***SWAMPINI SUPER BOWL XLIX***

Alright, alright, alriiiight girls and boys the big one is finally upon us. It is here, Super Bowl XLIX and it is between none other than the defending Champion the Seattle Seahawks and a common Champion of old in the New England Patriots. That being said both of these franchises are no stranger to the big stage. What a truly great matchup we have on tap tonight to serve as a grand finale in what was an extremely entertaining season. This game is currently at a "pick-em" and if it stays that way until kickoff, it will be the first Super Bowl to do so. What that means is that this Super Bowl is a legit "coin-flip" and can go either way. The determining factor of this game will surely be deccided by whichever team commits less turnovers and mistakes in general. With these two top coaches of the NFL and two weeks to prepare, it is very difficult to decipher which team that will be because there is absolutely no question that these guys will be prepared for all possible scenarios and ready for war. However I will go ahead and explain why I think which team has a slight edge in my eyes and personal opinion:

***NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS PK***

Tommy Boy (Brady) and Belichek are at it again ladies and gents. Brady will be appearing in his SIXTH Super Bowl tonight, that my friends is impressive. The question is will he lose his third straight? Or will he boost his HOF resume by winning four out of six? I got to say I think it will be the second option tonight. I see the Pats emerging victorious tonight over the defending Champion Seahawks. Now Seahawk QB Russel Wilson, in his third season and attempting for back to back Super Bowl wins already in his career is truly amazing regardless of the outcome. The fact of the matter is that the Seahawks in my eyes are NOT the same dominant team that they were last year and although it is insanely difficult to do as we have seen, they can be beaten. That being said I believe the young man and his Hawks taste Super Bowl defeat tonight when it is all said and done. Wilson is a deadly QB posessing a combination of pass and run ability. He seems to turn into the NFL Houdini in the pocket the way he manages to have eyes on the back of his head and make defenders miss, and consistently creates something from nothing. I have been a fan of him since college and know what he is capable of. It is no suprise to me he has had the success he has so far in the NFL and I genuinely believe he is a great player and romodel for the NFL. It should also be known that I am not a fan of New England, or Brady, Belicheck, and even Gronk etc, but I definitely respect the hell out of them and the Patriot way of their franchise. Tonight when these two great QBs go head to head, I gotta side with the elder and guaranteed Hall of Famer to get one more ring to add to his legacy before it is all said and done. I have had in the back of my mind all year that this team would be the one to take it all and I don't plan on changing that now. When looking at this team, I see them as a great one and the best overall team in the NFL. They have very little if any weakness at all. I have to admire their genius in the moves they make as far as offseason and in their case mid-season acquisitions. Obtaining two top CBs in Revis and Browner and then snatching one of their old favorite horses in RB Lagarette Blount from the Steelers half way through the season have been HUGE for them. You have to admit this team has a certain way about them, they carry themselves to a higher standard than most franchises know how to do. To me, they seem to be legit Champion caliber.

Although I think the Seahawks are also an awesome team and franchise, I do not believe they are on the same level as the Pats when looking and grading these teams overall. The Hawks have some serious weapons in their QB Russell Wilson and RB "BeastMode" AKA Marshawn Lynch. I am of a fan of both of these players as well as their superior coach in Pete Carroll. I think like Belicheck, Carroll will have an extremely well thought out gameplan and it will be like them to both come with some tricks up their sleeves. However the Packers were able to scheme a defensive gameplan to stifle the Seahawks for what seemed like three and a half quarters last week before melting down and allowing one of the most improbable comebacks in playoff history to take place and launch Seattle to back to back Super Bowl appearences. Russell Wilson threw four interceptions before getting extremely lucky in what seemed like a dead in the water two point conversion play, which gave the Hawks all the momentum needed to go ahead and secure an onside kick and well you know the rest. It is important to look at however the success a hobbled GB QB Aaron Rodgers was able to have, as well as their big boy RB Eddie Lacy. These two players are a lot like the Patriots Brady and Blount. I have mentioned before in a 'Muck 5' writeup from earlier this season in which I picked the KC Chiefs over the Hawks, that their weakness is a short underneath passing game followed by lots of YAC (yards after catch), and it proved to be true that day followed by others like Rodgers last week having similar success on slant passes across the middle follwed by chunk gains. What better YAC monsters than Patriot WR Julian Edelman and TE Rob Gronkowski. These two weapons are a brutal combination to have to defend and Tom Brady uses them as much as possible. Gronk is an Oger and seems to be at full health, AKA pretty much unstoppable. With Edelman is a fearless little gnat who will hurt this Hawk secondary with his toughness and scrappyness underneath. The guy is relentless, also look for him to be a possible X factor in punt returns. I don't think the Seahawks injuries to many in the Legion of Boom in Sherman, Chancellor, and Thomas are anything serious or that will hamper them too much, but I do know it won't make it any easier to tackle any of these guys. Especially Blount and Gronk, good luck with that!

