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Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

The last Sunday of the NFL season is now bearing down upon us. Both teams are now in New Jersey and the game is near. I wouldn't be shocked if the Seahawks won the game, but I would be surprised. This has the feel of a Bronco rout to me. The Seahawks will need turnovers to stay close in this game and they won't be able to commit any turnovers on offense. As a rule a good offense beats a good defense and there's never been a better, more efficient offense than this Bronco offense. A good defense can take away a playmaker. A great defense can take away two. The best defense can take away three. The Broncos have five or more playmakers. There's no defense that can stop all of them.

The Seahawks' corners can limit the damage done by the wideouts, but then you've got Welker in the slot. Maybe you can take him away with a safety or nickel back, but then you've got the tight end Julius Thomas. Well, you can use the other safety on him and double with a linebacker. Then of course, with the two safeties and a linebacker out of the middle of the field there aren't a lot of people left to tackle Knowshon Moreno when he runs the ball on a play action pass. This Bronco offense is nearly impossible to stop. There are too many weapons and given any time at all, Manning will find an open receiver and hit him.

To win this game the Seahawks need to get early, heavy pressure on Manning. Force him to speed up his game. Force him into mistakes. Force him out of his comfort zone. Take away the running game. I just don't think they have the defensive firepower to get the job done. I'm not sure anyone does. Welker is a magician at getting uncovered. Julius Thomas at 6' 5" is a guy who Manning can feel comfortable throwing the ball up and letting him make a play at it. There aren't a lot of defenders who can outfight him for the ball.

The Seahawks will have to match the Broncos score for score. Their most dangerous offensive weapon is Percy Harvin who has played a whopping 40 snaps all season due to his endless injuries. He claims he's healthy now, but there's no way he's ready to play his best football with so limited a time on the field. The odds of him staying healthy the whole game aren't great. Russell Wilson can scramble for some big plays that can keep the Seahawks alive and keep them out of too much trouble, but he's also likely to make a big mistake on one or more of those scrambles that will cost the Seahawks a possession.

The Seahawks have one of the best cornerbacks in the league in Richard Sherman, but the Broncos don't have to throw the ball his way the whole game unless a guy breaks wide open. All having a Sherman does is make it easier for the opposing quarterback. Instead of reading the whole field he only has to read the part away from Sherman. Concede that part of the field to Sherman and look elsewhere for the mismatches. Work under Sherman, work away from Sherman and he becomes a non-factor in the game.

The best chance for the Seahawks to win this game is to get the ball first, score a touchdown, get early pressure on Manning and force a quick turnover/punt, score again and then pray that Manning gets rattled from the pressure of playing from behind and starts to force things. If Manning tries to force the ball down the field then the Seahawks' corners can make plays on the ball and steal a turnover or two. If I was the Seahawk defensive coordinator I might blitz on every down. Blitz in the running holes and pray your guys have the discipline to make the play. It's a high risk gameplan that's unlikely to work, but it might be the best option. If there's a run called, the blitz in the running lanes should stop it. If it's a pass you might be able to get enough pressure on Manning to limit the damage he can do. Miss a tackle though and there's no one left to clean up the mess.

I just don't see the Seahawks winning though. Barring a monster game from Russell Wilson where he runs for over a hundred yards and throws for over three hundred yards, this is likely to be a pretty easy win for the Broncos. The matchups just favor the Broncos too much. They've just got too many weapons for even the best defense to account for. I'm hoping it's a good, close, entertaining game, but I've got a bad feeling this one could be over by halftime.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Contributor
Posts: 23
Registered: ‎07-19-2010

Re: Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

I am pulling for the Denver Bronco's. I am a Kentucky Wildcat and they have 3 former KY Wildcat football players on their team - Woodyard, Trevathan, and Tamme. Go Bronco's!

Super Contributor
Posts: 310
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

On 1/28/2014 CAT FAN said:

I am pulling for the Denver Bronco's. I am a Kentucky Wildcat and they have 3 former KY Wildcat football players on their team - Woodyard, Trevathan, and Tamme. Go Bronco's!

Well, I'll now be pulling for the Bronco's right along with you!

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,501
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

It won't be easy to force Manning to make mistakes; he can read all and get around all kinds of plays. One thing to do is to keep Manning off the field as long as possible, but that will mean Seattle's offense has to step up. I wasn't real impressed with the Seahawk's defense against San Francisco; maybe they will do better when they play Denver. I think the game will be one-sided, though, with Denver heavily favored.

