Patriots vs. Seahawks: Full Odds, TV Info and Key Storylines for 2015 Super Bowl

Before the NFL season started, if you said that Super Bowl XLIX would feature the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, there wouldn't have been a lot of arguing. Now that the big game is almost here, though, the divide between which team will win is closer than ever. 

The Patriots' supporters will point out that Russell Wilson hasn't gone up against a secondary of the caliber he will see on Sunday. Rob Gronkowski is the biggest matchup problem in the NFL. Tom Brady is fighting for his legacy with a fourth Super Bowl on the line. 

Those people backing the Seahawks will note that no team in the AFC can match Seattle's physical play. Wilson threw four interceptions in a game that his team won, which was out of character for him and unlikely to happen again. Green Bay is the only team to score more than 17 points against this defense since Week 12. 

Both teams have valid claims as to why they will win, but unfortunately, only one can take home the Lombardi Trophy. Here's a look at all the pertinent information you need to know before Sunday's kickoff, as well as the top storylines to watch closely. 

Matchup	Date	Start Time (ET)	Watch	Spread, Money Line
New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks	February 1, 2015	6:30 p.m.	NBC	Seattle (-2, -143)

Top Storylines

The Legacy Question

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

It's fitting that New England and Seattle meet in this year's Super Bowl. The Patriots have been the best franchise of the new millennium, playing in their sixth title game since 2001 and looking for their fourth victory. 

Meanwhile, the Seahawks have emerged as the league's best franchise over the last three years. Pete Carroll's team has made the playoffs every year since 2012 and is looking for its second consecutive championship. 

There's more talk leading up to this game of what a win would mean for New England's legacy, specifically Brady and head coach Bill Belichick. A lot of the debate also includes talk of the deflated footballs from the AFC Championship Game and the spying scandal from 2007. 

Brent Schrotenboer and Jim Corbett of USA Today spoke to several former NFL greats about Belichick and Brady:

"We judge people on how they play and how they perform," said Fran Tarkenton. "That's what we do in sports, and we like to ague who was the best. ... This is much more serious than that. How about integrity? How about doing things the right way?"

If Brady and the Patriots are cleared in the deflating scandal, it should help to change some of the negative opinion around them. The talk won't go away completely because there are people out there predisposed to hating New England for whatever reason. 

Considering Brady has played in five Super Bowls, it's baffling to think that there are any more questions about his legacy. He may have lost two of them, but how many players throughout history, like Tarkenton, would love to say that?

The other legacy question starting to reach a boil is what a second title in three seasons will mean for Wilson. Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated provided some context for what this game means to the Seattle quarterback:

"

There's no question that he has the physical talent, football smarts and work ethic to develop into one of the best in his own generation of quarterbacks, but as much as he's accomplished in this scant three-year period, there's still a ways to go. Wilson runs himself out of the reads of open receivers, he leaves plays on the field, and his four-interception performance in Seattle's eventual win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game showed that when it comes to reading the field on the run, Wilson still struggles at times. Yes, only two of those interceptions were his fault -- the other two bounced off the hands of receiver Jermaine Kearse -- but the point still stands. Wilson still needs to develop.

"

Farrar's main point is that Wilson has garnered quite a bit of praise early in his career, and while much of it has been deserved, he still needs to grow as a quarterback before he really belongs in the elite conversation. The article notes that Wilson has thrown the fewest passes of any starting quarterback since 2013. 

One game, no matter how big the stage, shouldn't negate the fact that Wilson was awful in the NFC Championship Game, and without that defense, his team doesn't even have a chance to win.

Wilson has never been the best player on this team during this run, yet he's poised to get one of those patented $100-plus million quarterback contracts whenever Seattle decides to re-sign him before his rookie deal expires after next season. 

Winning a second championship at the age of 26 means Wilson shouldn't care whether he's an elite quarterback, as he would probably say, but a great performance against this team and this coach will help alter the perception drastically. 

Richard Sherman's Arm

As far as quantifiable things go, the status of Richard Sherman's arm will be an early focal point in this Super Bowl. Seattle's star cornerback was injured late in the NFC Championship Game against Green Bay, yet he remained in the game. 

Sherman was in obvious pain, clutching his left arm close to his body so the Packers receivers couldn't aggravate it before he had to try making a tackle. Something got lost in translation for Green Bay, which only attempted one pass in his direction after getting hurt. 

There's no doubt that Sherman will play every snap he's asked to on Sunday, as Carroll told reporters the star defender took part in every practice but "still has an elbow to take care of," via Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com.

Since entering the league in 2011, per ESPN Stats & Info, Sherman has been the best at intercepting the opposing quarterback:

However, if Sherman is at less than full strength, it opens an opportunity for the Patriots that might not otherwise be there. New England's wide receivers are a small bunch, with the exception of Brandon LaFell, who is listed at 6'3", 210 pounds, according to ESPN.com.

Sherman at full strength will be able to throw around the smaller New England wideouts like Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman, on the occasions they line up outside. An injured elbow should allow Belichick to at least try playing physical with Seattle's top cornerback early to see if he's at close to 100 percent. 

Another option for the Patriots would be to line up Gronkowski on the outside against Sherman. It's not what they want to do, but the star tight end is the only player on the Patriots who is capable of matching anyone in Seattle's secondary physically. 

At some point the Patriots will have to take a chance down the field if they want to score against the Seattle defense. Something Belichick should try is exploiting the one known weakness in Sherman's game, regardless of how healthy his arm is. 

Terry Blount of ESPN.com talked about Sherman's area of weakness last year in a debate about the top cornerback in the NFC West:

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He spends countless hours watching film of every receiver he faces, along with every quarterback. Consequently, he often knows what’s coming. He can get beat at times off a double move because Sherman will take risks to come up with a big play, so he will jump the move to go for an interception.

"

To be fair, Blount does say that Sherman knows he can take those risks because Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor are supporting him deep down the field. 

Yet in a game earlier this season against the Giants, Odell Beckham had a field day against Sherman with 108 yards on seven receptions. The Patriots don't have anyone up to Beckham's standard, but that success came on a lot of double-move routes. 

With the exact health of Sherman in doubt until kickoff, Belichick should have an assortment of plays ready to attack Seattle's star cornerback early. If it backfires, then he'll change things up, because no one adjusts as well as the Patriots.