Winners and Losers of NFL Free Agency

The NFL’s official new year began last Tuesday, with teams ringing in the start of another season by throwing as much money as they possibly could at players who totally didn’t deserve it. After one week of free agency, it’s become pretty clear who the Winners and Losers are:

Losers:

Dallas Cowboys:

Key Acquisitions/ Re-signings: RB Darren McFadden, OT Doug Free

Key Departures: RB DeMarco Murray, LB Justin Durant, OT Jeremy Parnell

Well, when you lose the league’s leading rusher to your divisional rival, it can’t exactly be considered a good week.

By the end of last season, the Dallas Cowboys offense was a force to be reckoned with. Tony Romo was playing at an MVP level, and for once was not getting scrutinized 24/7. DeMarco Murray was running circles around opposing defenses and Dez Bryant was making incredulous catches that NFL officials couldn’t even believe.

Murray, the guy who carried Dallas on his back for the first half of the season by rushing for over 100 yards in 8 straight games, left for more money with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys believe that Murray’s success came out of the incredible play of their Offensive Line. While that is partially true, it’s completely unrealistic to believe that the oft-injured Darren McFadden could easily replace him.

Although the Cowboys were able to franchise tag Bryant, he wasn’t exactly overjoyed with it. While this does buy Dallas some time to work out a contract extension with Dez, it doesn’t guarantee he’ll want to return next year.

But don’t worry Cowboys fans, we all know Tony Romo can get the job done anyway!

New England Patriots:

Key Acquisitions/ Re-signings: S Devin McCourty DT Jabaal Sheard, WR Brandon Gibson

Key Departures: CB Darrelle Revis, DT Vince Wilfork, RB Shane Vereen, CB Brandon Browner

I’m not going to lie, seeing Darrelle Revis choose to leave for his former team and New England’s arch-enemy, the New York Jets; it stung quite a bit. Not even a Super Bowl Championship could keep Revis. He is and always will be about the money.

Revis Island was enormous for the Pats this year. He was New England’s best defensive player, he consistently erased #1 receivers on a weekly basis, and ultimately, proved to be the final piece in the puzzle for New England’s Championship season. New England is now suddenly left with Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler at Cornerback with the departure of the over-rated, flag magnet, Brandon Browner. As incredible as Butler’s play was, which I know you want to watch again, that is not the cornerback tandem you want to roll with to start the season.

The other big concern for New England; every team in their division got significantly better. The Bills got LeSean McCoy, one of the best rushers in the game. The Jets did a complete overhaul of their secondary, which will greatly compliment the Pass Rush led by Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson. It was already scary facing the Dolphins with Cam Wake alone, but now they have Ndamukong Suh alongside him. I’ve always been the first Pats fan to tell the critics to “Shut Up” when they’ve claimed this would be the year the Patriots lose their AFC East crown. But next year they have resaons to back it up, and the AFC East is going to be more competitive than it has ever been in the Brady-Belichick era.

New Orleans Saints (Specifically, Drew Brees):

Key Acquisitions/Re-signings: RB C.J. Spiller, C Max Unger, CB Brandon Browner, LB Dannell Ellerbe

Key Departures: TE Jimmy Graham, WR Kenny Stills, G Ben Grubbs, LB Curtis Lofton

New Orleans’ days as the high-flying, pass-happy offense that revolved around Drew Brees look to be finished.

Dealing their biggest offensive weapon in Jimmy Graham, to the Seattle Seahawks for Max Unger and 1st proved that.

So did inking Mark Ingram and C.J. Spiller to 4 year contracts.

So did trading Brees’ top wide receiver, Kenny Stills, for Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe.

The Saints are completely transforming into a hard-nosed, ground-n-pound team, something I don’t think their 36 year old QB will be too thrilled about. Brees is now looking at throwing to Brandin Cooks and Marques Colston, who doesn’t seem to have much left in the tank.

A transition like this takes time, something that does not seem to be on Drew Brees’ side.

