A BRIEF HISTORY OF... THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Super Bowl XLVIII is just three days away. To help pass the time, let's profile the team representing the NFC: the Seattle Seahawks.

Starting Up: After the NFL and AFL officially merged in time for the 1970 season, the now suped up NFL had 26 teams. However, part of the merger agreement stated that two expansion franchises would be awarded to yet-to-be-determined cities across the country in 1970 or soon after that. Finalists for the expansion teams were Memphis, Tennessee (which eventually got an NFL team for two seasons in 1997 and 1998 while the newly relocated Tennessee Oilers (now the Titans) waited for their new stadium to be built in nearby Nashville), Phoenix, Arizona (the home of the Arizona Cardinals since 1988) and Honolulu, Hawaii (seriously). Ultimately, Tampa, Florida and Seattle, Washington were the cities that received teams and both began play in time for the 1976 season. As seems to be common amongst sports teams, the name "Seahawks" was chosen as part of a fan contest, and the rest is history.

The Seahawks actually began their existence in the NFC, while their expansion twin Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in the AFC. This was a deliberate choice by the NFL, as both teams played every team in their respective conferences once, with a Seahawks/Bucs game being the only out-of-conference game for either team, filling out their respective 14 game schedules. The two teams switched conferences for the 1977 season, with the same setup as the previous season. This is where the teams remained (the Seahawks made their home in the AFC West while the Buccaneers joined the NFC North), with normal NFL schedules starting with the 1978 season.

One final note: the Seahawks moved back to the NFC in 2002 when the NFL established four 4-team divisions in the conferences. They have been a member of the NFC West ever since.

Greatest Runs

Unlikely Contenders (1983-1988): With the arrival of Chuck Knox as head coach in 1983, the Seahawks became a pretty formidable team in the AFC. They swept their season series against division rival and eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Raiders and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. But they weren't a typical young team to be used as a sacrificial lamb come the postseason: they hammered the Broncos in the wild card round and beat the Dolphins in Miami the next week (knocking out two teams with exceptional rookie quarterbacks in the process in John Elway and Dan Marino, respectively), but their Cinderella run came to an end against the aforementioned Raiders in the AFC Conference Championship Game.

The next season, they won a then team high twelve games and got their revenge against the Raiders in the wild card round, but dropped their next game against the Dolphins. While the team never won another playoff game in this stretch, they were still very talented and good, and won their first division title in 1988.

Welcome to the NFC (2003-2007): Mike Holmgren was hired as head coach and general manager of the team in 1999, but it wasn't until he was stripped of executive power that the Seahawks became a real threat. The team went to the playoffs in five straight seasons from 2003 to 2007 and won four straight NFC West titles (which admittedly was very weak at this time, including the Seahawks at times). From 2005 to 2007, the team won at least one playoff game. In 2005, they won a team record 13 games on their way to the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance, though they lost to the Steelers in what the NFL later acknowledged was an abysmally officiated game.

The Legion of Boom (2010-Present): The Seahawks shored up both of their safety positions in 2010 by drafting Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. The following year, cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner came to the team. All four have been selected to at least one Pro Bowl since 2011 (seven Pro Bowls between the four in total) and are the cornerstones for a dominant throwback team that has a punishing run game and a fantastic defense. And ever since Pete Carroll was hired as head coach in 2010, the Seahawks have won 24 of 32 home games and have gone 15-1 at home since 2012.

Leanest Years

The Early Years (1976-1982): Here's the thing about expansion teams: with very few exceptions, the team almost always sucks for a fairly extended period of time at the beginning. The Seahawks lived up to those lofty expectations. The team went 39-62 (.386) over its first seven seasons, with a defense that usually finished at or near the bottom of the league while hemorrhaging points and yards. With the sole exception of the Jim Zorn/Steve Largent connection being really fun to watch, there's not a whole lot of good to take from these early years.

Pretty Much All of the 90s: Good thing Seattle had the Sonics, Ken Griffy Jr., Frasier and popular music during the 90s, because the Seahawks were a mess. The team went eight seasons without a winning record, the longest streak in team history. The Seahawks were only truly terrible once in that span (in 1992 when they finished with a team worst 2-14 record), which actually hurt them in a warped way, since they were bad enough to have a high draft pick, but not bad enough for that pick to net them a transcendent player. Then again, the player they chose after the worst season in team history was Rick Mirer, so maybe it's for the best that the Seahawks were merely mediocre at the time.

Another Blah Period of Nothingness (2008-2011): The team that went to the Super Bowl in 2005 got really old, really fast. The Seahawks went 23-41 in this time. There's not a whole lot to add to this. Sucky times.

Weirdest Year

Pete Carroll was hired as head coach in 2010 and it was clear that a major rebuilding effort was needed before the Seahawks were competitive again. Of course, what made things interesting was the fact that the rest of the NFC West wasn't in great shape either that year. The Arizona Cardinals, division winners in the previous two seasons, lost quarterback Kurt Warner to retirement and struggled mightily on their way to a 5-11 finish. The San Francisco 49ers also had a bad year as the players realized that they hated their head coach Mike Singeltary. And the St. Louis Rams were coming off of a 1-15 season and thus, weren't exactly the paragon of talent.

However, the Rams, by way of their rookie-of-the-year quarterback Sam Bradford, had themselves a decent bounce-back year and were 7-8 by the last week of the season. The Seahawks mostly were a team that played scrappy at home and largely ate it on the road. But they were 6-9 by the seventeenth and final week of the season. And thanks to the Cardinals and 49ers also sucking, the Rams and Seahawks game in the last week would determine what team took the NFC West title and the home playoff game that went with it. Since the game was in Seattle, the Seahawks naturally won the game, making them the only team in NFL history to win their division with a losing record.

