Happy Monday! I hope everyone is recovering well from their
Super Bowl festivities yesterday.
Wow, what an impressive performance by Seattle.
I can’t even fault Denver for how poorly they played. Even
if they played well I don’t think it would have mattered. Broncos coach John
Fox said it best in his post game interview with Erin Andrews.
“We ran into a juggernaut.”
No kidding.
Look at Denver’s offensive numbers in the Super Bowl
compared to their averages.
- Total offense: Average, 457 yards per game; Sunday, 306
- Passing yards: Average, 340 ypg; Sunday, 280
- Points: Average, 37.6 ppg; Sunday, 8
The Seahawks made the Broncos look like any other team
they’ve played this season. Every time Peyton Manning completed a pass, a
Seattle defender was there to put a massive hit on the unlucky receiver. This
didn’t just happen once either. It went on all night long.
Sure, as a sports fan, I was disappointed. I wanted a battle
between Manning and the Seattle defense. I wanted Manning to complete a
beautiful pass against Richard Sherman then on the next play watch him break up
an equally pretty throw. I wanted to see Demaryius Thomas blow by the entire Seahawks
secondary for a touchdown, then get hit hard by Seattle safety Earl
Thomas on the next possession.
Instead, the Super Bowl produced a blowout, and no
one saw it coming.
But how could you not enjoy what was happening (unless you are a Broncos fan)? I witnessed probably the greatest TEAM win in my lifetime.
Midway through the third quarter, I started wondering about
the MVP. Who do you give it too?
Percy Harvin, who just ran the second half kickoff back for
a touchdown? Russell Wilson, who finished with 206 yards and a pair of
touchdown passes? The entire Seahawks secondary, who forced three turnovers?
It wasn’t any of those guys. Instead, it was Malcolm Smith,
a linebacker picked in the seventh round.
Seattle was the best TEAM in the NFL all year long. Denver had all the
stars. Manning, Thomas, Wes Welker, Champ Bailey. But the Seahawks were a team and they won as a team every game this season.
Smith winning the MVP is the best example of this.
There were probably five other players that could have taken
home that award. And there were probably twenty more that could have won the
award on any given night.
That’s the beauty of Seattle’s win. It wasn’t about the
individual or records or memorabilia. It was just about the victory.
You could see this on the face of Richard Sherman. You
remember him right? The guy that everyone criticized for his post-game interview
in the NFC Championship, saying he was taking the spotlight away from his team.
Well, as he crutched his way onto the podium with a bad ankle after Seattle’s
victory, he said nothing.
All I saw was a smile.
He knew this spotlight wasn't for him. It was for his team.
Hot Reads
-Powerful images from the Denver Post's Super Bowl coverage.
-Seahawks' fans celebrate the victory.
-What were the best and worst commercials on Sunday?
-Manning's legacy is now in question. Check out what Joe Posnanski has to say.
Reach me at: award6344@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @_andrewward
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