Oakland Raiders:

Key Acquisitions: C Rodney Hudson, DB Nate Allen, MLB Curtis Lofton, RB Roy Helu Jr.,

Key Departures: C Stefan Wisniewski, RB Maurice Jones-Drew, LB LaMarr Woodley

The Oakland Raiders had almost $70 million in cap space going into the off-season. They were expected to be right in the thick of things for top free agents Ndamukong Suh, Randall Cobb, DeMarco Murray, and Julius Thomas. They signed none of them. Suh decided to take his talents to South Beach, Cobb chose to re-sign with Green Bay for less money, Murray used the raiders as a tool to get a heftier contract from the Eagles, and the Jacksonville Jaguars just completely outbid Oakland for Julius Thomas’ services.

GM Reggie McKenzie seemed to be pretty satisfied with the players he acquired, which should be very alarming to Raiders fans. The fact that your GM is happy the biggest playmaker he signed this off-season is Roy Helu, Jr., demonstrates that this organization is OK muddling around as a mediocre team for several more years. “Just Win Baby” has become “Try Your Hardest, Have fun, and maybe we’ll be 6-10”. The Oakland Raiders are atrocious.

San Francisco 49ers:

Key Acquisitions: WR Torrey Smith, RB Reggie Bush, DL Darnell Dockett

Key Departures: LB Patrick Willis, RB Frank Gore, G Mike Iupati, CB Perrish Cox

Oh how the 49ers have fallen. You could realistically make the case that San Francisco is the 4th best team in the very competitive NFC West. After an abysmal 2014 season that saw the Niners finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs, most of the core pieces of their 2012 NFC Championship team have decided to leave for greener pastures.

Corners Perrish Cox and Chris Culliver both had career years, but decided to leave for more money. Frank Gore saw the writing on the wall when the Niners began to utilize Carlos Hyde, and he left for Indianapolis, a place where he could be of more value. 3x pro bowl Guard Mike Iupati moved onto Arizona, a move I’m sure Carson Palmer was ecstatic about. However, the biggest hole of all was left by Linebacker Patrick Willis, who sadly announced his retirement. Willis was more or less, the leader of the 49ers, and one of the best players in the NFL at his position for half-a-decade. It’ll be interesting to see whether he makes the Hall of Fame or not.

What’s worse is that the Niners are trying to replace these guys with players who are somewhat overrated. Dockett is known more for his Twitter account than his actual on-field play. Reggie Bush lost his starting job and became an afterthought in Detroit, and Torrey Smith is definitely not going to save the day. (Side Note: Who in their right mind gives Torrey freaking Smith a 5 year, $40 million contract? $8 million annually for a guy who averages 50 receptions a season? Insane. )

Jim Tomsula has got his work cut out for him, and somewhere in Ann Arbor, Jim Harbaugh has a grin on his face the size of Michigan.

Winners:

Atlanta Falcons:

Key Acquisitions/ Re-signings: LB Justin Durant, DE Adrian Clayborn, LB Brooks Reed, LB O’Brien Schofield

Key Departures: LB Sean Weatherspoon, RB Steven Jackson, WR Harry Douglas

Dan Quinn’s quest to turn the Falcons into a Defensive powerhouse is certainly off to a good start.

The Falcons pass rush last season was disgustingly bad and were key contributors into Atlanta’s dead last ranking in total defense. The Dirty Birds totalled 22 sacks in 2014, which was tied with the Raiders and only better than the Cincinnati Bengals (?!?).  Atlanta made the smart move of taking a flyer on Adrian Clayborn, who had accumulated 13 sacks in his two full seasons with the Buccaneers. If Clayborn recaptures his form, they’ve got a talented end, if not, he’s only a Falcon for one season.

The signing of Justin Durant was also low-risk/high-reward. Last year, Durant was leading the Cowboys in tackles and was on pace to have his best season as a pro until he was lost for the season with a bicep injury. Reed and Schofield are also serviceable linebackers that can be used as pass rushers or stand-up linebackers and CB Phillip Adams can help boost a very weak secondary.