This ignited a firestorm from the media, who demanded that the playoffs be tweaked after the season to make sure an indignity like this would never happen again. Of course, the Seahawks proceeded beat the defending champion New Orleans Saints and advanced to the divisional round. Not a peep came from the media after that. The Seahawks got destroyed by the Bears the next week, but by then the damage was done and 2010 went down as the weirdest goddamn year in Seahawks history.

Names You Should Know

Steve Largent: This isn't hyperbole- when Steve Largent retired, he was the greatest wide receiver who had ever played professional football. He had the most receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in NFL history when he hung up his cleats in 1989. The touchdown mark was particularly impressive, because with 100 in his career, Largent broke Don Hudson's career mark of 99 that had stood for over forty years.

Unfortunately for Largent, as his career was winding down, the career of a receiver out of Mississippi Valley State by the name of Jerry Rice was just getting in gear. Rice played twenty years and torpedoed and burned all of Largent's records and then poured salt on the soil so nothing could ever grow there again. But Largent remains one of the best receivers in football history. He was the first player to have his number retired by the team, and he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the first player to be inducted after playing most of their career with the Seattle Seahawks.

One final note: Largent remains the greatest player the Seahawks DIDN'T draft. He was actually drafted by the Houston Oilers in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL Draft. The Oilers, remarkably, weren't impressed with Largent in the slightest and nearly cut him before trading him to the expansion Seahawks before the 1976 season in exchange for an eighth round pick in 1977. Considering that the Oilers selected wide receiver Stevie Davis with that pick and Davis never played a game in the NFL, I think the Seahawks made out alright in comparison.

Chuck Knox: Known before his stint in the Pacific northwest for taking the Los Angeles Rams to three straight NFC Championship games in the mid-70s and for taking the Buffalo Bills of all teams to back-to-back playoff appearances in the early 80s, Knox did perhaps his best work as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Under Knox, the Seahawks were one of the better teams in the AFC, making the playoffs four times in his tenure and getting within a game of the Super Bowl in the 1983 postseason. Pretty remarkable for a team that hadn't existed a decade earlier. Knox had a well deserved reputation for being very conservative, leaning heavily on the running game and a strong defense. Despite or because of these traits, he was extremely successful, and his 186 career wins are the tenth most in NFL history.

Dave Krieg: A solid option at the quarterback position for the Seahawks for nearly a decade. Krieg took over the starting job from inaugural quarterback Jim Zorn, and while Krieg wasn't spectacular, he was a lot better than you remember him (if you remember him). Krieg was selected to three Pro Bowls, all with the Seahawks and he still holds the team record for touchdown passes thrown with 195.

Kenny Easley: A phenomenal safety who's career was tragically cut short. Easley played only seven seasons as a pro (all with the Seahawks), but made three 1st team All-Pro lists and went to five Pro Bowls. He recorded 32 interceptions in 89 games and was selected to the 1980s All-Decade Team (1st Team). Unfortunately, Easley had to retire before the 1988 season when it was discovered that he had a rare kidney disease, which Easley attributed to a prior overdose of Advil for an ankle injury in the past. Easley sued the team for giving him way too much medication (Easley claimed he took between 15 and 20 Advil a day to rehab his ankle, and a former teammate of his claimed that the Seahawks' medical staff basically handed out scores of pain pills willy nilly); the suit was later settled out of court. To this day, Easley still refuses to acknowledge the team when they try to bring him back for a variety of functions. If the allegations he levied against the team are true, I can't say I blame him.

Curt Warner: To repeat a tired, old joke, no, not that Kurt Warner. Warner bulldozed his way to an incredible rookie season, rushing for 1,449 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns, while leading the Seahawks to the AFC Championship game. He didn't win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award that year, because he had the misfortune of going pro the same year as Eric Dickerson. Warner suffered a torn ACL in the first game of the following year, ending his season before it had a real chance of starting. He did have a couple of good seasons after that, but the injury likely contributed to his early retirement after the 1990 season.

Cortez Kennedy: Arguably the best defensive player in team history. Kennedy was one of the few bright spots on the 90s Seahawks teams, highlighted when he won NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 after the team was a league worst 2-14 (winners of the big end-of-year awards are almost always on successful teams, making Kennedy's win all the more impressive). Kennedy went to eight Pro Bowls and was thrice selected 1st Team All-Pro. His number 96 was retired by the team in 2012 to go along with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Walter Jones: One of the greatest offensive tackles of his era, if not all time. Jones started all 180 games he played for the Seahawks in his twelve year career. From 1999 to 2005, the Seahawks were in the top ten in rushing offense, thanks in no small part to Jones' blocking abilities. He was selected to eight Pro Bowls, four 1st Team All-Pro lists and was on the 1st Team for the 2000s All-Decade Team. His number 71 was retired by the team and he is pretty much a lock to make the hall of fame this year (he's a finalist in his first year of eligibility).

