There are 106 players that travel to the Super Bowl who have the chance to play in the big spectacle. From those, only 92 players will actually suit up for the 2015 Super Bowl. On Tuesday, they met with the media in Glendale, Arizona, site of Super Bowl XLIX. Today, they’ll both get back on separate practice fields, where they will break down into their position groups and get drilled by their positional coaches.
As you can note from that large sample of players available to play, football is interesting because there are so many different players involved in each game. Each group has a specific physical build, even. You got your big-guys up front hitting the other big-guys in front of them. And sleeker, athletic, finesse-fellas flanking them, trying to get yardage and points. Within these groups there are a lot of different personalities.
So, while the media focuses on the ball pressure scandal that’s been at the top of the news for the past week (or whether or not Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch will grab his balls and get another fine), we thought we’d have a little fun. No one’s integrity need be defended here at CraveOnline. Nah, we just thought it’d be fun to figure out what film best sticks to each starting positional group that’ll take the field this Sunday. That’s nine films for the Seattle Seahawks and nine films for the New England Patriots. As a bonus, even halftime entertainment chantress/empowerer Katy Perry already has her own movie (but we think one other title fits her better).
This list is for film buffs to better get to understand the buff guys who’ll be jawing at each other this Super Bowl matchup. So without further adieu, check this slideshow of Your Super Bowl XLIX Position Groups, and the Films That Best Represent Them. And if you’ve got beef (or applause) for any of the selections, please comment below.
Brian Formo is a featured contributor on the CraveOnline Film Channel. You can follow him on Twitter at @BrianEmilFormo; he is a HUGE Seahawks fan, but this article was written with objective impartiality.
Your Super Bowl XLIX Roster and The Films That Represent Each Team's Positional Group
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Seahawks Quarterback
Player: Russell Wilson (#3)
Film That Best Exemplifies Him: Rudy (1993; dir: David Anspaugh)
Wilson took Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl and set a college football record for passing efficiency. But Seattle was the only team that saw Wilson as a starting caliber quarterback, and they selected him in the third round, baffling many pundits who thought he was too short to replicate his collegiate success in the bigger and faster NFL.
Rudy details a lil blue-chipper who fought his way onto the Notre Dame football team. He only played in one game, but his work ethic is now legendary.
Last year, Wilson became the youngest QB to win a Super Bowl. Now he's also the youngest QB to play in two Super Bowls. And he's still 5'11."
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Patriots Quarterback
Player: Tom Brady (#12)
Film That Best Exemplifies Him: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011; dir: Joe Johnson)
Tom Brady plays in red-white-and-blue. He's married to the biggest-earning supermodel in the world (Gisele Bundchen). He's won three Super Bowls. He models UGGs. There are so many loving essays about him, that I'll just let Esquire say the rest: "Tom Brady effectively encompasses all aspects of the American dream. And he didn't have it all just handed to him, either. He fought for time under center at Michigan and was ignored through five-and-a-half rounds of the NFL Draft before being given an opportunity in New England. All he's done since is win three Super Bowls and put his team on the brink of yet another this weekend. Oh, and did I mention he loves his mom and rides bikes with children for charity? He is the American way of life the boys overseas are fighting to protect."
So, obviously Brady is Captain America. Except now Brady has to defend his own honor due to allegations that playoff game balls were under-inflated to his preference of perfection.
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Seahawks Running Back
Player: Marshawn Lynch (#24)
Film That Best Exemplifies Him: Marie Antoinette (2006; dir: Sofia Coppola)
Lynch is powered by sweets. Specifically Skittles. He endorses them, he eats them before (and during) games. He even uses them for weightlifting (pictured). Lynch also loves gold (he had custom gold cleats made for himself that the NFL wouldn't allow him to wear). And he doesn't trust the media, so he refuses to answer questions. Lynch threatens to retire every year, in defiance of the league that continually fines him for his non-compliant nature.
Marie Antoinette was raked by the French press for telling the poor to "eat cake" during a food shortage. She lived at Versailles. She was surrounded by gold and sweets. She was never interested in running a country, or being a role model. Coppola's film also gives Antoinette a bit of a punk edge, and spares the audience her beheading scene.
