Seahawks Brought the Boom

Well I don't think there is much to talk about in terms of last night's Super Bowl because the Seahawks flat out dominated.  I'm not sure there is a way to dominate a game more than Seattle did last night, as they scored an offensive, defensive and special teams touchdown.  If there is a definition for a pure team win then the Seahawks epitomized it last night.

I said it yesterday and I'll say it again today, DEFENSE wins championships.  I didn't think the Broncos would play as poorly as they did, but the reason I picked the Seahawks to win is because they are a vastly physical team.  There were four plays in particular that showed the disparity between the two teams.  The Kearse, Baldwin and Harvin touchdowns by the Seahawks showed just how soft the Broncos were with their inability to tackle and the fourth play that stood out to me was when Byron Maxwell punched the ball out of Demaryius Thomas' hands.  The Seahawks brought the boom as was seen by the multitude of big hits they unleashed on the Broncos receivers and it is for that reason why I find them to be such a fun team to watch.  I know a potent offense is good for TV ratings, but there is nothing more in football that I enjoy more than watching a physical, hard hitting defense.  Although I thought Kam Chancellor should have been the MVP, since he had an interception and his early hits really set the tone for the game, I was at least happy that the MVP went to a defensive player, because they were the unit that dominated the game.

As for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense, they played better than I thought.  I thought Wilson, although he didn't put up huge stats, was constantly in control of the game and made some beautiful passes including a great touch pass to Doug Baldwin in the first quarter and an absolute rocket to Jermaine Kearse in the third quarter.  I tweeted it last night, but Wilson reminds me a lot of Tom Brady in his early years.  I know both quarterbacks have very different skill sets, but in terms of composure and leadership they both are/were wise beyond their years.  The only surprising thing of the night in terms of the Seahawks offense was that Marshawn Lynch was for the most past a non-factor, although they didn't need him to be.

Finally as for the Peyton Manning legacy, I think it took a hit last night.  If Manning had lost but played great I don't think I would think of him much differently because football is the ultimate team sport, but from the first snap when there was miscommunication and the Broncos gave up a safety, Manning was off. Granted his end of the game stats weren't horrible in terms of completions and yards, the most important stat was his 2 interceptions, including a pick 6 to Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith.  The one stat however that truly showed the dichotomy of play between the two quarterbacks last night was Wilson had a QB rating of 123.1 and Manning had a rating of 73.5.  I'm not here to prop TB12 up on pedestal (well maybe I am a little), because Manning beat the Patriots 2 weeks ago, but after last night Brady is still the all time leader in playoff wins with 18 (with 3 Super Bowl rings) and Manning is now the all time loser with 12 playoff losses (and only 1 Super Bowl ring).

One final side note I'd like to mention, in a small way I'm actually kind of happy Pete Carroll won a title.  Say what you want about how he ran things at U$C, but I still think he got kind of a raw deal as the Pats coach.  The Patriots weren't awful while he was the coach, but by no means were they contenders.  The Patriots flat out didn't have the talent and a lot of that was because of their poor drafting.  While I would have liked to have seen Pom Pom Pete succeed in New England, on the bright side if it wasn't for his mediocre 27-21 record as the Pats head coach , Bob Kraft would most likely have never hired Belichick and the Patriots  would most likely have never won one let alone three Super Bowl titles, so I guess there is that silver lining for Pats fans like myself.

RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL:

First off,  before the opening kickoff even occurred, I think it's safe to say Broadway Joe won the Super Bowl with his jacket.   As for Bruno Mars' halftime show, I didn't think it was bad, although I wish the Red Hot Chili Peppers played a bigger role in it besides performing one song.  My one question was, how can they have a Super Bowl in New Jersey and not have Bruce Springsteen perform? Yes I know he performed a few years back, but I would argue he had the best halftime performance of all time. And finally, I was vastly disappointed in the Seinfeld bit.  When I saw they were filming something the other week, I had high hopes, but for the most part I didn't find the 3 minute piece that aired last night to be funny at all.

P.S.

Remember today is the first Monday in February and that can mean only one thing here in Boston; the first night of the Beanpot.  So Go Eagles and as always remember it.......