Mike Holmgren: Fresh off of taking the Green Bay Packers to back-to-back Super Bowls and winning one, Holmgren left Title Town, USA for the Pacific Northwest in 1999 not only to be the Seahawks' head coach, but also the team's general manager. While Holmgren was (and for all I know, still is) a great coach, his skills as a GM were... suspect. With one or two exceptions (which we'll be getting to), his draft picks were utter failures. While the team was marginally successful while he was the undisputed king of the sidelines and front office (it should be noted that the Seahawks won their division in his first season with the team, thus taking them to their first postseason since 1988), it wasn't until Holmgren was stripped of his executive powers following the 2002 season that the the team became a powerhouse in the NFC West. The Seahawks won five straight NFC West titles from 2003 to 2007, and went to the first Super Bowl in team history under Holmgren. His 86 wins are the most in team history and his career total of 161 ranks him thirteenth in NFL history.

Shaun Alexander: For a little while, Alexander was one of the best running backs in football. Helped by his natural athleticism and a strong offensive line, Alexander ran roughshod over the NFL. He led the league twice in rushing touchdowns and broke the record for rushing touchdowns in a single season with 27 in 2005, back when that record was falling seemingly every year. Alexander's 2005 season was one of the greatest a running back has ever had in football history. Besides his incredible 27 rushing touchdowns, Alexander also ran for 1,880 yards at 5.1 yards a pop on his way to being named NFL MVP. After 2005, Alexander's career took a nosedive, as he was plagued with injuries. He retired after the 2008 season, just three years after his MVP season. However brief his career was, Alexander is still the Seahawks' all-time leader in rushing attempts (2,176), rushing yards (9,429) and rushing touchdowns (100).

Steve Hutchinson: Shoring up the interior of the O-line next to Walter Jones, Steve Hutchinson was one of the most decorated guards of his era. Between 2003 and 2009, he went to seven straight Pro Bowls and was named 1st Team All-Pro five times. Like Jones, he was invaluable to Shaun Alexander's dominance in the early-to-mid 2000s. He moved on to the Minnesota Vikings in 2006, where he also contributed to some guy named Adrian Peterson having some awesome years. Hutchinson retired after the 2012 season and is eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame starting with the 2018 class.

Five Current Guys You Should Know

Pete Carroll: Current head coach and noted exuberant force. Carroll, along with general manager John Schneider, molded the Seahawks from a team with little talent into one of the dominant teams in the NFL. After two straight 7-9 seasons to start his tenure (which also included a playoff win, as mentioned above), the Seahawks have gone 24-8 overall and an astounding 15-1 at home since 2012. The Seahawks also have the distinction of winning at least one playoff game every time they've qualified for the postseason since Carroll's hiring. Carroll's success with the team completely rewrote the narrative on him as far as professional coaching is concerned- at different times, he was the head coach of the New York Jets and New England Patriots. Neither of those stints were particularly notable and Carroll was seen as something of a joke in league circles for his rah-rah attitude. And now he's coached a team to the Super Bowl. Good on you, Pete!

Marshawn Lynch: Coming to the team in the middle of the 2010 season by way of the Buffalo Bills, Lynch eventually became the driving force of the whole offense. Lynch rushed for 131 yards in the Seahawks' playoff victory over the defending champion Saints in 2010. Of particular note was his amazing 67 yard touchdown run, which caused slight seismic activity due to how loud the fans were cheering. Beyond that play, Lynch has been a workhorse for the team and the Seahawks are one of just two teams in the NFL currently that call more runs than passes, due in large part to his bruising, effective style.

Earl Thomas: Drafted by the team in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Earl Thomas immediately became a starter at the safety position and has started every possible game of his career (64 games and counting). Thomas' physical play in the middle of the field almost instantly made the Seahawks' defense (which had been workmanlike at best the decade or so before his arrvial) into a tough, hit-you-in-the-mouth unit. Thomas has already been selected to three Pro Bowls and has been named 1st Team All-Pro twice. In addition to all that, he could potentially be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year for 2013 when it's all said and done.

Richard Sherman: In the same vain as Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman brings a level of physicality to the secondary. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 draft and 154th overall (he can name every cornerback drafted ahead of him), Sherman has become one of, if not the best corners in the NFL. He's twice been named 1st Team All-Pro and led the league in interceptions this year with eight (he also leads the league in interceptions since 2011 with 20). Also of note is that Sherman is really frickin' tall for a cornerback at 6'3''. According to Pro-Football Reference, 350 defensive backs played in the NFL in 2013. Only 24 of them were 6'3'' or taller and of those 24, only four were cornerbacks. Two of them play for the Seahawks (Sherman's fellow cornerback Brandon Browner is 6'4''). So beyond his physical play, he's also physically imposing. And you may have heard, he likes to talk. A lot.

Russell Wilson: Picked 75th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft (and infamously passed up by the Jacksonville Jaguars in favor of a punter), Wilson was expected to eventually take the starting job, but play behind Matt Flynn in the short term in order to learn the ropes. Instead, Wilson won the starting job outright and has started and played in every game of his career. Wilson has thrown 52 touchdowns to 19 interceptions in his first two seasons (he's tied with Peyton Manning for second most touchdowns thrown during a quarterbacks' first two seasons) and has been extremely accurate for such a young quarterback, completing over 60 percent of his passes of his career. While Wilson is the clear number two option in the Seahawks' offense after Marshawn Lynch and the run game, Wilson can still take the occasional game over and is capable of making some ludicrous throws. No doubt, he's one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL today.

***

That'll do it for the Seahawks retrospective. I'll reveal my official Super Bowl pick on Saturday.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF... THE DENVER BRONCOS

Super Bowl XLVIII is in five days. In honor of that occasion, let's profile the team representing the AFC: the Denver Broncos.

