Super Bowl Odds 2014: Updated Spreads and Predictions for Broncos vs. Seahawks

The Denver Broncos will take on the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. In a year when the NFL couldn't have been more unpredictable during the regular season, the final game pits No. 1 seeds against each other for just the second time since the 1993 season.

So that should make the final game easily predictable, right? Wrong. Not even the oddsmakers at Sportsbook could figure out what they wanted to set the line at, as R.J. Bell of Pregame.com explains.

Oh, by the way, the odds have changed yet again since that tweet by Bell.

After two of the preseason favorites to make the Super Bowl clinched their spot, not even the educated folks at Sportsbook knew which direction to go. After an insane year in the NFL, the two best teams are making it difficult to figure out which team to pick.

So where should bettors place their wagers? Before the big game kicks off, here is a full breakdown and prediction for the biggest game of the season.

The Broncos have a plethora of wide receivers that are all at full health after a regular season in which they had four players catch 10 or more touchdowns. The Seahawks feature the best defensive secondary in football behind All-Pro players Earl Thomas III and the soft-spoken Richard Sherman.

While the Seahawks don't have quite as many weapons as the Broncos, they will face the No. 27 passing defense in the regular season after dueling with the San Francisco 49ers' No. 7 pass defense. Those are the matchups before even looking at the running game, which will be a focal point for both teams playing in likely freezing temperatures at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Needless to say, it's going to be a tight one either way.

But the deciding factor in this one is the complete team effort that Denver has been displaying in the postseason. What everyone knows about is the passing game, so let's start there.

Peyton Manning has put together the best statistical season in the history of the NFL for a quarterback, breaking the passing touchdowns and yards record in the regular season. He's also translated that into two spectacular performances in the postseason.

The biggest reason for that is not just the fact that Manning has been sensational, but that he has a total offense around him. With the likes of Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Julius Thomas and Eric Decker surrounding him at receiver and Knowshon Moreno in the backfield, the Broncos look unstoppable.

In terms of unstoppable receivers, Thomas has been by far and away the most lethal target for Manning and the Broncos in his postseason career. In five playoff games thus far, Thomas has averaged 104.4 yards and has a total of four touchdowns, according to Pro-Football Reference—three of which came from Manning.

In the two games they've played this postseason, the Broncos defense has been much better than it was in the regular season. Thus far, Denver's defense has allowed just 289.5 yards in the postseason and is rolling heading into the final showdown of the season.

As for Marshawn Lynch going into Beast Mode, the Broncos held the New England Patriots' potent running backs to 57 rushing yards and the San Diego Chargers' backfield to 55 yards on the ground.

When it comes down to it in clutch situations, the Denver defense has proven that it can withstand great offensive attacks, and the offensive side of the ball has never been in question. While Wilson and the Seahawks defense have been great all year, Manning will be hoisting his second Lombardi Trophy for a Broncos team that will win its first Super Bowl since 1998.

Super Bowl 2014: Jersey Lucky to Get What they Get

       Yes the stadium is across the imaginary line....Yes the game is played in the Garden State..But New Jersey and its blustery and corpulent governor need to get over their faux outrage about the February 2 Super Bowl being viewed as a New York City event.
     The teams are there because of New York and the sizzle is in Manhattan too. If there was room for a stadium, it would be there too.

Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ

       When parking lots, refineries, toll booths and chicks like Snooki become tourist attractions then people might vacation there while going to the Super Bowl.  Until then, it's a New York event.

       
Super Bowl 2014: New Jersey out in the cold?

SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY FUNDRAISER @ OUR SAVIOUR

Welcome to EverythingCroton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

OUR SAVIOUR EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IS ONCE AGAIN HAVING THEIR ANNUAL "SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY FUNDRAISER"--if you'd like to know more--and perhaps mail a donation--all the info is below--mark the 'memo' section "FOR SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY":

OUR SAVIOUR SAYS: Souper Bowl Sunday is February 2. The Hunger Team, Confirmation class, and Sunday School under the supervision of Jennifer Stieglitz are heading our efforts for the Souper Bowl of Caring. This is a program of youth across the nation working to fight hunger and poverty in their communities around the time of the Super Bowl football game. In the weeks leading up to or on Super Bowl Sunday, young people take up an offering asking for one dollar or one item of food for people in need. They give 100% of their donation directly to the hunger-relief charity of their choice. In 2012, more than 10,000 groups collected more than $9.8 million in dollars and food for local hunger-relief charities. That's a total of more than $90 million collected since the movement began in 1990! Naturally we have our own twist—we ask members to think about how much they spend on their own snacks during the Super Bowl and to donate something proportionate. (If you go to Starbucks to avoid the Super Bowl, you can apply the same formula.) The offering goes to ELCA Hunger Relief. We still welcome the food bank offering every Sunday, but especially on Souper Bowl Sunday. 

