5 First Impressions of the Seahawks, Patriots Super Bowl Edition
And then there were two… Finally the talk gets back to football this week and why not? It is only the biggest game of the season with the Super Bowl on the line in Glendale, Arizona between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.
The game will be televised by NBC with their top announcing crew of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth on the play-by-play. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. The Super Bowl is always one of the most watched events in television. Last year’s broadcast between Seattle and Denver brought in over 111 million viewers.
How They Got Here: Seattle and New England had identical 12-4 records and each had a 7-1 home record as well as a 5-3 road record. Both teams are a resilient, mentally and physically tough bunch who shook off early season struggles to get to the pinnacle of the NFL with a Super Bowl berth.
New England and Seattle were #1-2 in point differential in the NFL (NE +9.4, Seattle +8.9) There is no doubt that the right two teams are here in February.
The Seahawks beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game in dramatic fashion coming back from two scores down late in the game and won it overtime 28-22. Marshawn Lynch gained 157 yards on the ground and the Seattle defense limited Aaron Rodgers to just 178 yards passing.
New England blasted the Colts 45-7 as LaGarrette Blount once again proved the Indy defense was not ready for prime time, rushing for 148 yards. The New England defense shut down Andrew Luck, holding him to his lowest QB rating in his career (23.0) and only 126 yards passing.
We’ll also have later in the week, our keys to the game and matchups to watch for. Here are our final 2014 PatsFans.com weekly 5 First Impressions of the Seahawks:
Seahawks Getting Healthy: Seattle couldn’t have gotten the extra prep week for the Super Bowl at a better time. The NFC Championship Game came with its share of injuries and those players who were hurt should be ready to go on Sunday.
Richard Sherman, hyper-extended his elbow against the Packers but was able to play thru it to finish the game. According to Pete Carroll, Sherman didn’t miss a snap during last week’s practice and is listed as probable.
Safety Earl Thomas is dealing with a separated shoulder and while he missed both the Wednesday and Thursday practices, he returned to the field for Friday’s session. While listed as questionable, it is a safe assumption to believe he’ll be on the field.
Right guard J.R. Sweezy sprained an ankle in the NFC Championship Game and missed all of practice this week but also is expected to play. Right tackle Justin Britt missed the Packers game with a knee injury but is expected back this week as well.
Seattle Legacy Vs Patriots History: The Seahawks are in position to be the first team since the 2003-04 Patriots to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. And they’re going against the team that last accomplished it.
New England was the most dominant team in the first decade of the 2000’s going to four Super Bowls and winning three. With back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 2013-14, the Seahawks will lay claim as the best team in the next decade and rightfully so.
This also pits two of the best coaches in the league in Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll. Carroll was Belichick’s predecessor as the coach of the Patriots before winning multiple titles at USC before becoming the Seahawks coach. With a win on Sunday, Carroll will be the first coach to win multiple titles at both the college and NFL levels.
All Eyes (Naturally) on Lynch: Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch has been in the news as much for his fines lately as for his running. Lynch 28, was a former first round pick of the Bills (think they regret that trade?) who has thrived in Seattle.
Lynch loves to tweak the NFL and has been fined (twice), totalling 100K for refusing to speak with the press. He’s also been fined for a crotch grabbing motion when entering the end zone and for wearing the wrong shoes. Much of the attention on Tuesday once the Seahawks start their part of Media Day will be focused on Lynch and what he’ll be up to.
Of course none of this would matter if Lynch was just a run-of-the-mill running back. But he is not. Vince Wilfork called Lynch this week, the best running back in the NFL. And if your team is facing a third and one or a third and two in a key part of the game, who else would you want running the football?
While QB Russell Wilson does and deserves a large share of the credit for making the Seattle offense go (more to that below), the main reason the Seahawks are the #1 rushing team in the NFL is because of Marshawn Lynch. New England’s defense will have to bring their big-boy pants to the game on Sunday.
Russell Wilson No Stage Too Large: Seattle’s QB is as resilient as his team. He was in the midst of one of his worst games as a pro in the NFC championship throwing four interceptions, with his fourth pick coming with just five minutes to go.
But Wilson didn’t crack, quite the opposite. Displaying a cool demeanor, Wilson rallied his team to two late scores and in the overtime, threw a perfect deep pass to Jermaine Kearse for a 35-yard touchdown and one of the more improbable comebacks in NFL history.
But one shouldn’t be surprised, Wilson has been an even-keeled mentally tough player from the time he stepped on the field as the Seattle quarterback. "That's the thing, what's great about Russ, is good play, bad play, it's the next play that matters," tight end Luke Willson said. "Again, just what you see with Russell, you get. His demeanor – he wasn't frustrated, he wasn't pressing, he was just being himself and when we needed him the most, he performed unbelievably. It was pretty spectacular to watch."
Wilson is also 10-0 against Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks: 3-0 against Aaron Rodgers; 2-0 against Drew Brees and both Eli and Peyton Manning; and 1-0 against Tom Brady.
While Wilson doesn’t put up the eye-catching numbers of Andrew Luck from the QB Class of 2012, it is simply because he doesn’t have to, relying on the outstanding ground game with Lynch as well as himself and mixing it up with a balanced attack. He also doesn’t play on the media heavy East Coast side of the league. But make no mistake, when the game is on the line, he can sling it with the best of them….just ask the Packers.
Seattle’s Defense a Tough Nut for New England Offense: The Patriots offense, one of the most diverse from week-to-week in the NFL thrives in the short passing game. Guess who is the #4 defense is in defending the short-medium pass in the league is?
Yep…you guessed it, Seattle’s defense is a tough, physical bunch that can get after the quarterback and is very fast so they can jam receivers at the line and take away that short passing game that Tom Brady thrives upon.
Linebackers Bruce Irvin and Bobby Wagner are both outstanding and they’ll be tasked with slowing down Rob Gronkowski off the line. With either one of them passing Gronk off to safety Kam Chancellor, it will be an interesting, tough battle to watch.
Seattle’s secondary, the “Legion of Boom” is an apt name; no one can provide the coverage and physicality in the back end as well as Seattle did. Richard Sherman, Byron Maxwell, Chancellor and Thomas are the gold standard in the league. They will undoubtedly line up with single coverage on the Patriots WRs Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola in an attempt to double up and take away Gronkowski.
Seattle’s defense allowed 254 points, (15.9 per game), tops in the NFL this season. They don’t do anything exotic; they just line up and force you to beat them. One-on-one battles are going to decide this matchup. Last season, Denver’s offense failed miserably, will the Patriots fare any better? Is it Feb. 1st yet?
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