It may take some time but Dan Quinn does seem to have this team moving in the right direction.

Green Bay Packers:

Key Acquisitions/Re-signings: WR Randall Cobb, OT Bryan Bulaga

Key Departures: LB A.J. Hawk, LB Brad Jones, CB Davon House

It’s odd to call the Green Bay Packers a winner, since they’re the only NFL franchise who didn’t sign a player away from another team, but by retaining two key components of their offense, the Pack can be pleased with the past week.

I was one of the many who believed that Randall Cobb had played his final game as a Packer after Green Bay lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game.  Cobb was insane last year, compiling 91 receptions, 1287 yards and 12 Touchdowns in a breakout season.  It seemed like he would get a contract that would have him living like Scrooge McDuck, and the Raiders were willing to do so. But Cobb, like any logical person would, concluded that signing with Oakland would be a terrible idea, and returned to Green Bay.

Bulaga also took less money in order to come back to Green Bay and his return to the Packers O-Line was similar to his stature, gigantic. The Packers Offensive Line was dominant last season, allowing its fewest sacks since the 2007 season while protecting Aaron Rodgers, and helping Eddie Lacy have another 1,000 yard season.

Don’t expect the Pack to fall back next year.

Indianapolis Colts:

Key Acquisitions: WR Andre Johnson, RB Frank Gore, DE Trent Cole

Key Departures: WR Reggie Wayne, RB Trent Richardson, DT Ricky Jean-Francois

Despite having one of the league’s top passers under centre and appearing in the AFC Championship game, the Colts were not looking too hot to end the season (as demonstrated by the 45-7 shellacking they received from the Patriots in said game). GM Ryan Grigson saw this and decided to sign several aging veterans in Andre Johnson, Frank Gore and Trent Cole.

Johnson is perfect for the Colts; a reliable #2 receiver who can challenge opposing secondaries and take some of the pressure away from T.Y. Hilton. Something tells me that next year Andre is going to prove to the league, and most certainly his old team, the Houston Texans, that he is NOT washed up.

Gore turns 32 in May, which is ancient for Running Backs in today’s NFL, but his hard-nosed style of running is perfect for the Offense which the Colts run. Hopefully Gore can do what Trent Richardson couldn’t, who is slowly turning into one of the biggest draft busts of all-time.

Cole can help a struggling Pass Rush that looked lost in the post-season and a defense that was only able to amass 992 tackles during the regular season, ranking them 26th.

The Colts certainly got older, but they can afford to get older when they’ve got Andrew Luck at Quarterback.

New York Jets:

Key Acquisitions: CB Darrelle Revis, WR Brandon Marshall, CB Antonio Cromartie, CB Buster Skrine

Key Departures: WR Percy Harvin, RB Chris Johnson

Mike Macaggnan had money to blow, and he used that money wisely, easily making the Jets the most improved team from this free-agent frenzy.

The New York Jets decided to totally revamp their secondary, starting with bringing back former Defensive Player of the Year Darrelle Revis, who some would argue is the best Corner in the game. Along with the return of Revis came his old partner, Antonio Cromartie, with head coach Todd Bowles from Arizona.

Those two alone would be a solid improvement to the Jets secondary, but just in case that didn’t work out, they also signed Buster Skrine away from the Cleveland Browns to play as the slot corner and acquired Safety Marcus Gilchrist from the Chargers. Those 4, combined with rookie Dee Milliner, is one frightening secondary. Good luck throwing the ball on the New York Jets. Their secondary nickname needs to be “The Danger Zone”.

The Defensive Back position isn’t the only place the Jets upgraded either, deciding to release troubled Wide Receiver Percy Harvin and then trading for Brandon Marshall. Marshall had a disastrous 2014 season (the entire Chicago Bears organization had a disastrous 2014 season), so a fresh start in the Big Apple is perfect for the 5x pro-bowler. He’ll now be lining up next to Eric Decker, something I’m sure opposing defenses aren’t looking forward to.