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 33,631
Registered: ‎03-20-2010

Re: Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

First.....I would like to express my opinion of the NFL season coming to an end---{#emotions_dlg.crying}

I think THE BRONCOS will win ......even though the Seahawks have a good running game (which can eat the clock and keep the ball away from Peyton) and they have a good defense....But can they score enough points to keep up with Peyton, I dont think so, the Seahawks offense has looked very vanilla and could be easily figured out by the Broncos defense...The Broncos have a decent offensive line an as long as they can give him some time Peyton will get it done. I agree with Gardenman the key of the game will be if the Seahawks can put pressure on Peyton which might help to stop him from completing passes, or create some turnovers created by the pressure.

Ron Jaworski gave a good explanation of how Peyton works at the line with his LOOOONNNG cadence to throw opposing defenses off....but I wonder if his own players tend to fall asleep since he takes so long to call the play----OMAHA OMAHA! OMAHA!{#emotions_dlg.laugh}

O/T---BTW did anyone hear what the Cowboys strategy is ......they are absolutely the best comedy show around---

Presiding over the worst defense in Dallas Cowboys history has earned Monte Kiffin a new job title.

Kiffin was named assistant head coach/defense on Tuesday night, while Rod Marinelli was promoted to defensive coordinator. And if that wasn't enough they hired Scott Linehan who will now call the plays on offense, but they plan to keep last year's play caller Callahan. I guess Jerry Jones hasnt heard the old adage....TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE BREW!!......Well with no cap room guess the need a ton of people to shuffle players around...oh that Jerry Jones!.{#emotions_dlg.laugh}

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

SPURT. The Cowboys can't spend money on players, so they'll just buy more coaches. There's no real cap on coaches' salaries. I've got to think those offensive and defensive meeting rooms are interesting with this mixture of coaches and constantly shifting duties. Coaches tend to be a bit egomaniacal and sharing a room with a guy who's now doing the job you were hired to do while you're sitting there, more or less twiddling your thumbs, probably makes things a tick tense. You've got to give JJ credit, he keeps things interesting.

This was a very fast NFL season. (Of course, they all are.) But the good news is things start to happen pretty quickly with the waiver system starting in February, free agency starting in March, team activities resuming in April, the draft in May, and then minicamps and training camps in June/July. Before you know it a whole new season will be starting.

This will be an interesting offseason for the Eagles. Chip Kelly pretty much used the guys he had last year. This year he can start shaping the roster more to suit his wants/needs. We may see a few guys get cut/traded who no one expects to get cut/traded and some new faces no one expects coming in. It's likely to be an interesting offseason in Philly.

Nearly all of the local press expects the Eagles to draft a new QB fairly high in the draft to groom for the future. I'm wondering if the Eagles don't think they already have that guy in GJ Kinne. When Vick got injured they resigned Kinne to the practice squad despite a number of bigger "name" quarterbacks being available, and they kept him there even after Vick got healthy again. I'm beginning to think the Eagles may think they already have their three quarterbacks on the roster and won't waste a pick on one in the draft. If an Aaron Murray or Zach Mettenberger drops to them late in the third or fourth round, they may grab him and DL him for a year to get his knee healthy and then open up the competition in 2015, but I'm thinking they might be pretty happy with how things stand now. Nick Foles is the clear starter. Matt Barkley's healthy again and with a full offseason to adapt to the new offense he should be more productive. And then you've got GJ Kinne as the third guy. That's not a bad trio to go into the regular season with. They're inexpensive, talented, versatile, and know the system.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 33,631
Registered: ‎03-20-2010

Re: Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

On 1/29/2014 gardenman said:

SPURT. The Cowboys can't spend money on players, so they'll just buy more coaches. There's no real cap on coaches' salaries. I've got to think those offensive and defensive meeting rooms are interesting with this mixture of coaches and constantly shifting duties. Coaches tend to be a bit egomaniacal and sharing a room with a guy who's now doing the job you were hired to do while you're sitting there, more or less twiddling your thumbs, probably makes things a tick tense. You've got to give JJ credit, he keeps things interesting.

This was a very fast NFL season. (Of course, they all are.) But the good news is things start to happen pretty quickly with the waiver system starting in February, free agency starting in March, team activities resuming in April, the draft in May, and then minicamps and training camps in June/July. Before you know it a whole new season will be starting.