Starting Up: Bob Howsman owned the minor league baseball team the Denver Bears, and in 1959 expanded Bears Stadium to 34,000 seats in preparation for hosting a team for the upstart Continental League. But as I mentioned in the Mets profile, the Continental League went tits up before it even started. So Howsman now had a stadium fit for a major league team that didn't have a major league tenant and was too big for a minor league team like the Bears. So how do you fix that mess? Get in the football business apparently.

Howsman lobbied the NFL to bring an expansion team to Denver, but George Halas rejected him. Halas wouldn't let Howsman in the club, so Howsman got his friends together and started his own club. Howsman was one of the original owners in what wound up being the American Football League, and the Denver Broncos, Howsman's team, was one of its charter franchises. So yeah, the Broncos, and by extension an entire professional sports league, was started up because of rich people essentially getting in dick measuring contests with each other.

Greatest Runs

The Orange Crush Era (1976-1981): The Broncos adopted the 3-4 defense before the 1976 season (where there are three defensive linemen and four linebackers on the field) and laid waste to opposing offenses. Led by players like Lyle Alzado, Randy Gadishar, Tom Jackson and Louis Wright, the Broncos' D secured the team it's first playoff berth, division title and Super Bowl appearance, all in the 1977 season.

Elway Comes to Mile High (1983-1989): John Elway was selected with the number one overall pick in the 1983 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts. Elway, however, wanted nothing to do with playing in a crappy stadium while on a crappy team owned by an acerbic drunk. So the Colts traded him to the Broncos in exchange for offensive lineman Chris Hinton (who was the Broncos' first round pick that year), backup quarterback Mark Herrmann and a first round pick in the following year's draft. Elway, to put it mildly, completely justified his first overall selection by leading the Broncos to the playoffs in his rookie season and the following year rocketed the Broncos to their first division title since 1978. To close the 80s out, the team went to three Super Bowls in four years.

The Most Dominant Team in Football (1996-1998): Coach Mike Shanahan took over an extremely talented Broncos team in 1995, and by the following year, turned the team into one of the best of the decade. The Broncos won 39 games between 1996 and 1998, the most ever over a three year span. Led by a now much older and savvy John Elway and an historically dominant running game, the Broncos finally won their first Super Bowl after the 1997 season. Then they did it again the next year. The 1998 Broncos were one of the best teams of the Super Bowl era, winning a team high 14 games in the regular season and thoroughly dominating its competition in the postseason (the team's smallest margin of victory in their three postseason games was 13, and they outscored their opponents 95-32).

Manning Comes to Mile High (2012-Present): Upon being released by the Indianapolis Colts following the 2011 season, Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos (hall of fame quarterbacks seem to have a habit of falling into the Broncos' laps by way of the Colts). Manning was coming off of major neck surgery and had missed the entire 2011 season. There was no telling if he'd be as good as once was, or even league average due to the injury. After the team went 2-3 to start his Broncos career, Manning proceeded to go into beast mode and shattered NFL records while the team has gone 24-3 in the regular season since the first five games of 2012. The Broncos gambled on Manning returning to his pre-injury form and won big time. If they win the Super Bowl or not, this era of the team must be considered a tremendous success.

Leanest Years

The AFL Years And A Bit After As Well (1960-1972): The Broncos were a charter member of the AFL and never caught a break in its ten year history. The Broncos accumulated an appallingly bad 39-97-4 (.287) record during their time in the AFL, far and away the worst record among the original eight AFL teams (the Boston Patriots had the second worst record, but had 24 more wins than the Broncos). Things didn't improve upon entering the NFL- if anything, it got worse because the Broncos flirted with respectability. The Broncos started the 1970 season with a 4-1 record. They finished the year off in last place in the AFC West with a record of 5-8-1. Over the next few seasons, the Broncos were merely bad or mediocre with no other pretensions suggesting otherwise.

The Post Elway Era (1999-2008): This one is kind of cheap, because the Broncos were actually one of the more successful teams in the NFL during this period, give or take a couple of seasons. But it must be mentioned due to the sheer amount of tension that existed in the locker room during the last ten years of Mike Shanahan's stay as head coach. After John Elway retired, the next ten years in the mile high city consisted of Shanahan finding a quarterback, replacing that quarterback with a new one, then going back to the first one, then the second one, rinse, repeat. As such, just about every Broncos signal caller had a public feud with Shanahan. Yes the team still won games, but it wasn't nearly as successful as it was in Shanahan's first years as head coach, and that was mainly due to the fact that Shanahan was the oil to the Broncos' quarterback's water.

The Josh McDaniels "Era" (2009-2010): Shanahan was fired after the 2008 season and was replaced with New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Any hope that McDaniels would not bring baggage to Denver were quickly dashed when McDaniels, in a remarkable display of shortsighted hubris, drove starting quarterback Jay Cutler, star receiver Brandon Marshall and running back Peyton Hillis out of town. However, all the animosity fans may have had towards the Broncos' new coach were quelled when the team started the 2009 season 6-0. The animosity came screaming back when the team collapsed after returning from their bye week and finished the season 8-8 and missed the playoffs, making them just the second team since 1990 to start a season 6-0 and miss the playoffs. But not to worry! McDaniels had the solution to the team's troubles: Florida quarterback and P.R. lightning rod Tim Tebow! Despite the addition of DeMaryius Thomas earlier in the first round, the Broncos still struggled (even with Tebow's enviable ability of throwing wildly inaccurate passes). (To be fair, Tebow only started three games that season and the team tanked mostly due to having statically the worst defense in the league that year. Still, Tebow? Really?) One 3-9 start and a videotaping scandal later, McDaniels was fired and the Broncos finished the year 4-12, the worst record during a full 16 game schedule in team history. One more indignity- there are only three players currently on the Broncos' roster from McDaniels' 2009 draft. Out of ten. No good.

