How can the NFL season already be over? It seems like just yesterday the Bears were letting me down. Or Andy Dalton was throwing another pick. Or Ray Rice was punching his wife.... Where does the time go?
As always, I'll be sad to see the season end, but at least we have one heck of a Super Bowl to end on. I really feel like these are the best 2 teams in the NFL playing in the Super Bowl this year, which surprisingly doesn't happen very often. Even last year, I'd argue that the 49ers were a better team than the Broncos. This Super Bowl is one of the hardest ones I've ever predicted because these teams match up so evenly. Even Vegas agrees by posting betting odds of Patriots -1 (which means they predict a 1 point game with the Pats winning). That's an incredibly rare betting odd in any game, let alone a Super Bowl, so I think were in for a good one.
To pick the Super Bowl winner, I'll compare both teams in 7 categories and whichever team has the edge in the most categories is my pick. Let's get crackalackin!
Quarterback
I don't care if you like 'em or not, both of these quarterbacks are a lot of fun to watch. They just play the position right. Tom Brady is going to go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and Russell Wilson is on track to follow right behind. Wilson has the big advantage of his mobility, which is always hard for defenses to game plan for. As far as arm strength goes, I would have said Wilson has the edge here too if not for watching Tom Brady prove me wrong by launching some bombs to Edleman and Gronk late this season. I wouldn't say Brady has a better arm than Wilson at this point in his career, but he can still make all of the throws he needs to. This is a really tough one, but I do have to give Brady the edge in this position simply because of his experience in Super Bowls and games in general. I mean, the guys played in over 200 NFL games! If I had to have one of these guys on my team for 1 game, I'd still have to take Brady. Keep your chin up, Wilson. Something tells me I'll be saying the same thing about you in the years to come.
Patriots
Running Back
To be honest, I have no idea who the Patriots starting running back is. I don't think anyone knows, actually. Bill Belichick included. I'm pretty sure their depth chart adjusts every time a player gives Belichick a dirty look in the hall. Either way, who am I to judge their methods if they got them to the Big Game. I may not know who Belichick will choose to start this week, but I do know this: If Marshawn Lynch was on his team, this wouldn't even be a discussion. Apparently Lynch has discovered the fountain of youth, or the Lazarus Pit (That's a Batman reference for you laypersons) and has defied the laws of aging yet again. He is the only reason the Seahawks have the leagues #1 rushing attack, and the reason the Seahawks take this category.
Seahawks
Wide Receivers / Tight Ends
In my opinion, the Seahawks offense has actually taken a decent step back this year. Heck, if Lynch weren't playing one of his best postseasons, they would have taken a full leap back. Think about it. Harvin didn't pan out quite as expected and they got rid of their former #1 Golden Tate. That means their #1 receiver is.... Doug Baldwin? No offense to him, but Doug Baldwin and #1 receiver don't really belong in the same sentence together. Unless your saying something like: "Hey, the Seahawks need a #1 receiver, because Doug Baldwin isn't one." On the flip side, the Patriots don't really have a plethora of good receivers either, but they do have a healthy Gronkowski (for once). He's going to be a match-up nightmare for the Seahawks defense, and he alone is the reason why the Pats get this category.
Patriots
Defensive Line
It's a good thing these teams have good secondaries, because their D-lines haven't exactly been "lighting it up" as of late. Both teams rank in the lower half of the NFL in sacks and have struggled mightily against the run at some points during the season. If I had to pick one category that I thought both teams would most need to improve on, this would be it. The Patriots actually have more sacks this season, but at the same time, they have to go up against Lynch and the #1 rushing attack in the NFL. Look for Lynch to run to the outside a bit more than usual to avoid Wilfork in the middle for New England. With all that being said, I think that if you purely look at the task ahead for each defensive line, you gotta go with the Seahawks. Tom Brady is a great quarterback, but he's a statue in the pocket, while Wilson is one of the toughest players in the league to bring down because of his scrambling ability. By virtue of difficulty, the Seahawks win this one.
