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February 1, 2015 at 1:23 am #17763
znModeratorBernie: Super Bowl has makings of a classic
By Bernie Miklasz
PHOENIX • The unofficial U.S. holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday is nearly set to kick off. The big game is here, pitting Seattle vs. New England in the 49th staging of a sprawling, massive American spectacle.
I don’t know if you’re going with a theme menu – perhaps some cracked dungeness crab, steaming cups of clam chowder, a pouring of Sam Adams Boston Lager, and bowls of Skittles — but I hope you have a Super watch party.
I’m so fired up about this grand matchup between the NFL’s best teams, I am moved to channel a passage of brilliant, over-the-top sportswriting parody penned by the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson when he covered Super Bowl VII between the Dolphins and Redskins.
“Under a brown California sky, the fierceness of their struggle brought tears to the eyes of 90,000 God fearing fans.
“They were 22 men who were somehow more than men.
“They were giants, idols, titans…
“Behemoths.
“They stood for everything Good and True and Right in the American Spirit.
“Because they had guts.
“And they yearned for the Ultimate Glory, the Great Prize, the Final Fruits of a long and vicious campaign.”
Yes. We have reached The Pinnacle.
And someone must fall.
The Patriots are the NFL’s long-running ruling class, having won 76 percent of their regular-season games and three Super Bowl championships since 2001. This will be New England’s sixth Super Bowl appearance in 14 years, a display of dominance that antagonizes a large percentage of the football nation that distrusts the conniving coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots are mature, wise and usually more precise than a classic Swiss timepiece.
On the other side are the Seahawks, still young and hungry a year after winning the last Super Bowl. Seattle is a live wire, shooting off sparks and flames and plenty of noise. Over the last three seasons coach Pete Carroll’s men have gone 42-13 (postseason included). Sunday the Seahawks will attempt to become the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champs since the 2003 and 2004 Patriots.
The studious, clinical Patriots could play football in a library, with quarterback Tom Brady burying his face in the playbook in search of a perfect strategical edge.
The Seahawks play a more violent style of football. Opponents feel physical pain inflicted by Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary, but are also in danger of experiencing a loss of hearing.
“People hate us because, you know, when you talk a lot of smack, people usually hate you,” Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett said. “But when you talk a lot of smack and you back it up, they hate you even more. So, it’s just like one of those things where people just hate us because of who we are, but we embrace it. I like it.”
People hate the Patriots for other reasons: they’re good, devious, and enduring.
But beyond the predictable typecasting, we see similarities. The Seahawks have their own Brady in third-year quarterback Russell Wilson, a serious student of the game who has the winning touch. If Wilson grabs the Lombardi Trophy early Sunday night, it will be his second Super Bowl triumph in his first three NFL seasons _ which would match Brady’s early-career arc.
The Seahawks have a pile-driving running back in Marshawn Lynch — one of the most aggressive, contact-seeking ball carriers in NFL history. But the Patriots have their own heavy-metal runner in LeGarrette Blount, who added muscle to the Patriots’ finesse offense late in the regular season.
Seattle’s wicked secondary receives the accolades, but the Patriots’ defensive backs have played nearly as well this season.
These two excellent teams are rolling thunder as they enter this showdown. New England has won 12 of its last 14 games, and Seattle is 11-1 since losing to the Rams in St. Louis on Oct. 19. It’s hard to pick a winner, and the usual keys to the game apply here.
New England can’t win if Lynch goes full Beast Mode on them. Seattle can’t win unless the defense hounds and pounds Brady into a frazzled state — as the New York Giants did in upsetting the Patriots (twice) in the Super Bowl.
There’s pressure on both teams. Seattle is trying to create a legacy by validating last year’s Super Bowl win. New England is trying to enhance, if not complete, the legacy of the Belichick-Brady era.
Brady is 37 and you don’t know if he’ll get another chance to pass this way again. The Seahawks, led by Wilson (age 26), seemingly have plenty of time on their side.
That’s why I think there’s more heat on the Patriots to prevail. Belichick and Brady won three Super Bowls in a four-season stretch (2001 through 2004) and won’t have to apologize for failing to capture a fourth.