Names You Should Know

Floyd Little: The Franchise! Little was drafted by the Broncos in the 1967 common draft between the NFL and AFL. Little immediately made an impact by being named as a team captain during his rookie season. When he retired, his 6,323 rushing yards, while unimpressive today, was the seventh most ever gained by a running back to that point. It must be stated that Little was a huge deal for the Broncos, as he was the team's first real star, giving fans a reason to go to games. His number 44 was retired by the club (he was just the second player to receive that honor after inaugural quarterback Frank Tripuka's number 18) and he was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

Tom Jackson: Before you ask, yes, as in "ESPN's Tom Jackson." Before he babbled incessantly on television screens, Tom Jackson kicked the shit of people as part of the Broncos' famed Orange Crush defense. Jackson played for a long time and was one of just four players that played for the Broncos in both Super Bowl XII and Super Bowl XXI. All in all, Jackson was very durable, playing in 191 of a possible 207 games (92.3%). No defensive player has played more games for the Broncos than Jackson.

Randy Gradishar: The best linebacker from the Orange Crush era of Broncos teams. Gradishar played ten seasons and went to seven Pro Bowls (do the math) and was selected 1st Team All-Pro twice. He was one of the most respected linebackers of his day (if his Wikipedia page is to be believed; that's a LONG legacy section) and is one of the best eligible players that isn't in the hall of fame. There's no way I did him justice with this blurb. Seriously, look him up.

Dan Reeves: The guy on the left. Reeves coached the team from 1981 to 1992 and crafted them into one of the most consistently good teams in the league. The Broncos under Reeves won five division titles and earned six playoff appearances while posting double digit wins seven times and just two losing records. Reeves guided the Broncos to three Super Bowls in four years in 1986, 1987 and 1989, although, the Broncos were usually handled in embarrassing fashion in the big game. Reeves coached uninterrupted  from '81 until 2003, and currently ranks ninth all-time in coaching wins with 190.

John Elway: THE Denver Bronco. Elway spent his entire 16 year career with the Broncos after orchestrating his way out of Baltimore as detailed above. In that time, he cemented himself as one of the best quarterbacks in football history and is still in the top ten in most relevant quarterback records. Elway suffered terrible defeats in his first three Super Bowls and often played terribly on the biggest stage. However, his career ended in Cinderella fashion when the Broncos won back to back Super Bowls from 1997 to 1998 and Elway was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII, the final meaningful game of his career (he played in the 1999 Pro Bowl a week later). His number 7 was retired by the team and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004. And now he's the president of the whole damn team! It's good to be John Elway.

Karl Mecklenburg: Arguably the best defensive player during the Elway era. Mecklenburg was the AFC's equivalent of Mike Singletary- he was an absolute beast that tackled everyone in sight and picked his teeth with the bones of orphans. I can't confirm that last one though. Mecklenburg also compiled 79 sacks, an unusually high total for a middle linebacker (EDIT: It's actually the most ever recorded by an inside linebacker since the sack became an official statistic in 1982). He was selected to six Pro Bowls (second most of any linebacker in team history behind only Randy Gradishar) and was 1st Team All-Pro three times (the most of any Broncos linebacker).

Shannon Sharpe: When he retired, Shannon Sharpe was, at least from a statistical standpoint, the greatest tight end in football history. Then Tony Gonzalez went and obliterated all of his records. Such is life for a pro athlete. But that shouldn't diminish what an amazing career he had. He retired as the Broncos' all-time receptions leader (which is pretty freaking remarkable for a tight end) and is one of only two tight ends to record at least eleven 50 reception seasons (you'll be shocked, but the only other one is Tony Gonzalez, although Antonio Gates and Jason Witten are creeping up on the record themselves). Sharpe is also tied with Lionel Taylor for the most 1st Team All-Pro selections in Broncos history with four. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

Mike Shanahan: The winningest coach in Broncos history with 138 wins. Shanahan feuded with just about every quarterback he ever coached either publicly (Bubby Brister, Brian Griese, Jake Plummer, and most recently Robert Griffin III in Washington), or privately (Elway). Another quirk of his was a seemingly innate ability to be able to turn late-round or undrafted running backs into 1,000 yard rushers (most famously and effectively with Terrell Davis). Despite his control freak tenancies, Shanahan is one of only six coaches to win back-to-back Super Bowls and has the twelfth most wins for a coach in football history with 170.

Tom Nalen: A cornerstone on the offensive line for over a decade, Nalen played in 194 of a possible 224 games (pretty good for an offensive lineman). He also has two 1st Team All-Pro (tied with Ryan Clady for the most for a Broncos O-lineman) and five Pro Bowl selections (the most for an O-lineman). Nalen also personified the Broncos O-line of the time with chippy play that was occasionally called dirty by other teams.

Terrell Davis: He only played seven seasons, but he's one of the best running backs in NFL history. Davis was scary dominant from 1996 to 1998. He won an MVP, two Offensive Player of the Year awards, a Super Bowl MVP, and rushed for 5,296 yards and 49 touchdowns. The Broncos offense went through TD, and without him, I doubt very much that those Broncos teams could've made those Super Bowls, let alone win them. His career was tragically cut short when he destroyed his knee making a routine tackle in 1999, and he only had four seasons of spectacular play. Despite this, he was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame every year for his first seven years of eligibility and will likely go in at some point. Rightfully so.

