Kickoff for Super Bowl XLVIII is fast approaching, and coverage from SB Nation's Seattle Seahawks blog Field Gulls is ramping up. In case you haven't heard, one of the game's biggest matchups is expected to be Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning against Seattle's top-flight secondary. Well, the fine folks at FG have broken down the matchup from just about every angle.
Super Bowl 2014: Field Gulls explains everything you wanted to know about Peyton Manning vs. the L.O.B.
Seahawks blog Field Gulls examines the matchup between Peyton Manning and the Legion of Boom from every angle ahead of Super Bowl XLVIII.
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Kenneth Arthur took a lengthy statistical look at Manning’s performances against top-ranked pass defenses by DVOA. Here’s how Manning has done against top-five pass defenses by DVOA throughout his career:
Total: 383-of-613, 62.47%, 4,311 yards, 7.03 Y/A, 26 TD, 19 INT, 10-8 record
- Three of these games had a yards total of 95, which is... weird. If life is a simulation, that’s a glitch right there. It goes without saying that these were all end-of-season games that carried little meaning for the Colts and that Manning did not complete.
- His overall numbers are significantly deflated against top five pass defenses, as they should be.
- The best comparison of “Manning versus top five defenses over the last 10 years” to a player in 2013, might be Matt Ryan. The Falcons QB had a down season, but completed 67.4% of his passes for 4,515 yards, 26 TD, 17 INT and 6.9 Y/A.
Danny Kelly, meanwhile dove into the X’s and O’s of Seattle’s Cover 3 scheme.
It's tough to summarize any NFL defense in general terms, but the Seahawks' defense is certainly characterized by a three-deep look, typically either Cover-3 or Cover-1 (man-free).
The main characters in the Legion of Boom are All Pro CB Richard Sherman, All Pro FS Earl Thomas, 2nd Team All Pro SS Kam Chancellor, and up-and-coming CB Byron Maxwell. Walter Thurmond mans the slot as the nickel defensive back, and he'll surely play a big role in Super Bowl XLVIII.
The entire piece is well worth your time, along with Kelly’s even more in-depth companion piece for SB Nation.com.
For a lighter-hearted look at the game, there’s this piece by Jacson Bevens. It’s an acrostic. Why he made an acrostic is anyone’s guess, but here you go:
So who cares how much marshawn lynch said to media as long as on sunday
hE’s about that action, boss?
whAt good is public perception when the two best football teams in the world
clasH for american sports’ most cherished trophy? ultimately,
the leAgue’s best defense will smash headlong into its best offense and the
squad Walking out with the title will be the one whose knocks are louder than
their talKs. fortunately for the team whose
city glowS emerald, the squad that talks the loudest, knocks. even. louder.
Finally, be sure to head over to Field Gulls at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT) for a Google Hangout with Broncos blog Mile High Report. Arthur and Beven will host Broncos blogger Kyle Montgomery, and there will no doubt be plenty more discussion on Manning vs. the Legion of Boom.
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