{"id":9103,"date":"2016-11-11T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T11:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=9103"},"modified":"2016-11-10T17:08:37","modified_gmt":"2016-11-10T22:08:37","slug":"patriots-seahawks-key-matchups-razors-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/11\/11\/patriots-seahawks-key-matchups-razors-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots – Seahawks Key Matchups, Who Has the Razor’s Edge?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> return home to take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. This will be a rematch of sorts of the 2014 Super Bowl. The game has big implications for both teams in their individual conferences and although it is only Week 10, those are already coming into play.<\/p>\n

The game will be televised by NBC and can be seen locally on WHDH Channel 7 in Boston. Al Michaels will handle play-by-play duties with Cris Collinsworth as the color analyst. Michele Tafoya will work the sidelines. The game will also be aired on the Patriots flagship radio station 98.5 The Sports Hub with Bob Socci and Scott Zolak on the call, produced by Marc Cappello.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Patriots<\/strong>\u00a0(7-1) came off their bye week in good shape leading the AFC with the best record and allowing the second least average amount of points in the NFL. Tom Brady is as sharp as a razor right now and Julian Edelman and Martellus Bennett used the bye week to get healthy. Dion Lewis can be activated at any time now and will be another big boost to the offense.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Seahawks<\/strong>\u00a0(5-2-1) beat the Buffalo Bills 31-25 on Monday Night Football. Russell Wilson had a fantastic first half leading four touchdown drives and the defense made a key stop at crunch time in the final moments of the game to seal it away.<\/p>\n

We here at\u00a0PatsFans.com<\/a>\u00a0are continuing our \u201cRazor\u2019s Edge\u201d\u00a0column in 2016 to give some quick\u00a0analysis on some of the key matchups of the game and what you can look for in how the game plays out.<\/p>\n

Series History:<\/strong>
\nThe Patriots and Seahawks meet for the 18th<\/sup> time on Sunday. The Patriots have a slim 9-8 advantage all-time against Seattle although the Seahawks hold the edge (5-4) in games played in New England.<\/p>\n

The last time these two teams met was arguably one of the best Super Bowls ever played. Tom Brady led the Patriots back from a 10-point, 4th<\/sup> quarter deficit to take a 28-24 lead with just a couple of minutes to go. Russell Wilson then took the Hawks to the Patriots one-yard line with under a minute to go. But Malcolm Butler intercepted Wilson\u2019s pass in the end zone to seal away the victory.<\/p>\n

Here is a look at some of the key matchups and who holds the Razor\u2019s Edge.<\/p>\n

First up is the Patriots offense:<\/p>\n

Patriots RBs vs Seahawks Front Seven –\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Patriots have been running the football much better this season and the offensive line has much to do with that.<\/p>\n

LeGarrette Blount is off to the best start of his career. He\u2019s rushed for 609 yards and nine touchdowns, already a career high. With Brady\u2019s return, however, the running game hasn\u2019t been used as often, being relegated to a supporting role.<\/p>\n

Seattle\u2019s run defense has been good overall this season allowing only 98.7 yards per game. The front seven is very good and the strength of the unit is the outstanding linebacker play of both Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright. The front four slow things up and allow the athletic LBs to clean up and make plays.<\/p>\n

The Patriots will try to be creative with the running game and keep mixing things up. But they don\u2019t want to get too pass happy and allow an excellent front seven to pin their ears back. They\u2019ll use Blount as a battering ram and keep the balance that they\u2019ve enjoyed thus far. The \u201cX-Factor\u201d here, Dion Lewis. If he\u2019s activated and actually plays a few snaps on Sunday night, he could be another weapon for the Patriots to bring to bear.<\/p>\n

Patriots WRs vs Seahawks Secondary –\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Patriots passing game is operating on a very high plain with Tom Brady back and under center. With tight ends of Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett, they present matchup issues for opposing defenses to deal with. Add in Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan and Danny Amendola outside and James White out of the backfield, they have a plethora of weapons for Brady to use.<\/p>\n

Seattle\u2019s pass defense has been outstanding allowing just 233.8 yards per game and only six touchdown passes on the season. The front four led by Cliff Avril do a great job of pushing the pocket and pressuring the QB. They are missing one big piece however as DE Michael Bennett, is still recovering from an injury and won\u2019t play. But the secondary led by Richard Sherman is outstanding. Safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor are arguably the best pair in the NFL. And Chancellor is expected back this game after missing some time with an injury.<\/p>\n

Look for Brady to go to the short-medium passing game with the quick Edelman, Hogan, and Amendola early in this one, to slow down the pass rush and try to work on the zone coverages. In the second half, then they\u2019ll try to stretch them out down the middle with the tight ends.<\/p>\n

Seattle blitzes only on about 25 percent of opponent snaps but they\u2019re very effective when they do. They mix things up and bring it from different places and will bear some watching as they may look to make up for the loss of Bennett.<\/p>\n

