With college FB finally behind us, all eyes are turned towards the handful of teams left competing for the coveted Lombardi trophy. I’ll make my Super Bowl matchup prediction right now, but I’ll do it with a caveat: These teams aren’t going to waltz into the show. At some point each will be down significantly in the 4th quarter and will need to rely on a running back to step up and make a HUGE 3rd down play. The Broncos might not let the RB do it, in which case I am wrong about my prediction. The Seahawks will, and I believe that balance makes them a lock for the show. So, Broncos v. Seahawks in the Meadowlands for the title. Here’s how they get there:
NE over IND
I believe in Andrew Luck. Though he hates the comparison, he is much like the Broncos QB, and his performance last week proved it. Luck put the team on his shoulders and made inspirational plays that got the Colts back into the game and earned them the win. The same could hold true this weekend if not for Bill Belicheck. There is no craftier coach in the NFL and I believe he’ll get the best out of his players this week. Barring some magical T. Richardson performance (balance, yo), the Patriots move forward.
DEN over SD
Weather won’t be the factor in this game–running will. Former Jet (and Patriot) Danny Woodhead provides a lift to the SD offense with his speed and versatility, but the DEN LB corps have the speed to stop him. What DEN lacks in speed they make up in a mauling line and a slashing RB corps. The 4 yds or so they can grind out each run will give Manning space to do play action and put this away early. Bring on the Patriots!
SF over CAR
Carolina was on a roll and then they weren’t. Now that they’ve had a week to think about slowing down Clark Kent, they’ll be able to put the proper focus to getting their own Superman out of the backfield. Unfortunately, there is a giant healthy wall of kryptonite called the SF defense that will stop him. Ain’t nobody stopping San Fran this week.
SEA over NO
This boils down to home field advantage. The Seahawks are blessed with a stadium that is so loud that it literally negates most QB calls at the line. Brees is an excellent on-the-fly adjuster, but those skills won’t work here. That leaves NO to have to play the matchups as they are when they line up. Without the ability to move some of those chess pieces around, Brees’ wideouts have little chance against Richard ‘Optimus Prime’ Sherman and gang.
Some Thoughts:
- Forgot to hit the send button on this one last night…