Super Bowl 2015: Early Twitter Hype for Patriots vs. Seahawks: Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks may be the most evenly matched contest of its kind in league history. Too bad more gates overshadow the spectacle. There is Tom Brady, who charges ahead after single-handedly fending off the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round and then stiff-arming the future of the league—Andrew Luck—in the AFC Championship Game. There is Russell Wilson, on the cusp of creating a new-age dynasty after the worst performance of his career—turned epic in the waning moments of the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers. A social-media outlet such as Twitter is the perfect way to capture the impending avalanche of hype. Kirk Herbstreit truly puts it best, as allegations of New Englands tampering with footballs is an unnecessary storyline that otherwise overshadows a great matchup: So about the game itself. Start with the coaches. Bill Belichick, regardless of personal opinions, cannot be denied as one of the best ever. Hes the reason the Patriots are where they rest today. The reason a Tim Wright explodes for two touchdowns in a random game. The reason a Jonas Gray runs for 201 yards and four scores in a single contest. The reason LeGarrette Blount is still a thing. Then there is Pete Carroll, last years Super Bowl winner. The man savvy enough to juggle combustible locker rooms, ship away stars such as Percy Harvin and successfully gamble first-round picks on question marks such as Bruce Irvin. As Pro Football on ESPN points out, the combination of experience on the field in Glendale, Arizona, will be historic: For Carroll, a place in history awaits thanks to his gaudy resume, which includes similar noteworthy success at the collegiate level: Carroll is not alone, though. A fourth-round pick by the name of Bryan Stork stands a chance at similar success. Stork, who ranks as the No. 23 overall center in the NFL at Pro Football Focus, knows a thing or two about big games thanks to his national title experience with Florida State last season before joining the Patriots: Coincidentally enough, the battle under center in the desert is similar to the head-coach duel in that it ranks among the most notable of all time when it comes to experience. Wilson, last years winner who rode his ground game and a strong defensive effort, seems at a serious disadvantage against Brady when the numbers are revealed: That nugget about Wilsons duel with Peyton Manning last year says it all, though. Brady and Wilson really personify what this years matchup is all about. As NBCs Ross Tucker muses on a note compiled by Go Big Recruiting, each player who takes the field has a right to feel like an underdog: It is a testament to both organizations that such talent litters each depth chart. Folks know the story of Brady. Ditto for Wilson, a too short third-round pick. Look at Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith, a seventh-round pick in 2011 who took home the Super Bowl MVP award last year. Historically speaking, the Patriots are at a disadvantage despite Belichick and Bradys experience advantage over their counterparts. Forget the deflation scandal. As ESPN Stats & Info points out, top AFC seeds tend to take a backseat to their opposition: Defending champions, however, do just fine: For the Patriots, there are ways to trump history, though. One would be to get Rob Gronkowski going early and often. Thanks to some early trash talk by the Seahawks, the leagues best tight end may go into the matchup angry, as captured by FOX Sports: NFL: For better or worse, Marshawn Lynch is on the receiving end of all the talk about the Seahawks. What few realize, though, is that the aforementioned Blount is an eerily similar player who does much of the same damage to the opposition, sans Skittles: Remember, just last week Blount rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns, adding yet another layer of justification to what many consider a perfect matchup. Perfect seems an exaggeration, but again, no matter how its viewed, New England-Seattle looks like a classic: The proverbial icing on the cake: Rarely do quarterbacks, coaches and beyond with such success and experience collide in such a manner. Both organizations, clearly, have written the blueprint for the rest of the league to emulate. For now, negative side stories misguide the hype of the matchup. But as the final week to the big game begins, these positive things will inch further into the spotlight. Only then will the globe catch up to the Twitterverse in an understanding that the Super Bowl before them is a critical landmark in league history in any number of ways. Stats courtesy of NFL. Advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #Opinion #2015SuperBowl
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 17:50:36 +0000
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