Unlike Antoinette, we hope that Lynch gets to leave the game when he no longer wants to play. Instead of feeling forced out by a league that is hellbent on taking the fun out of it. Remember, he's "all 'bout that action, boss."
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Patriots Running Backs
Players: Legarette Blount (#29), Jonas Gray (#35), Shane Vereen (#34)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: The Expendables (2010; dir: Sylvester Stallone)
Legarrette Blount was on another team for most of the year (the Steelers). He was suspended for being arrested with marijuana. He was suspended at the University of Oregon for punching a Boise State player after a loss. He's switched between three teams in his short carer (the Bucs, Patriots, Steelers, and Patriots again), but he always seems to shine when called into action for the playoffs.
Gray was undrafted out of Notre Dame, and similarly played for two teams prior to the Patriots. He exploded for 201 yards versus the Colts, but then rarely carried the ball after making the cover of Sports Illustrated. Vereen is a receiving weapon. Sometimes he's used, sometimes he isn't. Basically none of these backs should be on your fantasy football team as an individual -- because who knows who Coach Belichick is gonna ride -- but they're good at what they do as a unit. Thus, the Stallone actioner with the proper title: The Expendables.
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Seahawks Receivers
Players: Doug Baldwin (#89), Jermaine Kearse (#15), Ricardo Lockette (#83); Tight End: Luke Willson (#82)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: The Crossing Guard (1995; dir: Sean Penn)
Doug Baldwin hated that this wide receiver unit was labeled "pedestrian" by pundits before last year's Super Bowl. And this year, they have even less firepower (both Golden Tate and Percy Harvin are gone; Paul Richardson is injured). The Seahawks play best when they are angry (that's how Baldwin got one of the best nicknames in the NFL: Angry Doug Baldwin), or feel disrespected. The entire Seahawks receiving corps was undrafted (Baldwin, Kearse, Lockette, Bryan Walters, Chris Matthews). After the media has already called them the weak link to the Seahawks, expect them to play angry.
Sean Penn's movie is about an angry father (Jack Nicholson) who plans on murdering the man who drove over his daughter in a crosswalk while drunk. Pedestrian revenge.
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Patriots Receivers
Players: Brandon LaFell (#19), Julian Edelman (#11), Danny Amendola (#80); Tight End: Rob Gronkowski (#87)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: Hot Tub Time Machine (2010; dir: Steve Pink)
After losing the Super Bowl in 2012, Gronkowski (the hard-partying beast of a tight end) became riddled with injuries, and Wes Welker was jettisoned in favor of Danny Amendola (who also could never stay healthy, nor become beastly).
But in 2015, it's like Gronkowski has gone back in time (he delivered his first full-season without injury since 2011), Edelman appears to have become Wes Welker, and Almendola actually caught a touchdown in a playoff game! Heat therapy, hard partying, and time travel? Hot Tub Time Machine.
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Seahawks Offensive Line
Players: Russell Okung (#76), James Carpenter (#77), Max Unger (#60), J.R. Sweezy (#64), Justin Britt (#68)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: The River Wild (1994; dir: Curtis Hanson)
Because this unit makes Wilson and Lynch make rapid, split-second decisions to get out of the way of oncoming rushes from the other team's defense. Put on a life vest because it's gonna be bumpy. But they'll never flip over completely.
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Patriots Offensive Line
Players: Nate Solder (#77), Dan Connolly (#63), Bryan Stork (#66), Ryan Wendell (#62), Sebastian Vollmer (#76)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: A New Leaf (1971; dir: Elaine May)
The offensive line was once a strong suit for the Patriots, but after trading away Logan Makins to start the year, it's taken most of the season for all the starters to get back to prominence.
A New Leaf is about a wealthy man (Walter Matthau) who's run through his entire inheritance. So he tries to marry an heiress to get back to his usual firm standing.
