XLVIII: Broncos v. Seahawks

Let’s start at the top.  This is not the ‘Reefer Bowl’.  As poblano said Monday this is a pick ’em.  It’s actually incredibly rare that the two top teams in each Conference face each other, rarer still that the top offense (Broncos) faces the top defense (Seahawks). With so many fans looking forward to the game and others fixing their rankings for their fantasy football team through companies similar to DraftKings, it is sure to be a game worth watching.

Now poblano when pressed picks the Seahawks but I suspect that’s mostly based on sentiment and not statistics.  The Seahawks are the only team to have won Championships in both Conferences, but they’ve never really been very good and the rest of the teams in Seattle suck.

The Broncos have yet to recover from the Tebow incident and the Rockies, Avalanche, and Nuggets are legit (as long as they play at home).

Now me?  I agree with bmaz that this game will be decided not by how good the Seahawks defense is- Payton Manning, as much as you may hate him, will score some points.  It will be decided by how good the Bronco defense is and whether Russell Wilson can score more (he was an incredibly excellent draft pick, 75th in the 3rd round and has already performed well above that).  Now good Defense has won Superb Owls before, but the Seahawks is not that much better than the Broncos.  Broncos are 2 point favorites and will need to shut down the Seahawks ground game.

Weather will not be a factor though it might rain a little.

Now I know some of you are not at all interested in the Superb Owl and are looking to avoid it at all costs.  Here are some suggestions-

Alternative TV

• Anti-Super Bowl Sunday: TV alternatives include puppies, kittens, zombies, Star-Ledger

And I know some of you watch it just for the ads ($4 Million for 30 seconds last I looked)-

Ads

• Watch 22 Leaked Super Bowl XLVIII Commercials Before Sunday’s Game, Rolling Stone
• 2014 Super Bowl Ads, Boston Globe
• Rejected Super Bowl commercials, Boston Globe
• Unforgettable Super Bowl commercials, Boston Globe

You can always count on The Guardian to provide an offbeat take on American Throwball-

Funny

• Super Bowl XLVIII: a quick and mostly true guide to … the game
• Super Bowl XLVIII: a quick and mostly true guide to … everything else

And serious ones too-

Why the NFL is a Billionaire Scam

• The NFL Gameplan
• The Stadium Swindle
• The Great Pinkwash
• The Concussion Defense

The New York Times coverage is by comparison thin (WaPo non-existent, they’re too concerned about their imploding franchise).

This piece is an interesting comparison to the Wall Street Casino-

Big Time Betting

• The Super Bowl of Sports Gambling

They also have a couple of interesting analysis pieces-

Matchups

• Super Bowl XLVIII Matchup: Seahawks vs. Broncos
• Denver’s Offense (Unstoppable) vs. Seattle’s Defense (Unmovable)

The Superb Owl below.