NFL

Giants corner: Key to Broncos win is containing Marshawn Lynch

I’m torn because the weather is going to make a difference in the game, especially for the Broncos as far as Peyton Manning being able to operate and run his offense the way he likes to do it, throwing the ball. If the weather conditions are pretty good, I believe the Broncos have the matchups just because they have so many weapons on the offensive side and their defense is playing solid.

As long as there’s no wind involved, I think Peyton will be perfectly fine. But if you got any wind or if it’s really cold, that’s where he’s struggled a little bit. He has played in Denver all year in the cold, but that East Coast breeze and that temperature is a little bit different.

With the Seattle offense, it is misdirection and running game, everything starts off their running game. Russell Wilson is a great quarterback, a great playmaker, but everything starts with Marshawn Lynch.

That was our number one goal, to neutralize him, we did a good job as a defense stopping him. They had a few extra possessions with turnovers and field position that gave them opportunities to win, but as a defense, I thought we did a good job of neutralizing them, taking away their big-play ability, really making them earn every point they got against us.

The Seattle receivers haven’t been in the league very long, you got to build your name up. Just because you’re on a good team doesn’t make you a great wide receiver. As a group they’re solid, but they’re not Pro Bowlers. Denver has a solid secondary. Losing Chris Harris makes them a little more vulnerable. As a receiving corps, the Seahawks are pretty solid. Percy [Harvin] gives them that big, explosive playmaking dimension. Golden Tate, he’s a great wide receiver; some games he’s the number one, some games he goes missing. You saw that two weeks ago, where he really wasn’t involved. I don’t know if they weren’t throwing him the ball or it was who was covering him, but in the playoffs and the Super Bowl you can’t have that.

Russell Wilson is just fluid, he thrives on the big play. You look at the game versus the 49ers, he was struggling all game until he scrambled and made a play happen. That’s what he can do. He’s a dual-threat quarterback, but still young. I feel like that was one of the first times he was rattled throughout his career in a big game. We’ll see how he shows up in the Super Bowl. I think last [game] he was a little bit rattled. Everybody forgets he’s a second-year pro, as good as he’s been, he’s still a young guy.

If Lynch has 100-yards plus, they win and if he doesn’t then they lose, it’s that simple. As a defense, that has to be your number one goal, stop him. On the outside, Seattle has some good wide receivers, but they don’t have too many guys that you really have to double-team, that you can’t single cover. So I can see Denver really stacking the box to really neutralize Marshawn and make Russell Wilson beat them.

With the Denver offense, you better be on your Ps and Qs because Peyton is going to exploit every weakness in your defense. It’s a chess match when you play him, it’s that simple. As a defensive coordinator, you have to prepare for multiple looks to give Peyton and you have to disguise those looks. Peyton’s seen ’em all and sometimes he’ll be disguising it, he knows what you’re doing, that’s the hardest part. You are not going to stop that offense, the big thing is to slow them down. You want to frustrate them and if you can do that you have a better chance of winning.

Peyton can’t intimidate Seattle’s defense. If you get them off-balance he may frustrate them, but I don’t think he can intimidate them. I mean, we’re talking about the Super Bowl, there’s no more intimidation. I think Seattle’s key on defense is to put pressure on Peyton, but his ability to audible and find the easy target and take what the defense gives him, he’s very good at that and that can be very frustrating.

Wes Welker is one of the best slot receivers in the game. You got Demaryius Thomas on the outside who is just a bully at times when he wants to be. You got Eric Decker, who is Mr. Consistent and he is a big-play wide receiver. You can throw in Julius Thomas, who is a solid tight end who creates mismatches. This is going to be a fun game. You got the No. 1 offense versus the No. 1 defense going against each other. It’s going to be a chess match and there’s no better player to run that than Manning.

Knowshown Moreno is an unsung hero of that offense. He does all the dirty work. He gets the tough 2 yards and he’s very explosive. He’s really been the difference in that offense, being able to balance them out.

Peyton gives a lot of dummy calls and if you’re a young guy or you never played him before that can really throw you off. What you really have to do is trust your technique and the defense that your coaches taught and do your job. If you do that sooner or later you’re going to make him make a mistake, but the majority of the time Peyton makes you make the mistake before he does, that’s just the wise veteran that he is. They’re going to make plays, they’re going to score, you have to make them earn those touchdowns. If you get in a shootout with Peyton, the majority of the time he’s going to win.

Depending on the weather, I think Denver’s defense is good enough to neutralize Marshawn and put a lot of pressure on Russell — and he’s never been in this position before. You’re talking about greatness in Peyton Manning, you’re talking about a first-ballot [Hall-of-Famer], one of the best quarterbacks ever to play this game and you think you’re going to prevent him from winning the Super Bowl you got another thing coming. It’s going to take a lot from Seattle to take this one from him. He’s got all the pieces in place for offense and their defense is not shabby at all. I think it’s going to come down to the weather and how good Marshawn runs. I expect a close finish.

I’d say a 27-24 victory for Denver. I hate to go against my old coach, Pete [Carroll], you know what I mean? I love him, he’s a great coach. I think the Broncos are going to win. I just can’t count out Peyton Manning, this is it, this is his moment, everything he’s worked for his whole career and if he wins this, he goes out riding on that horse.

We’ll see.