I haven't posted in months but I couldn't pass up the chance to my annual Super Preview. Let's go to the tale of the tape and breakdown the Broncos vs. Seahawks.
QB: Advantage Denver. This is a no brainer and honestly a lot of these position battles are going to be no brainers. Peyton Manning is one of the best of all time, maybe not top 10 but at least top 11, Russell Wilson is not. Here's the difference as well for Denver to win Peyton has to be the difference maker for Seattle to win Wilson doesn't have to be a difference maker. I've been saying it all season Wilson is a good QB on a great team, Peyton is a great QB that makes his team great. This playoffs Wilson has won 2 games and has made 2 throws that were difference makers in those games. I'll also argue that his throw on 4th down against San Fran wasn't that great b/c it was 4th down and if he throws a pick there he changes field position for the better.
RB: Advantage Seattle. Marshawn Lynch is greater than Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball. Lynch does it all for Seattle and when he gets going beast mode he's almost unstoppable. Moreno and Ball are both decent but Lynch is a top 5 back in the league, maybe top 3 with McCoy and Peterson.
WR: Advantage Denver. Once again no surprise, Thomas, Decker, and Welker are all better than Tate, Baldwin, Kearse, and even Percy Harvin. I think the real match-up of the game is Denver WR vs. Seattle CB. The Broncos aSere going to need win those match-ups and to me Decker is going to half to step up and be the he should get MVP guy, except they only give it to QB's anymore.
TE: Advantage Denver. Julius Thomas over Zack Miller. Thomas is an emerging star in the league and Miller has been a productive guy for many year. Thomas is going to have to be better than Vernon Davis was against Seattle. If Denver has 4 guys that can make plays consistently they will win.
Offensive Line: Advantage Seattle. I only say this because Denver doesn't have Pro Bowl LT Ryan Clady, both teams have stout O-Line's that do their jobs great. Seattle runs the ball and the o-line run blocks, Denver throws a lot and they protect Manning well. Whomever does their job better will win.
Defensive Line: Advantage Seattle. Seattle comes at you in waves, that Michael Bennett dude is awesome, and Cliff Avril and the rest of the bunch are pretty good. I've really ben impressed by them when I watch them. For Denver Terrance Knighton will be the difference maker, New England couldn't run the ball because he was a monster in the middle, if he can shut down Lynch forcing Wilson to beat them Denver will have an advantage in this game.
LB: Advantage Push. I really can't pick between these 2 LB Corps both are good neither are dominant. I think Denver misses Von Miller but they've played without him a lot this year. Bruce Irvin is a good hybrid guy for Seattle. I'm interested to see if Seattle puts Wagner on Julius Thomas, or if they bring a safety down on him.
Secondary: Advantage Seattle. I said this when talking about WR's this is Seattle's strength going against Denver's strength. All the DB's for Seattle are going to have to step up, and honestly I don't think Manning will shy away from Sherman the way Kaepernick did. How the officials call this game will be the difference maker, if Seattle can hold and impede the Denver WR's progress than they will win, it won't take long for Manning to get hit if they are allowed to hold. Denver secondary has to tackle Lynch when he gets through the front 7, don't try to strip the ball just try to tackle him and get him down.
Kick/Punt Return: Advantage Push. Since the playoffs started Trindon Holliday hasn't been returning punts because of his fumble problems, but Eric Decker has filled in nicely almost breaking some. Doug Baldwin has been good for Seattle as well. I doubt anybody will return a kick both kickers can get the ball through the end zone.
Kickers: Advantage Push. Prater and Hauschka are both money guys, both can hit from 50+. I think they both will play well.
Coach: Advantage Denver. John Fox has been here before and had Jake Delhomme as his QB, in what was one of the best Super Bowls ever. Pete Carroll is a good coach but I think Fox is better.
Weather: Advantage Seattle. I know both teams have to play in it, but if the weather is nasty I have to take Peyton Manning's history into account. He has a rough time in weather and the playoffs this year he's gotten lucky that neither game was too nasty in Denver. I think Seattle is built for a weather game.
Final Score: Seattle 5 Denver 4. That's pretty close and so far I have yet to pick my own winner. Just looking at what I've typed I'll say Denver 34 Seattle 24, but I won't be surprised if Seattle wins, I don't really have a dog in this race since I don't like either team. The question is what Peyton Manning shows up, the guy who beat the Bears or the guy who threw that killer pick six against New Orleans. Have a good week, follow me on twitter @derekbredeson, and on Tuesday GO HAWKS.
