NFL Super Bowl XLIX - Game Day Thread

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WestCoastJoe
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The blame game ...

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/2 ... /22751683/
Seahawks' 'dumbest play ever' has some defenders

Steve Schrader, Detroit Free Press 4:36 p.m. EST February 2, 2015

To recap: With 20 seconds left Sunday night, the Seattle Seahawks opted to try a pass play from the 1-yard line, instead of, say, giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch and letting him ram it home for the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLIX.

Boom! It's intercepted, and the New England Patriots win, 28-24.

We're all agreed, then, that was the dumbest play call in Super Bowl history.

Not so fast.

There are some pundits out there — especially the numbers guys — who aren't ripping Seahawks coach Pete Carroll for the call (or whoever was responsible for it).

Such as:

• Andy Benoit, themmqb.com: "It's easy to question the play calling after a goal-line interception. But if Russell Wilson had completed the quick slant to Ricardo Lockette, people would have lauded Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell for having the guts to throw when everyone was expecting run.

"Keep in mind, Bevell has limited resources. None of Seattle's wide receivers can consistently separate from man coverage, and their quarterback, great as he is on extended plays, can't make many throws from the pocket. That makes things tough on an offensive coordinator."

• Bevell, by the way, said the call was made with the clock in mind: "We were conscious of how much time was on the clock, and we wanted to use it all. It didn't turn out the way I hoped it would."

• Benjamin Morris of Nate Silver's fivethirtyeight.com can see his logic: "Sounds crazy, but he's right: With 26 seconds left and only one timeout, the Seahawks couldn't run Lynch three times in a row. If they rushed on second down, didn't make it in, called timeout, rushed again, and still didn't make it in, they'd probably be out of time before they could get off another play. So, the Seahawks had three downs to work with, but they could only run Lynch twice at most."

• ESPN Stats & Information asks: "Was it the worst play call in Super Bowl history, as some contend, or was it a smart decision with poor execution?" It's true, ESPN says, over the past five seasons that rushing for a TD from the 1 is slightly more successful that passing, but especially if it's run twice.

But ESPN also says that of 109 passes from the 1 in the NFL this season, Russell Wilson's was the first intercepted, so it's not a risky play. And over the past five seasons, Lynch has had a 45% success rate from the 1, which is 30th among running backs with at least 10 tries.

• And Neil Greenberg, Washington Post, points out that "the Seahawks found themselves in a similar position (down by six points or less, 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, second down and goal to go) just twice before in the past two years. They ran it both times but didn't score a touchdown on either play."

That's a small sample size, but he continues: "If we look at all downs in those goal-to-go situations over the past two years, the Seahawks have almost an even split between the run and pass, as do the other teams in the league, on average. In fact, no team ran the ball exclusively in those situations, so a pass was going to happen on this series at some point to keep the defense honest."

But the result — hence the play — still looked pretty bad to the naked eye.
• And Neil Greenberg, Washington Post, points out that "the Seahawks found themselves in a similar position (down by six points or less, 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, second down and goal to go) just twice before in the past two years. They ran it both times but didn't score a touchdown on either play."
It was a surprise call, very much in character for this team. Except that Butler was not surprised. He was in the moment, and he jumped all over the route.

There was consideration for getting the maximum number of carries from Lynch strategically at the goalline, with the little time left.

My read: If you have a guy on the field, you expect him to make plays. If Lockette can't get after that ball, he should not be in the game. It seems to me that the Hawks have come nowhere near close to building their receiving corps, as they have other parts of their roster. This is the receiving corps that they have. Maybe it is a surprise that they got this far with them. If you cannot go to a guy on the field, you have notable weaknesses in your personnel.

Not a great call, with Lockette as the primary. Many pro receivers would have had that throw easy as pie, it seems to me. Get position. Block out the defender. Explode into your route. And, if Wilson gets rid of it quicker, or throws it lower, or throws it more at Lockette's hip ...

