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So why did Denver get thumped so bad in 2013?


PATS16N0

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Let's clear the obvious out of the way:

Tom Brady > Peyton Manning, and it isn't even close.

Bill Belichick and his staff > John Fox and his staff, and it isn't even close.

With the obvious out of the way, why did such a talented group of receivers and offensive weapons fail so spectacularly, and fall so limp, on the greatest stage of them all, while the Patriots v Seahawks played itself out like a true heavyweight fight, now being praised by many as the greatest Superbowl of all time?

Offensive line:

Manning apologists were quick to throw the offensive line under the bus, and blame everything on them, but Brady didn't have a ton of time either. Chris Collinsworth mentioned that, during Seattle practices, a whistle was being blown 2.5 seconds after the snap, because that's all the time they would have before Tom got rid of the ball. Peyton's release is basically the same, yet the game didn't play out the same for both quarterbacks.

Two thoughts on this after watching a little of the Denver v Seattle Superbowl yesterday:

1. Tom's pocket awareness is really incredible, and he's so good at sensing the rush coming from his sides, stepping up into the pocket, and firing a laser down the field for a completion.

2. Peyton Manning is a pocket sloth and doesn't do much in the way of footing and pocket adjustments. He panics and does stupid stuff, or gets swallowed by edge rushers that Tom would have avoided by stepping up and rocketing the ball downfield.

3. Peyton Manning's deer-in-headlights look against quality postseason defenses just really cannot be understated, as much as his worshippers refuse to acknowledge its existence. Remember back in high school when you saw a kid who doesn't like to fight, get in one? That's what Peyton looks like in these situations.

Conclusion: Blaming Denver's offensive line, and pretending New England's was worlds better, is laughable. The offensive lines looked to me like they played basically the same. The difference was the quarterbacks.

Receivers:

Denver's receivers looked like they did not want to get hit. This isn't the first time its been said. The entire world said the same thing about the game. In the words of Steven A Smith, "Kam Chancellor and those boys put a hat on 'em."

Is it fair or unfair to blame Peyton Manning's sulking gomer pile routine on this? At first glance, it might seem unfair to blame Peyton Manning for everything, but this has been the story of his receivers going back to Indianapolis. Why do Peyton Manning's receivers never play like they would run through a brick wall for him, while Patriot receivers always play like they would for Psycho Tom? Is it fair to say each quarterback brings a certain level of intensity to their team that inspires a certain culture and toughness?

Patriot receivers looked passionate about winning won for Tom, just like they were passionate about shutting up Tom's critics after week #4.

Peyton's receivers looked like they could care less, and cashed out after the first few big hits, and weren't interested in braving the fire for a quarterback who was pouting in the 1st quarter.

Conclusion: Peyton Manning is not a leader, and this had a ripple effect across the entire team. The Denver defense, I thought, over achieved in that game, but with no faith in the soul-sucking Manning face mounting any historic comeback, which is the opposite mentality seen on the Patriots sideline, they gave up in the 2nd half. The entire Denver team was ready to go home shortly thereafter.

So with my psychoanalysis on Peyton Manning teams out of the way, which I think is absolutely fair, following a clear trend going back to Indianapolis, and amplified even further in Denver with a bunch of young rookies left to follow the lead of a stat-compiler, regular season glory hound utterly lacking in championship spirit, I hope the X's and O guys can come in to provide further explanation.
 
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I think the biggest difference is that our receivers were more elusive than the Broncos' receivers. The Broncos went to a quick, short throw offense and completed a lot of passes but the Hawks made the tackle on first contact almost every single time.

For the Pats, the receivers were able to create more yardage after the catch and thus extend drives.
 
They were unprepared and thought the Seahawks would be a complete walkover because of their awesome offense and were stunned into inertia and disbelief from the opening play forward.
 
I'll give it a try.
1) Pats defense is better
2) 2014 SEA defense was not as good as 2013 SEA defense
3) Brady is a more patient QB,more accurate and does better in big games than Manning because he has more guts.
4) BB is a 10x better coach than John Fox.
5) Played in cold weather which Manning is not comfortable in.
6) Pats are a more mentally tough team than DEN
 
If we had played seattle in the super bowl last year we would have lost, but i firmely believe we wouldn't have been blown out. Which leads me to answer the question by saying coaching and the quarter back would have kept us in the game. Thats what denver lacked, great coaching and a qb that could handle the pressure. If you put Brady on denver and had BB as the coach they would have beaten seattle
 
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Seattle's defense when healthy was enough to beat a Manning offense on the decline.