Five Current Guys You Should Know

Champ Bailey: A cornerstone in the Broncos' secondary for a decade and almost guaranteed future-hall-of-famer. Bailey was traded to the Broncos from the Washington Redskins after the 2003 season and preceded to have some of the best seasons of his career. All three of his 1st Team All-Pro selections came in his first three seasons with the Broncos and he intercepted 21 passes in that span. His twelve Pro Bowl selections are the most ever for a cornerback and he is one of just 39 players to have intercepted 50 or more passes in his career (he currently has 52).

Knowshon Moreno: Taken in the first round of Josh McDaniel's much maligned 2009 draft, Moreno was thought of as a bust before this season. He had never rushed for 1,000 yards in a season and had gained just 2,430 yards in four seasons. However, Moreno had a good season this year, starting 15 games, rushing for 1,038 yards at 4.3 yards a pop, and scoring ten touchdowns, all career highs (his Y/A in 2011 was 4.8, but he only had 37 rushing attempts the whole year). Moreno made the Broncos' offense more balanced and thus, far more dangerous.

DeMaryius Thomas: The Broncos' first selection in the 2010 draft, and it was a good one. Thomas didn't really make a peep in the NFL until the 2011 playoffs, when he caught the game winning touchdown in the Broncos' overtime home victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. While sadly making people forget that Tim Tebow is a terrible quarterback, the play showed how talented a receiver Thomas truly is. With the arrival of Peyton Manning the following season, Thomas' career numbers were more than doubled. He's had back-to-back 90+ catch seasons and has hauled in 24 TDs (four times his career total over his first two seasons). He's made the Pro Bowl each of the last two seasons and so long as there's a viable quarterback in the Broncos' huddle, Thomas will likely continue to have success.

Von Miller: For the five current players list, I wanted to limit my selections to people who will directly participate in the Super Bowl. But I'm making an exception for this exceptional player. The second overall pick in the 2011 draft, Miller has steamrolled his way into opposing quarterbacks ever since. He has 35 sacks in his first three seasons. I'm too lazy to see how high he ranks on the sacks list since 2011, but I've got to assume he's pretty high. Miller also has the rare distinction for being selected to a Pro Bowl in his rookie season while also being named the 2011 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Miller was suspended for the first six games of the 2013 season for trying to cheat a drug test and played in nine games before tearing his ACL. The injury was a real blow to the Broncos' defense, as he's easily the team's best player on that side of the ball.

Peyton Manning: Arguably the greatest quarterback in football history. Manning has played just as well as he did with the Colts in these last two seasons despite coming off of what was believed to be career ending neck surgery. Manning's 2013 season was one of the greatest single-season performances for a quarterback in history. He threw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns, both NFL records. In his two seasons as a Bronco, Manning has thrown 92 touchdowns to just 21 interceptions. He will very likely win his record fifth NFL MVP this year, which would be yet another notch in his hall of fame belt.

***

That does it for the Broncos. Swing by the blog on Thursday to read up on their Super Bowl opponents, the Seattle Seahawks.

MY PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2014 PICKS

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce the inductees for the class of 2014 on Saturday. Here is a list of the fifteen modern era candidates.

*notes first year of eligibility

Morten Andersen (K)
Jerome Bettis (RB)
Derrick Brooks (LB)*
Tim Brown (WR)
Edward DeBartolo (EXC)
Tony Dungy (HC)*
Kevin Greene (LB)
Charles Haley (DE/LB)
Marvin Harrison (WR)*
Walter Jones (OT)*
John Lynch (S)
Andre Reed (WR)
Will Shields (OG)
Michael Strahan (DE)
Aeneas Williams (DB)

As a quick refresher, I put all the hall of fame previews I did back in July and early August below that you can go through at your leisure. I profiled everyone in the list except for DeBartollo. Here's the hall of fame's website's entry on him.

Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Offensive Linemen
Part 1 of the Defensive Players
Part 2 of the Defensive Players
Special Teams Players and Contributors
Head Coaches

In addition to the names above, punter Ray Guy and defensive end Claude Humphrey are the two veterans' selections for enshrinement.

And now, here are my picks for the five modern candidates that will enter the hall of fame. (I'm not going to bother with the veterans because I don't know how the voting is going to shake out. With the modern candidates, it's at least guaranteed that some of them will make it in.)

Derrick Brooks (LB)*
Charles Haley (DE/LB)
Marvin Harrison (WR)*
Walter Jones (OT)*
Michael Strahan (DE)

Brooks, Harrison and Jones were all dominant at their positions respective to the eras in which they played and are all but locks. Strahan ranks fifth all-time in sacks and doesn't have any viable competition from incoming defensive linemen. Haley was one of the best defensive players of the late 80s and 90s, and from what I've been reading, support for his induction has been slowly but surely gaining momentum.

That leaves the snubs. I want to make it clear that every finalist has a strong case for induction (they wouldn't be finalists if they didn't). I just felt that the five names above had the best cases.

Dungy I feel will go in at some point, but coaches have a hard time making it in the hall of fame and I don't think the voters will induct four candidates in their first year of eligibility.

Reed and Brown will likely be passed over in favor of Harrison.

Lynch and Williams may cancel each other out or will be left out entirely in favor of other candidates.

Bettis has the same hurtles to overcome that have plagued him since he's been eligible- he raked up impressive stats, but was never dominant year to year. Until there's an incoming set of eligible candidates that doesn't wow anyone (and that may not be for a while), I don't think he has much of a chance of getting in.

