NFL NEWS

SB XLIX Notes: Studious Brady expects to be healthy

The Sports Xchange

January 29, 2015 at 4:47 pm.

 

Tom Brady is ready to lead his team to another world title. (David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)

Quarterback Tom Brady said the New England Patriots are practicing great, knowing the margin for error against the Seattle Seahawks is minuscule.

“I feel pretty good,” Brady said Thursday. “It was good to get out on the field and run around. I’ve been through it plenty of times. I’m glad (the cold) happened early in the week. I expect to be 100 percent on Sunday.”

Brady is listed on the injury report because of the illness but experienced no limitations on the field. He also has not been bothered by any fire alarm issues at the team’s hotel, where reportedly twice in three nights the sirens went off during sleeping hours. Brady said he slept through any noise.

Brady is spending most of his waking hours watching Seattle’s defense. He’s handling his normal weekly routine, including a Tuesday meeting with coach Bill Belichick to compare notes on what they saw in film study of the Seahawks.

“I’ve seen a lot of film on this team,” Brady said. “I feel like I know these guys pretty well.”

—An unmuted Marshawn Lynch finally uttered multiple and varied responses at Super Bowl media availability Thursday after two previous appearances in which his prepared and repeated words included “so I don’t get fined” and “you know why I’m here.”

The Seahawks’ running back lectured a throng of media that included dozens of video and still cameras and at least 50 reporters.

“All week, I told y’all what’s up,” Lynch said, wearing dark-tinted, gold-rimmed sunglasses. “For some reason y’all continue to come back and do the same thing y’all did. I don’t know what story you’re trying to get out of me. I don’t know what image you’re trying to portray. But, it don’t matter what ya’ll think, what y’all say about me. When I go home at night, the same people I look in the face, my family that I love, that’s all that matters to me. Y’all go ahead and make up what you want.

“I come to y’all event, y’all shoved cameras and microphones down my throat. But when I’m at home in my environment, I don’t see ya’ll. But y’all mad at me. And if you ain’t mad at me, then what are you here for? I ain’t got nothing for ya’ll. I told y’all that. But y’all continue to do the same thing. I’m here to prepare for a game and y’all want to ask all these questions. I understand that. But I told y’all I ain’t got nothing for y’all.”

—Pete Carroll has no issue with the Patriots taking advantage of the rules in an attempt to catch defenses off guard. But the Seahawks’ coach has made an effort to ensure his defense is alerted to exactly who the eligible receivers are on a given play.

After watching Patriots left tackle Nate Solder catch a touchdown pass against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game, Carroll contacted the NFL office to gain clarity on the rules in preparation for Super Bowl XLIX.

“I called to find out about the mechanics of that stuff. There was a mistake (against Indianapolis),” Carroll said. “That’s something that could happen. We don’t want that to happen if we can help it.”

“They came back with a very clear response,” Carroll said of the league office. “There’s going to be a very clear signal — a new declaration to the players on the field. I know the league is absolutely committed to getting that right. We’ve been preparing for it every day, because we don’t want to get caught in mishandling it on our end.”

— Super Bowl XLIX might be the most expensive game to see in the event’s 49-year history.

The cheapest Super Bowl ticket to be found Thursday cost $8,070 — more than double the price over the last two years.

In 2013, when the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, the ticket prices peaked at $3,321, 13 days before the game.

Last year, when the Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos, the top ticket price was $3,626, 14 days before the Super Bowl.

This year, just three days before the game, prices have skyrocketed since opening at an average of $2,764 on Jan. 18. The face value of a ticket is between $500 and $1,500.

The reason for the spike in price, according to a report by ESPN.com, is that the supply of tickets online has dropped over the past week as Seahawks fans have bought them up.