It's that time of year again people, time for the biggest sporting event in America, it's time for The Super Bowl! This years selection involves the returning world champs the Seattle Seahawks facing the New England Patriots. Here is a short breakdown of both teams and what to expect on Sunday, February 1^st.

New England Patriots

Offense

The New England Patriots have had one interesting season. Finishing 12-4 in the regular season with a impressive 9-3 record against AFC opponents. First off lets get this out of the way, Tom Brady will be the best player on the field regardless of how inflated (or lack thereof ) the game balls are. I will be taking a deeper look into “deflategate” as it has been named in a later article so be on the lookout for that. But I digress. The Patriots have been blessed by the football gods to have back that absolute monster on the outside of the line in Rob Gronkowski and for him to still be healthy. This guy, as anyone who has watched 1 episode of Sportscenter will know, is the definition of a X factor on the field. With such a special mix of size, strength and smarts he dominates his match ups. The typical statement about tight ends is they're too big for corners and too fast for most linebackers. How to deal with the 6' 6” 265 pound Gronk? I don't know but the legion of boom is gonna have their work cut out for them. But Gronk isn’t the only target for Mr. Brady as Julian Edelman has had a productive season. Leading the team in receptions (92) Edleman has proven to be reliable all season, knowing that Seattle CB Richard Sherman mainly plays only on one side and could possibly be injured the Patriots face a dilemma. Do they A) Place Edelman on Sherman's side hoping to exploit his injured hand or B) Keep hm on the opposite side and work on a less talented corner? Coach Bellicheck is a smart man and can change up formations and looks on the fly and behind that Tom Brady can also audible his plays based on how the game progresses. Brady and crew seem to prefer the passing game anyways ranking 9^th in the league in passing offense (257.6 yds/gm). Spread sets will allow Brady lots of one on one match ups.  

Defense

The Pats defense is surprisingly good. Names such as Patrick Chung, Darrelle Revis and Dont'a Hightower litter the defensive roster. There is a lot of talent here, and there gonna be facing the best rushing offense in the league a stat they finished 9^th in, allowing 104.3 yds/gm. While the Seahawks offense is not filled with superstars they constantly get the job done. It should be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will handle Russell Wilson's ability to extend and make plays with his feet. Possibly leaving a linebacker back to keep a spy, though this leaves more responsibility for the rest of the linebacker core in coverage.

Seattle Seahawks

Offense:

Russell Wilson had a very shaky performance in the NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers. Throwing for 209 yards 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions it took till the second half for the offense to get anywhere and required a huge comeback. Wilson and this offense can not allow the Patriots to gain a 16 point advantage like the Packers did. Good news is they have one of the top running backs in football plowing through the defense in Marshawn Lynch. While he has had his fair share of controversy this season no one is arguing Lynch is filled with talent. Easily one of the most exciting players in the game right now Lynch lead the Seahawks to the best rushing offense this season with 172 yds/gm. They have relied on his running heavily all year and the stats prove it, the Seahawks had the 27^th ranked passing attack at 203 yds/gm. In what is very likely the last game Lynch will play in a Seahawks jersey, they will call on him quite a bit to hopefully carry half of the team into the end zone like he has all season. Expect a big game from WR Doug Baldwin who led the team in receptions and receiving yards this season. I would expect the “top corner vs top receiver” matchup pitting Baldwin against Revis. Also I expect more read option then what we have seen of late from this offense. Wilson has a extremely high football IQ and brought them lots of success last year. Having a mobile QB and powerful RB allows for a magnitude of big play potential.

Defense:

This is the shining point for the Seahawks. The Legion of Boom picked up this season right where they ended the last. With Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas sitting in that secondary It is extremely difficult to gain any yards. Finishing the season ranked 1^st in opponent passing yards (185.6 yds/gm) and 3^rd in opponent rushing (81.5 yds/gm), the Seahawks defense once again proved they are the best around. While Tom Brady is a master in the passing game he will have to work twice as hard to find the gaps in this defense. Richard Sherman injured his hand in the NFC championship game against the Packers but continued to play despite being in obvious pain. He refused to use his injured hand for the rest of the game following the injury. While Sherman isn't listed on the Seahawks injury report on ESPN.com, one must assume he still is working on recovering. While the injury had no effect on Sherman's mindset I'm interested to see how cautious or risky he is with the hand. As of January 23^rd Earl Thomas is the only injury listed on the Seahawks injury list dealing with a shoulder injury. He participated fully in that Fridays practice and he should be ready to go come kickoff.  

The final outcome:

As of January 25^th Odds Shark has the Patriots listed as a 1 point favorite over the defending champs. With the over/under set at 47.5 points it should be a fun one to watch. Obviously this is a tough one to call either way. I do love the Seahawks defense, they are very strong, BUT Tom Brady paired with Gronkowski tips me in favor of the Patriots. I expect a big day from “The Gronk” and Tom Brady. Final Score Patriots 27- Seahawks 24. Also prop bets are always fun to look at when it comes to the Superbowl even though they have absolutely no effect on the game. I’m taking that Katy Perry opens up with Firework.

I will be highly involved in live Tweeting the game like many others, follow me on Twitter @JKeator_11 and interact with me.  What a great way to celebrate my birthday with my favorite sporting event of all time!