The Seattle offense was enough to beat a mediocre Denver defense.
====================
The patriots offense is one of the best, and certainly the short game was good enough to show up the weaknesses of Seattle.
 
Appreciate the OP's and others' analysis, but for me it's really simple. TB>>>>>Peyton Manning. Peytie was their fearless leader and was being revered as the GOAT and savior of mankind by Denver fans and the media alike before that game. When he wilted (from the first play onward) and played scared, the rest of the team followed suit.

I also think that had Edelman not made a touchdown-saving tackle on Brady's first pick, this game might have turned out far differently and the Pats could have found themselves in a similar predicament: Seahawks smelling blood in the water and feeding on it.
 
Seattle's secondary thrives against vertical passing games but really struggled when the Patriots went horizontal. Think of it like the difference when Aquib Talib went up against Jimmy Graham and shut him down, but then had to Ice Up after facing Steve Smith.

Ice Up Seattle
 
I think the biggest difference is that our receivers were more elusive than the Broncos' receivers. The Broncos went to a quick, short throw offense and completed a lot of passes but the Hawks made the tackle on first contact almost every single time.

For the Pats, the receivers were able to create more yardage after the catch and thus extend drives.
While that clearly can't explain the full extent of the difference, it is probably one of the most crucial differences. The Seahawks have tall DB's who can completely shut down the long passing game, and the Patriots managed to beat them a lot with yards after the catch on short routes and screens.
 
As Greg Bedard likes to say, if everything isn't going perfectly for Peyton Manning, he folds. He is soft and so was his team. That was much of the same team that was reportedly afraid to go into New England in the playoffs.

On top of that, the Seahawks showed (which the Pats gave the blue print this year) that if you take away the inside and force Manning to throw outside a lot, he sucks.
 
If we had played seattle in the super bowl last year we would have lost, but i firmely believe we wouldn't have been blown out

Fully staffed or with the squad we had in the AFC Championship game?
 
The Patriots were not intimated by the Seahawks. Where Denver seemed to be last year. Julian Edelman absorbed that huge hit and kept running. Quite a difference when DT got hit last year.

I think the loss of Golden Tate was pretty big for Seattle, since their receivers didnt scare any one(though they did make quite a few plays any way during the playoffs)

The strange thing about this super bowl, after the Seahawks poor performance in the NFC championship, I felt really confident that the Patriots would win.
 
Coaching was a big part of it. But the game was really lost on two plays:
1. The safety
2. Chancellor hit on DT

Denver had no chance after that, and they basically packed it in.
 
Here's the main reason as I see it: The Pats were willing to torment the 'Hawks with the (very) short yardage game. Mike Reiss had the stats this morning: "Did you know, Part 1: Tom Brady was 28-of-32 for 194 yards and two touchdowns on passes thrown within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage in Super Bowl XLIX. That tied his most such attempts in a game this season, according to ESPN’s Stats & Information. The ball was out quick."

28 of 32! Pats' receivers were too quick and their calibration with Brady too fine-tuned. They've been perfecting this offensive style all season. Against the taller Seahawk DBs, the Pats went to the small lineup that was too quick. No one does it better...has EVER done it better! Peyton doesn't have the patience for it; he wants bigger bites; he's much happier in the 10-15 yard band.

(Have you noticed how different Manning/Welker looks from Brady/Welker? Obviously, Wes has lost some speed and quickness, but Manning doesn't even look for the quick pops that made Brady/Welker so lethal.)
 
Get the impression Elway thought it was due to coaching.
Obviously. And to an extent he's right--the OC didn't adjust when it was clear that Manning's pathetic dear-in-headlights performance would continue if they kept trying to go vertical. (Except for the fact that, for all intents and purposes, Manning was/is the OC. :eek:)

If Elway hitches his wagon to Manning's star again this year after all that we've seen, he is truly an idiot.
 
The Patriots were not intimated by the Seahawks. Where Denver seemed to be last year. Julian Edelman absorbed that huge hit and kept running. Quite a difference when DT got hit last year.

I think the loss of Golden Tate was pretty big for Seattle, since their receivers didnt scare any one(though they did make quite a few plays any way during the playoffs)

The strange thing about this super bowl, after the Seahawks poor performance in the NFC championship, I felt really confident that the Patriots would win.

Golden Tate wouldn't of mattered. We would of just put him on Revis Island again. Tate called Detroit's performance against the Patriots secondary this season "embarrassing."

http://itiswhatitis.weei.com/sports...-wideouts-golden-tate-says-game-embarrassing/

This was while he was working with Calvin Johnson.

Tate would of made no difference.
 
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