A play, and a call, worthy of review? Absolutely.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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http://mmqb.si.com/2015/02/02/super-bow ... erception/
In Defense of Darrell Bevell

The Seahawks had the right look for the slant to work, but the interception that clinched Super Bowl 49 was more a function of their limited personnel. Plus, why it was Bill Belichick who made the biggest coaching gaffe, a peek at Tom Brady's note cards, and how the Pats took the option out of Seattle's read-option

By Andy Benoit

GLENDALE, ARIZ. — It’s easy to question the play-calling after a goal-line interception. But if Russell Wilson had completed the quick-slant to Ricardo Lockette, people would have lauded Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell for having the guts to throw when everyone was expecting run.

Keep in mind, Bevell has limited resources. None of Seattle’s wide receivers can consistently separate from man coverage, and their quarterback, great as he is on extended plays, can’t make many throws from the pocket. That makes things tough on an offensive coordinator.

New England’s suffocating man coverage exposed Seattle’s offense. But Bevell & Co. had the brilliant idea to play unknown 25-year-old journeyman Chris Matthews in extra-receiver packages. In the limited sample we’ve seen of Matthews, it appears he’s another Hawks receiver who can’t separate. But being 6-foot-5 and lanky, he doesn’t have to. He’ll always be open three feet above his head, which is where Russell Wilson placed the ball on Matthews’s 44-and 45-yard receptions. Cornerback Kyle Arrington had good position on both those plays; Arrington’s problem was that he’s only 5-10.

After the 45-yarder, which came three plays into the second half, Brandon Browner went to safeties coach Brian Flores and asked to cover Matthews. Browner, at 6-4 and 220 pounds, has the size and innate physicality to negate big receivers. Flores went to cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer. “The corners coach didn’t want to do it,” Browner said. “We begged for it: Please let me get the big guy.” Boyer signed off on the move. According to Browner, neither Bill Belichick nor defensive coordinator Matt Patricia had input on this personnel switch, which ultimately decided the outcome of Super Bowl XLIX. “[Belichick and Patricia] do a good job of letting the corners coach and safeties coach do their job,” said Browner.

Matthews was blanked by Browner, who defeated him with jams off the line of scrimmage.

Along with switching Browner to Matthews, the Patriots brought in Malcolm Butler, an undrafted rookie who flashed in a handful of appearances during the regular this season. Which brings us back to the interception that wasn’t Bevell’s fault.

“If I was an offensive guy, that’s the play I want drawn up,” said Browner.

“It’s man-to-man, you stack receivers like this,” he said, putting one fist in front of the other. “And boom!, you try to pick the guy. They had a good play, but we knew them, we watched them for two weeks.”

Butler had seen the stacked-receiver look in practice, where he’d been beaten on the play by Josh Boyce. “I didn’t let it happen again,” he said.

So what tipped Butler off on a quick slant in a situation where everyone was expecting run?

“They called goal-line three receivers; goal-line usually has two receivers,” he said. “You still could pass either way, but three receivers? That’s kind of letting you know something. I’m a pass defender first, and I just jumped the route.

“I don’t even remember who I was on. 83? I just knew it was stack and I jumped the route and that was the ball game.”

Uncharacteristically cool and calm, Tom Brady overcame a 10-point deficit against the NFL's best defense to lead the Patriots to a fourth Super Bowl title.
The interception was not Butler’s only contribution. He was sensational in several iso-man-to-man situations. Besides the passes that he prevented from even being attempted, Butler had a breakup against Kearse on the Seahawks’ staple slot wheel route that we highlighted earlier this week, and he broke up a pass intended for Kearse on first-and-10 early on the final drive.

But it was his interception that will be remembered, which is good news for Belichick. The interception overshadowed what was actually the biggest coaching blunder of the night: Belichick’s decision to not call timeout prior to second down on the 1-yard-line. Immediately after Jermaine Kearse’s improbable—and really, flat-out lucky—33-yard catch down to the 5-yard-line, the Seahawks called timeout. They wanted to gather themselves, but that timeout actually helped New England, as it ensured well over a minute remaining for another Tom Brady drive in the event that Seattle scored on the next play.

