ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp to Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Who will meet at the Meadowlands in Super Bowl XLVIII?
MICAH JAMES
Prior to the season I (like many others) had called for the Broncos and the Seahawks to square off in this year's Super Bowl. While the seedings haven't completely been decided, both of these teams are in position to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs - and that makes me a little nervous, since we know in today's NFL, there are always surprises. Even so, I'm going to stick with my original prediction and say that Seattle and Denver will be our matchup in February.
James, the FFMagicMan, won the FSTA Accuracy Rankings Challenge in 2012, finishing first out of 61 expert entries with an unprecedented Top-9 finish in each of the four measured skill positions. You can frequently hear him on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio and every week on his fantasy football podcast, Trick Plays, with co-host Coach Dennis Esser. Find James on Twitter and on Facebook, and check his website every week for the latest up-to-date player rankings.
SCOTT SACHS
It is very hard to think that Denver won't be in there, but New England isn't going to roll over, either. Seattle and San Francisco still seem like they are on a collision course, so I give a slight edge to the 49ers. Denver and San Francisco seem logical, and would be a good match-up.
Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, offering LIVE Talk/Text/Email consulting & advice. Winner of Fantasy Football Index's 2012 Experts Poll & 2011 Mock Auction League, Scott can be found at http://perfectseasonffb.com/.
CORY BONINI
Green Bay could be a very dangerous team if they make it into the postseason, but I still think the NFC representative is Seattle. They're too good in all facets of the game, and I feel like their recent home loss to Arizona was an aberration. The AFC is wide-open, although I think Cincinnati is a sneaky team to watch. The Patriots cannot be counted out as long as Tom Brady is under center, but their defense is suspect. Denver is the popular choice, of course, but they are beatable with a rather simple recipe of keeping No. 18 off the field and occasional vertical shots out of play-action. It's too hard for me to ignore Peyton Manning's awful playoff record. As you can tell by now, I'm hardly certain of which teams will be in the big game. Proverbial gun to my head: New England faces the Seahawks. Since 1996, KFFL.com has been combining its award-winning news service with fantasy analysis. KFFL.com offers services including daily news, draft guides and in-season advice. Completely free, KFFL.com is your destination for fantasy baseball, football and NASCAR cheat sheets, tips, sleepers and much more. KFFL.com has won more than a dozen expert championships and was listed as "One of the 10 essential sports-related online destinations for fans, athletes and fantasy owners" by Time.com. KFFL.com is property of USA TODAY Sports Media Group.
MIKE NAZAREK
Denver vs. Seattle. It should be a good one with the top offense facing the best defense.
Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers a preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a multi-use fantasy drafting program including auction values, weekly in-season fantasy newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its web site. He has been playing fantasy football since 1988 and is a four-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League, a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a former columnist for SI.com. For more info go to www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.
IAN ALLAN
We all tend to gravitate to the favorites. Seattle and Denver most likely will be the No. 1 seeds, and they’ve been impressive at times. But the reality is there are almost always upsets. Who thought Baltimore had any chance of winning the thing last year? It was supposed to be Denver and Atlanta. In the last nine years, in fact, only one No. 1 seed has won the Super Bowl (the Saints). Only five other No. 1 seeds made it to the championship game to lose. So out of 18 teams, that’s two thirds who weren’t the top seeds at the start. Last year it was two good defenses that made it, Baltimore and San Francisco. Both of the years the Giants have won it recently, it’s been with a hot defense. Ptitsburgh won with defense. Of the playoff teams this year, the four best defenses seem to belong to Carolina, Seattle, San Francisco and Kansas City. Kansas City is the only one on the AFC side, so I’ll give them a spot. How about Carolina on the other?
Allan is the senior writer for Fantasy Football Index. He's been in that role since 1987, generating most of the player rankings and analysis for that publication. His work can be seen in Fantasy Football Index magazine, and also at www.fantasyindex.com.
