Drew Carroll

It’s that time of year that so many NFL fans look forward to. Super Bowl XLIX will be played on Sunday, Feb. 1 in Arizona, the home of the Cardinals who surprised many fans by proving early dominance. The Cardinals started the season by going 11-1, only to see their season fall apart with the loss of their top two quarterbacks, but still managing to make the play-offs.

This year’s match-up pairs the New England Patriots, with the ongoing investigation of “Deflategate”, against the Seattle Seahawks, who seem to be a very well balanced team on both sides of the ball.

If Seattle’s dominant defense can stop the Patriots’ passing game, it will force the Pats to rely on an unconventional running game. With the Seahawk offense coming off of a comeback from behind overtime win where Russell Wilson threw four interceptions, and so the Seahawks, in my opinion, will have the momentum going into the game.

I feel that if the Patriots do somehow pull off the upset, “Deflategate” and the history of other rule violations will force fans to question the legacy and credibility of Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriots organization.

Maybe this year, I will resort to enjoying the commercials and Katy Perry’s halftime performance, but if I have to make a pick, I’m taking the Seattle Seahawks 28-21.

Robert Myers

I’m going with the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24, over the New England Patriots in Sunday’s big game. It won’t be a blowout like last year, but I have to go with the best defense we’ve seen in a decade. Defense wins championships. The Patriots have had a great run this year, bouncing back after everyone thought their AFC reign had finally come to an end, but I just don’t see the weapons to beat Seattle’s defense. If anyone could pull it off, it would be Tom Brady, but he hasn’t won the Super Bowl in a decade and the Deflategate distraction is looming over them. Seattle has an elite defense and the most balanced offensive attack in the league. This decade belongs to them. 

Austin Hamm

I’m sticking with my prediction of Seahawks beating the Patriots, 27-21. The defense is designed to stop the Belichick wrinkles, not just from a personnel standpoint, but also in the fact that Pete Carroll has designed his defense to stay in their base set, so they won’t move around and be fooled by the trick plays. The defense will limit the big plays, and the ground attack will wear down a good but not great defense, and the help the New England secondary provides in support of run defense will create just enough openings in the pass game for Russell Wilson to make the difference.