MrNathanDrake
In the Starting Line-Up
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2009
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Final score 24-23, Seahawks won, big 4th qtr comeback. Just wanted to revisit this game and see what peoples thoughts are.
1. Seattle had home field advantage. It's hard for anyone to play in that stadium. I've noticed that some teams go in there hot, but fizzle out towards the end of games. Just like Green Bay did last week, and the Patriots a couple years ago. Looks like away teams get fatigued listening to non-stop noise for a few hours.
Good thing the Super Bowl will be on neutral territory. Before DeflateGate, I wouldve said the Pats would have more supporters. Now I'm not so sure after it got blown out of proportion, but it won't be one-sided support for either team. I'm sure once Sherman opens his mouth during Media week, the support will shift back to the Patriots.
2. Seattle had entirely different WR's back then, and New England had different CB's back then.
Seahawks started Golden Tate and Sidney Rice. Now they have Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse. It's a big downgrade for Seattle if you ask me, especially when comparing physicality, yards per catch, and touchdowns.
Patriots had Devin McCourty and Kyle Arrington as the starting CB's. McCourty has now moved to Safety and is improved to a Pro Bowl level, while Arrington may be having the best season of his career as a nickleback. Patrick Chung was having the worst year of his career in 2012, but has rebounded nicely this year and has been a key part of our secondary. Oh….. and we have Darrelle Revis now, and Brandon Browner too.
3. New England had Brandon Lloyd, Deion Branch and Wes Welker as the starting WR's. Probably our softest WR corps ever. These guys just completely went flat and disappeared at times that year, including the playoff game against the Ravens. One of our more anemic offenses.
Now we've got Edelman and LaFell. They have a lot more heart than that 2012 group did.
4. Youth and Experience…. Russell Wilson, Chandler Jones, Donta Hightower, Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner, Tavon Wilson, Nate Ebner, were all rookies that year.
Wilson was still a bit of an 'unknown' at the time we played them in 2012. Not much NFL tape to study on him back then. Chandler Jones and Hightower have both improved since then and are now key players on the Pats. Wagner and Irvin are both good players on Seattle. Everyone is a little bit more experienced and well rounded than they were in 2012.
5. The Patriots clearly underestimated the Seahawks that day. Brady was talking trash, calling them nobodies. Belichick had a look of embarrassment when they lost, as if he was thinking "I can't believe we just lost to these guys". Sherman wasn't the self-proclaimed "best CB in the league" yet, and nobody knew if Russell Wilson was the real deal or just a flash in the pan.
Needless to say, things have changed and Seattle proved themselves and earned their respect. Now they're the defending champs and coming into another SuperBowl as maybe the best team in the league… There's no way BB and Brady will underestimate them this time. There's much more game tape to watch on the Seahawks key players now. The Patriots will come with a completely different mindset than they had in 2012, as will the Seahawks. If anything, the rolls have reversed and the Seahawks now look like the overconfident team.
6. The Pats held Marshawn Lynch in check that day. Vince Wilfork was dominant in 2012, but I'm not sure he's nearly as good this year. We've been gouged by running attacks this year. Chiefs, Jets, Ravens, have run all over us and given us a tough time.
7. Overall, I'd say the Patriots have improved since 2012. The Seahawks don't have the same talent they had back in 2012, but Wilson is now more experienced and dangerous than he was back then, and the Legion of Boom is still in tact and better than ever.
1. Seattle had home field advantage. It's hard for anyone to play in that stadium. I've noticed that some teams go in there hot, but fizzle out towards the end of games. Just like Green Bay did last week, and the Patriots a couple years ago. Looks like away teams get fatigued listening to non-stop noise for a few hours.
Good thing the Super Bowl will be on neutral territory. Before DeflateGate, I wouldve said the Pats would have more supporters. Now I'm not so sure after it got blown out of proportion, but it won't be one-sided support for either team. I'm sure once Sherman opens his mouth during Media week, the support will shift back to the Patriots.
2. Seattle had entirely different WR's back then, and New England had different CB's back then.
Seahawks started Golden Tate and Sidney Rice. Now they have Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse. It's a big downgrade for Seattle if you ask me, especially when comparing physicality, yards per catch, and touchdowns.
Patriots had Devin McCourty and Kyle Arrington as the starting CB's. McCourty has now moved to Safety and is improved to a Pro Bowl level, while Arrington may be having the best season of his career as a nickleback. Patrick Chung was having the worst year of his career in 2012, but has rebounded nicely this year and has been a key part of our secondary. Oh….. and we have Darrelle Revis now, and Brandon Browner too.
3. New England had Brandon Lloyd, Deion Branch and Wes Welker as the starting WR's. Probably our softest WR corps ever. These guys just completely went flat and disappeared at times that year, including the playoff game against the Ravens. One of our more anemic offenses.
Now we've got Edelman and LaFell. They have a lot more heart than that 2012 group did.
4. Youth and Experience…. Russell Wilson, Chandler Jones, Donta Hightower, Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner, Tavon Wilson, Nate Ebner, were all rookies that year.
Wilson was still a bit of an 'unknown' at the time we played them in 2012. Not much NFL tape to study on him back then. Chandler Jones and Hightower have both improved since then and are now key players on the Pats. Wagner and Irvin are both good players on Seattle. Everyone is a little bit more experienced and well rounded than they were in 2012.
5. The Patriots clearly underestimated the Seahawks that day. Brady was talking trash, calling them nobodies. Belichick had a look of embarrassment when they lost, as if he was thinking "I can't believe we just lost to these guys". Sherman wasn't the self-proclaimed "best CB in the league" yet, and nobody knew if Russell Wilson was the real deal or just a flash in the pan.
Needless to say, things have changed and Seattle proved themselves and earned their respect. Now they're the defending champs and coming into another SuperBowl as maybe the best team in the league… There's no way BB and Brady will underestimate them this time. There's much more game tape to watch on the Seahawks key players now. The Patriots will come with a completely different mindset than they had in 2012, as will the Seahawks. If anything, the rolls have reversed and the Seahawks now look like the overconfident team.
6. The Pats held Marshawn Lynch in check that day. Vince Wilfork was dominant in 2012, but I'm not sure he's nearly as good this year. We've been gouged by running attacks this year. Chiefs, Jets, Ravens, have run all over us and given us a tough time.
7. Overall, I'd say the Patriots have improved since 2012. The Seahawks don't have the same talent they had back in 2012, but Wilson is now more experienced and dangerous than he was back then, and the Legion of Boom is still in tact and better than ever.