Belichick said after the game that he would have called timeout had the interception play been a run stop. But that’s exactly what he should have done after the previous play, a Marshawn Lynch four-yard run. Instead he let 40 seconds tick off the clock. Had the Seahawks scored on the pass to Lockette, the Patriots would have had 0:26 to come back, rather than 1:06.

But unfortunately, because hindsight is everyone’s favorite perspective, it’s Bevell being cited for a coaching blunder.

Noting Brady’s Notes

I snuck a peek at Tom Brady’s locker after the game. In it was a picture of his family at the beach, a Ganesh elephant statue, a Gatorade recovery shake (which Brady chugged shortly after his postgame arrival) and various index cards with handwritten notes about aspects of quarterbacking.
Written on the first card:

Another card contained these same phrases plus “stay on back foot.”

Brady did all of those things with considerable aplomb Sunday night; his pocket movement in the second half highlighted one of the greatest quarterback performances in Super Bowl history.
Whether it was K.J. Wright (on this touchdown) or Kam Chancellor, the Seahawks couldn't match up with Rob Gronkowski. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)Whether it was K.J. Wright (on this touchdown) or Kam Chancellor, the Seahawks couldn’t match up with Rob Gronkowski. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Man-to-man battles

Man coverage was the story in this one. The Patriots played it dominantly throughout the contest, particularly Darrelle Revis, who silenced Doug Baldwin. (Baldwin’s only catch, a three-yard touchdown, was aided by the back judge, who inadvertently picked Revis.)

The Seahawks, like they did in the second half two weeks ago against Green Bay, played more man coverage than usual in the first half of this contest. Tom Brady and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels took advantage, using a series of picks and motion-to-stack release concepts to complete passes in the flats. Brady was 20-for-27 for 177 yards in the first half. Towards the end of the half, after seeing that Seattle against the hurry-up was playing man-to-man with both safeties deep (a coverage known as “2-man”), the Patriots split Rob Gronkowski out as a lone receiver. That created a one-on-one matchup for Gronk against linebacker K.J. Wright, which resulted in a relatively easy 22-yard touchdown.

When the Seahawks were playing man coverage out of their usual single-high look, strong safety Kam Chancellor took Gronkowski, which has been their man coverage formula all year against tight ends. Gronkowski beat Chancellor multiple times, including on his 20-yard crossfield catch late in the game.

The Patriots also had a great man-beater design in the first half to get Edelman a 24-yard catch on third-and-10. I’ll break that play down graphically when the film comes out later this week.

Taking the Option Away

Leading up to the game, talk amongst analysts here in Phoenix was that the Seahawks would hurt the Patriots with the read-option. With it being the last game, Seattle did not have to worry so much about Russell Wilson getting pounded, plus the Patriots had not been particularly sharp when they saw the read-option from Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins earlier this year.

But something people forget about the read-option: The defense can take the option out of it. If they keep a front defender wide, the quarterback is forced to hand off. That’s what New England did. Marshawn Lynch still put up good rushing numbers—102 yards on 24 carries, many of them read-options—but Russell Wilson did not beat them on designed runs.

Collins Covers

Many, myself included, thought the uber-athletic linebacker would spy Wilson. But on many snaps, Collins was in coverage, defending either tight end Luke Willson or running back Marshawn Lynch. Collins held up well, save for Lynch’s 31-yard fade late in the fourth quarter. That play shouldn’t have come as a surprise; Collins’s main weakness this season has been iso-man coverage outside the numbers, which is where Lynch aligned in Seattle’s empty set.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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The Seahawks had the right look for the slant to work, but the interception that clinched Super Bowl 49 was more a function of their limited personnel.
After the 45-yarder, which came three plays into the second half, Brandon Browner went to safeties coach Brian Flores and asked to cover Matthews. Browner, at 6-4 and 220 pounds, has the size and innate physicality to negate big receivers. Flores went to cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer. “The corners coach didn’t want to do it,” Browner said. “We begged for it: Please let me get the big guy.” Boyer signed off on the move. According to Browner, neither Bill Belichick nor defensive coordinator Matt Patricia had input on this personnel switch, which ultimately decided the outcome of Super Bowl XLIX. “[Belichick and Patricia] do a good job of letting the corners coach and safeties coach do their job,” said Browner.

