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This is going to be a very entertaining, tough, and physical game. Brady is going to go down, the offense is going to sputter at times, and the game day thread posters will be apoplectic more times than usual....if that's possible. 
Its another chapter in in the periodic NFL saga of the immovable object meeting the irresistible force. The best offense in the league meets the best defense. And like most NFL games is going to be all about the match ups so lets break them down.
A. Seattle DBs Vs the Pats WR's
On the surface this looks to be a plus to the bigger than average Seattle DBs.
CB's These CBs are huge and have had great success this season playing tough physical man and zone coverages. This is precisely the kind of coverage that has given the smaller quicker Pats WRs a great deal of trouble. This is exactly the kind of coverage that takes Branch out of the game and slows down Welker.
S's The Seahawks safeties are even bigger than their CB's and are every bit the physical match up for Gronk and Hernandez (should he play)
What the Pats are to do:
1. Well, barring injury, Branch simply won't be part of the attack, and Welker will have to be put in motion on most pass plays. Welker should be huge in this game. While his is a liability in a physical confrontation with the Seattle CB's, put in motion and getting a free release off the LOS, that liability immediately becomes a big advantage in the size vs quickness game. Those plays were he gets off the LOS free, the Seahawks have no chance of staying with him.
2. A healthy Hernandez should relieve a ton of pressure on the Pats offense and put that much more on the Seattle D. Being bigger and stronger he is more capable of getting off press coverage and once in the secondary become very hard to cover for any length of time.
3. Brandon LLoyd will have to pick his spots because he is an ideal match for their CB's. His best possibilities for success are back shoulder throws, slants and beating him on a occasional double move. He is not going to out physical or run them.
4. The Gronk - Tougher than most games but 6'3 and 230 is still not 6'6 and 265 and Gronk still has the physical advantage and I expect the Pats to take advantage of that.
B. The Seattle front 7 vs the Pats OL and TE's
1.With perfect 20-20 hindsight We are all going to see why unfortunately it would have been better to spend the extra millions on Red Bryant than try for the cut rate model in Johnathan Fenene, especially given how Fenene worked out...or rather didn't. (BTW are we getting that money back or not? Anyone know how that's going?)
The Pats might have faced so DLmen as good as he is, but none better. The rest of DL is almost as good and will play a very aggressive one gap approach that will be very similar to what we saw from AZ,
2. The Strength of their front 7 is clear in the DL. Their LB's are much more suspect.
3. Their crowd is a factor, not so much in causing penalties, which they do, but because most team go to silent snaps playing in Seattle, it significantly slows down the OL getting off on the ball and really helps their DL, making an already good pass rush that much better.
4.And then there is Bruce Irvin. He is an acknowledged game changer. The kind of guy that can make Brady duck when there is no one around. While he becomes a significant liability vs the run, in a passing situation he's the kind of guy who you HAVE to account for and makes the other players around him better. I don't like saying that but its true.
5. That being said, Irvin isn't near the football player Von Miller is and with few rare exceptions the OL and specifically Nate Solder was able to handle him. He won't win all the battles but more than enough to help win this game.
6. I'm actually more concerned with how the Seahawks look to attack the interior pass rush, more specifically Ryan Wendell than I am about their edge rush. Ultimately thet's where the Broncos had the best success
Its another chapter in in the periodic NFL saga of the immovable object meeting the irresistible force. The best offense in the league meets the best defense. And like most NFL games is going to be all about the match ups so lets break them down.A. Seattle DBs Vs the Pats WR's
On the surface this looks to be a plus to the bigger than average Seattle DBs.
CB's These CBs are huge and have had great success this season playing tough physical man and zone coverages. This is precisely the kind of coverage that has given the smaller quicker Pats WRs a great deal of trouble. This is exactly the kind of coverage that takes Branch out of the game and slows down Welker.
S's The Seahawks safeties are even bigger than their CB's and are every bit the physical match up for Gronk and Hernandez (should he play)
What the Pats are to do:
1. Well, barring injury, Branch simply won't be part of the attack, and Welker will have to be put in motion on most pass plays. Welker should be huge in this game. While his is a liability in a physical confrontation with the Seattle CB's, put in motion and getting a free release off the LOS, that liability immediately becomes a big advantage in the size vs quickness game. Those plays were he gets off the LOS free, the Seahawks have no chance of staying with him.
2. A healthy Hernandez should relieve a ton of pressure on the Pats offense and put that much more on the Seattle D. Being bigger and stronger he is more capable of getting off press coverage and once in the secondary become very hard to cover for any length of time.
3. Brandon LLoyd will have to pick his spots because he is an ideal match for their CB's. His best possibilities for success are back shoulder throws, slants and beating him on a occasional double move. He is not going to out physical or run them.
4. The Gronk - Tougher than most games but 6'3 and 230 is still not 6'6 and 265 and Gronk still has the physical advantage and I expect the Pats to take advantage of that.
B. The Seattle front 7 vs the Pats OL and TE's
1.With perfect 20-20 hindsight We are all going to see why unfortunately it would have been better to spend the extra millions on Red Bryant than try for the cut rate model in Johnathan Fenene, especially given how Fenene worked out...or rather didn't. (BTW are we getting that money back or not? Anyone know how that's going?)
The Pats might have faced so DLmen as good as he is, but none better. The rest of DL is almost as good and will play a very aggressive one gap approach that will be very similar to what we saw from AZ,
2. The Strength of their front 7 is clear in the DL. Their LB's are much more suspect.
3. Their crowd is a factor, not so much in causing penalties, which they do, but because most team go to silent snaps playing in Seattle, it significantly slows down the OL getting off on the ball and really helps their DL, making an already good pass rush that much better.
4.And then there is Bruce Irvin. He is an acknowledged game changer. The kind of guy that can make Brady duck when there is no one around. While he becomes a significant liability vs the run, in a passing situation he's the kind of guy who you HAVE to account for and makes the other players around him better. I don't like saying that but its true.
5. That being said, Irvin isn't near the football player Von Miller is and with few rare exceptions the OL and specifically Nate Solder was able to handle him. He won't win all the battles but more than enough to help win this game.
6. I'm actually more concerned with how the Seahawks look to attack the interior pass rush, more specifically Ryan Wendell than I am about their edge rush. Ultimately thet's where the Broncos had the best success
