Seahawks-Patriots SB LX rematch highlights Week 1

Mike Florio and Chris Simms discuss the Week 1 Super Bowl LX rematch on Sunday Night Football between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots and review what's changed for both teams over the offseason so far.

View More

Video Transcript

But let's stick with the Patriots theme because it has now been announced, as it was reported- in one of the many leaks.

And I got the impression, I poked around some yesterday, Chris.

Because the NFL gets so snippy about tipping draft picks.

Don't tip draft picks.

They get the word out to the broadcast partners, "Tell your people don't tip draft picks."

And as I say every year, they're lucky that Or maybe I'm lucky that my audience doesn't want it, because the fact that you're telling me not to do it is gonna make me wanna do it even more.

And I poked around yesterday to see if there was any consternation or blow-back or frustration from the league over the fact that all these games were being leaked, and I didn't get the impression they're upset.

And what it has done is kind of organically taken over the full week.

Yeah.

So one of the leaks, one of the many leaks that came out was that the Patriots will be visiting the Seahawks for the first game of the season, Wednesday, September 9, in Seattle, when the Seahawks hang the banner.

And yes, that is the game it will be played.

And I've been trying to think of ways, and it's not time to break down the whole game, and who the hell knows where these teams are gonna be by the time September rolls around.

But can you make any argument that a different outcome is possible than 29-13?

Yeah.

And 29-13 seemed a lot closer than the game felt.

Yeah, that- that's the question, right?

I, I mean, I've, I've been on record here kind of saying a little bit of like, "Hey, I don't know, not sure I wanna see this game week one," you know?

And again, I, I mean, of course, I'm gonna be locked in.

It's the, the two best teams in each conference last year back, back again.

So yeah, there is that part of it.

I was surprised, too, that the league wanted to go there with the New England Patriots to start the year.

And, and the stuff we were just talking about between Mike Vrabel and Versini.

I mean, I would think that you might have to make comments about that in the pregame show now, and be there to explain to the, you know, the, the, the football fan that just tunes in every now and then for games, to kind of explain that story and all of that.

So that's where I was a little surprised, definitely.

And yeah, the game itself, the Super Bowl, was not well received.

So my other thing, too, thinking about this, right, Mike, is just that, you know, yeah, what's gonna be different this time?

And one of my thoughts when I first heard it, and then, you know, just thinking about it over the last 24 hours is I, I, I don't think they would do this u- unless they knew that A.J.

Brown was going to the New England Patriots.

There, there's definitely a part of me there that goes, "That, that's where they think it can be different, and that's where it'll be a bigger story and a bigger a different outlook to be like, 'Hey, Drake Maye was hurt a little bit in the Super Bowl, and we have A.J.

Brown now.'

That's where this game can be a little different."

And so that's what's exciting.

And then, hopefully that happens.

I think we all think and, and kind of know that is going to happen.

And this to me is just another little, like, checking the box of confirmation that, yeah, the league knows it's gonna happen, and that's part of the story and why they're gonna be there Wednesday night, you know, to start the season with you, and, and doing all that.

So that, that is cool, and I'm excited for that and to see what A.J.

Brown can bring to the New England Patriots.

Yeah, I mean, I look at it this way.

The Seahawks don't have Kenneth Walker III, who was the MVP of Super Bowl 60.

Mm-hmm.

Zach Charbonnet is quite possibly not gonna be available for that game because he suffered his torn ACL in the divisional round against the 49ers in January.

And he's a running back, and that's not a, an easy turnaround.

Yeah.

Adrian Peterson went from Christmas Eve and amazed everyone by being ready to go week one the following season against the Jaguars.

This is even later.

This was multiple weeks later than Christmas Eve.

And to be ready to go week one is a tall task.

And- They got Jadarian Price, though, and that's why they took him.

I know, but- Yeah.

And I would, I would- But, but there's a- Yeah, yeah there's an element of who knows, right?

I'm not saying he's definitely gonna be worse.

I'm not saying he's gonna be better.

I'm not saying he's gonna be as good.

There's an element of uncertainty that would draw someone in.

They don't have the Super Bowl MVP, and they're rolling the dice most likely with a guy who's never played in the NFL before.

Yeah.

That gives it an element of maybe the outcome this time will be different.

Maybe the running game won't be as potent.

Maybe there'll be more pressure on Sam Darnold, and maybe the Patriots have a better chance.

A.J.

Brown, that's an excellent call.

Because they're never gonna come out and say that they already have a deal in place.

That defeats the purpose.

Now, maybe it'll leak at some point, but it's being talked about so openly.

They have a deal in place, I believe.

I don't know.

No one's told me.

But I think when you look at everything that's gone on and all the other options that the Eagles have or don't have for an A.J.

Brown destination, they already have a deal- Yeah in place.

I've been reluctant to believe that.

They're allowed to have a deal in place.

Yeah.

And they don't have to tell us they have a deal in place.

Right, right.

They have no requirement to announce they have a deal in place.

And look what happens when you announce you have a deal in place.

It all blows up when the physical- Yeah is failed.

There was reference to that in the Chargers release video at one point, with a screenshot of the modified tweet that the Raiders posted the night that the Ravens backed out of the trade because of the failed physical.

So in the event that there is a failed physical, you don't have to worry about anybody looking bad.

What, what trade?

What trade?

Trade?

What trade?

There was no trade.

Yeah.