The only thing the Jets need now is a pilot (a competent QB) and look out, they could shock some teams in 2015.

Philadelphia Eagles:

Key Acquisitions: RB DeMarco Murray, CB Byron Maxwell, LB Kiko Alonso, QB Sam Bradford, RB Ryan Mathews

Key Departures: RB LeSean McCoy, WR Jeremy Maclin QB Nick Foles, DE Trent Cole,

To most people, it’s still undecided where the Eagles land in terms of Winners and Losers. A lot of people are still skeptical about some of the decisions Chip Kelly made this past week, wondering whether the Eagles actually got better with all these transactions.

Philadelphia started by making two humongous trades, dealing their franchise RB in LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for Kiko Alonso and then swapping starting Quarterbacks with the St. Louis Rams.

Some say the Eagles gave up too much for Sam Bradford, but he’s a definite improvement over Nick Foles. Foles has shown he’s not going to be one of the top passers in the league, he’s a game-manager, he does what he has to do to win games but that’s all you’re going to get. Bradford inherited a mess with the Rams, and barely had any Offensive weapons around him. Now he’s got players to work with, and as long as he stays healthy, I could definitely see him rekindling the Heisman Trophy winning Sam Bradford from Oklahoma.

The McCoy trade looked shady at first (See what I did there?) But then Philadelphia went out and got DeMarco Murray. So, in the end, The Eagles basically traded away LeSean McCoy for the NFL’s leading rusher last season in DeMarco Murray and one of the best up and coming Linebackers in the league with Kiko Alonso, while also saving an extra $1 million and slightly upgrading at QB.

They signed Ryan Mathews to a 3 year deal as insurance, giving them another valuable option in their backfield to go with Murray and Darren Sproles, subsequently forming the “Legion of Zoom”.

They cut Cary Williams, who was terrible, and upgraded by bringing in Byron Maxwell. OK, they certainly overpaid for the guy, but at the time, he was the best corner on the market (until Darrelle Revis showed up) and although he may be a by-product of the talented Seattle Secondary, his play this season showed the rest of the league that he is no slouch.

In my opinion, the winner of free agency is always the team that makes the biggest splash. The team that forces you to double take when you see the headline flash on the screen. The team that makes a move which causes you to stop what you’re doing and say “Holy S%*#”. That team was undoubtedly, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Nolesy’s Super Bowl XLIX Extravaganza

This is it. Super Bowl Sunday. A day where millions gather around their televisions to watch stupid commercials, inappropriate half-time shows and shovel unfathomable amounts of food down their throats. Luckily, if you get bored with that, you could always turn your attention towards the biggest football game of the season, and boy are we in for a treat this year.

This NFL season started with 32 teams, all with the same goal; to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy over their heads at season’s end. Only two teams remain, and it’s the two most hated franchises in the NFL right now; the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. I’m sure there are quite a few people who would rather see a meteor hit University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday, than watch one of these two be crowned champion.

It’s not even a question, these two teams deserve to be here. It’s not like one of them could’ve possibly cheated to get here. Neither of these teams needed to pull out trick plays in order to win their playoff games. And I’ve never seen a post-season with such high quality officiating.

Honestly though, they’re the two best teams in football. They both finished 12-4 and claimed the #1 seed in their respective conferences. For a stretch of the season, both teams looked unstoppable. They also both lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. Since those losses however, the two teams have a combined record of 20-2. This Super Bowl will be showcasing the best the NFL has to offer.

I can’t remember the last time a game was this close on paper. Despite the Patriots being listed as the 1.5 point favourites, this game is a complete toss-up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people torn on who they think will win this game.

While no one knows for sure who to pick, there is one thing that is certain, the footballs are going to be properly inflated.

Preview

New England Patriots

They’re baaaaaaaack.

The team of the 21st century will be making their 6th super bowl appearance since 2001, and are going to be looking to come away with their 4th win after being shut out in Super Bowl XLII and XLVI by the New York Giants.