Seahawks
Secondary
This is probably the hardest category I have to pick. Honestly, I'd love to have either of these units on my side for the Super Bowl. To me, Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis even each other out (I'm assuming Sherman's arm is ok after two weeks) and Chancellor and Browner even each other out too. By the way, I know "technically" Chancellor is a safety, but with all of the different looks Seattle gives and the one on one coverage he has to often play, I think it's fair to compare the two. However, I haven't even mentioned the best player in either team's secondary yet. That man is Earl Thomas. Earl Thomas is the best player on Seattle's defense, yet he's constantly overlooked because he isn't as vocal with the media. A great safety does so much for a defense, and when the secondaries are as close as these two, it's enough to give Seattle the slight edge in this category.
Seahawks
Special Teams
This is where the Seahawks are going to miss Percy Harvin. He returned kickoffs in one game for them last season, but that happened to be the Super Bowl... and he did a pretty dang good job that day. They don't have that sheer speed this year, so they'll have to rely on some good blocking and mistakes by the opposing team. Unfortunately for them, the Patriots historically, don't make many mistakes. On the flip side, Julian Edelman has been tearing it up lately on kickoffs and punts. He leads every team this postseason in return yards on only six attempts. As far as kickers go, you can't really go wrong with either one in this game, but if I had to choose one, I'd take Gostkowski sheerly because of his reliability. He kicked an incredible 94.6% this season, while Hauschka kicked 83.8%.
Patriots
Coaching
It's pretty difficult to definitively say which head coach is the better coach when the two have such different coaching styles. Belichick always coaches according to the team he faces. He finds the opposing teams biggest weakness and comes up with the perfect plan to expose it on the field. Carroll on the other hand does the opposite. He's a motivator who doesn't make a separate plan for any team. He's the kind of coach that states "We don't care who we play, we're tougher than you and were going to come right at you." If I were an owner, I'd love to have either of them coaching my team, but just for this game, I think I would have to take Belichick. Both teams have weaknesses, but I think Belichick will put forth a lot of effort in testing the Seahawks injuries and finding the best place to attack them. By the way, I know what your thinking and the answer is yes: this is the ONLY picture of Belichick smiling in existence.
Patriots
There you go. With a close match of 4-3, the Patriots seem to have a slight edge.
Therefore, I will go with the New England Patriots to defeat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX 24 - 20.
I don't care if you like 'em or not, both of these quarterbacks are a lot of fun to watch. They just play the position right. Tom Brady is going to go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and Russell Wilson is on track to follow right behind. Wilson has the big advantage of his mobility, which is always hard for defenses to game plan for. As far as arm strength goes, I would have said Wilson has the edge here too if not for watching Tom Brady prove me wrong by launching some bombs to Edleman and Gronk late this season. I wouldn't say Brady has a better arm than Wilson at this point in his career, but he can still make all of the throws he needs to. This is a really tough one, but I do have to give Brady the edge in this position simply because of his experience in Super Bowls and games in general. I mean, the guys played in over 200 NFL games! If I had to have one of these guys on my team for 1 game, I'd still have to take Brady. Keep your chin up, Wilson. Something tells me I'll be saying the same thing about you in the years to come.
Patriots
To be honest, I have no idea who the Patriots starting running back is. I don't think anyone knows, actually. Bill Belichick included. I'm pretty sure their depth chart adjusts every time a player gives Belichick a dirty look in the hall. Either way, who am I to judge their methods if they got them to the Big Game. I may not know who Belichick will choose to start this week, but I do know this: If Marshawn Lynch was on his team, this wouldn't even be a discussion. Apparently Lynch has discovered the fountain of youth, or the Lazarus Pit (That's a Batman reference for you laypersons) and has defied the laws of aging yet again. He is the only reason the Seahawks have the leagues #1 rushing attack, and the reason the Seahawks take this category.
