Terry Mosher 3

TERRY MOSHER

 

As you might know having read me before, I have a sense for things. I don’t know why. But I do. And right now I’m sensing this Super Bowl won’t go well for the Seahawks. I get the feeling that the LOB will be exposed.

Then again it might just be my anti-bandwagon part of me at work. I read a lot, listen a lot, and see a lot of things, but I try not to be influenced by what is on the surface as many people do. I look for underlining things when I try to predict what is going to happen.  So here goes.

My first thought is that you can’t give Bill Belichick two weeks to prepare. Whatever you think of Belichick, and a lot of media types find it difficult to get along with him, the man is a genius when it comes to developing a team and building a game plan for opponents.

So I’m looking underneath all the garbage that is being thrown about right now, and that includes deflategate.  Forget that junk. That will have no bearing on this game. It’s better to focus on what Belichick can do to expose the Seahawks.

I think Belichick will try to run the ball on the Seahawks. He has a foursome of running backs he can use – Jonas Gray, Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley and LeGarrette Blount. Vereen is the “lookout” guy because he has more yards receiving (447) then he has rushing (391). He’s caught three touchdown passes.  But with four capable runners he would be foolish to not use them all. And Belichick is not foolish.

Of course, when you have Tom Brady at quarterback you don’t go away from what he does best ‑ throw the football.  This year Brady threw for over 4,000 yards. So the combination of four runners coupled with Brady’s arm makes for a dynamic offense.

That means the Patriots will score points. Don’t think that the LOB will shut the Patriots down completely. They won’t. Belichick will devise a strategy to neutralize the LOB.

How does he do that?

The Patriots’ main receiving weapon is Rob Gronkowski. The man is an animal. Seattle needs to take him away as much as possible. All season the Seahawks have been weak on covering tight end on seam routes and Gronkowski does that well.

Its possible Belichick may use Gronkowski more as a decoy, and then I can see Brady throwing deep against the Seahawks. That will force Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas out of their thundering hits in the middle if they are asked along with corners Richard Sherman and Bryon Maxwell to defend deep.

Going deep with any success will open up running lanes for Gray, Vereen, Ridley and LeGarrete, plus create space for slants and out patterns for the running backs.

In short, I don’t see the LOB stopping what is arguably the best offense in the NFL. The Patriots will score and score enough to topple the Seahawks.

Defensively, the Patriots will do what Green Bay did with success – keep Russell Wilson in the pocket and make him make throws from there. They will use a spy to ensure Wilson doesn’t get away on a big run if he does escape the pocket. But keeping him in the pocket is key. Teams have learned its best if Wilson is contained. The mantra is to make Wilson beat you with his arm. Can he do that? We’ll see, but I don’t think he can because he really doesn’t have a deep threat at wide receiver to give him a chance to do it.

I predict the Patriots will slow down Marshawn Lynch, keep Wilson at bay, and move up and down the field almost freely to beat the Seahawks like a drum. The Seahawks stunned Green bay with an improbably comeback to advance to Super Bowl 49.  I don’t see them pulling off another miracle.

Final score: Patriots 38, Seahawks 24.

Be well pal.

Be careful out there.

Have a great day.

You are loved.