There are tons of storylines in this years Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, and some of them actually involve players as opposed to air pressure in footballs. Plenty of attention will be on the quarterbacks of course, but there’s so much more to this game beyond Tom Brady versus Russell Wilson.
As you can see in the video above, the Richard Sherman versus Darrelle Revis debate has been out there for a while, and now their teams are matched up for the title. Sherman has been the most vocal, as he’s parlaying his obnoxious personality into endorsement gold. Sherman loves to brag and run his mouth, but he’s also an excellent player on a defense that is looking to go down in history like the No Name Defense and the Steel Curtain as defenses that could win back-to-back Super Bowls.
Meanwhile, Revis has been know as the best corner in football for years, even if his career was interrupted by an ACL injury. He’s come back strong however and now leads a New England defense that has quietly become on the best in the NFL. The Patriots are back to the Super Bowl because they finally have a defense worthy of those Super Bowl titles they won a decade ago.
Now we’ll see both defense and both corners on the same field, and the argument may finally be settled. We can expect Sherman to be insufferable if he and the Seahawks come out on top, but that’s par for the course with him. That said, Sherman in nursing an elbow injury, and his girlfriend is about to give birth to his first child, so motormouth may not be at full strength and that may affect this battle and the final score.
Meanwhile, we have the story of two power backs in Marshawn Lynch and LeGarrette Blount. Lynch of course is the more accomplished back with his legendary Beast Mode performances in the postseason. When you think of Lynch you think of other great power backs who led their teams to Super Bowl titles – guys like Larry Csonka, John Riggins and Jerome Bettis come to mind.
Blount on the other hand isn’t as heralded and he was let go earlier this season by the Pittsburgh Steelers in a move that may have destroyed their season. Bill Belichick and the Patriots immediately welcomed him back to elevate their running game and provide more balance to the Patriots offense. The Pats had been running the ball all year, but with Blount they now have a physical hammer that can change the complexion of the game. He may not be quite as good as Lynch, but he’s the type of back you can ride tot a title. Also, we know the Seahawks will be running a lot, but now the Patriots have a way to counter the fierce Seattle pass defense. Tom Brady will have a weapon Peyton Manning didn’t have in last year’s super debacle. So this will be another of those position matchups many of you have in mind with your betting picks leading up to the game.
It’s hard of course to boil down a game like this to matchups on the opposite side of the ball. But would any of you be surprised if one of these four players ended up having a huge impact on this game? The question is which one!