Could we have beaten these Broncos?

[kearly]

In the playoffs this year the Panthers played 3 very good defenses. By halftime against the first one they had dropped 31 point on 'em, and by halftime of the second one they dropped 24 points on 'em. Then they went up against Denver and just got manhandled.

Seattle's defense allowed 24 points, not 31, and was playing on skates for the first 20 minutes (at 10am, which impacts defensive effectiveness significantly). After Seattle had adjusted for body clock and found the right cleats to wear, the Panthers offense was mostly shut down, never crossing the 50 yard line in the final 2.5 quarters. I thought their early lead said a lot about the field conditions and early start and Kris Richard's soft zones. It did little to show that Cam Newton was unstoppable.

And besides that, Seattle's defense was not truly elite in my opinion last season, they padded their defensive numbers against bad offenses but struggled against good offenses. I honestly find it laughable that Seattle finished #1 in scoring D and #2 in yardage, which if anything is an indictment against using simple stats to evaluate defenses. I love the LOB, but they were several steps down from where they were from 2013-2014.

The Cardinals defense was pretty awful after they lost Matheiu. Both Wilson and Newton picked them apart, and Rodgers completed back to back hail mary's on it.

Really at no point this season did Newton impress me by beating a good defense that was playing their best. Seattle was hamstrung defensively in both their games against Carolina as was Arizona. And neither of those defenses, even at their best in 2015, would hold a candle to the 2015 Denver D. Which is why I correctly predicted Newton would get his ass kicked in the SB. He simply hasn't had success against an elite D firing on all cylinders before.

 

[HawkFan72]

The Broncos Defense this year was just as good as our 2013 Defense. I would not have been confident in a win against them.

 

[BBQHawk]

I think this game goes to show you Cam was their entire offense. Take away Cam and they are done. Cover the TE and they really have no other weapons. I think this is a big difference from our Hawks. We do have a talented receiving corp. I also think Russ is very use to getting his head kicked in during a game, yet responding in key moments to put points on the board. Cam is not use to this. He lost this game mentally in a lot of ways in my humble opinion.

 

[Popeyejones]

Take away Cam and they are done. Cover the TE and they really have no other weapons.

Yeah, I was shocked to hear last night that Cotchery didn't have any drops this year until the two last night. Cotchery and Ginn dropping passes, Stewart getting chewed up and spit out like the pretty pedestrian back that he has been for awhile now and Oher playing on ice skates like he did for his whole career until this year was basically these guys playing like "normal" instead of the abnormal ability they've been showing all year.

That doesn't take anything away from the Broncos D for me (they've made better offenses and better QBs look as bad as they made the Panthers look last night), but it was still kinda funny to see all these guys who have had bizarrely decent seasons looking like their usual selves all of a sudden in the super bowl.

 

[MVP53]

I just keep going back to Denver's O vs our D. I don't know that Denver would have scored against the Hawks D. Heck, they practically didn't score against Carolina's D either. If it weren't for Carolina turning the ball over 4 times, Denver wouldn't have scored a point.

I still think it comes back to Russ. If he turns it over 3 times like Cam did, then Seattle loses in similar fashion (24-10'ish). If he doesn't, I could see Seattle winning 10-3'ish.

 

[BBQHawk]

Exactly, would come down to turnovers, field position and kicking. Special teams would be a big factor in a Hawks Donkeys SB 50.

 

[12thbrah]

Hate to say it but there is no way our O-line holds up against that pass rush. We lost arguably our best tackle Okung in the Panthers game also. Might have been a close game because Manning is garbage but we would have struggled to put up points against the Broncos with the personnel we have right now on offense.

 

[Seahawkfan80]

Hate to say it but there is no way our O-line holds up against that pass rush. We lost arguably our best tackle Okung in the Panthers game also. Might have been a close game because Manning is garbage but we would have struggled to put up points against the Broncos with the personnel we have right now on offense.

I agree wholeheartedly with this post. No whatifs here. Just plain truth.

 

[HawkFan72]

Hate to say it but there is no way our O-line holds up against that pass rush. We lost arguably our best tackle Okung in the Panthers game also. Might have been a close game because Manning is garbage but we would have struggled to put up points against the Broncos with the personnel we have right now on offense.

Which is why I have no problem with the Broncos winning the Super Bowl. Defense wins championships, and they clearly had the best D this year. They earned it and deserve it. The Seahawks would have had a chance, but no one can say they would have won with certainty.

 

[chris98251]

I don't think the Broncos commit to full scale pass rushing against Wilson like they did Cam, Cam is a good runner but not elusive and creative once on the move. That's Wilsons IT factor, they would do it occasionally but if we corrected for it Wilson would make them pay. That would take some of the heat off him, also we would have hit more routes in front of their defenders and dink and dunked and then used Rawls or Lynch inside. Not saying we would win but we would have slowed that pass rush down and made them stay at home more.

 

[razor150]

The team that showed up to play the Panthers couldn't.

 

[redhawk253]

Our offense woulda come back in that game imo. That game looked like some of our first halves this year.. difference being we have a mentally strong and more talented throwing qb who can keep his head right and take it one play at a time and forget the last play.. something newton has displayed his entire career he is not capable of.

 

[theincrediblesok]

With Wilson there is always a chance. The on the run throws that Cam missed, Wilson would hit it in stride. The sacks that Newton tried to escape from, Wilson would of escaped for a positive yard. The fumble Cam didn't recover, Wilson would of had. I can't wait until football season starts again.

 

[McG]

Yes, we could have won, but like stated before in a previous, probably not with the situation we had at RB. If we had a healthy Beast or Rawls then we could have easily moved the sticks, which would have been the key factor in setting up the passing game. Our defense would have had a field day against Manning and their run game. Not to mention what I believe is the most important factor in almost every game, the mental edge. We have been there before and we've already beaten this team, in this game, which would have given us a huge edge going in. Also, it could be argued that a west coast late start would a huge factor in our play from the start.

 

[Russellmania3]

I would guess the Hawk's would of shown up with the wrong cleats and be slipping around on that trash turf just like in carolina

 

[bjornanderson21]

This year? Probably not.

The 2013 Hawks? That would be a very close game

 

[King Dog]

We got owned by the Rams. No way.

 

[CPHawk]

You've got to be joking, if you think that D is as good as our 13 d. The stats prove I'm right, and the fact we shut down arguably the top O ever in the SB, backs me up also.

 

[seabowl]

This year? Probably not.

The 2013 Hawks? That would be a very close game

2 years older Peyton with a worse offense? They would have been shut out by 2013 Hawks.

 

[McGruff]

We got owned by the Rams. No way.

And the Broncos got beat by the Colts and the Raiders. What difference does any of that make?