Sportandfashion-news Super Bowl Preview: 9.) Seahawks-Broncos Prediction

Yes, Super Bowl week is finally here. We will be sick of everything by Friday night yelling PLAY THE DAMN GAME, but it is only right to be excited about it for the first couple days. As we have done in years past, we will be numbering our Super Bowl coverage and then posting a big link dump on Saturday so you have it all at your fingertips before the big game. 

We have finally made it to the prediction time. I mean I could do it in one swift motion and make a quick prediction yet I am not about that life. At the very least, I need to put out some analysis as to who can be difference makers in this game. I a this is stuff are blatently obvious while a couple of them are not really talked about much at all deserving more credit.  

Peyton Manning is the biggest player in this game. No matter how much Richard Sherman talks or Marshawn Lynch does not, Manning is the biggest player in the game. If he were to have 350 yards with four touchdowns against Legion of Boom, one of the best secondary groups, it would be one of the greatest Super Bowl performances of all-time. The question is how will Manning get to 300 yards? It will not be with the deep ball rather delivering body blows throughout the game. 

Deep balls should not be a part of Denver's game on Sunday. Unless Manning truly believes Demaryius Thomas can get past by Sherman and others, there is no reason for him to unleash the cannon against this secondary. Eric Decker should be heavily involved with the slot more so than Wes Welker. Decker is a big dude that can handle the physicality of Seattle's secondary while I do not believe Welker can handle Seattle's secondary. Any of the loaded Broncos stable of receivers can be factors in the game yet it need to be executed right with them grinding them to core. 

There is a little too much being made about Denver's ability to stop the run. Terrance Knighton has been a revelation in the last couple of weeks, but do people realize Marshawn Lynch gives no shits how good a team is against the rush. It is rare Lynch gets shut down, and the added motivation from all of the hoopla from this week will drive him. LaGarrette Blount is not Marshawn Lynch, let's get that straight right now. Denver's rush defense has given up 15 touchdowns which ranks 23rd overall in the NFL. This tells me Denver does not excel at the goal line or tackling at times. Also worth nothing, people do not run ball very much on Denver. Why that is, probably due to a weak secondary and a better rush defense, but they have not seen a player like Lynch.  

Seattle does not have a group of receivers like Denver, but they can have a massive impact on this game. Let's remember Percy Harvin will be a factor in this game. I cannot think of one player on Denver's secondary that can keep up with him. Chris Harris went out with an ACL injury two weeks ago. Champ Bailey cannot play the slot against this team with Harvin and will likely struggle dealing with Doug Baldwin Jr./Golden Tate, both quick receivers. While the rushing attack is Seattle's strong point, they could exploit this Denver defense with their quickness. Obviously, Russell Wilson needs to get them the ball to make this all happen but it seems like the opportunity will be there. 

As for Wilson, he needs to play in control early and often. People might forget given his poise and his demeanor that he is a two-year professional, not a 10 year veteran. If Russell comes out a little tight like he did against San Francisco, it could get ugly with Manning staring him down on the other sideline versus Colin Kaepernick and a team who had more trouble scoring than I have in the City of Milwaukee. This is the job of Darrell Bevell too as he needs to keep Wilson in situations where he is not taking risks at least in the first quarter. If he were to outplay Manning whether they win or lose, it would build to his legacy and might anoint him the best young quarterback which might be hyperbole to its highest degree. 

Defense wins championships no matter what the sport. That is something I have heard since the days of TGIF on ABC. Seattle is the better defense, and one that can make a play when they need it the most. Seahawks get it done on offense with a steady diet of Lynch and Wilson then a Kam Chancellor picking off Manning late to seal the game for Seattle.  Seahawks 30-24 

Charlie.  