What has also seem to surface as a weakness of the Seattle defense is an agressive running game inbetween the tackles similar to their own style. When faced with a big and physical RB like Lacy or in this case Blount, Seattle seems to struggle to tackle and bring down the ball carrier on first contact. That being said look for Blount to pound the ball today effectively. Call me crazy but I just also see Belicheck doing something like switching it up tonight to try and throw the Seahawks defensive scheme off-kilter. I can see him utilizing another sleeper weapon of his in the versatile Shane Vereen to mix it up a bit and take handoffs as well as catch passes out of the backfield since the Hawks have probably been focused on preparing for Blount. That is his style and wouldn't suprise me one bit. I also see Tom standing strong in the pocket and having success getting rid of the ball quickly which he knows he will have to do tonight. I think he will spread it around to everybody, look for TE Tim Wright and WR Brandon LaFell to be factors as well forcing the Hawks to account for everybody on the field. It is in Belicheck's character to get everything he can from everybody available to him. He will hold back nothing tonight. This whole "deflategate" scandal which I do not want to talk too much about here because I believe it has very little to do with what happens tonight, but one has to believe it has just added to the Patriots need and desire to prove they are the best team and it is no fluke. What I am trying to say is, they will try to win by convincing fashion and will not let up and play "safe football" if playing with the lead. This is something they will need to do because one thing is for sure, these Seahawks are very mentally tough and do not and will not give up no matter what. As we saw last week, no number of points is safe enough to put them away as the Packers failed to step on their throats and finish them off when given the opportunity. Make no mistake, this serves as a lesson learned here for the Pats.

The Hawks will surely have to rely on their go-to duo Wilson and Lynch. These two are a lethal combination and despite being stifled for most of the game last week, they found success late in the game when Wilson started running the read-option. I got to believe that the Patriots with two weeks to prepare will be ready for this. I believe they will have a similar scheme to what the Packers had last week in having a LB like Jamie Collins sort of key on Wilson like Matthews did, and focus on stuffing the run and letting their defensive backs do what they do best. The Pats in my opinion have the perfect recipe of a defense to stop the Seahawks offense. They can stuff the middle with big DT Vince Wilfork and have LB/DEs like Collins and Ninkovich be in charge of containing Wilson and funneling him into the middle of the field where the help is. CBs Revis and Browner should have success defending the fiesty Baldwin and Kearse and safeties McCourty and Chung will be able to handle TE Wilson and the rest.

All in all I think it will be a very entertaining Super Bowl to help make up for last year's snoozer. I see a competetive game with the threat of Wilson and Lynch keeping them in this one but I do not think their offense is explosive enough to hang with the Pats and their many weapons will just be too much. The Seahawk defense although top notch, is not the same one as last year. They can and will let up points. The Patriots have made the necesary adjustments in their defense that was needed to get them back to the big show. They now have the right formula to get it done and win another one. I've said it before and I will say it again, the Pats will win the Super Bowl but it will be more because of their defense which is very underrated rather than their offense. They have arguably the best CB duo in the game and it will show tonight. Also I got to add that Rob Ninkovich has had an awesome year. He is underrated and reminds me of Bruschi the way he is a quiet leader for this defense and I believe will have a big game tonight. As I mentioned above, the Pats get one more before the Belicheck and Brady era is done. They will hoist the trophy again tonight and establish themselves as first ballot Hall of Famers and being the faces of one of the greatest Dynasties the NFL has ever seen.

It has been a fun season ladies and gents, stay tuned for next year same time same place. This is SwampMan signing off form the Muck, enjoy the game and thanks for reading. Swampy loves ya!!!