New England started the year 2-2, while it looks average on paper, the Patriots got destroyed by Miami in Week 1 and in Week 4, were embarrassed on Monday Night Football by the Kansas City Chiefs, in what was the worst loss of the Brady-Belichick era. So-called experts claimed that this was “the end of the empire” and that Tom Brady was washed up. Didn’t exactly work out that way. Bill Belichick, in the press conference of the year, told the media that New England was “on to Cincinnati” and the Patriots won 10 of their next 11 games, clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

In the Divisional Round, the Patriots won a game for the ages, coming back from down 14 points twice to beat the Baltimore Ravens, 35-31. The AFC Championship game can be summarized with this statement, the Patriots threw the Colts out of the club. New England demolished the Indianapolis Colts, 45-7, in what was one of the most all-around, dominant performances by a team this season. Then DeflateGate happened, and enough has already been said about that, so let’s focus on what could be one of the greatest Super Bowl games of all-time.

Offense (18th in Run, 9th in Pass, 11th total)

In the first 4 games of the 2014 season, Tom Brady looked like a QB that got taken 199th overall and people were legitimately saying that he needed to be benched for Jimmy Garoppolo.  Ever since then, he’s looked like a QB who led his team to 3 Super Bowl victories. Brady had another Pro-bowl calibre season, throwing for 34 TDs and over 4000 yards. Brady is 37, in the big game for the 6th time, the most of any QB in History. You know he will do whatever it takes to get one more and cap off his Hall of Fame career, and he’s got the weapons to pull it off. Admit it, you also secretly hate him, his Uggs, and the fact that he’s married to Supermodel Gisele Bundchen. It’s ok, jealousy is the best form of flattery.

GRONK IS BACK. The massive Tight End who always parties hard, had a monstrous year which earned him NFL Comeback Player of the Year honours, scoring 12 TDs and gaining 1,124 receiving yards after his knee got destroyed by T. J.  Ward in a game against the Browns last year. He is the biggest mismatch in professional football right now. He also loves kittens.

New England’s receiving corps has also put together a solid season. Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell quietly had terrific seasons that saw both receivers catch 70+ balls and finish with just under 1,000 receiving yards. Danny Amendola has also greatly improved after his disappointing 2013 campaign and had his best game as a Patriot in the Divisional Round against Baltimore.

And let’s not forget about the Patriots backfield and the thunder and lightning duo of LeGarrette Blount and Shane Vereen, who have stepped up in the absence of regular starter, Stevan Ridley. Blount runs through you, like the Juggernaut in X-Men, as seen by his 3 scores against the Colts in the AFC Championship. Vereen on the other hand, is better known for being used as a screen option out of the backfield, who can also burn you like the Human Torch if you’re not careful.

New England’s Offensive Line has had a bit of an up and down year. After being unable to stop a nosebleed to begin the season, the group of Solder, Wendell, Stork, Connolly and Vollmer have begun to develop a lot of chemistry. They did struggle recently against Baltimore, but for most of the season, they did what they had to do in order to win football games.

The Patriots don’t rank extremely high in any offensive categories, but they can beat you in every possible way you can imagine. That’s why they’re here.

Defense (9th Run, 17th Pass, 13th Total)

In recent memory, the Patriots have been known for their high-powered, pass heavy offense but what people forget is that they won their 3 Super Bowls off the play of their outstanding Defense. This year’s D might be the closest that New England has come to recapturing their play from the early 2000s.

When Defensive Captain Jerod Mayo was lost for the season, the Patriots Defense looked like it might be in trouble, but the play from Linebackers Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower has been absolutely phenomenal. They’ve been two of the better linebackers in the league this season, no one’s talking about it, but these guys have been tackling everything in sight. Collins had 116 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions, while Hightower had 89 tackles and 6 sacks with a forced fumble.