Tapping The Keg Podcast: Episode 73

For whatever this is worth, I will file this under Super Bowl preview. As you can see SoundCloud has a new interface, let me know if you like it because they still have the old one as well. Personally, I LOVE it.  Mitch and I (Charlie) spend the first 10 minutes or so talking about the other stuff with the Super Bowl, food, halftime performance, etc. We spend the next 15-20 minutes on the Super Bowl itself breaking down Seattle and Denver's respective chances to win. Our discussion moves to the Bucks where we talk Giannis Antetokounmpo's 'Rising Star' nomination and a little NBA Draft talk. We discuss All-Star reserves as well before moving to some Grammy's discussion because why not? This podcast goes in about 17 directions, but really fun.

Charlie.

Sportandfashion-news Super Bowl Preview: 5.) Hush Money Lynch

Yes, Super Bowl week is finally here. We will be sick of everything by Friday night yelling PLAY THE DAMN GAME, but it is only right to be excited about it for the first couple days. As we have done in years past, we will be numbering our Super Bowl coverage and then posting a big link dump on Saturday so you have it all at your fingertips before the big game. 

Since arriving at Seattle from Buffalo, people have gotten to know Marshawn Lynch. People talk about his fondness for Skittles, his beasty run against New Orleans that sparked his nickname 'Beast Mode' and taking the phrase into the next level plus being an all-around monster as a running back. Seattle is a team full of talkers, but when it comes to Lynch, he remains quiet. People are demanding answers from Lynch as he really is not talking to many people during the media blitz of the Super Bowl, and Lynch is not giving them to people. This upsets people for some reason proving once again, everyone is a hypocrite.

Lynch does not owe anybody, anything. I get some of these people are trying to work on a story for Lynch, but why is it a big deal?  A guy does not want to speak with the media, so what? Does it really make him a bad person? It feels like judging by all the articles, and some of the criticism, there is a privilege nature regarding professional athletes and their involvement with the media. Social media is probably to blame for this one. We get tweets and Facebook posts about everything in a person's life therefore meaning there is an expectation for athletes to say something to media and others.

 Marshawn refuses to open up with anyone besides NFL.com's Michael Silver whom wrote a great piece about Lynch. That's perfectly okay. Usually cross sports comparisons do not work, but this really was not a problem during the NBA Finals when San Antonio Spurs Kawhi Leonard did not really say much at all to anybody. People thought it was weird Leonard did not have much to say, but the topic deceased to be much of anything. I really have no idea why this was a top story yesterday, and a continued story today. Lynch is his own person. It goes back to theme we have on Sportandfashion-news with athletes recognizing they are not robots.

For  today's media session, Lynch brought his fullback Michael Robinson whom had some fun with answering questions for Marshawn. A move that I feel Lynch and Robinson likely planned to ruffled more feathers in the media in an attempt to create a bigger distaste for Lynch's feeling towards the media. What's interesting is these same people that I do not think Marshawn enjoys can twist things to make Marshawn look like a bad guy when there is no real evidence of that right now. At least Lynch is not talking down to people, he just does not want to be there and he is openly honest with everyone. What's wrong with that?

The best part of it all is the opposite end of the spectrum of this with the likes of Richard Sherman and Jermichael Finley's of the world where people give these guys a hard time for talking about everything and anything. They tell them to settle down, and stop giving quotes to the opposition, it is absolutely mesmerizing. Most of the time, they are having fun, or in Sherman's case, he tries to build the brand of Richard Sherman, the football player. People will judge Sherman and Finley based off just their comments to the media which is utterly ridiculous.

Now the hope has to be Lynch wins Super Bowl MVP. I feel like the National Football League will do everything possible to avoid Lynch winning the MVP award but if he goes for 200 yards with a couple touchdowns, the NFL will have no choice, and it would be great. My favorite would not be if Lynch says nothing in this hypothetical, but if he starts just talking everyone's ear off trolling the world.

Charlie.

Fail Mary Forgiveness.

My good buddy Doz told me at the bar in December he asked for a Russell Wilson shirt jersey for Christmas. Doz is as big of a Wisconsin Badgers fan as you will meet in the state of Wisconsin. But I scoffed at the idea. I could not believe he chose to support a team had a hand in screwing over Green Bay out of a win which could have affected the playoffs that year. Yes I still felt some bitterness towards that game. Some might call it over-the-top, and others might call it reasonable as I think all Packers fans can say they hope no other team goes through that fiasco.

