd Super Bowl. And you know what? Maybe that's a good thing. Had the Broncos won -- does anybody doubt we'd have been bombarded for weeks, months, with more sound bytes, highlights, interviews, and dumb commercials featuring Manning? It would have been everywhere. Almost like Tiger Woods winning another major. Who's kidding who? Personally, Pete Carroll aside (boo, hiss), I'm glad to see "new blood" like the Seahawks come along and take center stage.
And guess what? This might have been Peyton's last shot at another ring. He's almost 38 and things won't get any better in the next few years, even he even sticks around. Getting to the Super Bowl isn't exactly easy, even for a veteran team with considerable talent like the Broncos.
Currently, the Seahawks are not only deserving Super Bowl champions after their beatdown of the Broncos, but they could indeed be back again next year. They're a very young team (average age 26.4) and are well under the salary cap. Add a few draft choices and, scary thought, but they'll likely get even better. And who's going to beat these brutes? Their closest competition would seem to come from the San Fran 49ers, who play in the same division.
Nevertheless, all hail the Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl 48 champions. Like them or not, that was quite a show they put on in New Jersey. Far be it from yours truly to rain on their parade.
But that very parade in Starbucks and Microsoft country WILL be in Seattle-- right?
Mother Nature will likely take care of the rain.
You know what's really sweet about this? Malcom Smith, a linebacker, of all things, and a 7th round draft pick in 2011 (#242 overall) at that, was named Super Bowl MVP. And when's the last time a linebacker was the MVP of anything, much less the Super Bowl?
Yep, times they are a-changing. And pretty quick.....
No comments:
Post a Comment