Stacy Rost: What we’ve learned about Super Bowl from Radio Row

You’ve been hearing about Drake Maye’s MVP campaign for months now. The New England Patriots quarterback led the league in completion percentage (72%) while finishing fourth in passing yards and third in total touchdowns. That production has slowed in the postseason against stingy defenses, but this is a Pats offense that can get downfield.

Teammate gives update on injured Seattle Seahawks rookie Emmanwori

What does that mean in the Super Bowl for a Seattle Seahawks defense that allowed far too many explosives from the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC title game?

In a conversation we had from Radio Row about what he loves from Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense, NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger pointed to the single biggest difference between what the Pats can do and what the Rams have done: the experience of the man under center.

First, what makes the Seahawks’ defense so stellar?

“He’s very, very creative,” Baldinger said of Macdonald. “But he’s really figured out these matchup zone principles where the opposing quarterback isn’t really sure what they’re doing or how they’re doing it until the ball’s snapped. He’s not giving you anything pre-snap to try to figure out. So they match up against your route combinations in ways that, I think, are different than other places.”

Sounds like a lot to process. What’s that mean for a 23-year-old quarterback?

“That’s 17 years of experience (between Matthew Stafford and Maye),” Baldinger said when noting the Rams were able to get downfield with explosive plays in their past two matchups against Seattle, albeit in losses. “For (the Patriots), they’ve got a good deep passing game the way the Rams do. They get the ball downfield and take their shots. Can they get guys matched up from the offensive standpoint where they can get behind the defense? So it’ll be interesting to see the route combinations that (New England) attacks (Seattle) with.”

Tell us one thing to know about the Pats defense…

Also from Baldinger: “They are a great tackling defense. Their secondary are excellent tacklers. They generally end the play when they hit you. That shows up on the field all the time.”

That matchup between JSN and Gonzo

ESPN’s Benjamin Solak talked about a matchup that, to him, will decide the game: Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and interim defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr against Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

“They don’t run nearly as much man coverage as people think,” Solak said of the Patriots’ defense. “They run a lot more quarters and they’ll pass routes off. So it’s a big game of chicken right now between (the Patriots defensive coaching staff and Kubiak) in terms of how they’re going to play Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.”

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Smith-Njigba might just be the most talented player on the field Sunday. He’s certainly the most celebrated this year as a first-team All-Pro and a finalist for NFL Offensive Player of the Year. How much will Pats Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez be one-on-one with the Seahawks star?

“There was a moment in the season where (the Patriots) started traveling Christian Gonzalez a lot more,” Solak said. “They traveled him with (star wideouts) Tee Higgins and Drake London and Emeka Egbuka. They did it for three or four weeks, it went great, and then they just stopped doing it. And to me, that’s a sign of, we have this in our bag, we don’t want to be this as a team, but we can do it if we need to.

“So you should expect to see some, not all, Gonzalez traveling with JSN. Some, not all, double teams and brackets on JSN. And it’s going to be who throws what pitches when against which formations and which looks.”

More takeaways from Radio Row

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• Biggest crowds? Pat McAfee, Up and Adams with Kay Adams, and Good Morning Football.

• Biggest entourage? Maybe T.O. He certainly had the coolest tracksuit.

• Most quotable? Former Patriots and Seahawks tight end Christian Fauria: “If the Patriots fart around and play like they did in the last three games… they’ll lose, because the Seahawks can make them pay. The other teams couldn’t make them pay.”

• Great listen: ESPN’s Clinton Yates with a great interview about how underdeveloped quarterbacks are and how flawed our conversations around quarterbacks have become.

Super Bowl: Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots

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