But since 2005 the Patriots have gone 11-8 in the postseason, and that includes two losses in the AFC championship game and an 0-2 record in the Super Bowl.
The Patriots also need to show the cynics and skeptics something: that “SpyGate” wasn’t the sinister reason behind their three Super Bowl wins. If the Patriots go down in another Super Bowl, they’ll be 0-3 in the big game since getting caught in the spying scandal. And the critics will have more ammo.
The Patriots and Seahawks are – to use Dr. Thompson’s word – behemoths. This should be a great game. The brash new champion from Seattle will be trying to dispose of the proud old champs from New England. It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and there’s tension in the desert air. Let’s do this.
February 1, 2015 at 1:24 am #17764znModerator7 things to watch : Seahawks vs. Patriots
By Jim Thomas
FOCUSING ON LYNCH
Marshawn Lynch’s ongoing media “feud” has become laughable, basically a marketing tool for Lynch to get his name out there and increase his brand. However, no one on the New England defense will be laughing on Super Bowl Sunday. Every time Lynch has the football he runs as if it’s his last carry. Since the start of the 2011 season, he has more rushing yards (5,357) and more touchdowns (56) than anyone in the game. Rest assured, the focal point of coach Bill Belichick’s defensive game plan for the Patriots is to stop Lynch. Load the box, gang tackle and trust your gifted cornerbacks, Darrelle Revis and ex-Seahawk Brandon Browner, to blanket the Seattle wide receivers.
THE GRONK
If Seattle has the best running back in the game in Lynch, the Patriots boast the NFL’s top tight end in Rob Gronkowski. The last thing the Seahawks want to see is a couple of those thunder spikes in the end zone after Gronkowski touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how Seattle attempts to cover him. A linebacker won’t work; it almost never does against Gronkowski’s combination of speed, size, and athletic ability. It’s even debatable whether strong safety Kam Chancellor can hang with him — coverage isn’t his strong suit. So that leaves free safety Earl Thomas or one of the Seattle cornerbacks. In the AFC title game, the Colts used cornerbacks against him with some success.
LEGION OF BOOM
The health of this talented group bears watching. In the NFC title game, Thomas suffered a dislocated shoulder and cornerback Richard Sherman finished the game playing with one arm because of a hyper-extended elbow. And late in Friday’s practice, Chancellor fell near the end of practice and tweaked his left knee. All three stars are listed as probable, but let’s see how they hold up over the course of what figures to be a physical game.
DEFENDING WILSON
For most of the NFC title game, Green Bay was able to harass Seattle QB Russell Wilson with pressure up the middle coupled with good outside containment. The combination forced him to throw several balls away. Some teams “spy” him with a linebacker to combat his scrambling ability, but that often doesn’t work because of his speed. If the Patriots have success vs. Lynch, we could see more read-option keepers by Wilson.
DEFENDING BRADY
When QB Tom Brady gets in a rhythm, the Patriots’ passing game is a well-tuned machine — virtually unstoppable. So the idea here for Seattle is to disrupt Brady in the pocket. Sure, sacks are the best way to do that, and the Seahawks have a good — but not great — pass rush. Brady’s been sacked only 24 times in 18 games this season. But QB hits, hurrying throws, forcing Brady to move around in the pocket will work as well.
THE PEDESTRIANS
The Seahawks lost underrated Golden Tate in the offseason to Detroit via free agency. Percy Harvin, who was expected to add sizzle to the attack, was traded to the New York Jets five games into the season. Even so, the Seahawks WR corps — which calls itself The Pedestrians (as a way of mocking critics) — continues to get it done. Getting open against the Patriots’ cornerbacks represents a huge challenge for Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse.
X-FACTORS
There’s usually someone unexpected who steps up in the big game. Who will it be this time? For New England, 250-pound RB LeGarrette Blount gained only 281 yards rushing over the regular season. But he has accounted for 149 of the Pats’ 191 postseason rushing yards. For Seattle, the Ontario-born tight end known as “Canadian Bacon” — Luke Willson — has 11 catches for 250 yards and three TDs in his last four games. He runs a 4.5.
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