Boom. Bang. Pop. Crack.
Insert your favorite comic book onomatopoeia; all of them
were in play in Seattle’s defensive backfield.
I knew the pash rush on Peyton Manning would be important, and it
was. The defensive line pressured and
hit Manning, forcing him off his spot and threw off the timing of those Denver
precision routes. But the physicality
exerted by the Legion of Boom (an appropriate title if there ever was one) was
diabolically painful. The secondary
became villainous as hit after hit compiled to permanently etch a grimace on my
face.
I commented during the game that Denver hadn't been hit like
this all year. The pop of the pads was
obvious all game, what was perhaps less obvious was the way the receivers
responded after each hit. The Denver
receivers looked physically shocked, and it became obvious when they began to
put balls on the ground on relatively mundane hits/plays.
The comment about previous competition for the Broncos got
me to thinking, “why don’t we look at strength of schedule for the Super Bowl,
like we look at it for the National Championship in college football?” If
Auburn had smoked Florida State this year like Seattle murked Denver, the
chants of “S-E-C” would still be echoing. Every year pundits describe the competition
each college team has faced all year; usually, this involves detailed analysis
of each team’s respective conference.
The fact that Denver played several below .500 teams and the Seahawks
were arguably in the league’s toughest division never came up in the two weeks
of pre-Super Bowl coverage. I understand that the tourney format (where teams
play the best of their conference) changes the analysis a bit, but in the
future I will at least glance at the competition the team has consistently
faced in the games leading up to the final game.
It’s appropriate that I haven’t mentioned Russell Wilson’s
name until the 4th paragraph. Has there been a QB as talented,
efficient, and effective as Wilson who has received less publicity?
In essence, he is what people said that they loved about
Tebow, isn’t he? He’s a devoutly religious, humble, talented player who “just
wins” (28-9 as a starter) regardless of the personal stats and accolades. Plus, he can actually play the position of
the NFL QB. It seems like he should be
America’s darling. Wonder why isn’t as beloved…What’s more because of the
paucity of his contract (he made $681,000 this year) and the CBA (he is unable
to augment his current contract through his first three years) the Seahahwks
will have enough cap room to re-sign players or go after new ones for next
year. People talk about the Seahawks and
duplicating their blueprint; sure, go out and draft your starting QB and the
league’s best corner on days two and three of the draft. Good luck with that.
Peyton Manning
So…now what? He’s won 1 of 3 Super Bowls and has a litany of
accolades, so where does this place him in the pantheon of All-time great QBs?
Surely his place is secure given that he just came off a record-setting 5th MVP season. But once people get to the all-time best QBs,
the splitting of hairs and the picking of nits will lead to the postseason
record (most losses ever) and the recent Super Bowl losses. Manning is one of my favorite QBs ever, but
his shortcomings in big games cast a bit of a pall over his otherwise sterling
career. It only seems unfair because it is.
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