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Denver Broncos picked to win Super Bowl XLVIII in Madden 25 simulation
EA Sports ran a simulation of the Super Bowl XLVIII match-up this coming Sunday between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks using Madden NFL 25 and wound up predicting a Broncos victory with a score of 31-28. The simulation had Denver toppling Seattle in dramatic fashion: Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch brought the team to within two points on a last-second 27-yard touchdown run before the team successfully scored two more on the two-point conversion attempt to take the game to overtime. The sim then showed Seattle stalling out in the first possession of overtime before Broncos kicker Matt Prater booted the game-winning field goal. Broncos quarterback (and noted Papa John's pizza spokesman) Peyton Manning earned the Super Bowl MVP award thanks to his 322-yard, three touchdown performance in the simulation. EA's Super Bowl simulations have a decent track record, as the publisher has successfully named the Super Bowl winners in eight out of the last ten years by using the latest roster files in the current Madden game. If that's not a testament to the work of Madden Ratings Czar Donny Moore, then we're not sure what is. Head past the break to see the list of EA Sports' Super Bowl predictions in recent years and each game's actual outcome.
NFL's Denver Broncos embrace the iPad
The NFL Denver Broncos not only have Peyton Manning, but they're also getting a lot of iPads. A report in the Denver Post today mentioned that the team is in the process of moving the weekly team playbooks from the traditional printed copy to a digital version on the iPad. The team will purchase 120 top-end 64 GB iPads with Verizon Wireless 4G service every season, but expects to recoup the cost by not having to print and distribute those 500-page paper playbooks each week. The Broncos join the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only teams that have embraced tablet technology. The iPads are running a digital playbook app called PlayerLync that gives players and coaches the capability of adding notes to video play highlights from the iPad. Those notes are saved on a server, and Broncos personnel can access that information from previous games. Even when the players and coaches aren't using the playbook app, changes can be pushed to the app automatically. The team is also planning to push game video to the iPads as soon as one hour after each game. The playbook can be erased remotely if the iPad is lost or stolen -- that's something that can't be done with a hard-copy playbook. The Broncos are also counting on using the iPad for business and player operations as well, being the first NFL team to integrate all facets of operations onto a tablet. You won't see the iPads on the sideline this season, though. The NFL doesn't allow them during games, although this season players and coaches can have the iPads in the locker room up to kickoff.
Level 3 delivering end to end uncompressed video from Broncos home games
Possible more notable than the Broncos 5-0 start (okay, not really, did anyone see this coming after that seemingly terrible offseason?) is the announcement from Level 3 Communications that its home games at Invesco Field are the first to have their video sent back to the broadcaster completely uncompressed. Thanks to its fiber connection laid in preparation for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the company sends a 1.5 Gbps stream directly to the broadcaster's home studio, as an alternative to the usual (and still in place while this new delivery is evaluated) method of compressing at the site on a production truck. VP Mark Taylor claims this allows them to get the absolute highest quality signal possible, but we'll wait until it's installed at more than one professional stadium to proclaim end to end uncompressed video delivery as the way of the future.