DeBartollo also has hurtles to overcome, namely that he's a contributor. If head coaches have a hard time gathering votes while competing with players, then contributors have the hardest time with their potential inductions.

Greene ranks third all-time in sacks and should have been inducted years ago. However, his nutty and volatile personality has kept him on the outside looking in. If voters are going to induct a headcase like Haley, they may pass on an equally deserving guy like Greene.

Anderson had the misfortune of being a kicker and the hall of fame has pretty much said that every special teams player except for Jan Stenerud is not worthy of induction (despite taking up one-third of the game).

Shields is a more than worthy candidate for induction, but his teams didn't have much playoff success. As ridiculous as that sounds, that's going to keep him out until there isn't an offensive linemen with plenty of hardware or big-game appearances on the ballot.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the hall of fame. Starting Tuesday, I'll begin my extended look at the Super Bowl with a look at the history of the Denver Broncos.

HERE'S AN INTERESTING FACT... REPEAT CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

The Super Bowl hasn't been played yet, but the odds for next year's game are already out. The Broncos, Seahawks and 49ers are tied at 5-1 odds of qualifying for Super Bowl XLIX.

This is beyond early, but if these stats come to fruition, then there's a 2-3 chance of next year's Super Bowl being a repeat of this year's. The chances of that happening are extremely rare. Of the combined 358 seasons between the four major sports, there have only been 43 repeats of a previous year's championship game. I don't have any other analysis of that beyond saying "That's cool! Wanna see them?!"

Baseball (9)
1907-08: Chicago Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers (Cubs, 2-0)
1921-23: New York Giants vs. New York Yankees (Giants, 2-1)
1930-31: Philadelphia Athletics vs. St. Louis Cardinals (Split, 1-1)
1936-37: New York Giants vs. New York Yankees (Yankees, 2-0)
1942-43: New York Yankees vs. St. Louis Cardinals (Split, 1-1)
1952-53: Brooklyn Dodgers vs. New York Yankees (Yankees, 2-0)
1955-56: Brooklyn Dodgers vs. New York Yankees (Split, 1-1)
1957-58: Milwaukee Braves vs. New York Yankees (Split, 1-1)
1977-78: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees (Yankees, 2-0)

Football (12; 10 NFL, 2 AFL)
1933-34: Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants (Split, 1-1)
1938-39: Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants (Split, 1-1)
1942-43: Chicago Bears vs. Washington Redskins (Split, 1-1)
1947-48: Chicago Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Split, 1-1)
1950-51: Cleveland Browns vs. Los Angeles Rams (Split, 1-1)
1952-54: Cleveland Browns vs. Detroit Lions (Lions, 2-1)
1958-59: Baltimore Colts vs. New York Giants (Colts, 2-0)
1960-61: Houston Oilers vs. Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers (Oilers, 2-0)
1961-62: Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants (Packers, 2-0)
1964-65: Buffalo Bills vs. San Diego Chargers (Bills, 2-0)
1966-67: Dallas Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers (Packers, 2-0)
1992-93: Buffalo Bills vs. Dallas Cowboys (Cowboys, 2-0)

Hockey (10)
1932-33: New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (Split, 1-1)
1948-49: Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (Maple Leafs, 2-0)
1954-56: Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens (Red Wings, 2-1)
1957-58: Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens (Canadiens, 2-0)
1959-60: Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (Canadiens, 2-0)
1963-64: Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (Maple Leafs, 2-0)
1968-69: Montreal Canadiens vs. St. Louis Blues (Canadiens, 2-0)
1977-78: Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens (Canadiens, 2-0)
1983-84: Edmonton Oilers vs. New York Islanders (Split, 1-1)
2008-09: Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (Split, 1-1)

Basketball (12)
1952-54: Minneapolis Lakers vs. New York Knicks (Lakers, 3-0)
1957-58: Boston Celtics vs. St. Louis Hawks (Split, 1-1)
1960-61: Boston Celtics vs. St. Louis Hawks (Celtics, 2-0)
1962-63: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers (Celtics, 2-0)
1965-66: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers (Celtics, 2-0)
1968-69: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers (Celtics, 2-0)
1972-73: Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks (Split, 1-1)
1978-79: Seattle Supersonics vs. Washington Bullets (Split, 1-1)
1982-83: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia 76ers (Split, 1-1)
1984-85: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers (Split, 1-1)
1988-89: Detroit Pistons vs. Los Angeles Lakers (Split, 1-1)
1997-98: Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz (Bulls, 2-0)

So yeah, don't expect to see a rematch of Super Bowl XLVIII for Super Bowl XLIX, or for the Red Sox and Cardinals to square off in the 2014 World Series, or the Heat and Spurs, or the Blackhawks and Bruins. But if it happens, it'll be really cool.

SUPER BOWL TALE OF THE TAPE

It's official: the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks will be the participants in Super Bowl XLVIII. Even though the game is thirteen days away, it's never too early to begin the hype job. So let's do a tale of the tape of both teams to see how they match up with each other for the big game.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS	GENERAL	DENVER BRONCOS
Pete Carroll (7/4)	Head Coach (Yrs Exp/Yrs w/ Tm)	John Fox (12/3)
NFC	Conference	AFC
West	Division	West
13-3	Record	13-3
1	Conference Rank	1
1976 (38)	First Season (Season #)	1960 (54)
2	# Super Bowl Appearance	7
0	Championships Won	2
N/A	Last Super Bowl Win (Season)	XXXIII (1998)
XL (2005)	Last Super Bowl Appearance (Season)	XXXIII (1998)

This is Carroll's first time coaching a team to the Super Bowl. Fox previously got the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl and they were an Adam Vinatieri missed field goal away from winning the game outright.

