Madden Super Bowl Predictions: Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots in 2015 Super Bowl
Nice find by Frenz.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/madden-super-bowl-predictions-seattle-seahawks-vs/
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Madden Super Bowl Predictions: Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots in 2015 Super Bowl
Nice find by Frenz.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/madden-super-bowl-predictions-seattle-seahawks-vs/
I was in Seattle for the 2012 matchup between the Patriots and the Seahawks, the second time I had been to a game there. It’s a fantastic atmosphere and I have to say I admire the energy the fans bring. Might be a little over-hyped now with all the attention they’ve gotten but they’ve earned every bit of it.
Even in 2008, with the Hawks well out of the playoff picture and Matt Cassel under center for the Pats, they brought impressive enthusiasm, cheering through the Patriots huddle as if it were a playoff game.
The Patriots won the game in 2008 on a forced fumble by Brandon Meriweather and, in looking back at the 2012 game, the Pats really should’ve won that one too.
Had it not been for an end zone interception in the fourth quarter, with the Pats already up 20-10, it might’ve even gone into “blowout” territory.
The keys to the late Seahawks comeback? A 51-yard pass to Golden Tate that set up their first touchdown that closed the score to 23-17. Then the game-winning 46-yard strike to Sidney Rice.
It’s worth noting, and not surprising, that the Pats had rookie Tavon Wilson, now an “in-the-box” safety, and special teamer Nate Ebner, playing as their deep free safeties. Devin McCourty was still playing cornerback then.
The Pats held Marshawn Lynch to just 41 yards on 15 carries, with a long of just 7 yards. New England seemed well-prepared to shut down Lynch with a gang-tackling style.
What stands out on the Pats offensive side of the ball is how pass-heavy they went from the get-go. Brady ended the day 36-of-58 with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
26 rushing attempts yielded just 87 yards, a 3.3 average, but most of the time those runs almost felt obligatory. For the most part, the Pats seemed intent on spreading the Seahawks out and throwing it at the middle of the field.
36 of Brady’s 58 attempts we aimed 0-10 yards from the LOS, with 23 of them being right in the middle of the field. Wes Welker ended the day with 138 yards, including a 46 yard touchdown.
Brady had success on every Seahawk defensive back except Richard Sherman, where he was just 2-of-7 with an interception.
Perhaps most telling is that New England was just 1-for-6 in the red zone. The chances were there, but they couldn’t finish.
While many of the players are now different, I think there’s something to be said from how the Pats attacked the Seahawks defensive scheme. Seattle is not a complex defense based on disguise and mix-and-match coverage. They do what they do, but they do it with aggression and speed and that’s why they’re so good.
Beating Brady has always been about deception and taking away his quick throws. This was not how Seattle chose to defend him in 2012 and he moved the ball fairly well.
Seattle may try a similar game plan to last year’s Super Bowl, with heavy press man, or they may allow the short throws and try to punish the receivers after the catch.
Either way, I think New England has good threats across the board to challenge the Seahawks defensive style. The easy guess is that Julian Edelman will be a big factor in the middle of the field like Welker was in 2012.
Still, as we saw last week, the Seahawks run defense can be had with a big physical runner, so perhaps LeGarrette Blount will see more work than Ridley et al. did in 2012.
One thing is for sure, the Patriots have options on offense that they didn’t have in 2012. Especially at X-receiver, where trading up from Brandon Lloyd to Brandon LaFell is about as good as you could hope for in a physical matchup like this.
Defensively, it’s night and day for the Patriots, with a deep and versatile secondary that can match up with anyone and shouldn’t be as likely to give up those over-the-top bombs that won the game for the Hawks last time.
Can the Pats still stop Lynch like they did last time? Brandon Spikes was a big factor and they’ll need a similar performance from Dont’a Hightower.
Russell Wilson also had some success running outside the pocket in 2012, and that’s another area the Patriots will have to be very conscious of.
Still, it’s encouraging to see the Patriots move the ball in an environment like Seattle and it’s a good sign they’ll be comfortable attacking Pete Carroll’s scheme in Glendale.