This will be an interesting offseason for the Eagles. Chip Kelly pretty much used the guys he had last year. This year he can start shaping the roster more to suit his wants/needs. We may see a few guys get cut/traded who no one expects to get cut/traded and some new faces no one expects coming in. It's likely to be an interesting offseason in Philly.

Nearly all of the local press expects the Eagles to draft a new QB fairly high in the draft to groom for the future. I'm wondering if the Eagles don't think they already have that guy in GJ Kinne. When Vick got injured they resigned Kinne to the practice squad despite a number of bigger "name" quarterbacks being available, and they kept him there even after Vick got healthy again. I'm beginning to think the Eagles may think they already have their three quarterbacks on the roster and won't waste a pick on one in the draft. If an Aaron Murray or Zach Mettenberger drops to them late in the third or fourth round, they may grab him and DL him for a year to get his knee healthy and then open up the competition in 2015, but I'm thinking they might be pretty happy with how things stand now. Nick Foles is the clear starter. Matt Barkley's healthy again and with a full offseason to adapt to the new offense he should be more productive. And then you've got GJ Kinne as the third guy. That's not a bad trio to go into the regular season with. They're inexpensive, talented, versatile, and know the system.


Hey GARDENMAN,

Well all those old Cowboy assistants dont seem too happy about the new assistants that will be joining them......team dysfunctional will continue to be mediocre

Curious that the Eagle experts say you will be hunting for a QB....while good starters and for that matter good backups are hard to find these days I guess that could be a priority, but I figured that the Eagles would be looking to fill some holes in the defense (although the defense did improve as the season went on).....Ill tell you what we will GIVE YOU Rex Grossman....deal? Wink

I just cant wait for the new season and hope Chuckie's little brother can get Robert and the offense back on track. I think the Ravens made a very wise choice passing on Kyle and going with Kubiak.....I think he will really help the
Flacco and the Ravens offense....dont feel the same would happen with Flacco and Kyle....

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,249
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

The Broncos have the best offense in the NFL and the Seahawks have the best defense in the NFL. I think it is not going to be an easy win for either team. They are both going to bring it and it will be an on the edge of your seat game from start to finish with the win being by a field goal. Just my opinion and my prediction!! I of course am a Denver Bronco fan and our whole city is excited and fired up!!! GO BRONCOS GO!!!!!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

SPURT. Yeah, that Cowboy situation promises to be entertaining. They've now got three guys they've hired to be offensive playcallers and two guys they've hired to be defensive coordinators in the same coaches meetings. I'm kind of thinking that could be an issue.

You can keep Rex Grossman. We don't want him. I personally don't think QB is a big priority item for the Eagles, but the local media (geniuses that they are) have decided that Matt Barkley can't play and the Eagles will need a good backup with Vick leaving. (Bear in mind that last year at this time the local media felt the Eagles needed to get rid of Foles since he couldn't play. Suffice to say the credibility of the local media isn't especially high.)

Personally, I think Barkley is fine as a backup and short-term starter. The coaching staff seems to love him, it's just the local media that seems to think he's a dud. There are two good college quarterbacks coming off of torn ACL's (Mettenberger from LSU and Murray from Georgia) who are likely to fall a bit in the draft and if one of those guys is still on the board in the third or fourth round the Eagles might just grab him as a value pick. If fully healthy either of those guys could have gone in the first round. If they're not there, then I don't see the Eagles taking a guy just to take a guy. They'll be looking for value and if one of those guys drops to them, it might be too good of a value to pass up, but otherwise I just don't see quarterback being a high priority.

RGIII just needs a good offseason working with a quarterback guru to get his footwork ironed out and get back to using his whole body to throw the football instead of relying on all arm. With the torn ACL last year he was pretty much forced to use all arm and it hurt his accuracy. He'll probably be taking a thousand pass drops between now and training camp retraining his body to use his legs properly when he throws. RGIII is probably the least of the Redskins' worries right now. He should be fine this year.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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Registered: ‎05-01-2010

Re: Countdown to the Super Bowl!!!! The end is near!

I agree with Gardenman, Broncos will win. First, the game is not being played in Seattle where the Seahawks have the loud crowd. Second, Russell Wilson is a young quarterback who has never been to the big show, he is bound to fumble or get picked early in the game. Third, Peyton Manning is determined. He's out to prove that at his age and coming back from major surgery he can still get his hands on the trophy and the ring. It may be his last chance. He won't go any where near Sherman. When they win, Peyton and the whole team will behave as gentlemen, as if they have been there before. Go Broncos!