RENTON — Ask Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright about studying film of his team’s Super Bowl win over the Denver Broncos, and his eyes light up.
“We actually watched some clips today,” Wright says with a grin as he remembers Seattle’s 43-8 victory. “Just the way we out-hit ‘em, man. Every time they touched the ball, the check downs, we were smacking them left and right.”
In Denver, Broncos players are studying the same film this week in preparation for Sunday’s game at CenturyLink Field, but reliving that game obviously elicits a slightly different response for the Broncos.
“It’s not an easy film to watch, but you try to watch it, try to learn from it and try to find a way to be better from it,” quarterback Peyton Manning said on a conference call.
It has been seven months since that lopsided Super Bowl, and both teams come into this game with slightly reshaped rosters and an eye on what lies ahead, not what happened in New Jersey last February. Nonetheless, it’s impossible for the Seahawks and Broncos to play this year, and particularly this early in the season, without Super Bowl XLVIII being a topic of discussion this week.
The question then becomes this: does what happened last year have any effect on Sunday’s game? Depending on who you ask, this is a chance for revenge for the Broncos, or a chance for the Seahawks to prove they’re still the best, or just another regular season game. For some, it really will be just another week, while other players, particularly those in Denver, will use what happened in the Super Bowl for a little added motivation.
“Yeah, you don’t forget what happened and also, you set the standard by playing against the Super Bowl (champions),” Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton told reporters in Denver. “They’ve earned the right to talk how they talk and we’ll just speak with our pads and show up on Sunday.
“Obviously, we still have a bad taste in our mouths from the Super Bowl, but it’s a new season and we want to get back to that point and obviously win it. But playing against the team that won the Super Bowl and actually having a chance at a rematch really will show how far we came as a team and if we improved or not.”
While Manning sounds more than ready to put the Super Bowl behind him, he’s also OK with his teammates using it as motivation if that’s going to help them this week.
“Every player has different emotions and different ways to get ready for a game,” he said. “That’s part of your job as a football player to get ready for a game, and whatever motivates you to get ready and play your best football, I think everybody is in favor of that.”
The Seahawks, like the Broncos, will try to avoid bulletin board material this week, but they are expecting to see a fired up opponent given the result of the previous meeting.
“As a competitor, when you lose, it’s always in the back of your mind that, ‘I lost to these guys, it’s time to get some (payback),’” safety Kam Chancellor said. “So I’m sure they’ll be fired up and ready to come in here and battle. I know they’re going to be ready.”
And as defensive end Cliff Avril notes, every team, not just the Broncos, will give the Seahawks their best shot this season because Seattle is the defending champ: “I would say they’d be motivated regardless of what happened last season. Us winning the Super Bowl, everybody’s bringing their A-game regardless, so we expect that and we expect to be able to match it.”
Even Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who is constantly preaching that every week is a championship week, understands how highly anticipated Sunday’s game is considering the teams involved.
“We have a terrific matchup this week coming up,” he said. “I know a lot of people (are) interested in this one because of how last season ended … A lot of people want to see what’s going to happen, and so do I. I want to see how we play. So, we’ll get revved up and should be a great matchup.”
But great matchup or not, Super Bowl rematch or just another game, Carroll and his team will try to stick with their normal approach, which is what helped them win a title in the first place. Carroll knows that if his team is too focused on the hype surrounding the game, or if his players don’t put Sunday’s loss in San Diego behind them and let that affect their preparation this week, they won’t be at their best come Sunday.
“Whether you win or whether you lose, I’ve said it a lot of times, it can factor either way,” Carroll said. “That’s why we go right back to our routine and we do the things that we do and we use the language and the expectations of this day and we just try to crush it on this day and have a hell of a day and we come back the next day and do it again. I think it’s a really good challenge in that regard and because of all of the stuff from before.”
And whatever happens Sunday, the Seahawks are certainly expecting a tough challenge from the Broncos, who fell behind on a safety on the game’s first play and never recovered.
“A lot of things went our way,” said linebacker Malcolm Smith, who earned Super Bowl MVP honors after returning an interception for a touchdown. “Sometimes that happens, and we don’t expect it to happen again like that this week. We expect a tougher game from them. Obviously they’re going to be better than they were on that day, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.SeeBOYLE, Page C2
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