Next up the Seattle offense:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seahawks RBs vs NE Front Seven –\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Seahawks running game has been stuck in neutral all season. They\u2019re dealing with the loss of Marshawn Lynch who retired and Thomas Rawls who has been injured. Compounding things has been the injuries to Wilson who averaged 7.1 yards per carry in 2015 and is averaging less than two yards per carry. Seattle\u2019s running game has averaged just 75.3 yards per game in 2016, about half of their production a year ago.<\/p>\n

The Patriots have done a pretty good job of limiting their opponent\u2019s running game in 2016. Foes are averaging just 101.6 yards per game although the Bills gashed them for a season-high 167 yards allowed two weeks ago. Alan Branch and Malcom Brown have done a good job of stuffing the initial push at the line of scrimmage allowing Dont\u2019a Hightower and rookie Elandon Roberts to fly up and make plays.<\/p>\n

With Wilson getting healthier every week, the Seahawks running game will improve each week. However, facing Christine Michael and C.J. Prosise this week, the Patriots should be able to slow down the running game enough to force the onus onto the passing game.<\/p>\n

Seahawks WRs vs NE Secondary-\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge Seattle
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Seattle passing game exploded in the first half against the Bills with tight end Jimmy Graham catching two highlight reel touchdowns and Doug Baldwin chipping in with a 50-yard reception. The Hawks have Jermaine Kearse and Tyler Lockett as well, giving Wilson plenty of weapons to bring to bear. Their problem has been one of consistency. But now that Wilson is getting healthier, his ability to move in the pocket, a major plus is something to watch.<\/p>\n

The Patriots have taken a patient, bend-but-don\u2019t- break approach in the passing game, trying to keep everything in front of them and forcing teams to slowly pick their way down the field. Malcolm Butler has been very good in 2016 at one corner spot. At the opposite spot as well as the nickel or slot corner, the consistency needs improving.<\/p>\n

The Patriots M.O. against mobile QBs is to sacrifice the pass rush to keep them contained in the pocket. Edge rushers Jabaal Sheard, Chris Long, Rob Ninkovich and Trey Flowers must walk a fine line between being too careful to contain Wilson and giving up too much time to throw.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see any of that changing this week, the keys for the Patriots will be getting 3rd<\/sup> down stops and not allowing Wilson to pick them apart a piece at a time. It will be interesting to see if the Patriots opt for CB Eric Rowe or S Devin McCourty to be placed on Graham. One additional factor is whether they decide to use any A-Gap blitzes with Hightower or Barkevious Mingo or opt to spy Wilson.<\/p>\n

Special Teams-<\/strong>\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/em>The Patriots special teams had an up-and-down first half of the season, but the good news was that K Stephen Gostkowski had a very solid game in Buffalo before the bye making both field goal attempts as well as all five extra points. Ryan Allen has been solid with a 41.0 net punting average. The kickoff coverage units have been outstanding this year. The return game got a boost with a 73-yard return from Danny Amendola in Buffalo. But when will Cyrus Jones make an impact in 2016?<\/p>\n

Seattle has had some struggles on special teams. Steven Hauschka has missed two extra points and two chip shot field goals. Punter Jon Ryan has been solid, but their blocking has had problems. The Bills saw an issue with it and blocked a punt on Monday night. Their return game is only so-so but the coverage units have been excellent.<\/p>\n

Next up, who wins and why\u2026<\/p>\n

Prediction:
\n<\/strong>This game should prove to be one of the most entertaining ones of the fall so far. With two of the best QBs in the game, on the national stage on Sunday Night, this should have some (but not all) of the drama that we saw in the Super Bowl just a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n

The Patriots offense is operating at close to peak efficiency lately and they are at home. Always a good proposition for Brady to have another big game. But despite having little semblance of a running game this year, I\u2019ve been a fan of Wilson for a while. Having the big target in Graham, with Baldwin and Kearse makes for a possible shootout.<\/p>\n

More drama in Gillette but the Patriots hold serve at home with a close win over the Seahawks in an instant classic. Patriots 31-24<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcasts on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots return home to take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. This will be a rematch of sorts of the 2014 Super Bowl. The game has big implications for both teams in their individual conferences and although it is only Week 10, those are already coming into play. The game […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":8914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[1066,800,34,46,599,18,204,154,1224,16,917,17,24,15,44,70,8,38,517,117,36,159,374,13,35],"class_list":["post-9103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2016-nfl-season","tag-2016-patriots-season","tag-bill-belichick","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-chris-hogan","tag-danny-amendola","tag-dion-lewis","tag-donta-hightower","tag-doug-baldwin","tag-jabaal-sheard","tag-jermaine-kearse","tag-julian-edelman","tag-lagarrette-blount","tag-malcolm-butler","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-pete-carroll","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-rob-ninkovich","tag-russell-wilson","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-tom-brady","tag-trey-flowers"],"yoast_head":"\nPatriots - Seahawks Key Matchups, Who Has the Razor's Edge?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The New England Patriots return home to take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. 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