With Super Bowl Sunday upon us, we can perhaps finally put to rest talk of deflated footballs and scandal and get to trying to predict the game itself. Which, of course seems simple enough. I mean, obviously …

Uh …

Er…

Ok, so New England/Seattle isn’t exactly easy pickings, not even for the fellas in Vegas – New England’s favored by one as I write this Thursday evening, but that has fluctuated to a pick ‘em and Seahawks by one since conference championship Sunday.

So in my quest to back a winner, I’ve decided to get some of the real experts to do my dirty work for me …

“Selfishly, I’d like to see Seattle win,” West St. John football coach Robert Valdez said. “I’d love to see Patrick Lewis get a ring.”

Valdez was Lewis’ offensive line coach when he prepped at East St. John. Now, the backup Seahawks center has a chance to be the second East St. John player to earn a Super Bowl ring.

A local boy makes good? That could be the ticket …

“I hope he gets a chance to play,” Valdez said. “Selfishly speaking, Seattle all the way. I think Russell Wilson is the key. Marshawn Lynch should be able to get going on the ground, so if (Wilson) can be effective, I think that’s the edge. Tom Brady is who he is, but he’s not the most mobile guy, and that defense will be coming after him. I’ll go with Seattle, 31-24.”

Ok, we may have something. Surely, now, I can comfortably pick the Seahawks to win …

“I had the Seahawks at first, but I think New England’s an angry football team,” Riverside coach Bill Stubbs said.

The forecast is cloudy, again.

“I’d have to give New England the emotional edge,” Stubbs said. “Simply because of this joke of a story. It’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard of.”

Of course, he’s referring to the hopefully played out soon “Deflategate” controversy.

“That, I think, is the most absurd thing the media’s ever gotten a hold of,” Stubbs said. “That had zero effect on that (AFC Championship) game. To me, that stuff’s pumped up for hype and to sell papers. Heck, let both teams throw whatever kind of ball they want. That’s so far removed from the game itself …”

As for the matchup itself …

“Seattle’s probably got a little bit of an edge in talent,” Stubbs said. “You have to respect what they are defensively. Offensively, I think they’re going to give New England a big dose of the zone-read.The quarterback’s going to run a lot, this being the last game of the season. So that’s a plus for Seattle.

“On the other side, I have a great deal of admiration for what coach (Bill) Belichick does. His preparation is second to none. They’re so business-like, and in a big game that’s what I tend to lean to. I’d put a check next to New England, at the end of the day, because honestly I think they’ve got a little added motivation.”

New East St. John coach Alden Foster, meanwhile, believes the game will come down to the turnover margin, in a game where both offenses are extraordinarily gifted at protecting the football, and both defenses uncommonly good at forcing mistakes.

“Seattle can’t afford to fall behind New England like they did Green Bay,” Foster said. “If that happens again, they’re in a lot of trouble. At the same time, in these kinds of games, I look to the team with the best defense. Both teams have good ones, but when you look back at what Seattle did to Denver last year, they’ve got another gear. I never thought they’d beat Denver the way they did. I’d have to go with Seattle, but ultimately it’ll come down to the turnover battle.”

Unable to find a consensus, I suppose I’m left to my own devices here.

While I think last year’s Denver team and this year’s New England squad are similar in terms of ability, I think this is a very different kind of matchup. Denver was like a pitcher with the best fastball in the world; it overpowers everyone until a team comes down the pike that crushes fastballs. If you go into a game with Seattle and try to throw it around the yard, you lose. The Seahawks are too fast and too skilled at making plays on the ball.

New England’s gameplan is a lot more malleable, which is why I believe this will ultimately be a close game.

That said, it’s hard to not side with the talent, and while New England has some shoo-in Hall-of-Famers, the Seattle defense is still the strongest unit in all of football. I think both teams will struggle to create big plays of any kind against the other, and I tend to echo coach Foster: if either team commits a couple of turnovers, I think the game turns to the other side.

The pick: Seattle, 19, New England, 16.