It’s been hard this week not to develop quite the little crush on Seattle’s defense, and I’m excited to see how the Patriots offense responds to the challenge. The Seahawks do all the things that have given our offense fits over the last few years, and in a difficult environment it should be very interesting to see how our offense responds.
Here are our five keys for the Pats to get a win in Seattle.
1. Lloyd beating Sherman/Browner – One of the things that is so entertaining to watch with the Hawks, which is foreign to Pats fans in recent years, is their secondary. They’re all long and fast, and force turnovers just like the Pats do. The Seahawks like to play press man coverage, a technique that has worked in the past to disrupt Brady’s timing, especially on short routes. The thing about man is that if you can isolate someone in coverage it can make big plays possible. Brandon Lloyd should see plenty of balls thrown his way if he’s able to win at the line of scrimmage, something that you want to see out of your X-receiver.
2. Slow spread – I don’t think we’ll see a lot of hurry-up this week, but I do think we’ll see plenty of Brady in shotgun, spreading the field and choosing his best match-up. Communication in an environment like Seattle is tough enough as it is without trying to yell across the field, even with the vaunted one word play calls. The Pats can take their time, and find the match-up they like and exploit. But the key to making sure they can run the spread is…
3. Prove the ground game is elite – This week we’ll truly see how good the Patriots run game is. The Seahawks feature Football Outsiders’ 3rd ranked run defense, and as much as the Pats would like to avoid that strength it doesn’t get too much better with their 5th ranked pass defense. Still, they will have to get some movement on the ground to prevent the skilled Seahawk pass rushers from teeing off on Brady. If the Pats do run a lot of spread it could be Danny Woodhead that’s the lead back. Screen passes with him could be huge, especially with a linebacker on him. Kam Chancellor is big and talented, but covering a small quick back like Woody isn’t his strength.
4. Bait Wilson into two turnovers – I’m pretty positive about what we’re going to see from the Pats defense on Sunday; their straightforward 4-3 defense with not a lot of blitzing. Russell Wilson will complete some passes, but he’s still young and will make at least a couple head scratching throws. Belichick never likes to get too aggressive on young quarterbacks, which can be maddening to watch, but ultimately it will lull Wilson into a sense of security and that’s when he’ll make mistakes. As we wrote about earlier this week it all comes down to turnovers. If Wilson makes two bad throws that are picked the Pats are a near certainty to win. My biggest question though is whether or not the Pats will give up another slew of 20+ yard pass plays to a rookie quarterback. I’d like to think they won’t but I’m not going to be surprised if they do. But if they keep him in pocket, and force him to throw into small windows it’s highly unlikely he’s going to put together the perfect 60-minutes needed to put up more points than the Patriots.
5. Win – Anytime you face a confident, hot defense on their home turf you learn a lot about your football team. The Patriots offense has been the toast of the NFL world for the past two weeks, and surely Seattle’s capable defenders would like nothing more than to bring them back to Earth. They have the ingredients to do so, but even if their defense shuts down Brady and the Pats offense, it’s all ultimately going to come down to the turnovers. It should be a fantastic test, and I’m excited I’ll be there to witness it in person.
Check out all our 5 Keys articles!
I’m not sure why but I was a closet Seahawks fan as a kid and Steve Largent was my favorite player on their team. Again, not sure why. But now I’d have to say Seattle is my second favorite NFL team. Way way way after the Pats of course. I went to the 2008 Pats-Seahawks game and came away so impressed with the 12th Man. Seattle fans are truly passionate about their team. If you ever have a chance to see a game there, even if it’s not your team playing, I highly suggest it.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/im-not-sure-why-but-i-was-a-closet-seahawks-fan/
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Deion Branch has been traded back to the Patriots for a 4th round pick. Any predictions what number Deion wears (Welker’s got 83 now)? I say 13.
Branch is definitely on the down slope of this career but should be able to contribute in a lot of areas. Biggest of which could be leadership. And I’m sure Brady will be excited to have his OWW (Original Wes Welker) back.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/espns-adam-schefter-reports-that-deion-branch-has/
NFP: Patriots Draft Review NFP gets it, though I highly doubt Matt Light is moving inside to Guard… Let’s face it, Bill Belichick has built one of the best if not the best football operations departments in the league. He knows how to work a draft better than anyone and because of this he has […]