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Halftime Entertainment
Performers: Katy Perry (featuring Lenny Kravitz)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: The Hunger Games (2012; dir Gary Ross)
Yes, Katy Perry has her own movie (Katy Perry: Part of Me), but her empowering anthems ("Roar," "Firework," etc.) hit the perfect note for fellow performer Kravitz's film The Hunger Games. Plus, doesn't the gladiator event spectacle that the entire country tunes in to watch perfectly parallel the Super Bowl? And isn't commissioner Roger Goodell a lot like President Snow (Donald Sutherland)? Kravitz played the magnificent costume designer, Cinna. We're certain Perry will also be magnificently costumed.
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Seahawks Defensive Line
Players: Cliff Avril (#56), Michael Bennett (#72), Kevin Williams (#94), O'Brien Schofield (#93)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: Changing Lanes (2002; dir: Roger Michell)
The Seahawks have suffered major injuries in the interior of their defense (to both tackles, Brandon Mebane and Jordan Hill, who were both having terrific seasons). The strength of their unit is having enough edge rushers to move Michael Bennett inside on passing downs to provide extra pass rush. But with so many injuries, the Seahawks will have to rotate even more than usual for both their pass rush and run-stopping. And since New England favors using so many wide-receivers in their sets, the strength of the run defense depends on whoever is plugged in for Seattle. Stay in your lanes, Hawks.
Changing Lanes follows two people (Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson) whose fender-bender escalates into an all-consuming feud. If the Seahawks can stay in their lanes, they'll be in control. But if they get knocked around, some cat-and-mouse inventiveness will have to happen.
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Patriots Defensive Line
Players: Rob Ninkovich (#50), Vince Wilfork (#75), Chris Jones (#94), Chandler Jones (#95)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: Heathers (1988; dir: Michael Lehmann)
Okay, this is a bit of a stretch. Essentially, the strength of the Seahawks offense is their run game. The Patriots have a great big run-stopper in Vince Wilfork. The big guy survived a major injury last year, was nearly discarded by the team, but he could be the defense's best friend this week.
Kinda like how Martha Dunnstock aka Martha Dumptruck (Carrie Lynn) survived a suicide attempt, but by the end of Heathers, might've become the best friend of resident cool gal, Veronica (Winona Ryder).
Yeah, it's a stretch. Let's move on.
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Seahawks Linebackers
Players: Bobby Wagner (#54), K.J. Wright (#50), Bruce Irvin (#51)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: Road House (1989; dir: Rowdy Herrington)
Bobby Wagner is the enforcer of the Seahawks defense. He missed six games this year and the Seahawks went 3-3 in his absence.The Seahawks haven't lost ever since he's returned to the lineup. Wagner protects the house, at home, and on the road. And just look at those muscles. He and, Road House's Dalton (Patrick Swayze) both restored order to their clubs. By tossing others out.
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Patriots Linebackers
Players: Jamie Collins (#91), Dont'a Hightower (#54), Rob Ninkovich (#50)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: Noah (2014; dir: Darren Aronofsky)
The Patriots were good against the run in the regular season (opponents averaged less than 4 yards per carry), but they've been more of a sieve in the playoffs, allowing almost 5 yards per carry. The Seahawks need to run the ball to establish their offense. And the Patriot linebackers will have to fortify against a potential flood if Wilson starts picking up first downs by either running out of the read option or scrambling. Wilson's averaging 7 yards a carry. The versatile Ninkovich (who plays both end and outside linebacker) is the chosen one to stop him from either level.
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Seahawks Secondary
Players: Richard Sherman (#25), Earl Thomas (#29), Kam Chancellor (#31), Byron Maxwell (#41)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014; dir: James Gunn)
This unit is known as the Legion of Boom. So firstly, it just sounds right. But also, the Guardians are what lazy loglines like to call a "ragtag bunch" who, through peculiar circumstances, band together to save the world. Richard Sherman, the wise-crackin Star-Lord of this defense, has called the Legion "a ragtag bunch" as well, because -- with the exception of Earl Thomas -- they're all later round draft picks who've been thrust together to become the best defense in the pass-happy modern NFL.
