Super Bowl Pick em & discussion

[GP1]

This game was over at the end of the first quarter when Seattle kept the ball almost the entire quarter and tired out the Denver Defense, but most importantly, kept their defense rested. The less a teams defense plays, the better off that team is in the long run.

Seattle converted on almost 60% of third downs. That is an obscene number. I saw a story once that said NFL teams spend 75% of their practice time on red zone offense and third downs. Trent Dilfer made this point really well after the game. Fans over analyze games too much. Games have stopped being about overall stats and about what teams do at critical times of games. The amount of practice time teams spend on certain aspects of the game is enough to tell fans what is important. Seattle executed at the critical moments of the game. On defense, Seattle didn't get caught up in blitzing because they didn't have to. They have four guys who can get pressure without blitzing and that is a DC's wet dream. Pressure is better than a sack because it creates turnovers and turnovers lead to scores, which Denver did twice yesterday. Special teams were great as well. Not only a kick return for a TD, but they kept Denver's KO returner inside of the 20 on the first KO of the game and later in the first half.

Denver on the other hand was terrible, with the exception of Demaryius Thomas who should have been the game MVP. If the MVP is the award for best performance, he had it. Broke a Super Bowl record for receptions against a good defense and had over 100 yards. Too bad they don't give the MVP to a player on the losing team anymore. Denver was not prepared and threw in the towel too early on their running game. Any team that becomes one dimensional is easy to stop and half the defenses in the NFL would have looked like Seattle's yesterday after Denver threw in the Towel. Manning's first INT was not forced, but rookie throw on his part. The game was over after that point because it forced Denver completely out of their game plan.

I was so bored by halftime, I started switching back and forth between the game and Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown on CNN.

[Dr Z]

Dominating defences will make teams look bad. Always have. If you get a chance, listen to Dan Quinn explain his game plan to Dave Rothenberg and Mike Westhoff on ESPN Radio (podcast). LOB!!!!

Kam Chancellor was my MVP of the game. He annihilated everybody and changed Denver's crossing route based game plan! Blasting Thomas early set the tone. Although it was cool to have a seventh round pick get a car. Sixteen people vote on the MVP, Peter King was one, and he voted for Cliff Avril.

[GP1]

Dominating defences will make teams look bad. Always have.

Denver was looking bad and Seattle was looking good long before the Seattle defense started to play any meaningful minutes. This isn't to say that Seattle's defense wasn't good yesterday, they were very good. The performance of Denver made them look great. As bad as Denver played yesterday, I think a lot of NFC teams could have beaten them.

One thing I hope football fans take away from the game as it relates to defense is the visionary concepts of Pete Carroll. 10 years ago, Carroll was considered to be a flake. The fact is, he was ahead of his time by playing old fashioned football with a unique twist. He was doing the same things with defensive concepts and player utilization at USC as he is with Seattle. USC always had unusually large guys playing in their secondary. Yesterday will change how teams draft and how they deploy their players for the next 5-10 years, which tends to be a trend cycle in the NFL. Seattle likes to keep everything in front of them, eliminates big plays and pressures at the line with a small number of really good d linemen. I love this style of defense because I think it is smart. Denver blitzed a lot yesterday and Seattle took advantage of it on third downs. Seattle didn't blitz much because they don't have to/want to and by not blitzing, they didn't give up big plays (when I say blitz, I mean rush more than four guys). Seattle didn't sack Manning once, but they applied pressure to a guy who doesn't respond to pressure well, has limited mobility and doesn't have the down field arm he used to have. Not to mention, Denver was one dimensional after the score became 15-0. Manning set a SB passing record of some kind (completion percentage or something, the screens help with that number a lot) and his receiver destroyed a record for receptions, but he never connected for a big play because Seattle has too many defenders who don't give up extra yards.

I really could have cared less who won yesterday, but I think I'm glad Seattle won. Makes me feel good on some level and I don't know why. I don't think I would have any emotion of Denver won. The one thing I do like is smart. I think everything about Seattle's organization is smart and forward looking.

EDIT: Linking to this article could have saved me some time.

[Dr Z]

How to do to Peyton Manning what Lucy did to Charlie Brown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_321368219&feature=iv&src_vid=BLLAhF7W1LY&v=z4VmHieztd8

Seahawks, well some of them, knew Peyton's hand signals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_1606969405&feature=iv&src_vid=z4VmHieztd8&v=BLLAhF7W1LY

[Dr Z]

On 1/21/2014 at 11:46 AM, Dr Z said:

Defense Still Wins Championships

Top 25 Scoring Defenses Since 2002, Reaching Super Bowl

 

Let's take a quick run through the Super Bowl teams featuring defenses ranking among the top 25 in points allowed among all teams since 2002.

1. 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: They upset the high-scoring Raiders.

4. 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers: They beat the Cardinals.

7. 2013 Seattle Seahawks: They will play Manning's Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

8. 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers: This Steelers team lost its Super Bowl matchup against the Green Bay Packers. That Packers offense featured Aaron Rodgers, but it ranked only 115th in points scored since 2002. Rodgers' presence raised the ceiling in a one-game situation.

12. 2003 New England Patriots: These Patriots won an unexpected shootout against the Carolina Panthers. Both teams had been much better on defense than on offense, but it didn't show in the game.

13. 2010 Green Bay Packers: The Packers have been known for offense with Rodgers, but this Super Bowl-winning team ranked much higher in defensive scoring.

21. 2006 Chicago Bears: Manning's lone Super Bowl victory to this point came at the Bears' expense.

22. 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers: They beat the Seahawks.

T-25. 2004 New England Patriots: These Patriots allowed 260 points, same as the NFC champion Eagles allowed. New England won it all, of course.

T-25. 2004 Philadelphia Eagles:

Top 25 Scoring Offenses Since 2002

 

We now take a quick run through the Super Bowl teams featuring offenses ranking among the top 25 in points allowed among all teams since 2002.

1. 2013 Denver Broncos: They're in Super Bowl XLVIII after setting an NFL record with 606 points.

2. 2007 New England Patriots: These were the 16-0 Patriots, who were heavily favored against a New York Giants team whose defense ranked 216th in scoring out of the 384 defenses since 2002. Those Giants had a deep rotation along their defensive front; so do the current Seahawks.

8. 2011 New England Patriots: This Patriots team lost to the Giants once again. This Giants defense ranked 315th in scoring since 2002, but it held New England to 17 points.

9. 2009 New Orleans Saints: This team won it all at the expense of Manning's Colts. Both offenses were stronger than the corresponding defenses, but the Saints' offense ranked highest by a wide margin.

22. 2005 Seattle Seahawks: They lost to the Steelers.

23. 2002 Oakland Raiders: They lost to the Bucs.

 

Defense still winning championships.

 

GP1's rationalization would have been entertaining.