The secondary has also been huge for New England, specifically Darrelle Revis, their big off-season acquisition. Revis was able to re-capture the form he had with the New York Jets that made him one of the best defensive players in the game. Besides “Revis Island”, New England got another exceptional year from former pro-bowl Safety Devin McCourty and DBs Kyle Arrington and Pat Chung came through when the team needed them the most.

New England’s Defensive Line hasn’t played spectacularly well this year, but have done enough to get by. Chandler Jones missing a majority of the season with a hip injury definitely made an impact on the group’s performance but he’s ready to go for this Sunday. Nose Tackle, and all-around amazing human being, Vince Wilfork, is getting up in age, but is still able to draw two defenders on him each play. Rob Ninkovich plays more snaps than almost defensive player in the league and had a solid season with 8 sacks, and Akeem Ayers has been big for the Patriots after being picked up from the Titans mid-season.

New England’s D did shut down the #1 ranked passing offence in the NFL 2 weeks ago, so if they can stop the #1 rushing attack, they are most definitely, a Super Bowl worthy team.

Seattle Seahawks

People hate the Seahawks for their loud mouthed players (other than Marshawn Lynch). I don’t. They have every right to talk all they want, they’re the best. You want to shut them up? Beat them. No one’s been able to do that, and the Seahawks are looking to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles. Funny enough, they could become the first team to repeat as champs since guess who? The New England Patriots.

The Seahawks didn’t get off to a fantastic start either. Seattle had consecutive losses to the Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams early in the season, and all of a sudden, the defending champions are 3-3. People began to believe that the ‘Legion of Boom’ Secondary was supposedly gone and with a tough schedule coming up, the Seahawks may miss the Playoffs! Instead, Seattle claimed the #1 seed in the NFC, winning 9 of their final 10 and finishing the season with the #1 ranked Defense in the NFL once again. Oh, you writers and your silly narratives.

The Seahawks then disposed of the Carolina Panthers in the Divisional round somewhat easily. The NFC Championship was another story. QB Russell Wilson had the worst performance of his career by throwing not one, not two, not three, but FOUR INTERCEPTIONS and Seattle was down 16-0 at halftime. But thanks to a number of things, which includes Morgan Burnett sliding after an interception instead of going for a long return, the Green Bay Packers Defense forgetting how to football,  the ugliest 2 point conversion in the history of the NFL, Brandon ‘Boom’ Bostick flubbing the onside kick and most importantly, Mike McCarthy’s lack of cojones; the Seahawks pulled off the improbable comeback and advanced to the Super Bowl.

Offense (1st Run, 27th Pass, 9th Total)

Smash-mouth football is back.

Seattle’s Offense was deadly this season due to their dual running threat. Marshawn Lynch tore it up once again this year by having the 4th most rushing yards of any back in the league (1,306), 4.7 yards a carry and 13 Touchdowns, which tied him for the league lead. The man they call “BeastMode” has the ability to change a game in one play, something very few people in the NFL can do. Plus, the guy is hilarious.

Russell Wilson wasn’t stellar in his last game but he’s been excellent all season long. Wilson, while throwing for over 3,475 yards and 20 Touchdowns, also ran for 849, more than any other QB in the NFL this season. Wilson can do it with his arm or his legs and can find ways to turn nothing into something. Wilson’s only been in the league a few years, but he’s already established himself as a winner, and has even started getting comparisons to a Hall of Fame Quarterback, his counterpart, Tom Brady.

Of course that great ground game wouldn’t be what it is without the Seahawks Offensive Line.  J. R.  Sweezy and James Carpenter are serviceable as Guards, there aren’t many Centers I would take over Max Unger, and Russell Okung and Justin Britt are two of the better Tackles in the league. This group could open up the edge for Lynch to get to the second level and run rampant.