If you'd like a little extra reasoning, Star-Lord himself (Chris Pratt) is a proud, and mouthy Seahawks fan. And they're gonna need the whole gang to come up big against all the Patriot receiving options.
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Patriots Secondary
Players: Darrelle Revis (#24), Devin McCourty (#32), Patrick Chung (#23), Brandon Browner (#39)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012; dir: Stephen Chbosky)
Because these two cornerbacks -- Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner -- have only been together this one year. And what a difference it's made: the Patriots can now play press coverage.
Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of those films where everything changes in one adolescent year. And Revis himself might as well be a wallflower: he's so good in coverage that teams barely throw at him. Many games, he just fades into the scenery by removing a player from the game with blanket coverage.
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Seahawks Special Teams
Players: Kicker: Steven Haushka (#4); Punter: Jon Ryan (#9); Kick Returner: Doug Baldwin (#89); Punt Returner: Bryan Walters (#19)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: Man on Wire (2008; dir: James Marsh)
Because the Seahawks offense generally takes a while to get going, its special teams cannot afford to make mistakes. And sometimes, they have to make the plays themselves (like last week, when punter/holder Jon Ryan threw a touchdown off of a fake field goal).
This unit isn't flashy (Baldwin is returning kicks because Paul Richardson is hurt; Walters isn't as dynamic a punt returner as Golden Tate was for them last year), but they cannot afford to falter on their tasks. Neither could Philippe Petit, who walked a tightrope between the two World Trade Center towers, in the documentary Man on Wire.
The Seahawks have outscored their opponents in the fourth quarter by 72 points, but they've only outscored their opponents by 28 points through the first two quarters, so precision is key.
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Patriots Special Teams
Players: Kicker: Stephen Gostkowski (#3); Punter: Ryan Allen (#6); Kick Returner: Matthew Slater (#18); Punt Returner: Julian Edelman (#11)
Film That Best Exemplifies Them: The Innocents (1961; dir: Jack Clayton)
Shadows. The Patriots first two Super Bowls came from last second game-winning field goals by Adam Vinatieri. Gostkowski has never cost the Patriots a Super Bowl, but they've never won one with him either. He's innocent, but he's in the shadows of a former hero.
The Innocents? Well, it's a handsome boarding school ghost story, shot in black and white... with an emphasis on shadows.
Unlike Seattle, New England has outscored opponents equally in each half.
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Seahawks Coach
Head Coach: Pete Carroll
Film That Best Exemplifies Him: The Hudsucker Proxy (1994; dir: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen)
Carroll previously coached the Patriots, but he never really had the support necessary for success there. He followed Coach Bill Parcells, who left the team after taking them to the 1997 Super Bowl, and Carroll's laid back demeanor didn't go over well. So he went back to college, and coached at USC. Where fun was allowed, championships ensued, and the NCAA withheld scholarships after some players accepted gifts from recruiters. And then Carroll went back to the NFL, to Seattle, where it was more than okay that he smiled, chewed bubble gum, and gave players positive feedback.
The Hudsucker Proxy is about a man (Tim Robbins) who was hired into a bad situation, but after a few missteps, it turns out that his fun inventions -- the hula hoop and frisbee -- are actually profitable. Kids like to have fun, and be told that they're doing a good job? No way! (Seattle has had the youngest roster in the league two of the past three years.)
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Patriots Coach
Head Coach: Bill Belichick
Film That Best Exemplifies Him: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980; dir: Irvin Kershner)
The man that replaced Carroll in New England has built the only empire in 21st century professional American football. This is their sixth Super Bowl appearance in the past 12 years. Belichick wears a hood. He's previously been reprimanded for spying on opponents. He's currently embroiled in another cheating allegation. His science, in explaining why the Patriots balls were more deflated than the Colts, is fiction according to Bill Nye the Science Guy.
Obviously, he's an evil genius. Obviously, he's Darth Vader. And Pete Carroll, the one he cast out, is coming back to face off with his own potential dynasty at stake (the Seahawks are the first team to go to back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots achieved that feat in 2002-2003).
Let's get ready to rumble!