So I, I, I think that And look, I'm not saying all this to try to sell the game 17 weeks in advance.

You're gonna tune into the game.

It's going to have a, a huge viewership.

And, you know, it was either Patriots-Seahawks or Bears-Seahawks.

I think that's probably what it whittled down to, although Chargers-Seahawks was a possibility.

Cardinals-Seahawks was the only other shot, and I don't think that anybody wanted to see that, especially Cardinals fans, to start the season.

So-You know, it's a Super Bowl rematch.

It's only the third time ever.

The last one was 10 years ago, Panthers Broncos.

The first one was 1971 after the Chiefs beat the Vikings in Super Bowl IV in New Orleans at Tulane Stadium.

Oh.

The Vikings got their revenge.

Doesn't count as revenge.

No, it doesn't.

It's not revenge.

No.

No, it's only revenge if you get a Super If you get to take the Super Bowl trophy, then it's revenge.

Yeah, yeah, exactly right.

I, I didn't know that.

That was a good little tidbit right there.

but, but yeah, you know, it, it's a, one, I think you said it, I mean, the, the Seahawks are That, that's the interesting thing about the game, right?

The game is gonna maybe mean more or be a little more chippy to the New England Patriots.

So that's, that's certainly another element too.

They're gonna be, like, maybe a little bit more focused, you know, you know, bulletin board material, Super Bowl, all that.

So there's that element.

There's a lot of human elements there.

You know, like you said, the Jadarian Price thing's gonna be a big question.

you know, like, he, he's got big play ability.

And I would think, and, and if you made me bet, I'd bet he kind of hits the ground running as kind of damn good there in Seattle right away.

But for the most part, that Seahawks team is pretty much the same.

We know that.

And some of their young players are gonna be a year older, and maybe even a, and, and a little bit better that way.

And then the other element too is to go, "Hey, yeah," the Patriots can go, "Hey, Drake May was hurt, you know, we didn't play our best game.

Now we got A.J.

Brown.

We're a different team."

The Seahawks will be able to go, "Well, n- but now you're coming to Seattle."

And I can tell you firsthand, I've been to Seattle for a season opener, and it was the loudest stadium I was ever in in my life.

I mean, ever.

It, it would beat the 12th man at Texas A&M, or any of that, and that's why they adopted it.

But that is gonna be a different element for the Patriots too.

I mean, the Seattle Seahawks, we know the home field advantage they have.

Then you couple that with a little extra energy of opening night, first game of the season, unveiling the banner for the Super Bowl.

Woo, that's gonna be a whole nother thing too, the emotions of the football game.

And of course, New England dealing with unbelievable crowd noise that will probably be the loudest they hear or have to deal with all year.

So those are other interesting elements to me that can change the, the dynamic of the game a little bit.

And you are right, the issue of the off-season will have to be dealt with.

I don't know if I'll be dealing with it in the pregame show- Oh, you better be I guarantee you at some point.

You better be.

Oh yeah, I'm gonna be on there.

I'm gonna be on If you're gonna do something, I'm gonna get on you all on social media.

How dare you?

Bock, bock, bock, chicken, chicken, chicken.

I'm just having fun, but I probably will get on you.

You as- you s- yeah, yeah.

You, you, you assume that we have the freedom to say whatever the hell we wanna say.

Yeah, very true.

On Football Night in America and on the pregame show.

We say what they let us say and/or tell us to say, and we'll see what they tell me to say about Mike Vrabel and Diana Russini.

And look, this underscores something I said earlier in the week.

We now have it framed out.

We know when the Patriots next play their game that counts: Wednesday, September 9.

Memorial Day is coming.

Summertime, is that really the time to have some elaborate sit-down interview that could go viral and create all sorts of issues depending upon what's said about her side of the story?

That night before the game is just screaming out now.

If there's going to be a sit-down, if there's going to be one.

I said something on the show at some point, and it's amazing what gets picked up and run with and what doesn't.

But I pointed out that if there's any possibility of a settlement agreement, if there's any potential legal claims that could be made, if there's anything, and we don't know what allegations or facts, or we don't know how any of this would go, but if there's some sort of a deal that entails a confidentiality agreement, that is the one way that the whole process of a sit-down could be short-circuited.

That there could be an amount of money paid in exchange for an agreement to stay silent.

Without that, without that, Tuesday, September 8 with Oprah Winfrey, Morley Safer, Joe Rogan, I don't know, an exclusive sit-down with someone where the whole story is told from her perspective one night before the Patriots start the season in Seattle.

Damn, you're putting the malocchio- Won't surprise me on the Patriots and the NFL there.

Won't surprise me.

You, go ahead, just put it out.

Show 'em, do it, do it.

It's not a malocchio.

Go ahead and do it.

It's not a malocchio.

It's analysis.

It's not a malocchio.

You don't want me to You don't You, do you really want me to take- Well, don't do you want me to, do, do you want, do you want- D- don't point it towards me point it your way?

Hey, hey, watch where you point that thing.

Hey, damn it.

you know, and it, it clearly would have the power to work its way through the cable wires and all the way to Connecticut, because as we proved in late April, I, I have the ability to reach my hand through the cables and muzzle Chris and prevent him from saying something- Staying on target when he's about to make a comment about this situation.

Exactly.

Exactly right.

Just with the word stay on target, it put a spell on Chris, Harry Potter style, and it kept him from speaking.

It's just an amazing thing

Close