ALAN SATTERLEE
Peyton Manning has had his struggles in the playoffs (he is a losing QB in the playoffs at 9-11) but I do believe he gets back again this season. The AFC fields a very weak set of competitors in the playoffs this year and to me the only team that even has a chance of beating Denver is New England (which certainly is possible, especially as they deflated the Broncos in Week 12, although this time around it should be in Denver). In the NFC, the road looks to go through Seattle which looked impossible until Arizona showed the blueprint of defeating them in Seattle this week. The NFC is much more wide open with several quality teams. I am going to roll with the 49ers however in a re-match of Super Bowl XXIV of Denver-San Francisco. In Harbaugh I trust, and they have the experience after last year's run, plus San Francisco matches up well if they have to go to Seattle.
Satterlee is Co-Owner and Chief Editor/COO of FantasyFootballWarehouse.com. FFW features comprehensive profiles for all the major 2013 skill-position rookies, its Trading Spaces series, the team Deep Dives, the Speed Bump competition plus draft strategies, rankings, projections and more. FFW runs in tandem with its dynasty site DynastyFootballWarehouse.com.
SAM HENDRICKS
Seattle versus Denver with Peyton Manning getting the Super Bowl win in his record breaking season-its his destiny. Dark horses to replace one of those top teams-Philadelphia or New Orleans in the NFC and/or New England in the AFC. If I was placing a wild bet in Vegas on some long shot-I like either BAL or SD at 80-1 or PHI at 25-1. In any case, early February in New York promises to be a fun event.
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 20-plus year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall (out of 228 competitors) in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.
ERIC CATURIA
In its current state, the parity of the league generates supposed untouchable squads, such as the Seahawks in their raucous home field. Invariably, though, the prevailing opinion is cast aside, as evidenced by the Cardinals using Seattle's own game to outlast them in CenturyLink Field in Week 16. However, if the Seahawks can lock down the No. 1 seed in the NFC and take care of business Sunday against the Rams, there is seemingly only one team that will be able to hold its own in the aforementioned stadium: the 49ers. The experience of a recent Super Bowl run lies on their side, which would set up an epic of an NFC championship game in the Pacific Northwest, if it comes to pass. On the other side, the AFC boasts a number of contending but flawed teams. The Broncos can score at will but have also shown a tendency to hand momentum back to the opponent. Meanwhile, the Patriots' offense approaches that of the Broncos, but injuries to vital cogs -- Vince Wilfork, Rob Gronkowski, and Jerod Mayo -- will make a second Super Bowl trip in three years one fraught with obstacles. If the offenses in Kansas City or Cincinnati can kick into another gear, as Baltimore's did a season ago, they appear to be the dark horse candidates among all organizations poised to attain a playoff berth. Because strange can best describe the recent history of the Super Bowl and the journeys of the squads that achieve the greatest platform in football, I'm bucking the trend and picking the Seahawks versus the Broncos, with a first-time champion emerging from the encounter. Barring a barrage of injuries, Seattle is the most well-rounded of any contender this season and will stifle Peyton Manning in pursuit of his second title.
Caturia is a writer/editor of NFL, MLB, and NBA content for RotoWire. He can be found on Twitter @etcat30.
ANDY RICHARDSON
To me, Denver versus Seattle is just too easy -- they're the favorites and should be, but it seldom works out that way. I do think, however, that Denver is just too strong and deep to miss out on the Super Bowl this year. It's been a storybook season for Peyton Manning, and the only reason they lost up in New England was turnovers, which they won't do at home in the playoffs. In the NFC, Seattle has shown cracks at home, nearly losing to Tampa Bay and then losing to Arizona last week. I think San Francisco or Carolina will go into Seattle and win; how about Carolina? The Panthers will proceed to get stomped by Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl, but at least they'll get there.
Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for 12 years. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual draft and auction leagues since their inception. He previews all the NFL games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays during the NFL season.