My Super Bowl Recap

Nate’s Nine: Reasons I wasn’t disappointed with the Super Bowl

                Now I know it wasn’t what anyone imagined last night, myself included.  I assumed the blackout would happen during Percy Harvin’s kickoff return in order to bring Denver back into the game.  I’m not mad though.  Pete Carroll did a well enough job to deserve two Gatorade splashings, and it makes for an intriguing storyline heading into next season.  Here’s why I’m perfectly content with what happened during Super Bowl XLVIII.

#9. Peyton still set a record.  Granted throwing for the most completions in a blowout loss isn’t the most impressive of all records, but it is another thing he can take with him to the Hall of Fame when he gets to that point.  Which is obviously inevitable.

#8. Denver got crushed, but still had class.  Of course it would be Peyton that would seek out Richard Sherman to check out the ankle, but even beyond that there were no frustrated personal foul penalties, no game misconducts, and no unnecessary roughness flags.  I’d be curious to see what would have happened if the Broncos won 43-8.

#7. The Super Bowl needs a blowout every now and again.  I’m a big believer in the cause/effect theory and I can appreciate a win like this.  As a result, teams with plenty of cap space are going to come sniffing hard when a number of these Seattle Seahawks hit free agency soon.  This is no longer the 1990’s when the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers and even to some extent the Buffalo Bills could resign every single significant player with the hopes of creating a mini-dynasty.  This Seahawks team could be dismantled within two seasons if they aren’t able to extend Richard Sherman, Cliff Avril, Golden Tate and company.  What I’m really excited for is to see how much they offer to Russell Wilson and if the money given doesn’t cramp their style.  For all that he is, I’m not sure I could put him in the 100 million range.  But then again, Tony Romo makes 100.

#6. The assurance that Peyton Manning plays another season.  No way he retires after 8 points.  No way.

#5. We get to hear about the great Bears defense of 1985 again.  If any teams in history recognized each other through a mirror, you would almost say the Seahawks of today vs the Bears of 1985 is the closest thing to a match.  For all that the 2000 Ravens were, I’m taking Jim McMahon and Russell Wilson ahead of Trent Dilfer. Every. Single. Time.  But both teams ran conservative offenses with great running games and quarterbacks that could make plays with their feet, legs or intelligence.  They also had receivers that didn’t stand out, but could stretch the field when needed too (Willie Gault, Golden Tate).  They had great offensive lines.  Their return teams were top notch (Dennis Gentry, Doug Baldwin/Percy Harvin). Yet, it was the defenses that won both teams their first super bowl titles.  Seattle wouldn’t let anyone throw; Chicago wouldn’t let anyone run.  Both teams had a ridiculous amount of confidence, on the borderline of cockiness.  I’m not much for arguments, but if I needed to take a defense, I would find it hard not to pick Seattle’s to win me the biggest game.

#4. I’m tired of the wildcard teams making the Super Bowl.  On most days it still would have been a great matchup.  These were undoubtedly the two best teams in their respective conferences.  I think it may have been worse for New England.  Because they wouldn’t have gotten a yard off these defensive backs.  And I still believe that the 49ers would have been exposed by the Broncos.  But this wild-card free Super Bowl was rather refreshing. 

#3. The Push for 50.  The Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos that ended 55-10 was one of my all-time favorites.  It’s when Joe Montana became an all-time great. Not only is this the stage when stars are born (Kam Chancellor/Jermaine Kearse), but it’s a true measurement about how great we believe a team can be.  Everyone talks about how conservative and average Seattle’s offense is, but they still got in the end zone 3 times against an above average defense.  We may forget down the road how good this team was, but the record book will always remain 43-8.

#2. Seattle will have a target on their back next season.  Not to say they wouldn’t have had one by winning a close game, but teams heading into the off-season are going to try and improve with the mindset to beating these types of teams (Seahawks, 49ers). The same thing happened in the 90’s when the Cowboys were winning everything and the 4-3 defense became vogue so the defense could cover everyone.  Same thing in this last decade with the wide open, hurry-up offense.  Now that Seattle has offset that with a quick inside pass rush and the biggest defensive backfield we’ve ever seen, we might see the NFL shift toward the big 300+ offensive line and powerful running games we all remember so fondly from the 1980’s.  Seattle – Challenge accepted.

#1. The result of a perfect executed game.  We should all be happy for this Seattle football team, because the score reflected exactly how the game went.  The Seahawks wanted long, time-consuming drives on offense with getting the occasional home run play through a run or a pass.  They got them through the air.  Defensively, they were always going to play aggressive man-to-man coverage and rush maybe 4 or 5 on every play.  Everything worked at the highest level.  Their return game while only getting limited opportunities was very effective.  I have watched way too many games where a team executes their game plans to perfection only for a bad call, an unlucky turnover, or an untimely injury derail the chance for a simple victory.  Enjoy the times when a team gets their chance.