Super Bowl Game Picks
Josh’s Postseason Record: Winner (8-2); Spread (9-1)
New England Patriots (Even) vs Seattle Seahawks (Even) @
Glendale Arizona at 6:37 on Sunday
Josh’s Pick: New England Patriots win; 29-25
The hype has built over the last two weeks and ultimately
Vegas has decided to make the game a Pick ‘em, which really shows how evenly
matched these two teams are. To the Seahawks advantage they rarely have one of
the defenses that has at least three players capable of covering matchup
nightmare Rob Gronkowski (Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner). Inversely
though, they might be troubled with the Patriots short quick pass game with Edelman,
Amendola, and Vereen. When the Patriots design pass plays to be completed in
less than three seconds they can take advantage of lenient and protective zone
coverage (which the Seahawks love to play with on the edges) and also diffuse
the pass rush that the Seahawks generate almost better than anyone in the
league. If the Patriots want to win they can’t let themselves see multiple downs
of 3rd and 7 yards plus. The Pats need good protection on their
offensive line to get some yards on the ground and get into manageable 3rd
down situations. The achilles heel of this Seattle defense is their run
defense, so I would not be surprised to see Legarette Blunt open up the game on
the first two drives with a lot of runs. I am taking the Patriots because of
their defense though, not because of TB12 and the offense. As threatening as
Russell Wilson’s legs are, with this much time to prepare, and with the
athletic trio of Chandler Jones, Donta Hightower, and Jamie Collins; Bill
Belichick will have a plan to minimize Russell Wilson’s scrambling. Marshawn
Lynch is far and away the Patriots biggest concern, and a lot of A-Gap blitzes
(up the middle of the line) could be the medicine the Pats need to neutralize
Lynch. I expect this game to go down to the wire, but if the Seahawks get into
a situation where they have to drop back and pass to win this game, it will
fall heavily into the Patriots favor. I see the Pats coming out on top by the
score of 29-25, with Jamie Collins as the MVP.
Jack's pick: Seahawks
Score: 24-23
MVP: Marshawn Lynch
This season has been filled with great match ups that have been impossible to predict but this one takes the cake. I think this game could go either way but I am taking the Seahawks because of just how incredible their defense is. They just held the best Quarterback and league MVP Aaron Rodgers to 21 points even after Russell Wilson threw 4 INT's including two that gave the Packers an automatic 3 points. If the Seahawks can generate pressure on Brady while only rushing 4 they should be able to stop the well oiled machine that is the Pats offense. I think the single biggest matchup in the game will be Kam Chancellor on Rob Gronkowski. The way Gronk can completely dominate the middle of the field and the seams is a huge part of what the Pats do in the passing game. However, the Seahawks have the two best safeties in the league to play the middle and since the Patriots don't really have a deep threat they can play more towards the middle instead of having to give help over the top. I think this is why the Seahawks will be able to stop the Pats amazing offense by taking away their dominance over the middle of the field. This game will be a defensive struggle but I think the Seahawks walk away with a one point win.