Usually, I try to be a person who does not have a great deal of grudges because I feel like life is easier that way versus being mad at certain people, certain things for stupid reasons. Yet I harbored a grudge towards Seattle because the Fail Mary loss will forever and always be the most heartbreaking regular season loss until Green Bay loses out of a playoff spot on a last second drive (Sorry Chicago).  After nearly 17 months, I am finally over the game. All is forgiven and I will be cheering for Seattle in the upcoming Super Bowl. Honestly, I probably should be thanking San Francisco for beating Green Bay twice in the last two playoffs.

When Seattle-San Francisco met, it was obviously going to be a great game, but I usually like to pick a team 'I want to see win.' Only real case I could see where I would probably not do that is if two NFC North team played for the NFC title that were not Green Bay and if that happened, my life would probably be at sports rock bottom. San Francisco caused me more strife in the last couple years as a fan versus Seattle where one bad play went against Green Bay in the third game of the season in 2012. It is a long time to keep thinking about a loss, but really when you think about it, what's not to love about Seattle?

Let's start with the obvious answer of Richard Sherman, the man of the hour still 30 hours later. Hell I got fired up at the gym Monday watching the highlights of his final play and his comments afterwards. There is something great about a male or female athlete telling the world they are the best. He is an asshole on the field. But it seems like he is a nice guy off it and in my world, that's perfectly fine. If he was an all-around asshole, that's fine too. People are not perfect. Sooner we can let go of this bullshit notion that 'athletes need to be role models', the better our society will be as a whole. Sherman is a hell of a football player. People need to start acting like he is one of the best instead of just a guy that runs his mouth because he is much more than that.

The fact the entire Seattle Secondary are a group of six feet and over guys looking like MonSTARS on the football field is a revelation. People will try to create their own version of a Legion of Doom for years to come. Kam Chancellor is a complete force, and the fact he watches Sean Taylor highlights before each and every game makes me like him that much more.  Additionally, we have discussed Sherman and Chancellor before mentioning Earl Thomas, a player definitely on the right route to be one of the best players in the National Football League.

Admitting now, Pete Carroll really pissed me off during the Fail Mary game. But I loved Carroll in college. Forever, he was my number one 'I want to have a beer with this guy.' I still do. My dad and I talk about how great it would be to sit down and drink beers with Carroll. He just seems like a fun guy taking life one step at a time. The Seattle coach pisses people off because he gets overly excited on the field plus Carroll running away from USC amid a scandal. Sometimes in life, people need to snake it until they make it which is exactly what Carroll did in his life. Carroll is not even a snake rather a man taking advantage of an opportunity to get out before shit hits the fan.

As I spend the whole year watching Eddie Lacy bully his way through defenders, it makes you respect and watch Marshawn Lynch in different light too. Lynch defines the "Beast Mode" nickname perfectly. Seattle deserves a ton of credit for rebuilding his career after a tumultuous end in Buffalo to make him a great player for Seattle and a top five to seven running back in this league. Lynch is a bruiser and nothing is more fun than watching him bulldoze a couple members of the secondary as he heads into the end zone where Skittles are raining from the sky.

There is the one elephant in the likability of Seattle for some people and it is their weird PED accusations with Sherman and others getting in trouble for substances that were all 'Adderall.' Many people do not believe that too be true. I personally do not either. I have the belief that many NFL players are doing PEDs of some form, and people are burying the head in the sand. This is the steroid era of baseball all over again. I do not care honestly, just wish people would figure it out sooner rather than later. Seattle can pump themselves with PED's because I feel every other team is doing it in some form. While I have no basis for this theory, it is pretty clear what's going on.

The funniest part of Seattle is with all of the unlikable characters, they might have the most likable quarterback in the NFL. There are not many people saying bad words about Wilson the person. I might criticize how he plays, but even I am in a minority there.  I am actually surprised no one came down from a higher power to tell me I could not do it. With this team, it feels like they should have a Johnny Manziel at quarterback with his demeanor, but at least with Russ, people can say 'Man I hate all these Seahawks players but I LOVE RUSSELL WILSON.'  That's a common thing, and maybe it is a good thing. Cannot have a team being 100 percent hateable.

