By The Intrepid sports staff
Super Bowl Sunday is upon us, and the Patriots and Seahawks are ready to face off! Our sports staff made their predictions for the big game:
Anthony Sambrotto: As much as this pains me as a diehard Bills fan, I feel like the Patriots are the stronger team in this year’s Super Bowl. Tom Brady knows this may be his final chance to win the big game, and he has the weapons surrounding him for a chance to pull off his elusive fourth Super Bowl win. For that to happen (LeGarrette) Blount needs to continue his amazing stretch and the Patriots need to stop (Marshawn) Lynch and force Seattle to throw the ball.
Trystan Rushia: The champs will be the Seattle Seahawks. Every sports news show has been all about the “deflategate” with the New England Patriots, but that has nothing to do with the Seahawks and their defense. The Seahawks defense is called the “Legion of Boom” for a reason. Sherman may be injured, but he is not the only part. Byron Maxwell, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas will step up their game for the injured Sherman. Chancellor is going to have another Superbowl interception, and the “Legion of Boom” and the “12th Man” are going to get to the Patriots and Tom Brady. Deflated balls won’t help Brady this time. Seattle takes the Lombardi back to Seattle by a score of 33-27.
Joshua Svetz: Both teams are solid, but what it comes down to is total defense and offensive turnovers. Going off of which defense is playing the best in the playoffs, it’s the Patriots. The Pats allowed 637 yards combined versus the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs. Compare that to the Seahawks who gave up over 300 yards in each playoff game, totaling 668 total yards against in the playoffs. Offensively, the most telling stat is turnovers. The Patriots have only turned the ball over twice while the Seahawks have turned the ball over five times so far in the playoffs. For these reasons, I’m going with the Patriots to edge it out in a close one, 24-20.
Jeff Fasoldt: These two teams could not be any more opposite of each other. You have Belichick’s Patriots who’ve seen their dynasty become marred by constant accusations and evidence of cheating. Still, you cannot overlook the competitiveness and winning attitude of Tom Brady and this New England Team. The Seahawks are a team that thrives on their defense, especially their hard-hitting secondary. Their head coach, Pete Carroll, is known more for his off-field friendships with celebrities than what he’s done for this Seattle Seahawks team. However, the Seahawks will be back-to-back champions after it’s all said and done Sunday. This Seahawks defense is still the best in the league and Tom Brady doesn’t have the elusiveness to avoid the rush that (Seahawks coach Pete) Carroll will no doubt be sending. It’s going to be a close game throughout unlike last years super bowl, but the Seahawks win again, 34-24.
Jason Klaiber: My strongest premonitions tell me that the Patriots, with their deflated balls in stock, will snag the victory in this year’s Super Bowl. It’s hard to argue that this will be a matchup between two absolute powerhouses, and it’s easy to assume that it’ll be an enthralling game. Defeating two of the league’s most distinguished quarterbacks in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady (and in consecutive years no less!) is a feat that seems unlikely to me. The Patriots’ defense isn’t far behind the Seahawks’ in my opinion, and to add on to that, New England’s offense exceeds that of Seattle. If Tom Brady and his boys can put on a show as dominating and exhilarating as their run through the AFC playoffs, particularly their dismantling of the Colts, and the defense can repress Marshawn Lynch, they’ll overpower the Seahawks in convincing fashion.
Chuckie Maggio: I’m going with the Seahawks. One of the key things that was lost in the Patriots’ two Super Bowl losses against the Giants was how much New England struggled against the dominant New York defense. Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora made Tom Brady feel extremely uncomfortable in the pocket, forcing plenty of sacks and rushed throws. This Seattle defense doesn’t have as big of a pass rush, but they are just as dominant. It will be a close contest, but the Patriots defense doesn’t have that big-play ability when the game is on the line. They’ll get a big stop when they need it the most, Russell Wilson will cap off a game-winning drive with a touchdown pass to Luke Willson and Seattle will repeat. 24-20 Seahawks
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