Super Bowl Preview

So, I didn't have a great week last time out. 0-2 picking the Championship Games. It happens to the best of them. Or maybe I was just playing possum, letting everyone think I'm human before going on another huge winning streak. You'll never know.

Anyway, let's get to the big game: my beloved New England Patriots the Denver Broncos versus the Carolina Panthers. Plenty to digest here, so let's get to it. I'll start with the game itself, then throw in some props at the end. Lines from Bovada.


CAROLINA PANTHERS (-6) vs. Denver Broncos
This line has grown over the two week layoff, but that doesn't scare me one bit. We've seen this matchup before: highest scoring team going against number one defense. More often than not, the top defense comes out on top. However, the top offense doesn't usually have one of the top five defenses in the league behind it, either. I think that while most of the attention is being paid to the matchup between Carolina's offense and Denver's defense, the mismatch between Carolina's defense and Denver's offense will decide the game. Read this to get a really in-depth look at the game. The good folks at Football Outsiders have less faith in Carolina's offense than I do. While I agree that Carolina's offense has been propped up by a series of big plays and good field position, I think that they've had that good field position for a reason. The Broncos red zone run defense has been surprisingly shaky given their dominance in most other areas, which could play perfectly into the Panthers' powerful running game. Ground had a huge game against the Broncos, and Greg Olsen is no slouch. He could have a big game. And, I mean, Denver's offense is so, so bad. Peyton Manning has been worse this year than Trent Dilfer was in 2000, the ultimate measuring stick for horrible qbs on winning teams. They aren't going to do anything. Outside two first half drives, they did nothing against the Pats, and Carolina's defense is better. I can't say it enough times. The Broncos offense is utter garbage. Steaming, stinky, messy garbage. It speaks volumes to the Broncos great defense that they're anywhere near the championship. Denver has played in 15 one score games this season and won 12. Their luck will finally run out Sunday.

Score:
24-10 Panthers

Some props I'll be betting:

Anthem- under 2:20
Heads or Tails- heads
First score of the game- Panthers safety (why not)
First Coldplay song- Viva La Vida
Beyonce's shoe color- Gold
Gatorade color- orange

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