There you have it. I am done trying to hate Seattle. This is a likable team in my eyes. Ryan Braun's ruling really changed my option on sports figures and teams. Embracing the so-called 'bad guys' is fun as hell. It is much funner than believing in a morality code and some faux thing called 'class in sports.' Go Hawks, sorry it took me a Sherman outburst and a game against San Francisco for me to see the light. Cannot wait for Green Bay to take down Seattle in Fall 2014, it will be great.

Charlie.

Seattle Seahawks: Say Hello to the Bad Guys

Rivalries are great when they are unexpected. Three years ago if I were to tell you, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers are going to be the fiercest rivals in the National Football League by 2013-2014, I would have been met with weird looks. NFC West used to be the laughingstock of the league, and now it plays host to the top billing of the NFL's scorecard.  Seattle added another chapter beating San Francisco 23-17 to earn a trip to New Jersey for the 48th Super Bowl.    

It is really easy to throw around statements full of hyperbole, but the second half of San Francisco-Seattle felt like the best football of the entire year. It had everything you wanted from a football game including a dramatic conclusion to the game. San Francisco started to drive the ball down with under four minutes left in the game and found themselves on Seattle's 30 yard line with under a minute left. Heartbreak was on its way for one of these teams, and when they needed it the most Seattle's defense stood big with their best player on the defense making an excellent play. 

Earlier in the week, we noted Colin Kaepernick appears to have a problem with vertical routes and
underthrowing them. We saw in both games against Seattle this season in the regular season that Kaepernick had this problem. He once again to the vertical route to win this football game, and Richard Sherman batted the ball away from Michael Crabtree leading to Malcolm Smith picking off the pass ending the game and clinching Seattle's first Super Bowl appearance since 2005-2006 season. Sherman made a stunning play leading to him bumping Crabtree afterwards and gesturing a choke signal to Kaepernick basically another day in the life of Sherman.  

Everyone now probably has an opinion on the former Stanford cornerback. Many people did before today. I said it when he started making the gestures that 'He is such a prick but dammit if I don't respect him.'  I still think he acts like a dick, but that's totally okay because that's his personality on the field. I doubt he acts that way off it.  Sherman's post game reaction drew all sorts of criticism, but this man is an animal. Crabtree and Sherman hate each other where this means so goddamn much to him. I find it hard to believe just yelling into a camera can classify a guy as a 'thug.'  What a world we live in. Sherman made the play of the year, and people still found a way to shit all over it. The fact Sherman is not a robot is the exact reason why you should love him. Sports is not supposed to be an uptight thing. We have fun watching sports, and Sherman is having a blast out there not giving one single f--k about any of you, remember that when you reach to type something dumb on social media.   

Enough about Sherman though, it was one play in a fantastic football game. Russell Wilson is a player I have been critical of in the last couple of weeks given his recent struggles. It seemed like once again Wilson could not make a play in this game minus this ridiculous scramble for a 53-yard gain to Doug Baldwin. The narrative appeared to be shifting and First Take desk was ready to deliver some #HotTakes about Wilson until he benefited from a free play as San Francisco jumped offsides. The former 'Pack full of Badgers' delivered a beautiful pass to Jermaine Kearse for the touchdown to give Seattle their first lead of the game again. Wilson made plays when Seattle needed it the most.  That's what good quarterbacks do, and it will be great to see him on the biggest stage in two weeks. 

Marshawn Lynch did not disappoint either in this game. He deserves a ton of credit for being the spark plug of this Seattle offense at the start of the second half. Seahawks did nothing in the first half, and it felt like San Francisco had out-matched them on both sides of the ball. Lynch really did not make his presence felt until busting out for a big 40 yard run for a touchdown. Mr. Skittles finished 109 yards on 22 carries giving him exactly a five yard average.  One thing is becoming clear in this rivalry whether they are playing in Seattle or San Francisco, Lynch finds a way to rush for a big number against the usually strong Niners rush defense, and that's a problem they need to solve in the coming years.  

