It was a great Super Bowl matchup – Seattle’s number one defense up against NFL MVP quarterback, Peyton Manning, and his number one ranked offense. But from the get go, the Seahawks dominated the game and proved everyone who doubted this team was the real deal dead wrong.
From the first snap of the game which flew over Manning’s head and into the end zone for a safety, this game was all Seahawks, all the way.
Leading up to this game, many analysts were going with the Broncos. Peyton Manning played the season of his life this year – 55 touchdowns and 5,477 yards. Amazing. He earned the NFL’s MVP for the fifth time and he deserved it.
The Seahawks, however, weren’t interested in earning the MVP. Those accolades are nice but they don’t mean anything if you don’t go home with the Lombardi.
So what went wrong? Earlier last week, cornerback Richard Sherman was criticized for saying that Peyton Manning threw a lot of ducks – well I hate to say it but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck … well Manning had a few really ugly ducklings that turned into interceptions for the Hawks. The pressure that Seattle’s defense put on him was too much for him to make anything happen for Denver.
It’s fair to say that the Broncos just were not prepared for the physicality that the Hawk defense brings to the field, but yesterday it was not just Seattle’s defense who put the beat down on the Broncos in the Super Bowl – it was the defense, the offense, special teams … the coaching. Seattle came to play and their 43-8 win over the favored Broncos should speak volumes to those who doubted their ability to come up on top.
Russell Wilson had just over 200 yards and two touchdowns during his first Super Bowl appearance. He made important plays on third down and avoided being sacked or throwing a pick. His composure was cool, calm and collected. He played smart and with passes to Luke Wilson, Golden Tate, Jermaine Kearse, Percy Harvin, and Doug Baldwin … the Broncos were left in the dark as to whom or where Wilson would go next.
Marshawn Lynch was all about that action as he pushed through Denver’s defense for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Doug Baldwin with that ever present boulder on his shoulder for being overlooked in the draft was unhappy with a commentators remark that Seattle’s receivers were like appetizers because this team didn’t have a main course – well the Seahawks made a main course out of the Broncos and the touchdowns made by both Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse helped stick the fork into Denver.
The Seahawks were finally able to take their Ferrari out for a drive and really break it in. Percy Harvin who was injured almost the entire regular season came out of the garage and lit it up. His 87-yard kickoff return touchdown put the Hawks up 29-0 on the Broncos and was one of the final nails in the coffin for Denver’s dream of becoming Super Bowl champs.
The most valuable player of the game went to Malcom Smith who had a 69-yard pick 6, recovered a fumble and nine tackles. In reality – the MVP could have been awarded to the entire Seahawk defense. Cliff Avril, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman. The Legion of Boom showed up to make a statement and that they did.
An MVP award could also be given to coach Pete Carroll. Caroll has put together a team of so-called misfits. In the 2011, Carroll and GM John Schneider began building this champion team with players who were picked late in the draft or not at all. When he and Schneider chose Russell Wilson, the young quarterback promised that they would not regret that choice but the 31 teams who passed on him would. Two years and a Super Bowl ring later, I think Pete Carroll has no regrets and only plans to continue to build on this team to make them bigger, faster and stronger and make history.
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