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2015 Super Bowl predictions: New England Patriots have a parade

By Dan Salem

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Super week means 2015 Super Bowl predictions. Two even teams eliminates all x-factors. Who wins? There’s no debate, the New England Patriots will have a parade. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.

DAN:

After rummaging through the various betting options, its time to make our official super week 2015 Super Bowl predictions. We both made pre-season predictions, but now that it’s officially the New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks, who has the edge? Will the AFC take the title, or will the Lombardi trophy remain with the NFC and the Seahawks?

Others will debate x-factors all day long, but for me its simple. NFL match-ups are always about the quarterbacks. Tom Brady vs. Russell Wilson is a tremendous on the field match-up and a pretty weak statistical one. Brady destroys Wilson in every major statistic from the 2014 season, except completion percentage. Yet when it comes to leading a team to victory, these signal callers are equals.

Tom Brady (2014 stats): 4109 yards, 61.4% completion, 33 TDs
Russell Wilson: 3475 yards, 63.1% completion, 20 TDs

I realize the Seahawks’ offense relies more on the run than the pass, but Tom Brady simply gets the ball into the endzone more than Wilson. That will be the sticking point of Super Bowl 49 and its the reason I’m picking New England.

The defenses feel very even, especially with Richard Sherman‘s injury. Special teams are a wash of precision. The Seahawks will run for more yards, but it won’t equal more points. Tom Brady and his Patriots have the edge in the passing game, the only edge I see between these to exceptional football teams.

New England 28 – Seattle 17

TODD:

Russell Wilson plays in a different offense and possesses a different skill set than Tom Brady. It doesn’t seem fair to compare them statistically without at least factoring in what Wilson does on the ground.

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That said, in the unit match-ups, it seems evident that New England will have the advantage when Seattle is on offense. The Patriots defense has been tremendous. It can take away what an opponent does best and make them play left-handed. For the Seahawks, that would mean winning through the air. Good luck. I’m not sure how open Doug Baldwin is going to be on Revis Island or if Luke Wilson can beat whoever matches up with him, whether it be the former Pro Bowl safety Devin McCourty or athletic phenom linebacker Jamie Collins.

The Patriots may even be able to take a page out of the Green Bay Packers’ playbook (from the first three quarters) and shut down Wilson’s running impact altogether.

The other side of the ball is where Seattle needs to win, and I’m not sure it does. Sure, the Seahawks defense is special, but so is New England’s offense. Can we call this a wash at least? Neither side has a clear-cut advantage, especially with how unpredictable the Patriots have been, in a good way. They’ve won with only their passing game, then came out the next week and ran the ball 40 times while unleashing some special formations and plays along the way.

The last edge for the Pats comes in an area you glossed over, special teams. According to Football Outsiders DVOA, the Patriots were an elite special teams..team this season. Meanwhile, Seattle was below average, and its rankings don’t include the playoffs where the Seahawks were/are returning kicks without the services of Paul Richardson.

You somehow got to the correct conclusion while underestimating the Patriots’ advantage. Of course, as noted by all Boston-area homers, NE will also be in full revenge-mode to prove it doesn’t need to fiddle with PSI to win games.

New England 27 – Seattle 16

Next: 2015 Super Bowl betting: Best bets to win

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