1. The Coaches
- Denver's John Fox
- Q: What do Vince Lombardi and John Fox have in common? A: Both are the only coaches to inherit a team that had only one win in the previous season, then take that team to the NFL's championship game. Fox took the 2003 Carolina Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII where they were defeated by Adam Vinatieri's prolific right foot. His is one of six active NFL coaches with 100 wins (107-85), and he is 8-5 in the playoffs. A defensively-minded coach, Fox has had the great luxury of leaving the offense largely to Peyton Manning's discretion for the last two seasons.
- Seattle's Pete Carroll
- Carroll, 62, is the second oldest coach in the NFL after Tom Coughlin of the football Giants. His players say "it's hard to believe," and they describe his demeanor as "fun," "energetic," a "player's coach;" not to mention "fiercely competitive." A style that he fine-tuned at USC, where he had a 97-19 record and won the 2005 BCS Championship (we'll disregard the NCAA sanctions here). Since coming to Seattle, coach Carroll is 42-28 with 4 playoff wins. We can expect his Seahawks to come out with lots of energy, as it is not only Pete Carroll's first Super Bowl, it's also each of his players' first Super Bowl appearance.
- Advantage: Seattle
- Denver
- First, the obvious. Peyton Manning. He's the NFL leader in passing with 5,477 yds, and TDs with 55, 16 more than Drew Brees and the all-time single-season record, and he's now 17 TDs behind Brett Favre for most all-time. With Manning, the Broncos were 1st in total yds, yds/game, points, and points/game. His receivers enjoyed the windfall production as well: Demaryius Thomas finished 2nd in the league with 14 TDs, TE Julius Thomas finished with 12, Eric Decker had 11, and 10 for Wes Welker. More targets than the Twin Cities.
- Besides the record-setting passing attack, the Broncos have good balance with a decent running game led by Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball. Moreno rushed for 1,038 yds in 2013, good for 12th in the league. The backs were effective in the red zone this year, and finished 7th in the league in rushing TDs.
- Seattle
- While the Seahawks can't boast an historic offensive season, this is still a well balanced team. The rushing attack was 4th in the NFL this year, powered by the resilient Marshawn Lynch. The 27 year old back finished the season 6th in yards, 2nd in attempts, and tied for 1st in TDs. Quaterback Russell Wilson, who fininshed 16th in yards, 9th in TDs, and 13th in QBR, will have some extra receiving help with the return of Percy Harvin for the Super Bowl. Back to Marshawn Lynch- remember the "Beast Mode" TD run??
- Advantage: Denver
3. Defense
- Denver
- Here's where things get really interesting. The Broncos defense is 19th in total yds allowed, and allows 24.9 pts/game. The only team to win a Super Bowl with a worse ppg is the 2011 Giants, who gave up an astounding 25. If Denver wins, they would be only the 7th team to win the SB with more than 20 ppg allowed. But then again, Peyton Manning.
- Seattle
- If anyone is hoping that defense still wins championships, it's Seattle fans. Their top-ranked defense certainly saved the NFC Championship game (see right). For Seattle, here's some encouraging stats. This is the 16th time the number one defense reached the SB, and those teams are 12-3. According to StatsPass.com, this is the 6th time that the top defense and the top offense have met in the SB. The top defense is 4-1. Well then.
- Advantage: Seattle
4. Special Teams
- Denver
- This season, Denver was 6th in avg. kickoff return yards, and 22nd in avg. punt return yards. The Broncos' ace in the hole is return man Trindon Holliday, the only player to return both a punt and kickoff for a TD in the playoffs, and he was one of only two players to do it that this regular season. Plus, no player has a higher special teams TD rate than Holliday since the merger in 1970. But, alas, the Denver return unit has been mistake and penalty prone of late, and Holliday has 5 fumbles on 61 touches. Still, he has explosive potential, and that GIF above is real time.
- Seattle
- Seattle finished 27th in avg. kickoff return yards and 9th in avg. punt return yards. But guess who did we say was back and could be returning kickoffs in the Super Bowl? Oh, only the top returner from 2011 and 2012, Percy Harvin. In a game where the offenses could be adversely effected by the weather, good special teams play will be crucial in the battle of field position.
- Advantage: Seattle
5. Intangibles
- Denver
- Omaha! Perhaps what raises Peyton Manning into the ranks of the GOAT are his own intangible abilities. His ability to direct the entire offense on the fly, reading and anticipating the defense like a poorly written book. But then there is the popular narrative that Manning freezes in the cold, considering that his record is 4-7 when the temperature is below 32 degrees (0-3 in the playoffs). But what about that game this season against the Titans when the temperature was a nippy 15 degrees in Denver? Manning went 39-59 for 397 yards, 4 TDs, and no INTs. Sure, it wasn't a defense like Seattle (they were 11th in passing defense), but it's going to take more than cold weather to slow down one of the GOAT.
- Seattle
All the talk of the Seahawks' defense should not overshadow QB Russell Wilson's leadership and dynamic playmaking ability. Known for his quiet confidence and incredible work ethic, 25 year old Wilson is 12 years younger than Manning, the largest gap of any opposing SB QBs. No second-year QB has entered the SB with more career wins than Wilson's 27, 3 of which are playoff victories. This man has it together, he's a proven leader and receives continuous praise from his teammates, including former Wisconsin teammate Montee Ball. "As soon as he got there, he was walking around with notecards with the plays on them and stuff like that,” Ball said of their time on the Badgers. “And I was like, ‘OK, this guy is really serious.’ Based on his history, based on what we’d heard of him and based on the first couple practices we had, we were like, ‘OK, we need to follow this guy.’"
- Advantage: Denver
- On paper, this looks to be one of the closest Super Bowl matchups in years. Normally, I buy in to the whole "defense wins championships" mantra, I mean, 4-1 right? But how can you ignore a quarterback who had one of the greatest seasons of all time? It won't snow or rain too hard, the wind will be calm, and Peyton Manning will cap his record-breaking 2013 season with a second Super Bowl ring.
- Denver, 24-20