Matthews was blanked by Browner, who defeated him with jams off the line of scrimmage.
Along with switching Browner to Matthews, the Patriots brought in Malcolm Butler, an undrafted rookie who flashed in a handful of appearances during the regular this season. Which brings us back to the interception that wasn’t Bevell’s fault.

“If I was an offensive guy, that’s the play I want drawn up,” said Browner.

“It’s man-to-man, you stack receivers like this,” he said, putting one fist in front of the other. “And boom!, you try to pick the guy. They had a good play, but we knew them, we watched them for two weeks.”

Butler had seen the stacked-receiver look in practice, where he’d been beaten on the play by Josh Boyce. “I didn’t let it happen again,” he said.
Did the Patriots do a better job of prepping for this game? Maybe. Tough to out-prep Belichick's team.
So what tipped Butler off on a quick slant in a situation where everyone was expecting run?

“They called goal-line three receivers; goal-line usually has two receivers,” he said. “You still could pass either way, but three receivers? That’s kind of letting you know something. I’m a pass defender first, and I just jumped the route.

“I don’t even remember who I was on. 83? I just knew it was stack and I jumped the route and that was the ball game.”
Man coverage was the story in this one. The Patriots played it dominantly throughout the contest, particularly Darrelle Revis, who silenced Doug Baldwin. (Baldwin’s only catch, a three-yard touchdown, was aided by the back judge, who inadvertently picked Revis.)
The Seahawks, like they did in the second half two weeks ago against Green Bay, played more man coverage than usual in the first half of this contest. Tom Brady and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels took advantage, using a series of picks and motion-to-stack release concepts to complete passes in the flats. Brady was 20-for-27 for 177 yards in the first half. Towards the end of the half, after seeing that Seattle against the hurry-up was playing man-to-man with both safeties deep (a coverage known as “2-man”), the Patriots split Rob Gronkowski out as a lone receiver. That created a one-on-one matchup for Gronk against linebacker K.J. Wright, which resulted in a relatively easy 22-yard touchdown.
When the Seahawks were playing man coverage out of their usual single-high look, strong safety Kam Chancellor took Gronkowski, which has been their man coverage formula all year against tight ends. Gronkowski beat Chancellor multiple times, including on his 20-yard crossfield catch late in the game.

The Patriots also had a great man-beater design in the first half to get Edelman a 24-yard catch on third-and-10. I’ll break that play down graphically when the film comes out later this week.
Some interesting observations from a reporter that looks at the film.

The Butler interception will not be forgotten. Worth the reviews IMO.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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Wilson throws ...

Easy play for some QB/Receiver combos, IMO. When you throw. Where you throw. How you position yourself. How you run the route. How you prepare for the ball. Advantage offence, all the way.

Apparently part of the rationale was if this play went incomplete, there would be time for two runs with Lynch.

The package includes the play call, the situation, the clock, the personnel and the execution.

Bang. Bang. It's over. One play in a game. The Hawks gave up a 10 point lead. They have a gambler's mentality. Win or lose with that. I like the mentality. Go for the gusto.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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About the philosophy of how to build a receiving corps ...

The Patriots have a couple of guys, Edelman and Amendola, who are small, not burners, but are savvy, skilled and reliable. And they do get open. Wes Welker types. Weston Dressler types. No upside. What they are is largely what you will get. Effective pros.