Address: Our Saviour Evangelical Lutheran Church, 56 Cleveland Drive,Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520; Phone: 914-271-4632; If no one is in the office, please leave a message on the answering machine and someone will return your call. Email: mail@oursaviourcroton.org 

- YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY THIS 1962 BLAST FROM OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH PAST http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2014/01/1962-blast-from-our-saviour-lutheran.html

PART 1, YOUR EVERYTHING CROTON SUPER BOWL 2014 HQ

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

Yes, Croton loves football: Army Navy, High School, and of course...Super Bowl. For the next few weeks until the big day--2/2/14 @ MetLife Stadium--we'll bring you the latest news, local events, business specials, vintage clips and ephemera, etc.

Let's get started:

--LaMonica's Salumeria, in the Heart of Harmon, click on the photo below for their Super Bowl offerings

--The Vintage Flickr Football Set: ephemera, print ads, blasts from Croton football past and more; click on the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22283683@N07/sets/72157627515208784/show

--And of course there are those anticipated Super Bowl commercials; this year brings new advertising trends; click on the link http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/05/super-bowl-advertising-commercials-celebrities/4287505/

Stay tuned for more.

Zimmer Pitches to the NFL, Mason Spurns Super Bowl 2014 Plan

The Hoboken Reporter, Volume 29, Number 24, February 5, 2012- page 3 Beth Mason ad attacking Jen Giattino and Leo Pelligrini's February 2012  meeting with the NFL in Indianapolis. Giattino and Pelligrini were there to pitch Hoboken to host Superbowl 2014 events. Both left Indianapolis BEFORE the Superbowl game.  Both were in Hoboken on Superbowl Sunday.  Beth Mason's lying ad claims 2 "political supporters" went on an "all-inclusive trip to Indianapolis" to the Super Bowl. They were NOT "political supporters", they were an elected official (Giattino) and the Hoboken Director of Recreation (Pelligrini) there to open up a dialogue with the NFL for Super Bowl 2014.  

GA doesn't follow football, but I do know the Super Bowl is one of the most-watched sporting events world-wide.

In fact, the Super Bowl is broadcast to around 225 countries with about one billion people in those countries having access to the broadcast.  An estimated 80-100 million people watch it with  98% of those viewers from North America, and 97% of that amount coming from the United States.

And if you didn't know it already, Super Bowl 2014 is scheduled to bring BIG MONEY to it's host cities.

Which is WHY Mayor Zimmer, Councilwoman Jen Giattino and 2 members of the Hoboken Events Committee met with the NFL Host Committee last Friday in New York City.  Yep, and the conversation between the NFL and the City of Hoboken started in Indianapolis in February 2012. 

Back in 2012, Zimmer sent Giattino and Director Pelligrini to pitch the City of Hoboken to NFL Executives for a host city in 2014.  The 2 officials were smeared by Councilwoman Beth Mason who characterized them as freeloaders there for the game, living large on the taxpayers' dime.

Get this, for example: Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans takes place this Sunday and is expected to generate, by some estimates, upward of $430 million for the Crescent City's economy.The Big Game is expected to create more than 6,000 full-time and part-time jobs for the New Orleans area, and visitors and businesses are projected to generate more than $26 million in revenue for state and local governments in Louisiana.

Last year's numbers for Super Bowl XLVI in Indianpolis are downright staggering. Visitors spent an average of $571 per person per day during the 10-day period surrounding the game, according to a Rockport Analytics report. More than $50 million was spent on food and drinks, more than $63 million on lodging and more than $43 million on ground transportation. Those numbers are all likely to grow this year for New Orleans.  The total economic impact of Super Bowl XLVI reached an estimated $384 million for Indianapolis' local economy last year.

WOW.

THIS is why Mayor Zimmer, Jen Giattino and 2 members of the Hoboken Events Committee were in the midtown office of the NFL last Friday.   And why the Mayor sent Giattino and Pelligrini to Indianapolis in 2012.  Because sharing Super Bowl 2014 hosting events with NYC means MILLIONS of DOLLARS to Hoboken's local economy.

GA hears that the NFL committee seemed to "love" Hoboken and has been very receptive so far to the Mayor's Plan.

If the NFL agrees, the Mayor's Plan is that all Hoboken- based Super Bowl events in Hoboken will be fully-funded including costs to our municipality- such as police, sanitation, etc.  In other words, a bonanza for local business, residents and the hospitality industry.

Even the City Council minority supported the Mayor's meeting with the NFL on Friday.  Well almost...

SEVEN City Council members agreed to meet with or speak with the Hoboken Events Committee  about Zimmer's Hoboken NFL Pitch.  Except for... well, take a look at the slide from Friday's presentation to the NFL and FIND THE MISSING COUNCILPERSON'S NAME to asnwer:

WHO DID NOT SUPPORT HOBOKEN's PITCH TO THE NFL TO ADD MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO HOBOKEN'S LOCAL ECONOMY?

 Yup! You gussed it.

GA was told by a member of the Hoboken Events Committee That mason did not answer telephone calls, nor emails asking for support. When advised on the subject matter she neglected to follow up with the Committee.

Council Minority members Russo, Castellano and Occhipinti enthusiastically supported the Mayor's NFL pitch. How could they not?

An elected official would have to be crazy not to support his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to host Super Bowl events for their city.. I mean clinically insane... 

