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It was, in hindsight, the moment the arrived as legitimate title contenders. And they announced themselves with a blast as resounding as the defense's hits and as thunderous as their stadium's cacophony. It's been more than two years since the 'Hawks last played the -- on Oct. 14, 2012 -- and the zinger directed at via a postgame tweet sparked an Internet meme, a budding T-shirt busine s and a growing awarene s of an overlooked team. The used that day to launch themselves into the postseason mix and plant themselves in the NFL consciousne s as a squad rising along with its rookie quarterback and very aggre sive -- and sometimes mouthy -- defense. Seattle was le s than a year removed from its fourth consecutive losing season, and that game, , gave the team a 4-2 record and a big dose of credibility. over the three weeks earlier suddenly didn't look as much like a fluke as it once might have. A 13-point deficit -- stop us if this -- late in the fourth quarter was not too big to overcome. And the could not be ignored. They haven't been since. When the and meet again for , there will be plenty of differences. The two who caught Brady's touchdown pa ses that day -- and Aaron Hernandez -- are both long gone. So are the who caught two of 's three touchdown pa ses -- Sidney Rice and Braylon Edwards. Cornerback , who started for the in that game, will start for the in this one. Some important pieces have been added on both sides -- for the , and for the , most prominently. But the most critical features -- Wilson and , Sherman, Thomas and , Brady and , and , the ' reliance on defense, the ' versatility on offense -- are still in place, meaning the 2012 game might be more past is prologue than many other rematches that span several seasons. Which might explain why, when was asked this week if he has any memories of the 2012 game, he replied: "Yeah. Not a lot of great ones." NFL Network's was a fullback for the at the time, and Neymar Jr Jersey he remembers going out with the other captains for the coin to s. People had told Robinson that Wilfork was a nice guy, but Wilfork looked at Robinson that day as if they didn't know each other. Robinson got the impre sion the were annoyed by the , that New England had a mental edge no other opponent had. The did not really care about the , Robinson thought. They were only concerned about what they were doing. When Robinson went back to the bench, he sat next to Lynch. "I said, 'This is going to be a dogfight,'" Robinson recounted this week. "They didn't really want to shake our hands." Robinson's a se sment was accurate. Both teams rushed for fewer than 100 yards. The quarterbacks combined for nearly 700. The difference was those two Brady interceptions and from Wilson to Rice with 1:27 remaining -- which bears a striking resemblance to that beat the in overtime of . Such heroics were a new thing for Wilson then, though. The third-round draft pick had been a surprise choice to start for the as a rookie that season, and that performance first put a spotlight on his playmaking ability and potential, and on the transformation of the . "I remember giving a pregame speech on the field, and one of the things I said was, 'If we want respect, we've got to beat this team,'" Robinson said. "We felt like, if we wanted to be taken seriously, we had to beat one of the stars." By the end of the game, Robinson knew that a new star had been born. "I said, 'We got us a quarterback,'" Robinson recalled. "After that game, I thought, OK, I may have an opportunity to fulfill a dream, because we have a guy who is not afraid. I was just surprised. This kid is young. Usually when you're playing , the moment is too big for you. I was so surprised at Ru sell. He let the ball fly. I remember thinking, We have a franchise quarterback. " The finished second in the NFC West and exited the playoffs in the divisional round that year, . The , who won the AFC East, went out the week after Seattle did, to the -- who went on -- in the AFC Championship Game. Their stylistic differences make this a compelling matchup: Can the Seattle defense manhandle the ' receivers and throw off the offense, the way the did to the last year? But the teams look more alike now, and appear to be more evenly matched, than they did in 2012. The and finished the 2014 regular season with the top two average margins of victory in the league, although the ' average of 9.7 points was generated mostly by their , while the ' 8.8-point margin came mostly because their held opponents down. They are both strikingly disciplined. The finished with two more takeaways and one fewer giveaway than the . The are a full-scale dynasty, appearing in their sixth since the 2001 season, though they're trying to win their first in a decade. The are trying to form the next dynasty by becoming the first champion to repeat since 2003-04 -- when the Pats did it. How close are the two teams? The have gone 37-11 since that lo s to the . The have gone 38-11 since beating the . The difference? The ' last season. Belichick stated the obvious this week: that the will study the tape from the 2012 game, because it remains relevant. He will pick the brains of Browner and defensive tackle , who is now with the but started for the in 2012. But Robinson believes there are several critical differences that could alter the matchup. First is the presence of Browner, who played well against the in 2012. He faced Seattle's receivers, among them , in practice every day, and he can share their idiosyncrasies with his current New England teammates. Wilson runs more read-option now than he did in 2012, when Robinson said he wasn't ready for it. But New England's defense is also more versatile, with a cadre of defensive backs that allows the Pats to match up against a range of different types of pa s catchers, whether they're big and strong, small and quick or po se sion types. Linebacker , Robinson said, is built to stop the read-option. "It's made this defense lethal and, in my opinion, built to beat Seattle," Robinson said. "It seems they had this matchup in mind when they went into free agency." Perhaps so. After all, Sherman provided a stinging personnel evaluation of the in 2012. "We're built for a heavyweight fight," Sherman said after that game just over two years ago. "I don't think they're built for a heavyweight fight." The rematch determines the next champion. Follow Judy Battista on Twitter . Robert Lewandowski Jersey |
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发表于 2026-9-21 12:08:18