Super Bowl Outlook
Super Bowl XLIX - the last Super Bowl that will be designated with Roman numerals - looks to be a close match in the return game. Las Vegas betting lines are close and such expectations of evenly matched teams mean similar expectations for return opportunities. The Patriots have a slight edge at punt returner, with Julian Edelman averaging a half yard more per return than Seattle's Bryan Walters, though Seattle tends to force more punts. New England might seem to have a larger edge at kick returner if just looking at the surface, where Danny Amendola's 24.1 yards per kick return in the regular season drastically trumps the 16.2 yard average of Doug Baldwin. A deeper dive into the situation reveals that Baldwin only had five returns in the regular season, including two short returns early in the season when teams were kicking the ball short to avoid Seattle's dangerous returner at the time, Percy Harvin. Relying on one's eyes watching the few returns Baldwin has had, length of returns compared to Amendola does not seem to be a major difference between the players.
Super Bowl Team Return Projections
| Receiving Team | KR Yards | KR TDs | PR yards | PR TDs | Total Yards | Total TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks | 60 | 0.01 | 18 | 0.02 | 78 | 0.03 |
| New England Patriots | 59 | 0.01 | 12 | 0.02 | 71 | 0.03 |
Super Bowl Player Return Projections
| Player | Team | KR Yards | KR TDs | PR yards | PR TDs | Total Yards | Total TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Baldwin | Seattle Seahawks | 48 | 0.01 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 0.01 |
| Bryan Walters | Seattle Seahawks | 12 | 0 | 16 | 0.02 | 28 | 0.02 |
| Danny Amendola | New England Patriots | 48 | 0.01 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 0.01 |
| Julian Edelman | New England Patriots | 6 | 0 | 11 | 0.01 | 17 | 0.01 |
| Brandon LaFell | New England Patriots | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |