2013 Super Bowl LIVE: Drive by drive results and in game notes

Super Bowl XLVIII
Denver Broncos (AFC 1st Seed) vs. Seattle Seahawks (NFC 1st Seed)
6:30PM, February 2nd, 2014
Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 

After Joe Namath flipped the coin before Seattle called it, the embarrassed hall of famer laughed it off and eventually flipped the special Super Bowl coin. Seattle called tails and won, electing to defer the kick to the second half. Denver will receive the opening kick off.

Drive By Drive 1st Half Notes

• 2-0 Seattle, 1st Quarter - Trent Holiday returns the ball for Denver out to the 15 yard line to start the drive. Omaha did not work for Peyton this time. As he marched to the line to call the audible, the ball was snapped past his head and into the end zone. SEATTLE SAFETY
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• 5-0 Seattle, 1st Quarter - After Golden Tate started the Seattle drive at the 35 via his return, a 30 yard gain by Percy Harvin moved the Seahawks deep into Bronco territory. However at the 11 yard line, Russel Wilson could not stretch out to get the first yard line and so, Seattle kicker Stephan Hauskha came on for the 31 yard field goal. SEATTLE FIELD GOAL
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• 8-0 Seattle, 1st Quarter - Seattle kicked for touch-back but committed a personal foul that moved the ball to the 35 yard line to start the drive.  Richard Sherman logged his first big play of the game wrecking Knoson Moreno to set up a 3 an out by the Broncos. DENVER PUNT
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• 8-0 Seattle, 1st Quarter - Methodically moving up the field, Seattle finally grabbed yet another 30 yard play to Doug Baldwin that set them up close to the 5 yard line.After a would be touchdown pass in the endzone, Hauskha came on and kicked the 33 yard field goal. SEATTLE FIELD GOAL
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• 8-0 Seattle, 1st Quarter - Peyton manning is not having a good day. After Seattle failed to recover a fumble, Peyton overthrew Julias Thomas and allowed Cam Chancellor to grab the interception. After 1 quarter, the Broncos still have not logged a first down. INTERCEPTION BY SEATTLE

END OF FIRST QUARTER

• 15-0 Seattle, 2nd Quarter - Seattle finally has their first touchdown as after a pass interference moved the ball to the 1 yard line, Marshan Lynch finally pounded the ball into the end-zone. TOUCHDOWN SEATTLE. 
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• 22-0 Seattle, 2nd Quarter -  20 minutes into the game, the Broncos finally got their first, first down. Additionally, Peyton Manning has been getting much more protection and is beginning to breath some life into his team. But then Manning gets picked off again. Life gone. SEATTLE INTERCEPTION RETURNED FOR TOUCHDOWN
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• 22-0 Seattle, 2nd Quarter - Two words: muffed punt, Seahawks ball. Play is under review and may be called back. DENVER FUMBLE RECOVERED BY SEATTLE
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• 22-0 Seattle, 2nd Quarter - Never mind. The ruling on the field was reversed, Denver ball. FUMBLE CALL REVERSED 

END OF DRIVE BY DRIVE COVERAGE

To see complete coverage through the end of the game go to NFL.com

Be sure to check back later this week for reactions and more Go Titletown coverage of Super Bowl 48

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2013 Super Bowl: NFL Honors picks

The NFL Honors where this years AP MVP will be presented along with other trophies will begin at 8PM Saturday evening on FOX network. Below are Go Titletown's picks for the winners of these 16 awards...

AP Coach of the Year - Bill Belichick

Fact is, Belichick came into 2013 with his back against the wall. He, the greatest coach in NFL                   history had screwed up in signing Aaron Hernandez and had let slip several other of Tom Brady's key           targets. With his quarterback getting older and his fan base growing restless, Belichick had one of his           best seasons of his career in 2013, leading the Patriots to yet another division title and a 3rd straight             AFC Title Game. If it were not for a personal feud he developed with Wes Welker, it might very well           be the Patriots playing against the Seahawks Sunday in New York largely because of how great a             job all mighty Bill did this season. It was not his fault the Patriots lost this year. His team was just 1                 guy too short.

AP Offenvice Player of the Year - Peyton Manning

AP Offencive Rookie of the Year - Eddie Lacey

Lacey joined a Packers team this year that had not had a 1,000 yard rusher in over 2 years. He used his massive body to pound defenses into submission and especially when Aaron Rodgers went down with an injury to his collarbone, Lacey carried this Packers team to the postseason.

AP Defensive Rookie of the Year - Kenny Vaccaro

Pepsi Next Rookie of the Year - Eddie Lacey

NFL.com Fantasy Player of the Year - Peyton Manning
     
Speaking from experience, Peyton Manning was a best in 2013 racking up all the statistics that won your team points in a fantasy game. As a guy, lucky enough to have snagged him in a draft I played with the auto pick on Peyton Manning seems to be the only pick to win this award.

Walter Peyton NFL Man of the Year - Charles Tillman

GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Year - Stephan Gostkowski recovers onside kick vs. Browns

FedEx Air and Ground Players of the year - Peyton Manning and Knoshon Moreno

Bidgestone Performance Play of the Year - AJ Green Hail Mary vs. Ravens

Among all the nominees, this was a play beyond what could have been imagined. With the game on the         line, Andy Dalton, a man never known for his down field throws, chucked the ball towards the endzone       only to see a crowd of Ravens converge on it. But as the ball bounced through the air, an unsuspecting         AJ Green watched as it never hit the ground and with no time left on the clock snagged the ball out of           mid air and just stood there in the end zone with the game tied. That play more than any other was an           example of the NFL at its very finest and for that reason it should win the play of the year honors.

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2013 Super Bowl: Peyton Manning vs. Russel Wilson, a statistical analysis

Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning's 2011 seasons had one thing in common: neither of them played in an NFL game that year. In 2012 and 2013 though, neither of them missed a game and now they will face one another in the Super Bowl. 

Now as we look through the statistics of these two star QB's since 2012, many major story-lines are reflected. First and foremost, you see the 10,136 passing yards accrued by Peyton Manning to go along with his 92 touchdown passes. But then as you go farther into this analysis you see the 29 interceptions by Manning that sit 10 picks higher than those of Russell Wilson who has thrown just 19 interceptions since 2012. But perhaps the most thrilling of these statistical comparisons for Wilson fans is the rushing column. Wilson who, despite throwing for nearly 4,000 fewer yards than Manning has out rushed his Denver counterpart by 1,053 yards and has a serious proficiency when saving plays that would otherwise result in a sack or even a turnover. 

Below is a brief list of these raw statistics and a few more...

	Peyton Manning	Russell Wilson
Passing Yards	10,136	6,475
Touchdown passes	92	52
Wins/Losses/Ties (includes playoffs)	28/7/0	27/9/0
Interceptions	21	19
Combined rating	110	100.6
Rushing yards	-25	1,028
Fumbles	12	15

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2013 Super Bowl: Denver Broncos vs Seattle Seahawks preview

Denver Broncos (AFC No. 1 Seed) vs. Seattle Seahawks (NFC No. 1 Seed)

February 2nd, 2014, 6:30PM
Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford New Jersey

Peyton Manning will be a hall of famer for his work in the hundreds of game he has played. If the Seattle Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVII, Russell Wilson will be the difference maker in this, the biggest game he may ever play. And yet, he is just 5 feet 11 inches, 25 years old and playing in his second NFL season.

Fact is just like Tom Brady went unseen, Russel Wilson was a man overlooked by far to many very smart NFL personalities. Despite his logging back to back to back 3,000 passing yards seasons in his final 3 years of college football, Wilson was overlooked by every NFL team at least once before he was drafted deep in the 3rd round by the Seattle Seahawks. From there however, he, like Tom Brady outshined everybody picked above him as even number one pick, Andrew Luck has had his struggles. Wilson has played every Seahawks game since he was drafted and has been the number one reason they went from a 7-9 team in 2011 to the playoff game winners in 2012 and the Super Bowl finalists in this season. To sum up, after 2 NFL seasons, Russel Wilson has the best passer rating in the NFL (101.2) and has already thrown for 6,475 passing yards and has led his team through just 9 losses out of 36 games.

The only man with a better win/loss record in that time is the man that Wilson will be going up against Sunday in East Rutherford: Peyton Manning.

Much like Russel Wilson, Manning was a man overlooked by many even after the wonder he solicited in his years with Indianapolis prior to his neck surgeries in 2011. Prior to 2012, he was facing some fierce demands that he retire and yet, there was one team in this league that believed in him. During the off season, the Denver Broncos decided to give up on Tim Tebow and fork over 18,000,000$ to sign one of the greatest QB's in NFL history in Manning. Since then, the 37 year old Manning has tossed 92 touchdown passes and added upwards of 10,000 passing yards to his illustrious passing statistics. In 2013, he was the man behind the most prolific offence in NFL history.

So here we are, Russel Wilson vs. Peyton Manning or is it Peyton Manning vs. Richard Sherman and Russel Wilson against... um, who plays superstar caliber defense for the Broncos? Nobody. As great as Manning is and as promising as Wilson may be, the biggest part of this game is actually the defenses that will be trying to counteract the two QB's.

We start with Seattle.

As hard as it is to believe, Richard Sherman is not the only person on the Seahawks defensive squad. But nevertheless, he has been crucial to every single Seahawks win against a good offensive team. Sherman grabbed 8 interceptions in 2013 and ended 38 different plays via one of his tackles. 2 weeks ago in San Francisco Sherman defended 2 passes and logged 1 tackle. But nevertheless, his biggest play in that game was the last one where he batted the ball away from Michael Crabtree in the corner of the end zone. Within minutes of that, Richard Sherman was screaming at Erin Andrews about stuff very few people could understand but in this world of intense competition a little yelling and screaming is nothing when you compare it to the cheating and the cheap shots that we have seen in the last few years.

But beyond Sherman there were 3 other Seahawks named to the Pro Bowl this year and though they did not play in the meaningless game, such a nomination truly signified the power of this Seattle secondary.

In less than 48 hours we will be in New York, grinding our way through the first cold weather Super Bowl in history and so that will be one of the many match ups we will be looking at Sunday afternoon. We will see Manning vs. Wilson, Manning vs. the cold, the Denver receivers vs. Richard Sherman and the Seahawks secondary as well as Wilson vs. the Denver defensive line. Those are the matchups and as we look at them, the winner of this football game will be the team whose players win more of those matchups.

Prediction

The Seattle offensive line will be good enough to defend Terrence Knighton and give Russel Wilson time to throw the ball downfield to any of his stellar receivers. As for Denver all we have to do is look back to the AFC Championship vs. New England. The Denver defense was good enough to give Manning time to rip things apart in the first half but they still faltered in the 2nd half as Tom Brady came alive and tossed 2 touchdown passes. That worked against a New England team devoid of a real receiving core but it will not work against this Seattle team that will for one limit Manning's points early and then likely shut him down if their season looks to be in jeopardy late. 

It will be close but in the end I predict a 30-23 win for Seattle.

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2013 Super Bowl: Super Bowl Sunday should be declared a national holiday

On Thanksgiving day, a federally recognized holiday, people remain out and about, planning for their shopping sprees and fighting tooth and nail for a spot at the front of the line for Best Buy's door-buster sales that in many states start at the very second that the clock strikes midnight. Additionally on Thanksgiving, family members who are sick of talking to each other spend tens of dollars going to the traditional thanks giving movie. If this is still deemed a holiday, the stay at home and enjoy family kind of belief that defined the history of holidays in the United States has become warped. But I digress and will instead provide you with more examples. The 4th of July, New Year’s or Columbus day. These days, all recognized by law as "holidays" solicit days of for school kids and memos that delay anything from trash pickup to mail delivery. 