A lot of people have referred to Seattle’s receivers as ‘pedestrian’. Though they’re probably the weakest part of the Seahawks’ Offense, they’re not to be taken lightly. Doug “Nobody believes in us” Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse can come up with a big play at any time, even if they’ve been playing terrible all game. People do actually believe in you Doug, you’re the defending champs, so relax a little bit. The big surprise for the Seahawks this year has been Tight End, and CANADIAN, Luke Willson coming in to relieve Zach Miller. Willson adds another element to the already dangerous Seahawks Offense and he could have a huge impact in the game on Sunday.

Seattle pounds the ball down your throat with a healthy dose of Lynch and Wilson and once you’re tired, they can burn you deep. The Seahawks D may take all the headlines but the Offense isn’t too bad either.

Defense (3rd Run, 1st Pass, 1st Total)

This Seahawks Defense is probably the best Defense the National Football League has seen since the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. 

The Defensive Line for the Seahawks has some great pass rushers. Michael Bennett is the probably the most well-known of this group, his versatility to play as an end or tackle is something teams have to worry about and I’ll get to him in just a bit. Seattle also has Cliff Avril and Bruce Irvin, a LB who is predominantly used as a pass rusher, coming off the edge. The trio itself has 18.5 sacks on the season, and the battle between them and New England’s Offensive Line will be one of the key match ups to watch.

Seattle may have the next great linebacker in the game with Bobby Wagner. Wagner only started 11 games this year but he was still able to make 104 tackles and 2 sacks. The Seahawks struggled early on, but since Wagner came back in week 12, Seattle hasn’t lost a game, earning him an MVP vote for this season. K. J.  Wright also had a solid season for the Seahawks with 107 tackles and 3 forced fumbles. Wagner and Wright form a tag-team duo that can be a nightmare for running backs.

Then of course, there’s that #1 Pass Defense, the best secondary in the league, the Legion of Boom. Pick your poison. On one side of the field, you’ve got Richard Sherman, who many would argue is the best Cornerback in the game today. While he didn’t have an incredible statistical season like he’s had in the past, that can mostly be accredited to the fact that Quarterbacks today are absolutely terrified of Sherman. You want to go to the other side of the field, you’ll find that Byron Maxwell is no slouch either, and he’s proven that to the rest of the league this season. Then up top you’ve got safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, who are both incredibly talented and freaks of nature. The Seattle Seahawks Defense. They’re better than you, and they know it!

You can talk about match-ups all you want but no Offense is going to have an easy time against the Seahawks Defense. Right Peyton?

X-Factors

Patriots – Jamie Collins

Collins is one of the most under-rated players in the NFL right now, and he has filled in admirably for Jerod Mayo, the Patriots Defensive Captain who went down with a torn ACL earlier this year. The Pats secondary should be able to handle Baldwin and Kearse easily, the way Seattle beats NE is through Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson and the ground game. People forget the great year that both Collins and fellow linebacker Dont’a Hightower have had for New England, they’ve shut down some good backs, though Lynch will be the best they’ve faced. If Collins contains Lynch, it’s very likely New England leaves Arizona with a victory

Seahawks – Michael Bennett

Bennett might be the Seahawks best pass rusher and it has long been known that the key to beating the Patriots is to get the pressure on Brady as seen through the Giants two previous Super Bowl victories. Bennett’s got 7 sacks on the year and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get another on Sunday. If the Seahawks are able to disrupt Brady in the pocket and force him into making bad throws, the Legion of Boom secondary will eat the Hall of Fame Patriots QB alive. New England’s Offensive Line has been it’s biggest issue all season long and has struggled against teams with strong defensive fronts like Miami, Kansas City and Baltimore. If Seattle can throw Brady off his game, there is no way they don’t win the game.

Prediction

At the beginning of this year, whether you believe me or not, I predicted that the New England Patriots would go 12-4, claim the #1 seed in the AFC and win the Super Bowl. “Well, Nolan, you’re just a stupid Pats homer, so of course you’d do that, you probably pick them to win every year”. Not true, I expected them to lose in the AFC Championship the past 2 years. And they did.

This game is going to be a low-scoring game, similar to the past two Super Bowls which New England has played in.

