Peyton Manning went 4 for 7, throwing for 44 yards in Denver's pasting of the Bears last week. Will he be in this week's game long enough to display some of his past brilliance, or will the Seahawks combined effort be enough to best the Broncos?
Rainy city battle
Entering the preseason, most experts predicted that newly signed Matt Flynn and
incumbent Tavaris Jackson would do battle for the starting job in Seattle.
However, throughout OTAs, training camp and the preseason, Jackson has taken a
back seat to rookie Russell Wilson. A third round pick out of Wisconsin,
Wilson has dazzled coaches and scouts alike in his very short NFL career, and it
seems as if he has all but taken the back up quarterback job. Some even see him as competition for the starting job.
While I
seriously doubt that Wilson will be the starter - considering how much money the
front office shelled out to Flynn this offseason - he is coming in with a
handicap.
Both
Wilson and Flynn will get adequate time to show off their skills against the
Broncos. And, since they'll be going up against Peyton Manning - at least for a portion of the game - they will need to put up at least a few points.
Broncobusters
Like most teams in week 1, the Broncos didn’t wait until the end of the first quarter to pull their starters from the field. In week 2, teams will be trying to get a few
more reps for their starters. Manning will likely play the entire first
quarter and probably most of the second. He and his receivers will need to create some chemistry.
The Sharp Pick
With a
game that is so even, it is a little harder to pick a winner. However, I’m
laying off the spread all together in this one. The total, however, is not off-limits. 37.5 points is not a lot but, beyond their starting units, these
two teams don't have a lot of depth. Both teams have
pretty stout defenses, too.
The
UNDER is just 8-8-1 cashing so far this preseason, but I think we will see a
few more UNDERS as the preseason progresses. Like their counterparts on offense, first team defenses will be playing
more this week.
This early in the season, and especially for two teams with new quarterbacks,
defenses will rule the day. It takes a while longer for offenses to get in sync, and while both of these teams have new faces on offense, their
defenses are the same as last season. Take the UNDER.
My
Pick: UNDER 37.5