Agree with all of them, and I'll add two more:
Weather: Seattle (big). It's going to be cold in NYC, and I'm not sold that Denver's offense can operate at peak efficiency against a defense like this.
Strength of Schedule: Seattle (big). Sorry, but can someone tell me who Denver's signature win came against this year? The Chiefs were nowhere as good as their fast start indicated. The Chargers -- historic underachievers -- were probably within a 3rd and 18 defensive stop of sending the divisional round to OT, and the Patriots were very banged up and overrated coming into the AFC title game. Denver's schedule as a whole is marshmallow soft.
I'm starting to lean towards going very, very big on Seattle. Just wondering if I'm missing something obvious.
apparently it's not going to be super cold, but things could change. windy conditions would help Seattle the most.
the NFC is better than the AFC on the whole, but Denver did beat KC twice, crushed Philly and Baltimore, and won at Dallas, at Giants, and at San Diego. they should've beat New England on the road too. Seattle and Denver each had 3 close losses against teams like Indy, NE, SF, SD, and Arizona, so it's really close.
one interesting note - Denver hasn't allowed more than 17 points in the last 5 games. their DL is playing pretty well and is probably their strongest area right now on D.
As far as the line I was expecting Denver -4.5 where I would lean with Seattle plus the 4.5 if that was the line......
In general, Joe Public Perception of Game in my opinion...........Peyton Manning = big brand name, record-setting season so its only fitting he wins this easy, lost his last Super Bowl so perception will be he won't lose two in a row plus he has to win to catch his brother Eli...
In general, Joe Public Perception of Game in my opinion...........Peyton Manning = big brand name, record-setting season so its only fitting he wins this easy, lost his last Super Bowl so perception will be he won't lose two in a row plus he has to win to catch his brother Eli...
Just keep an eye-out for the weather....long-range forecasts; We're talking about a night football game (late afternoon kickoff...it will be dark), in the middle of winter in NY.....if a snow-storm moves in, it will end-up resembling kids having a snowball fight....a super bowl game in the Meadowlands at this time of the year.....what a joke.
The NFL is still and probably always will lean towards this motto: "Defense wins Championships." But it shows you that the way the NFL works, they can "make" the public lean a certain way. I mean last yr, theres no way Balty was winning vs mighty 49ers! Ha! And now you have the poster boy for the NFL going up vs the no. 1 Defense. But no one really looks at that. They see the prolific player instead. Without looking at the line I figured Den to win and Sea to cover. But I'm leaning on Sea to win it. ML might be a very good play.
i think the line is right. Manning is facing a defense not even close to anything he has seen in years. The only people who can move on this defense are guys like Kapernink who can move out and run and these types have trouble moving. Manning will be sitting duck. This defense is nasty and can actually cover people. This isn't New England where Manning can sit back there all day and chose who he wants to throw to because everyone is open.
