Alpe d'Huez said:
The '85 Bears and 2000 Ravens were better, a few more too, but this one was special. Especially to completely shut down this powerful offense like they did. And in perfect weather conditions.
Agree, not the best. The Bears, Ravens and Steelers played super D all season. The Seahawks were excellent all season, but after all, some teams moved the ball against them better than the Broncos did. OTOH, this is a higher scoring era than the past, and holding a team that set a scoring record to I think the third lowest score in SB history is phenomenal. Denver did not even have a first down until several minutes into the second quarter, though they did move the ball decently after that. There are great yardage defenses, the real shut down ones, and great scoring defenses. SE was more the latter. DE had several very promising drives that ended in turnovers.
Recall, 10 of the 13 ESPN "experts" had Denver winning. And the Broncos were favored.
Never understood that. And this is why this is one of the most embarrassing defeats in SB history. The DE team that lost to SF by the largest margin in SB history was a fourteen point underdog, I think the largest spread ever. They were supposed to get beaten badly. The SD team that lost badly to SF was a big underdog. The Giants team that got blown out by the Ravens was embarrassed, but they were not a great offensive team, even if they had stunned the Vikings in the NFC championship with a blowout of their own. The DE team that got blown out by Washington might have been slightly favored, the spread was not large in that game, but it was not an all time great team that was creating a legacy.In the AFC championship that year, they nearly blew a huge first half lead, saved only by a Cleveland fumble on the two yd line.
We've had a great run of close SBs, unlike the eighties when so many were blowouts, five in a row at one point. The last one before this one would have been TB vs. the Raiders, and I would say that was a pretty embarrassing defeat, too, as the Raiders were I think the no. one offense that year. But at least they scored some late TDs that made the score a little more respectable.
I think the toughest losses are the really close games, like the Niners last year, when you look back and say if one or two little things had gone the other way you would have won--and blowouts like this one. The easiest defeats to bear I think are when you lose by say ten to fourteen points. Enough so that you can't say you were just unlucky, but not so much that you can't say you didn't play pretty well.
But I agree with Foxxy that not every SB should be tight and exciting. Blowouts do highlight what one team can do when it becomes dominant, they perform a clinic that educates the rest of the league and the fans who pay attention. Plus, we all appreciate an exciting game more knowing that they aren't guaranteed.
Probably true. I can only imagine what's going on in the mind of diehard Broncos fans right now. Let alone what Manning must be thinking. All those touchdowns, all those records... and this is what they're left with. Ouch.
My first thought yesterday, glad I'm not a DE fan. But no one really enjoyed this game except die hard SE fans, and die hard fans of defense.
Now (and since Al Davis is dead!?) maybe this will open up the gates so other deserving Raiders have a better chance of getting in too (Stabler, Branch, Christiansen, Hayes, Plunkett).
All the ink Sherman and his eight picks got reminded me that Lester the molester Hayes had FIFTEEN interceptions including I think five in the playoffs going into the SB vs. the Eagles. That was the year of the ice bowl vs. Cleveland and Sipe, they also faced Stabler and Houston and Fouts and SD. That's three of the best QBs of the time, Sipe was player of the year, Fouts in HOF, as you say, Stabler should be. One of the greatest seasons ever by a CB. And back then, their idea of cheating was covering their bodies with stickum.
Since this sport is all about looking ahead (it is?!) my early 2015 Superbowl pick is San Francisco over Indianapolis.
The early line has SE favored to repeat, with, just like this past year, DE, SF and NE close behind. NE will get their injured starters back and no doubt go after some better receivers for Brady. SD may be on the rise, and if Dalton gets his act together, watch out for Cincy. In the NFC, a healthy Rodgers makes GB tough, CA is a good offense from being another SE.
Foxxy, I read an article a week or so ago documenting that Manning had a better passing record in the thirteen, I think it was, games in which he wore a glove than his overall record without it. Actually a higher QB efficiency. He has been fine with it in the past.
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