Even though he played in a Super Bowl last year, can we all agree the big moment suffocated Kaepernick? He played great in the first half tearing up Seattle for 100 yards on the ground, he made a Favre-like pass for the touchdown to Anquan Boldin yet his fourth quarter was a complete disaster. It started with a strip sack as he rolled out near his own end zone holding the ball loosely only to have Seahawks linebacker Cliff Avril swat the ball out of Kaepernick's hands leading to Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett making the recovery. Thankfully for the third-year quarterback, no harm happened from that turnover as Seattle could not get points on the following drive. But it kept getting worse for Kaepernick as he underthrew a ball on the sidelines leading to Kam Chancellor picking it off. Basically it was the same play Micah Hyde did not make two weeks ago. Excuse me while I drink cyanide.  We all know the last interception too. Three turnovers in 15 minutes is complete hell for any quarterback. People completely forget how well you played for the first 45. 

Seattle heads to the Super Bowl which is something people believed they would do in late November. Everyone about Seattle makes them the enemy to popular culture. They are brash, mouthy and everything Denver is not. It sets up beautiful for two weeks of great trash-talking fun. It should be tremendous. Related, I cannot wait until Seattle and San Francisco meet again. 

Charlie. 

Divisional Round Recap: Seattle Beasts Through New Orleans

When New Orleans and Seattle met in early December for a big Monday Night Football matchup, many people thought it would be an exciting game going down to the end, but Seattle shut their entire team down like they were Jon Taffer dealing with a bar serving warm beer. They met again in the playoffs, and some people (Guilty) thought things might be different with how New Orleans looked the prior weekend in Philadelphia. Seattle showed why they were the number one seed in the NFC, a mean bruising running attack and a defense that does not quit ever.

New Orleans knows about Marshawn Lynch like we Packer fans know how Golden Tate never caught the football in the end zone. They still run back the tape of when Beast Mode was invented and how a 7-9 Seahawks team knocked off the 13-3 Saints. My assumption would be the Saints did not want a similar result this weekend, but Lynch did not have an iconic run in this game, he still was the difference for this Seattle team turning in one of the best performances of his season. Lynch went over 100 yards for the first time since November 10th against Atlanta. He basically provided everything for Seattle on Saturday afternoon. 

One of the things we see with running backs especially bruisers like Lynch, they tire out by the end of the year. FOX Sports John Lynch believes Marshawn needed an extra week giving him a much-needed rest, and boy, did it show. He looked like the best player on the field for the entire football game, and that is in no way a hyperbolic statement. Lynch will need to continue his power style because I do think there needs to be more of a concern about Russell Wilson. Once again, the Seahawks quarterback struggled to do anything really having only 100 yards with a 67.6 passer rating. Wilson needs to be better moving forward if Seattle wants to win their first Super Bowl in franchise history. While Seahawks' defense and Lynch are great, they will not be able to carry the load like this for the whole playoffs. 

Everyone trips over their own feet to tell you how good Seattle's defense. It is like every male that seen The Wolf of Wall Street imploring you to check out Margot Robbie. But like how attractive and talented Robbie is, Seattle's defense shined through in this one. They held one of the best offenses to zero points heading into the fourth quarter. Drew Brees, one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the last decade, had only 54 yards in the first half which was his lowest since 2006 against Carolina. Brees ended up with 300 yards which is impressive, but Seattle played mostly prevent style defense in the final quarter. This defense deserves every narrative they have already received, and what they will receive in the coming weeks.

Seattle averted a near disaster after not being able to recover an onside kick leading to New Orleans getting the ball back with 26 seconds left. Thankfully for Seattle, Marques Colston does not know the rules of football and the 10 second run-off ended the game. Seahawks are now one game away from heading back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2005 and to get there, they will play their rival San Francisco. Seattle's wide receiver Doug Baldwin Jr. put it best. 

Wouldn't want it any other way...
— Doug Baldwin Jr (@DougBaldwinJr) January 12, 2014

Amen. 

Charlie.