Start Shoveling For the Duck Boats: Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl Prediction Roundup

PHOENIX – This could go one of two ways.

Maybe it will be a back-and-forth affair reminiscent of the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXXIX between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers, as many seem to be predicting.

But don’t rule out total annihilation in the spirit of what happened last year when the Seattle Seahawks blew the doors off Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

This time though, it will be the Patriots doing the damage, carrying a bitter taste into Sunday’s game after a fortnight of accusations and questions swirling about their legitimacy, calling into question the legacies of future Hall of Famers Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

Legacy this, America.

Deflategate is dead, but the emotions the silly scandal elicited in the Patriots are likely to carry over in Sunday’s game, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. You think head coach Bill Belichick has any material to work with at his Saturday night team meeting, which in the past at these Super Bowls has been rumored to carry the messages of legend?

It doesn’t take a genius to realize the way the Patriots have dealt with Deflategate head-on has been so…well, un-Patriot-like. In lieu of declaring it a league matter, Belichick and owner Robert Kraft came out with guns blazing over the past week, defiant in their defense.

It’s an attitude that could mean a fourth Super Bowl ring for Brady and Belichick. How’s that for a legacy?

“I mean, it’s amazing sitting here and thinking this is the sixth time I’ll be doing this,” Brady said. “It’s really a privilege.”

It could be the final Super Bowl for the pair, even if that suggestion is foolhardy. They’re undefeated in title games against anyone other than the New York Giants, you know.

The Patriots are going to win. Don’t be surprised if they win big.

The picks

Our roundup of nationwide picks for Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Seahawks and Patriots.

ESPN.com staff: Nine of 13 pick the Patriots.

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: Patriots 27, Seahawks 23. “The Villain Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, has no warm ‘n fuzzy Cinderella in it, nobody in a white hat. Except in America’s upper Northeast and upper Northwest, where the Patriots and Seahawks are home, much of the rest of the country hates these teams – and with reason. Bill Belichick and New England are seen as rules-benders or as outright cheaters by some. Pete Carroll and Seattle are seen as cocky and tough to like, exemplified by surly Marshawn Lynch and preening Richard Sherman. But Sunday’s game could attract a record TV audience for that very reason and also because this matchup has history’s attention. Seattle could become the NFL’s first back-to-back champion in 11 years. And Belichick and Tom Brady could win their fourth Super Bowl (but first since 2004) to pretty much end all arguments about who is the greatest coach/QB combo of all time. Another intrigue Sunday is the evenness. Look askance at anyone who claims to be sure (or even confident) who’ll win. Two No. 1 conference seeds, both teams with seven Pro Bowl players, all-time series tied 8-8, most recent meeting decided by a 24-23 score – could this 49th Super Bowl be any more even? These teams also ranked 1-2 this season in point differential, with the Patriots plus-155 and the Seahawks plus-140. No wonder it’s a near-pick ’em game, with the Pats generally a 1-point favorite but the game dead even by some Vegas sports books. Bottom line: You might prefer that the Pats and ’Hawks both lose but you’ll watch because these are two great teams portending one great game. Lynch and Rob Gronkowski spearhead two big-time offenses, but I’d rather have Brady on Sunday than Russell Wilson. I just would. Seattle’s defense is better all-round but New England will remind that its D is plenty good enough. The difference for me will be intangibles. Seattle just won, while Brady has the hunger of having lost twice since last being champion. Beyond that, the Patriots have endured the “Deflategate” mess that portrayed them as cheaters, and also the smaller indignity of the fire alarm at their team hotel mysteriously twice sounding in the wee hours this week. I see this as an angry, extra-motivated Patriots team. And I see a defiant owner Robert Kraft lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.”

Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com: Patriots 23, Seahawks 20. “There are two big reasons why I like the New England Patriots to beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Their run as one of the league’s best coach-quarterback tandems of all-time began 13 years ago, when many of the same players who will be on the same University of Phoenix Stadium field Sunday were still hoping to show off for their high-school coaches and win a letterman jacket. That’s staying power. The reason it’s worked, even as the other names change and the roster turns over year by year, is because they’re both among the greats at their respective jobs. Give Belichick two weeks to prepare to stop a gimmicky offense like the one Seattle runs, and I will take that any day. He will come up with something to limit running back Marshawn Lynch, force Russell Wilson to win the game in the pocket, which will play right into the Seattle weakness. That’s the Belichick way. I think Brady will have time to make smart decisions against that great Seattle defense. He will be patient. He will use Shane Vereen as a check-down king to move the football. If the Seahawks double Rob Gronkowski, which they will do, he will go to others behind the double. He’s smart that way and he will play well enough to win the Super Bowl MVP. The Patriots haven’t won a title in over a decade. They’ve dealt with Spygate and now Deflategate, but none of that will matter when the night is over in the desert. Brady and Belichick will be atop the football mountain again — maybe earning that spot permanently if they indeed do win another.”