Edelman. 4.52 in the 40. 7th round pick. 5'10'' 200

Amendola. 4.58 in the 40. Undrafted. 5'11'' 195

Smurfs by today's standards.

With guys like Matthews and Lockette, it seems Seattle has gone for the physically gifted guys. But not necessarily pro savvy. Not necessarily pro skilled, in the subtle ways of pros. And not necessarily highly rated coming out of college, or maybe even now. Projects. Huge upside, maybe.

Just an observation. Seatlle has done a tremendous job thinking outside the box in many ways. Perhaps in this one respect it has not paid off. 27th in passing offence. I have read criticism that their receivers do not get separation.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
TheLionKing
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Seattle offensive line gave Wilson a ton of time in the first half. For some inexplicable reason Wilson just stood back there looking for a receiver to become open (which they never did) instead of taking off.
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So the rational for the pass was about clock management. Hmmm. Did they not have a time out. Could they not have thrown on the subsequent play if they needed to? An incomplete on that play would have still stopped the clock. It just doesn't track. If the throw had been to the outside corner, it might have been less of a risk but right into the teeth of the defense? I'm quite sure that there was some thinking behind it. It just wasn't very good thinking as it turned out.
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If you like numbers, the Boston Globe has all the statistical background and probabilities that led to the decision to pass on second down. In addition to clock management, there were the facts that Lynch was 1-for-5 in rushes from the 1-yard line during the season and that 106 passes had been thrown from the 1-yard line during the season without an interception. The odds favoured the pass. The Seahawks didn't blow the Super Bowl; the Patriots stole it with an incredible play by a rookie DB, with a tremendous assist from Brandon Browner who jammed Kearse at the line to prevent him from setting a pick.

Seahawks’ play call not as bad as you think

Jeff Paterson had an interesting segment Monday night on Team1040 with Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, who mentioned that the Patriots defence practised against this very play last Tuesday. Marvez said Malcolm Butler was beaten for a TD in practice and Belichick lit into him, telling him to be more aggressive and jump the route. It paid off.
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I don't know, how bad do I think it was? I personally would have gone for the sneak. 1 yard! I know that they don't have to play off in the NFL but 1 yard. Keep the ball and dive forward. If stuffed, use your TO and then go to the pass. And even at that it should be an option play or to a corner. I don't say the Patriots got lucky, I say the Hawks got stupid. Statistically, their pass game is one of the worst. Their run game one of the best. If you can't get 3 plays off in 26 seconds with a time out, then some practice in clock management is required.
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WestCoastJoe
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B.C.FAN wrote:If you like numbers, the Boston Globe has all the statistical background and probabilities that led to the decision to pass on second down. In addition to clock management, there were the facts that Lynch was 1-for-5 in rushes from the 1-yard line during the season and that 106 passes had been thrown from the 1-yard line during the season without an interception. The odds favoured the pass. The Seahawks didn't blow the Super Bowl; the Patriots stole it with an incredible play by a rookie DB, with a tremendous assist from Brandon Browner who jammed Kearse at the line to prevent him from setting a pick.

Seahawks’ play call not as bad as you think

Jeff Paterson had an interesting segment Monday night on Team1040 with Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, who mentioned that the Patriots defence practised against this very play last Tuesday. Marvez said Malcolm Butler was beaten for a TD in practice and Belichick lit into him, telling him to be more aggressive and jump the route. It paid off.
Any failed play is going to be second guessed. That goes with the territory. Same as lineup decisions, etc. Any successful play gets a "pass." :wink:

Obvious call: run Lynch. Odds of success? Against a defence fully expecting the play? Who knows? 55-45 for the O? No gimme. It is not as if the Seahawks failed to appreciate what they have in Lynch. If the pass was just incomplete they would "probably" have run Lynch two more times.
Jeff Paterson had an interesting segment Monday night on Team1040 with Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, who mentioned that the Patriots defence practised against this very play last Tuesday. Marvez said Malcolm Butler was beaten for a TD in practice and Belichick lit into him, telling him to be more aggressive and jump the route. It paid off.
This is key. It speaks to the brilliance of Belichick. Prepare for the right stuff. And not just going through the motions. Belichick has great instincts. They run that defence in practice. Belichick can sense the vulnerability to that exact play. He can sense what is needed by the defender. He gets after it. He makes an impression, an effective impression. And the ball game turns on it. No wonder the Patriots have been to 6 Super Bowls under his leadership. Changing cast of players, aside from the obvious, Brady.

