William Owens
MC301 Contributor
The time of year has come around that every sports fanatic has been waiting for. The place that all coaches think about going upon arrival to their new franchise, and where players have been dreaming about since first lacing up their cleats. Yes folks, the Super Bowl XLVIII is finally here, and it looks like it may be one for the ages.
One of the teams that will be competing in the storied event is the Denver Broncos in the matchup which will take place in the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The Broncos, led by future Hall-Of-Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, will be looking to win their third Super Bowl (1997, 1998). Opposing cornerback Richard Sherman has even gone on the record to say that, “Manning is the best quarterback in the world.”
Manning looks to lead a high octane offense (435ypg) against a defense many claim to be the best in the NFL. According to nfl.com, Peyton Manning will be preparing for his third Super Bowl, which his record currently stands at 1-1 (won Super Bowl XLI over Bears, lost Super Bowl XLIV to Saints).
A couple of players to keep an eye on are wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. These two players are a couple of Manning’s favorite targets as Thomas leads the Broncos with 92 receptions, and Decker compliments with 87 receptions. According to prosportsdaily.com, Thomas said, “The difference between the really good Broncos team last year, and the record setting Broncos team this year, is that everything is going faster and everyone is on the same page earlier.”
Both receivers also lead the team in receiving touchdowns with 14 and 11 touchdowns respectively. On the other side of the ball the jersey number to watch every down is number 59: Danny Travathan. Travathan leads the Broncos with 129 total tackles, 88 tackles which are solo.
The team that the Broncos will be competing against in Super Bowl XLVIII is the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks will be displaying the run-balanced offense led by quarterback Russell Wilson, and running back Marshawn Lynch. Wilson leads the team with 26 touchdowns and has earned a completion percentage of 63.1 percent. Lynch; a co-captain of the offense has rushed for 1,257 yards, and has found his way in the end zone 12 times.
Every player on the Seattle defense can actually be a player to watch. The Seahawks defense ranked number one in both passing defense with 172 passing ypg allowed, and total defense with 273.6 total ypg allowed. Two players to pick from this talented defense to watch would be Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman.
Thomas, a Pro Bowl free safety, leads the Seahawks in solo tackles (78), and is second in interceptions (5). Sherman, a popular name after his postgame rant about 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree, is a player whose side many opposing quarterbacks avoid throwing to with the eight interceptions he has recorded on the season.
Hall of Fame quarterback and Fox color analyst, Troy Aikman, spoke on how excited he was to see such a great matchup in the Super Bowl. “This is the matchup that everyone is going to be talking about, Peyton Manning versus the Legion of Boom.” It is never a good idea to bet against Peyton Manning, but numbers don’t lie with the Seahawks defense. The 13-3 Seahawks beat the 13-3 Broncos in a close game 27-24.
For those of you who don’t have ticket, the game will air on the Fox Network on Sunday, Feb. 2nd with a kick-off time of 5:30 p.m.
