Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Lynch isn't a breakaway runner, he's a big strong bull dozer and as we've seen numerous times, almost impossible to bring down without a fundamentally perfect tackle. One key matchup will be Pot Roast vs Beastmode. Just the nicknes alone make that one irresistible. The Broncos definitely need Knighton to keep doing what he's been doing in order to keep Lynch from gougin up the middle. Also, the linebackers have the challenge of containing Wilson, who can extend plays and scramble, and make gains with his legs. The Broncos were successful against mobile QBs like Vick and Pryor. Wilson is similar insomuch as he is mobile, but as a unit he is on a better team than either of those other QBs, especially Pryor. It will be a big challenge, but not the biggest challenge the defense has faced this season. Biggest stage by a long shot, though.
That is what I like about Ball and Moreno, they have that breakaway speed, but also do their fair share of 'dozering. Potroast vs Beastmode is one to watch, and the names are awesome but I am looking for Nate Irving and Wesley Woodyard to contain him as well, and they should have the tackling skills to do it.
One of the things to remember when you are going against a middle of the road offense is that it isn't all on the players, The Seahawks have plenty of offensive weakness for Jack Del Rio to exploit.
That is what I like about Ball and Moreno, they have that breakaway speed, but also do their fair share of 'dozering. Potroast vs Beastmode is one to watch, and the names are awesome but I am looking for Nate Irving and Wesley Woodyard to contain him as well, and they should have the tackling skills to do it.
One of the things to remember when you are going against a middle of the road offense is that it isn't all on the players, The Seahawks have plenty of offensive weakness for Jack Del Rio to exploit.
This is true about Moreno and Ball. They've combined for 1597 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. A lot of that work is the hard stuff up the middle, but when they break out they've pulled away from defenders. All this is in addition to the threat they represent catching passes.
With so much focus on this game pitting the #1 offense against the #1 defense I think a lot of people are going to look past the challenges the Broncos defense represents to the Seahawks offense and vice versa. I am not ready to proclaim a "magic number" just yet, but as of now I think it is reasonable to believe the Broncos can hold them to 20 points, based in part on the symmetrical nature of this matchup as well as recent performances by both teams.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,749 posts, read 23,822,981 times
Reputation: 14665
I have to back the Seahawks, I use to live in Seattle which hasn't had a sports title since the 70's which were the Sonics and now departed for the OKC Thunder so I'd be happy to see Seattle get a victory. That and Broncos beat my hometeam Patriots. It will be tough for the Seahawks to overcome the Broncos offense and Peyton Manning, but it would also be nice to see some new blood win the Superbowl.
Wilson just had his best game out of 5 against the 49ers in his career so far. He threw for 215 yards against a team that was probably 2nd to the Seahawks in D. That was without Harvin and against a team he's struggled against in his career thus far (two teams know each other very well at this point). That 49ers D was elite and has been for the past few years.
The Seahawks don't need Wilson to carry the full load because you don't need that out of a QB when you give up 14 points a game and have one of the best RB's in the NFL (led RB's in broken tackles). He makes up for his lack of stats by completing long passes like he did to Baldwin and Kearse.
Wilson just completed 64% of his passes against a top 5 D (49ers). He didn't have a great game against the Saints, but the weather wasn't ideal to start the game (Brees had 34 yards in the 1st half). He did deliver a clutch throw to Baldwin in the 4th that led to a Lynch TD though. Aside from that, Wilson has now completed over 60% of his passes for 5 of the 7 past games. I know some here (won't mention any names) doesn't know how to rule out statistical outliers like the Cardinals game that dropped his average down though, so I'll move on.
Let's just spew about Denver beating up on the 7th worst D in the NFL this season. They then beat the 10th worst in the Chargers the week before. Let's just glorify them as if they played killer D's this year as opposed to the fact the Seahawks played the 2nd ranked, 4th ranked twice, 5th ranked 3 times, 6th ranked twice, 7th ranked, 8th ranked, 14th and 15th D's. Oh, and who cares that their RT and LT both missed half the season. There wasn't even one top 10 D in the AFC West this year.
This is true about Moreno and Ball. They've combined for 1597 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. A lot of that work is the hard stuff up the middle, but when they break out they've pulled away from defenders. All this is in addition to the threat they represent catching passes.
With so much focus on this game pitting the #1 offense against the #1 defense I think a lot of people are going to look past the challenges the Broncos defense represents to the Seahawks offense and vice versa. I am not ready to proclaim a "magic number" just yet, but as of now I think it is reasonable to believe the Broncos can hold them to 20 points, based in part on the symmetrical nature of this matchup as well as recent performances by both teams.
Seattle and Denver are tied at #7 for run defense, so it will not be an easy day for the running backs on either team. But, because of their schemes, Seattle relies more on Lynch than Denver does on Moreno or Ball, since they have been splitting carries down the middle essentially. I am not concerned when I hear "But, but, but, you don't have Von Miller"... it is pretty obvious that our defense played the best without him on the field this year. I am not saying I do not miss him, but our defensive stats have been better when he was out.
I think that this game is too good of a game statistically, and many times, when a match-up is to even, intangibles become the deciding factor, that is why I predicted 42 points for the Broncos, I think that they are going to be ahead in the 3rd quarter and just accelerate from there... Seattle has not played an offense like this, ever... because one like this has not ever existed before. None of the top ranked offenses are in the same class as the Broncos. Also, the biggest intangible the Seahawks have is their "12th man" which is completely non-applicable in this situation.
Let's hope the Seahawks are as cocky as their fans, it can only help.
Update--one DID go ****POOF****. After 42 deletions and over two dozen edits was just tying up my time and I wasn't even halfway through the thread, I made some inquiries.
I've mentioned several times over the years that personal insults will not be tolerated on the football sub forums. I meant it.
The "sticky" comes off and the thread will stay closed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