Seattle’s Defense is going to show up, as they always do. LeGarrette Blount will not have the game he had against the Indianapolis Colts. Expect him to get the ball in lots of short-yardage situations where they need a power back to move the chains but not more than that, the Seattle D will stop the interior rush.

The biggest matchup of this game is between the two Monsters that are TE Rob Gronkowski and SS Kam Chancellor. When these two collide on Sunday, the impact may create a second coming of the ‘Big Bang’. I give Gronkowski the slight edge in this matchup, Seattle’s performance against Tight Ends this year hasn’t been stellar, and Gronkowski is the best of the best. Gronk doesn’t go over 100 yards, but he scores a TD. If he does happen to make a few big plays early on, and I think he will, expect a LB like Bobby Wagner or K. J.  Wright to help neutralize him. I’m sure the Seahawks will be all over the Seam pass to Gronk that Brady has thrown interceptions on in back-to-back games.

If Seattle wants to win, Marshawn has to get the ball A TON on sunday, I’m talking 20+ carries. To me, the Seattle rushing attack is obviously the key to them winning this game and he’s going to need at least 100 yards rushing if he wants to get them the victory. The Patriots will counter this by bringing a safety down and putting 8 guys in the box, forcing Seattle to try to beat them without BeastMode.  Lynch is one of the best backs in the league, but I don’t see him having consistent success against 8 defenders and Collins and Hightower can get to the edge fast enough to prevent him from having a signature BeastMode run. Expect Russell Wilson to take some keepers as well, he should have time in the pocket to pass and will try to  create something out of nothing a few times in the game.

To me, the biggest mismatch is the New England Secondary versus the Seattle receivers. Revis, Brandon Browner, McCourty, Chung and whoever else comes in whether it be Kyle Arrington, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon are superior to the Seattle Receiving corps; they can afford to go into man-to-man the whole game. Revis is going to be all over Doug Baldwin, everyone expects Browner to cover Jermaine Kearse, and don’t be surprised if McCourty helps out up top in case Kearse is able beat Browner with his speed. I just can’t see Seattle’s receivers winning their matchup at all, especially not after the way they played against Green Bay, specifically Kearse, who was targeted six times, but only caught one deep pass and was partially to blame for Wilson’s four picks. Those deep passes late aren’t gonna work this time with better DBs in coverage.

New England’s got more talent on the offensive side of the ball, and the Legion of Boom isn’t at it’s healthiest right now. Sherman, Thomas, and Chancellor are all battling injuries and I don’t think they’re going to be 100% on Sunday. The Patriots will use their patented “death by a thousand paper cuts” attack, quick and short passes which the Seattle Secondary, ultimately, won’t be able to stop. We saw this strategy earlier in the season when the San Diego Chargers defeated Seattle, and QB Philip Rivers threw for almost 300 yards and 3 scores, yet his longest throw of the game was for only 21.

Everyone keeps bringing up DeflateGate and how all the controversy surrounding New England is going to throw them off their game going into Sunday. Are you kidding me? How pissed off do you think the New England Patriots are right now? And remember Spygate? The scandal appeared after the first game of the 2007 season. What did the Patriots do? Oh I don’t know, just absolutely obliterated every team in their path. They have the “us against the world” mentality and they want this way more than Seattle. They lost their last two trips to the big game and I’m sure they’re still thinking about how 19-0 got away from them. Tommy and Bill want one more to silence the haters.

This has surely been the darkest NFL season in my lifetime; a year whereas soon as one scandal finished, another one began. A season which has been marred by controversies ranging from domestic violence, to racially offensive team names, to poor officiating decisions, to deflated balls, it should only be fitting that the New England Patriots, the organization which has had its competitive integrity questioned since 2007, and is currently the most despised franchise in the National Football League, finish as the Super Bowl Champions.

Patriots 17, Seahawks 16.

Bold Prediction: Darrelle Revis wins Super Bowl MVP on a huge performance highlighted by a pick-six. The man is going to get PAID this offseason.

GO PATS.