Maybe she doesn't like football? And the millions of dollars it could add to Hoboken's economy?

Well, I guess she's more of a baseball fan.  

...Mason proposed the possibility of a Minor League AA baseball stadium as the foundation of the district.

"Hoboken is the original home of baseball," said Mason. "Why not make it that way once again?"

Mason-Raia Piss Poll

Beth Mason and her chief aide, Democratic Committeeman Matt Calicchio  photo credit: MSV

Oh Jeez, a pollster from  Kalamata Research Services  just talked my ear off then filled it with mud.

He was nice enough at first, with benign questions about the mayoral candidates and selected at-large slates ( Mindak, Gonzales and Miani who?) so GA didn't see it coming when his even-handed questions morphed into ones like this:

Would this statement that people are saying make you more or less likely to vote for Dawn Zimmer?
Dawn Zimmer is attempting to suppress and intimidate minorities and senior citizens by disenfranchising their right to vote- these are some of the same voter suppression tactics that the radical right wing is using in Texas and North Carolina.

Yikes! 

There was quite a bit more along those lines; the rest of the poll was a Hoboken411 Greatest Hits Parade; some of the talking points so old and crusty they should be enjoying their golden years on a shuffleboard court.

But no, these old clunkers were dragged out of retirement and presumably onto the campaign trail- if they 'poll' well, that is. 

Yep, no good Mason piss-poll is without it's Superbowl fable (how Zimmer sent supporters to the Superbowl game) or it's $25 million budget fiction, or her broken promise to cut taxes 25% in the first year, bla bla bla.   No doubt this bowel-movement was squeezed out by Mason's rancid Tuna , a.k.a. Hoboken's unelected 2nd Ward Councilwoman.

And why do I call it a Piss-Poll?

Because the pollster pisses on your leg and says "It's raining!"

I do hope you folks answer the phone for this one. Aside from using your ear as a urinal, the questions tell me they are really interested in how many people will vote down the line vs. those who might 'split' their vote- which is what this election is all about for the Dark Side.

And the way they plan to do it is to soften support for Zimmer with such piss-polls. Yes, they know you will vote for her, but if they plant some seeds of distrust, perhaps you can be wooed to split your Council vote for either Peter B., Brit or Frank.

So, the piss-poll attacked Doyle, Dave M. and Ravi.  You could just hear those fish lips smacking with drool when he wrote the one about Ravi getting a traffic ticket.

Oh, no!  Ravi got a traffic ticket!

And Mike Russo's family owes Hoboken taxpayers $324K, 10 years of un-entitled health benefits and an explanation why he agreed to a $5K deposit from Solomon Dwek on the FBI surveillance tape!

And Tim Occhipinti spent 98% of $13K in donations for his 2015 municipal campaign, including reimbursing himself for Sandy donations!  And took money from Birdsall Engineering who was doing business with Hoboken!  And took a generous campaign contribution from developer Danny Tatolli but didn't recuse himself from voting on an easement for Tatolli's restaurant!

Why didn't Timmy recuse himself from that vote?

Timmy's 20-Day Post Election ELEC report- submitted 6/1/11

And Terry Castellano sends confidential information to political operative James Barracato a.k.a. Finboy!

And Beth Mason underwrites SLAPP suits for political operatives, has had a 501(c)(3) which is a taxpayer-subsidized front for a political machine, and has 'shell' companies like Newton Lao Leonard and Lock, LLP presumably for moving money around to operatives, consultants, and other political purposes without detection!

Finally, Timmy, Mason, Russo and Terry all voted NO to a 9-11 memorial for Hoboken's victims. 

That about says it all for their moral bankruptcy, never mind the political hijinks.  Timmy, Mason, Russo and Castellano are the walking dead.

So, by all means, do answer your telephone.  And when they get to the Mason talking point about how Zimmer sent supporters to the Superbowl, remember that Giattino and Pellegrini had such a good meeting with NFL Executives, followed up in New York City by a presentation to the NFL by Mayor Zimmer and the Hoboken Events Committee, word is that they "love" our City!  All because of Zimmer administration and Hoboken Events Committe initatitives, Hoboken's economy will reap a cut of the hundreds of millions of dollars host cities make. Thank you, Mayor!

That's thinking BIG.

For the other kind of thinking, here's the Superbowl 2014 business plan Mason announced in her newsletter of February 2012.

The Parties Have Already Devised Their Midterm Messages - On Politics - Oversight - GovExec.com

    A good friend who is a former Congressional aide sent me this article about how the party's have their talking points for 2014 locked in..

    For the GOP, a referendum on Obamacare with all the stories about websites gone awry to an insurance death spiral looming.

   For Dems, its going to be all about income inequality this year, with its class warfare subtext.

    All the candidates in 435 districts, or at least the fifty in play, are supposed to chant in unison.

    Let's hope we can be given candidates with a modicum of independence who won't embrace the cookie cutter in its entirety.

     All these county chairs doing screenings need to look for the ability to challenge orthodoxy...That's not easy, as in order to function in the system you have to be somewhat marinated in it.



The Parties Have Already Devised Their Midterm Messages - On Politics - Oversight - GovExec.com