In another nice change of pace, this will be the first Super Bowl since the 2009 season that will pit the number one ranked teams in each conference against the other. So no matter what, the Super Bowl champion will be a legitimately great team and not a good one that got hot at the right time.

With that out of the way, let's put both the Broncos and the Seahawks under a microscope and examine how they each did in the game's three phases. First the offense.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS	OFFENSE	DENVER BRONCOS
5,424 (17)	Total Offense (Rk)	7,317 (1)
3,236 (26)	Passing Yards For (Rk)	5,444 (1)
2,188 (4)	Rushing Yards For (Rk)	1,873 (15)
27 (10)	Passing Touchdowns For (Rk)	55 (1)
14 (T13)	Rushing Touchdowns For (Rk)	16 (T7)
417 (T8)	Points Scored (Rk)	606 (1)
19 (T4)	Turnovers Allowed (Rk)	26 (T17)
44 (T20)	Sacks Allowed (Rk)	20 (1)
307 (T20)	First Downs Gained (Rk)	435 (1)

Obviously the Broncos have the better offense after Peyton Manning's record-breaking year. They completely outshine the Seahawks in total offense, passing yards, passing touchdowns and points scored. Another underrated aspect to the Broncos' offense is that Peyton Manning was the most protected quarterback in the NFL this year, making the offense all the more dangerous.

The Seahawks outrank the Broncos in just two categories, but they're big ones- the Seahawks had one of the best run games in the NFL while the Broncos' run game was mostly decent, and the Seahawks took much better care of the football than the Broncos. How will the Broncos' defense hold up against stats like that? Let's look at the numbers.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS	DEFENSE	DENVER BRONCOS
4378 (1)	Total Defense (Rk)	5696 (19)
2752 (1)	Passing Yards Against (Rk)	4070 (27)
1626 (T7)	Rushing Yards Against (Rk)	1626 (T7)
16 (2)	Passing Touchdowns Against (Rk)	29 (T21)
4 (T1)	Rushing Touchdowns Against (Rk)	15 (T23)
231 (1)	Points Allowed (Rk)	399 (22)
39 (1)	Turnovers Caused (Rk)	26 (T16)
44 (T8)	Sacks (Rk)	41 (T13)
282 (T3)	First Downs Allowed (Rk)	339 (27)

Fun fact- this is the first time in Super Bowl history that a team ranked first in total offense and points scored will face a team ranked first in total defense and points allowed. The closest that scenario came to actually happening in the past was Super Bowl XXXVII; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the undisputed best defense in the NFL that year and the Oakland Raiders were ranked first in total offense, but the Raiders ranked second in points scored (for those of you wondering, the Kansas City Chiefs scored the most points in the NFL in 2002).

The Broncos had only two games this year against teams with pass defenses ranked in the top ten (and this includes the playoffs mind you)- the Philadelphia Eagles and (amazingly) the Houston Texans, and Peyton Manning didn't throw an interception in either game. The Seahawks, however, are leagues above every other defense in the NFL beyond just their standing in the rankings. They've caused the most turnovers in the league, allowed the fewest yards and points, and are in the top ten in every other significant defensive category. In other words, the Seahawks defense is freaking incredible.

By comparison, the Broncos' defense is pretty lame. Though I find it touchingly ironic that the Broncos and Seahawks allowed the exact same number of rushing yards this season. Aside from the rushing yards stat, the Broncos are completely outclassed by the Seahawks on the defensive side of the ball.

Which leaves us with one last phase- special teams.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS	SPECIAL TEAMS	DENVER BRONCOS
35 (T10)	Field Goals Attempted (Rk)	26 (T26)
33 (T5)	Field Goals Made (Rk)	25 (T18)
94.3 (2)	Field Goal Percentage (Rk)	96.2 (1)
76 (T11)	Punt Attempts (Rk)	66 (4)
27 (T5)	Field Goal Attempts Against (Rk)	26 (T3)
26 (T14)	Field Goals Allowed (Rk)	23 (T6)
96.3 (29)	Opp. Field Goal Percentage (Rk)	88.5 (20)
82 (T13)	Punts Againts (Rk)	89 (5)
579 (3)	Punt Return Yards For (Rk)	343 (12)
698 (27)	Kick Return Yards For (Rk)	974 (14)
82 (2)	Punt Return Yards Allowed (Rk)	274 (14)
1,056 (21)	Kick Return Yards Allowed (Rk)	936 (16)

Both teams don't punt a lot and feature deadly accurate kicking games. The 82 punt return yards allowed by the Seahawks ISN'T a misprint by the way. Outside of those categories, this area of the game is where both teams are definitely on more equal ground, with neither unit particularly standing out over the other.

***

Based on this analysis, I'm inclined to go with the Seahawks for my prediction. Though as always, I won't give my official prediction until the Saturday before the game in order to account for players who won't play or are coming back from injury.

Over the next two weeks, I'll have team profiles on the Broncos and Seahawks (they'll be structured in the same way as my profiles on the Bears, Ravens and Mets), predictions for the 2014 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and obviously my Super Bowl pick. I'll likely have some other articles as well, but with the spring semester starting up for me on Thursday, I can't make any promises outside of the articles I mentioned. With all that said, here's hoping for another great Super Bowl.