Seahawks
In my opinion, the Seahawks offense has actually taken a decent step back this year. Heck, if Lynch weren't playing one of his best postseasons, they would have taken a full leap back. Think about it. Harvin didn't pan out quite as expected and they got rid of their former #1 Golden Tate. That means their #1 receiver is.... Doug Baldwin? No offense to him, but Doug Baldwin and #1 receiver don't really belong in the same sentence together. Unless your saying something like: "Hey, the Seahawks need a #1 receiver, because Doug Baldwin isn't one." On the flip side, the Patriots don't really have a plethora of good receivers either, but they do have a healthy Gronkowski (for once). He's going to be a match-up nightmare for the Seahawks defense, and he alone is the reason why the Pats get this category.
Patriots
It's a good thing these teams have good secondaries, because their D-lines haven't exactly been "lighting it up" as of late. Both teams rank in the lower half of the NFL in sacks and have struggled mightily against the run at some points during the season. If I had to pick one category that I thought both teams would most need to improve on, this would be it. The Patriots actually have more sacks this season, but at the same time, they have to go up against Lynch and the #1 rushing attack in the NFL. Look for Lynch to run to the outside a bit more than usual to avoid Wilfork in the middle for New England. With all that being said, I think that if you purely look at the task ahead for each defensive line, you gotta go with the Seahawks. Tom Brady is a great quarterback, but he's a statue in the pocket, while Wilson is one of the toughest players in the league to bring down because of his scrambling ability. By virtue of difficulty, the Seahawks win this one.
Seahawks
This is probably the hardest category I have to pick. Honestly, I'd love to have either of these units on my side for the Super Bowl. To me, Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis even each other out (I'm assuming Sherman's arm is ok after two weeks) and Chancellor and Browner even each other out too. By the way, I know "technically" Chancellor is a safety, but with all of the different looks Seattle gives and the one on one coverage he has to often play, I think it's fair to compare the two. However, I haven't even mentioned the best player in either team's secondary yet. That man is Earl Thomas. Earl Thomas is the best player on Seattle's defense, yet he's constantly overlooked because he isn't as vocal with the media. A great safety does so much for a defense, and when the secondaries are as close as these two, it's enough to give Seattle the slight edge in this category.
Seahawks
This is where the Seahawks are going to miss Percy Harvin. He returned kickoffs in one game for them last season, but that happened to be the Super Bowl... and he did a pretty dang good job that day. They don't have that sheer speed this year, so they'll have to rely on some good blocking and mistakes by the opposing team. Unfortunately for them, the Patriots historically, don't make many mistakes. On the flip side, Julian Edelman has been tearing it up lately on kickoffs and punts. He leads every team this postseason in return yards on only six attempts. As far as kickers go, you can't really go wrong with either one in this game, but if I had to choose one, I'd take Gostkowski sheerly because of his reliability. He kicked an incredible 94.6% this season, while Hauschka kicked 83.8%.
Patriots
It's pretty difficult to definitively say which head coach is the better coach when the two have such different coaching styles. Belichick always coaches according to the team he faces. He finds the opposing teams biggest weakness and comes up with the perfect plan to expose it on the field. Carroll on the other hand does the opposite. He's a motivator who doesn't make a separate plan for any team. He's the kind of coach that states "We don't care who we play, we're tougher than you and were going to come right at you." If I were an owner, I'd love to have either of them coaching my team, but just for this game, I think I would have to take Belichick. Both teams have weaknesses, but I think Belichick will put forth a lot of effort in testing the Seahawks injuries and finding the best place to attack them. By the way, I know what your thinking and the answer is yes: this is the ONLY picture of Belichick smiling in existence.
Patriots
There you go. With a close match of 4-3, the Patriots seem to have a slight edge.
Therefore, I will go with the New England Patriots to defeat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX 24 - 20.
