LANG: SEAHAWKS WILL WIN SUPER BOWL 48

BY: JIM LANG
FOR RODPEDERSEN.COM

Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey the Denver Broncos will take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 48.

There is a very good reason why both teams have been able to make it this far. The Broncos had the highest scoring offence this season (606 points) and the number one passing game in the NFL.

Meanwhile the Seahawks allowed the fewest points this season (231 points) and had the number one pass defence in the NFL.

They are two entirely different teams in the manner which they play the game. While they are very different in their approach to playing the game, both teams are more-than-worthy representatives of the AFC and the NFC. You can’t ask for much more than a game featuring the number one seeds in their respective conferences.

With that in mind it is time to take a closer look at the key match-ups for Sunday’s game.

Key Match-up 1

Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton versus Marshawn Lynch

Pete Carroll would love nothing better than to feed the ball to Lynch 25 to 30 times and have his “Beast Mode” power running back wear down the Broncos defence. To prevent that from happening Knighton will have to find a way to defeat the superb blocking of Seahawks centre Max Unger and their guards; J.R. Sweezy and James Carpenter. Knighton and the Broncos defensive line will have to be air tight in their gap discipline. If the interior of the Seahawks offensive line is able to open up holes for Lynch, then the Broncos defence will be in for a very long night.

This is the sledgehammer against a rock theory. If you pound that rock long enough, you will crack it. In their win over the Saints, Lynch scored on a long touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Against the 49ers he scored on a long run in the third quarter. That is why I always think of John Riggins when I watch Lynch run. He will keep pounding it in there until the Seahawks offensive line exploits a weakness in the opposing defence.  If Lynch is able to get into the Broncos secondary, he will lay waste to that defence like Godzilla on a rampage. If Knighton and the Broncos are able to bottle up Lynch along the line of scrimmage then they will force Russell Wilson into unenviable third and long scenarios. If they don’t, then Wilson and the Seahawks will be in third and short and be in a position to exploit the weaknesses in the Broncos defence.

Key Match-up 2

The Seahawks front seven versus the Broncos offensive line.

The game plan for the Seahawks defence is quite simple; get pressure on Peyton Manning, or else. Through the Broncos’ two playoff games Peyton Manning has dropped back to pass 79 times.

Through the Broncos’ two playoff games Manning hasn’t been sacked once and has only been hit one time. No matter how well the Seahawks run the ball they must find a way to get Manning on the ground. The challenge for the entire Seahawks defence is getting to Manning before he gets rid of the ball. That means Richard Sherman and the Seahawks secondary can’t afford any breakdowns in their coverage.   The tighter the coverage the longer Manning will have to hold onto the ball waiting for a receiver to get open.

The longer he waits, the better chance the Seahawks’ front seven will have to get to him. As good as the Seattle secondary is, asking them to blanket all of Denver’s weapons on every passing down is asking too much. Every now and then there will be a gap in Seattle’s coverage and Manning will be there to quickly exploit it. This match-up will come down to an all-out battle between Toronto’s Orlando Franklin and the Broncos offensive line versus the Seahawks outstanding defence.

Intangibles

Every Super Bowl takes on a life of its own. In Super Bowl 43 who could have predicted Steelers linebacker James Harrison would return an interception 100 yards for a touchdown? This year the great intangible will be the weather. This has nothing to do with how cold it might be, but whether or not there will be precipitation on Sunday. For a team like the Broncos who throw the ball as much as they do the last thing they want is wet, sloppy weather.

Who Wins: The blueprint for the Seahawks game plan was originally drafted by Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick back on January 27th, 1991 when the Giants upset the Bills and their high powered offence in Super Bowl 25. Like the Broncos this year, the Bills offence was number one in the NFL in 1990. But that game the Giants used their power running game to possess the ball over 40 minutes. That is what the Seahawks will do on Sunday. They will attempt to drive the ball down the Broncos throat every chance they get.  They will craft long, time-consuming drives.  And when the Broncos do have the ball, Manning will find himself constantly looking over his shoulder at the attacking Seahawks defence.

This game has nothing to do with Manning’s legacy. The man is a legend; period, end of story. Manning and the Broncos just happened to have the misfortune of running into the wrong team at the wrong time.

Seahawks win 24-20. 

(Memo to the readers: Don’t wager any money on my predictions. I have been known to be wrong from time to time. Don’t believe me? Just ask Rod.)

The only guarantee you can take to the bank is I will have a big pot of chili in the slow cooker and some nachos and cheese waiting for kickoff.

One more thing I wanted to get off of my chest. I really don’t care if Marshawn Lynch wants to speak with the media. As a reporter I have had many athletes tell me that they didn’t want to talk to me. You know what I did? I turned the player next to him and started asking him questions.

I also wanted to point out that Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was the star of media day.

Since he was in a more relaxed mood Sherman enthralled reporters with thoughtful and eloquent answers to even the most mundane of questions.

My favourite moment on media day took place when some reporter asked Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll if he thought this was a “must win game”.

See, I’m not the only person that says dumb things.

(Follow Jim on Twitter at @JimLangSports)