Teddy Bear the Porcupine: Seattle.

CBSSports.com staff

: Five out of eight pick the Pats straight up. Five pick New England against the spread (-1.5, Seattle).

Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk: Seahawks 27, Patriots 24. “Coach Bill Belichick has the uncanny ability to develop a game plan that is unique to each opponent, figuring out how to move the ball against any defense he faces — and how to take away what any offense does best. Throw in the #DeflateGate disrespect, and Belichick may be able to press enough buttons to overcome the Seahawks.

But it’s the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, not Cincinnati in Week Five. Sometimes, no amount of Xs and Os and “us against them” and “win one for the Gipper” matters. G.M. John Schneider has put together an excellent roster, and Pete Carroll has coached them up to the point where they believe they can beat anyone.

This year, they didn’t beat everyone, but all that matters on Sunday is whether the can score more points than the Patriots. I believed they could in September, so I’ve got no choice but to stick with that now.”

Michael David Smith, ProFootballTalk: Seahawks 21, Patriots 17. “The reason this game will be a lot closer than last year’s Super Bowl is that I don’t see Seattle putting a lot of points on the board. Bill Belichick will have a good game plan to neutralize Russell Wilson’s running, and the Patriots’ secondary should be able to shut down Seattle’s wide receivers. This looks like a fairly low-scoring game.

But in the end, it’s a game that sees Seattle coming out on top. The Seahawks will repeat.”

ESPN Boston.com staff: Six out of 10 pick the Patriots. Ted Bruschi sees a 23-20 win with a familiar ending. “ Stephen Gostkowski joins Adam Vinatieri in history, kicking the game-winning field goal for the Patriots as time expires.”

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: Seahawks 23, Patriots 17. “Seattle is about to do something special that New England once enjoyed. Shutting down Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ record-setting prolific offense one year and Brady the next? That’s doing something truly dynastic. Strength and speed, Lynch and the Seahawks’ defense. That wins another championship.”

David Steele, Sporting News: Seahawks 26, Patriots 24 . “Watch Brady and the Legion if you like (and it will be fun to do it), but this is where the Super Bowl will be decided, when Wilson has the ball and is toying with the Patriot defenders’ heads (and legs and lungs).

Wilson will win that battle. And he’ll be the one raising the Lombardi for the second straight time, the first quarterback to do it since … Tom Brady.

Elliot Harrison, NFL.com: Patriots 28, Seahawks 20. “Brady has thrown two picks over the middle this postseason while trying to force the ball to Gronk. I fully expect the Seahawks to bracket the mismatch nightmare with a linebacker underneath and safety over the top — yes, sometimes Chancellor. But if Gronk starts going off, why wouldn’t the Seahawks put Byron Maxwell on him, leave Richard Sherman on the left side and make the Pats’ wideouts beat them? Whatever the case, I just don’t see Gronkowski being the star of this game. Put me down for Collins, who will pick Wilson on a play when the QB doesn’t see him dropping into the lane, add a sack and make several stops in ground support. Another year, another linebacker nabbing Super Bowl MVP honors … “

NFL.com staff: Eight out of 14 pick the Seahawks.

Neil Greenburg, Washington Post: Patriots 23, Seahawks 30. “This offense flows through Brady, who has more career postseason games (28), wins (20) and touchdown passes (49) than any quarterback in NFL history. But he will have his hands full with Seattle’s secondary.”

Madden: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24.

Boston Globe staff

: Three out of five pick the Pats (Pick ‘em).

It says here: Patriots 31, Seahawks 14. If the Patriots are still ticked off about everything that’s been said about them the last two weeks, this is going to be a blowout. Maybe it will be a back-and-forth affair as many think it might, but I’m going with this being a walk for New England.

Start shoveling for the Duck Boats.