But what just about 6 of these 10 federal holidays have in common is something that is as prevalent in this nation as grass: money. Between the sales around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and the unofficial beginning and end of summers that the 4th of July and Labor day represent one would think that this definition of the word holiday has been changed by the modern day, American reception of them. For kids, for the workforce, the biggest thing a holiday does to daily life is get you out of your classes or work shift and give you an excuse to sit around the house or in some cases, go throw money at anything you want. If you operate off of that new, improved and very tainted definition of such a celebration than the biggest holiday of them all is not one included on the list of 10 federal holidays.

It takes place every year in the same time slot. Every year on the same day. Every year, as the world settles in to the prime time TV routine of the first Sunday in February, the carefully orchestrated celebration of the Super Bowl begins. But like any other holiday, the tradition, the excitement that surrounds the Super Bowl goes beyond those 4 hours of gridiron. It begins in September, 6 months before the big show when despite the luster of the first game of the year, the biggest spotlight is already shining on the last one. As the season drags on teams fight it out, trying to get on top and have the best chance going in. As we reach Week 6 we begin to get a taste, who's good and who is not and so the very luckiest of us all begin to think about how great to see this big game in person. 

But no one buys just yet. Soon however we are rapidly roaring into Week 17, everyone has a general idea of how the top teams are going to play and everyone knows how the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Oakland Raiders of the league will fare, but for those still trying to grind their way into the postseason, Week 17 is like Black Friday in relation to Christmas. The little kids (us fans) wondering whether or not we will get the gift we really want from our relatives (our favorite team) and of course, that favorite team fighting desperately to get us that gift. Now for more than half the league, the metaphor ends there but for fan bases like San Diego, or Philadelphia it is only further proven. So then we move into the divisional round where the big, elaborate but fragile gifts are given. In football these gifts are of course victories but in the real world they are like what you get on Cyber Monday, phones, online games or magazine subscriptions. But finally, as this Christmas metaphor nears its climax the final plans are made. In football those plans are the Conference Championships and in the real world they are things like whether or not you go to Grandma's house or everyone comes to yours for Christmas dinner.  

And once THAT is all firmed out you get the pre-Christmas jitters, media day, you get the arguments when someone messes up and lets slip a little gift you will be getting on Christmas. In football those arguments take the form of the controversies. Someone says something or in Richard Sherman's case screams it at Erin Andrews at the end of a Fox broadcast...things like that. But through this all, nothing compares to the big one, Santa Claus (the Super Bowl) and the gifts he gives. For one team they are disappointed much like the kid who gets an itchy sweater for Christmas but for the other team this Super Bowl Sunday is like that one Christmas where your parents finally caved and bought that new gaming system, or that year when you were handed the tickets to a family vacation in a few months.  

Just like your family members spend hundreds of their few thousand dollars on Christmas, the NFL spends millions of their few billion dollars on its highlight to the year. Much like Christmas or Thanksgiving have evolved from their modest beginnings, the Super Bowl has gone from a game 1st played in a stadium with 30,000 empty seats and a half time show with trumpeters and a marching band to what it has become today. This billion dollar game that is so much more than just a game. This day that demands that your fork over at least 2 grand to buy a seat, this day that puts the entire country in pause and sits everyone down on the couch with a bowl of chips in their lap is one of the biggest days of the year. 

While it is not recognized officially, Super Bowl Sunday is a holiday but only in the most American of terms. 

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Go Titletown Super Bowl coverage outline: We take you from the NFL honors all the way through the Lombardi Trophy presentation

Alas the Super Bowl is upon us. In less than 3 days the Broncos and Seahawks will be going at each other in the biggest football game of the year and while the Patriots will not have any New England representation it, Go Titletown will be providing full coverage of the biggest sporting event of the year...

Saturday

A look at why Super Bowl Sunday should be named a national holiday

Super Bowl Preview

Manning vs Wilson statistical analysis

NFL Honors picks

Sunday

Dive by Drive notes for the Big Game

Halftime notes/Halftime Show reaction (Bruno Mars)

Rapid reaction/Lombardi trophy presentation

Monday - Friday 

Full game recap

Any major story lines emerging from this game

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