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SuperBowl XLIX Analysis: Seattle Offense vs. New England Defense

Super Bowl Analysis That Matters!

Seahawks O vs. Pats D…how does it brake down? Seattle has a great defense and New England a Hall of Fame quarterback, but what happens when Seattle has the ball and the Patriots are forced to defend?

NFL Handicapping

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The Big Game is dissected a million different ways.

Here is a look at how the Seahawks offense and Patriots defense matchup. Who has the advantage when these units are on the field.

Seahawks Offense By The Numbers:

  • Passing Yards:   203ypg (28)
  • Rushing Yards:   172ypg  (1)
  • Total Yards:   375ypg  (9)
  • Points Scored:   24ppg   (10)

Key players:

  • Russell Wilson – QB
  • Marshawn Lynch – RB
  • Doug Baldwin – WR

Outlook:

When the Seahawks have the ball they want to run. Lynch is sometimes seemingly impossible to stop and Wilson adds a dimension as he generally rips off a few chunks on the ground over the course of a game and needs to be “spyed” when they are passing too.

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The effectiveness of the Seattle offense is going to come primarily from how well they can run the ball. Wilson is accurate but the receiving weapons he has at his disposal are not adequate to support a strategy where they have to throw the ball a lot to win but when they can mix it up they are tough to stop.

Seattle’s offense is often sets up well by its excellent defense. A lot of short fields and turnovers.

Patriots Defense by The Numbers:

  • Passing Yards Allowed: 239ypg (17)
  • Rushing Yards Allowed: 104ypg  (9)
  • Total Yards Allowed: 344ypg (13)
  • Points Allowed: 19.6ppg (8)

Key players:

  • Chandler Jones (DE)
  • Jamie Collins (LB)
  • Darelle Revis (CB)

Outlook

The New England defense is definitely not the attention grabbing unit the offense is. CB Darelle Revis is a name that most people recognize but since he left the Jets his production has been below what many would expect.

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Further, this defense is hard to evaluate because the Pats are often winning by a lot so their stats are skewed by garbage time yardage. When you break this group down though there is a lot to like.

Revis and Brandon Browner can shut down receivers and NT Vince Wilfork upfront can slow down a running game almost single handedly. What is missing the most is a pass rusher who needs to be feared on every down. Chandler Jones or Rob Ninkovich can get to the quarterback but they are not really feared.

New England has a good defense but I am not sure their strengths matchup well with Seattle’s attack.

Prediction

It is going to be the Seattle defense vs. the New England offense that determines this one.

That said I like the Seattle offense to have an efficient game against the Pats D.

They will have success running the ball and will take advantage of Wilson’s mobility and smarts. This teams knows how to salt away a lead to, allowing Lynch to go into Beast Mode while picking up points. It is an underrated skill being able to score and milk the clock.

I say advantage Seattle in this matchup.

Check out our Updated Superbowl Odds

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By The Wiesguy

The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.