Six time Pro Bowl wide receiver Terrell Owens previews Super Bowl XLIX

FORMER NFL star, six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Terrell Owens casts his eye over the two teams at Super Bowl XLIX. Check out how they match up.

FORMER NFL star, six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Terrell Owens casts his eye over the two teams at Super Bowl XLIX. Check out how they match up before the big day at University of Phoenix Stadium.

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QUARTERBACKS

Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks.

New England hero Tom Brady has height and his physical size. Most of what he brings to the game is his experience. This is his sixth Super Bowl appearance, he’s already been there, so this will feel just like another game for him. His front guys are going to protect him, they’ve done a great job at that all season, keeping him upright to be able to deliver those passes to his main target, tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Seahawks youngster Russell Wilson is very elusive, he improvises, he makes plays when there aren’t any plays and that’s what is so special about him. If you give him time he can perform surgery back there, but if not, he has the wherewithal to get out of the pocket and make things happen. He doesn’t let himself make negative plays and that’s been so big for him getting to his second Super Bowl.

Verdict: Seattle

Russell Wilson scrambles a lot, he plays break down, he’s able to improvise. He’s a little bit more mobile than Tom Brady so that edge goes to Seattle because Wilson’s made a lot of plays with his arms and his legs.

RUNNING BACKS

LeGarrette Blount #29 of the New England Patriots.

Seahawk Marshawn Lynch has the nickname Beast Mode for a reason. I don’t think there’s a lot you can’t say about him. He’s a high energy guy, very explosive, extremely hard to bring down. He’s a definitely a load once he gets in between the tackles and makes some things happen.

New England’s LeGarrette Blount is definitely not a slouch by any means either. The Pittsburgh Steelers probably wish they kept him on their roster. He was picked up midway through the season and he’s been a great addition to the Patriots.

Verdict: Seattle

Blount is a bruiser like Lynch but probably not as explosive as Beast Mode. In the running game, I would say the advantage goes to the Seahawks and Marshawn Lynch, just.

RECEIVERS

Doug Baldwin #89 of the Seattle Seahawks.

New England coach Bill Belichick has done an amazing job with his receivers Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola, and Gronkowski. He’s just thrown them into the mix and he wins, he makes it work. It doesn’t hurt to have a guy like Tom Brady, the veteran that he is giving those guys confidence so all they have to do is run their routes and be where they’re supposed to be. Gronkowski has been key for the Patriots all year long and I don’t see him not being a key for them come the Super Bowl.

On the flip side, you talk about Jermaine Kearse, Ricardo Lockette, and Doug Baldwin. Of those guys I think they have to try and stop Baldwin. He’s a bit of an x-factor for them. We also saw last week against the Packers that Kearse had a couple of drops, but at the end of the day he came up with the game-winning touchdown. I know back in 1999 when I played against the Green Bay Packers (ironically), I had a bad day as well. I dropped about three or four passes, including a touchdown pass, but at the end of the day I made the one that counts. The one that really sealed the win for us.

Verdict: Seattle

I was there in Seattle training camp in 2012. They don’t have that one go-to guy like most teams in the NFL do, but their guys come up with big plays time and time gain.

DEFENCE

Darrelle Revis #24 of the New England Patriots.

Seattle have two key guys, that were definitely injured in the last game. Earl Thomas is one of them. As a safety, he flies around makes big hits, and is very physical for a small guy in the secondary. And then there’s Richard Sherman. He’s pretty much solidified what he’s about, what he can do at the cornerback position. Depending on how healthy he is, those guys should do well. Sometimes quarterbacks will get a bit antsy trying to make plays when they shouldn’t, and that’s when the defence come up with the big plays.

The New England Patriots secondary are led by Darrelle Revis, a veteran on one side and on the other side, Brandon Browner who used to play for Seattle. I’m sure it’s going to be exciting for him to play against his former team.

Verdict: New England/Seattle

There are some pros and cons to both squads, but it may boil down whoever makes the least amount of mistakes and the least amount of turnovers. A healthy Seattle defence has the edge, but they’re not all healthy. Defensively I think that’s where the game may be won.

DEFLATEGATE

New England head coach Bill Belichick.

I think deflategate has had it’s hour. It was probably dragged out than anybody expected. I’m sure a lot of people would like some consequences due to some of these infractions, but unfortunately for those who want to see some type of punishment laid out, it’s just not going to happen prior to the Super Bowl. I would think that after the Super Bowl there will be some type of suspensions or fines levelled to the Patriots. It’s unfortunate for them, it’s not the first time they’ve been accused of things of this manner, it’s just one of those things. But now it’s almost game time, it’s the least of their worries at this point.

TERRELL’S TIP

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens.

As far as the score it’s hard because these offenses are good and these defences are good.

I’m an NFC guy myself, I played in that division for most of my career, so I’m backing the Seahawks. But it’s going to be a great match up.

Originally published as Six time Pro Bowl wide receiver Terrell Owens previews Super Bowl XLIX