On the other side: Lockette was not thoroughly prepared for that play. Could he ever be? Could he be put in a position to play it better? Did the coaches anticipate how crucial that very play could be? Was Lockette coached about a DB jumping his route? Extending for the ball early? Preparing his body for contact? Shielding the ball from the defender? Being a "beast" in that situation? Doesn't look like it. Lockette was a babe in the woods. Helpless.

Seattle and Carroll have done a marvelous job rising so fast to the top rung in the league. But they might not be up to the standard of game preparation that Belichick and his staff bring to the game.

Call that play? Ya better have it practiced up. Your receiver better be prepped. Didn't look like it. But to me, that play was there for the taking by the offence. Also, Lockette passively drifts toward the goalline, obviously not ready for contact, or a fight for the ball in crunch time, against a much smaller opponent. Alternatively, how about a slight, tiny lean or facing to the outside, or just the suggestion of such a lean? At the snap. Hold the defender just a millisecond, get him leaning the wrong way, as he is well back behind Browner? Nope. They ran the play exactly as Belichick sniffed it out, and prepared for it on defence. (Would a savvy receiver such as Edelman or Amendola have sold an outside release with just a look?)

Just IMO ...
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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best call, fake to lynch, qb run. Highest odds of success.
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OMG. Unhappy fans want a scapegoat. Some want blood. How did humans survive this far? LOL

http://deadspin.com/pete-carroll-denies ... 1683459505
Pete Carroll Denies Reports That He Changed Seahawks' Final Play

Barry Petchesky
String him up. Beat him up. Then run him out of town. All he brought Seattle was a Super Bowl win in 2014, and a Super Bowl appearance in 2015. Yeah, well, he is a bum. They made a bad play call. And they made it to deny glory to Lynch. LOL :dizzy:

Fans are crazy. Fanatics, you say? Yeah.
Pete Carroll, who subscribes to one of the more explosive conspiracy theories out there, categorically denies any truth to the conspiracy theory that the Seahawks' desire to make a Super Bowl hero out of Russell Wilson and not Marshawn Lynch led him to overrule the fateful playcall.

"There was not a thought about running it, and then I changed the play," Carroll said Monday. "That did not happen."

We heard a version of this shadowy conspiracy almost immediately after the game, floated by someone inside the Seattle locker room, and more claims emerged throughout the day.

The gist of the theory goes like this: with feet to go for a touchdown and a near-certain Super Bowl victory, the Seahawks braintrust wanted to make sure that Wilson—marketable golden boy, franchise quarterback, company man—would take home the MVP and the fame and the glory. Much better than Lynch, who is in the middle of contract negotiations and could possibly have squeezed some more millions out of an iconic touchdown, and is 28 years old, right around the age where running backs risk falling off a cliff anyway.

So, goes the more extreme version of this conspiracy theory, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell drew up a handoff to Lynch, only for Carroll to change the playcall to a pass. Carroll says that's bunk, and that one pass—maybe even two!—was always the plan.
:dizzy:
"One of those downs we were likely to throw the ball and maybe two of those downs," Carroll said, "depending on how we had to save the clock to get in all of our plays. It wasn't just run the ball. That wasn't what the thought was."
Even with the slant route the Seahawks called, the game-killing interception required unexpectedly quick thinking and quick reaction by an undrafted rookie corner. But it was still a riskier play than anything the Seahawks have typically called this season in similar situations. The Seattle Times' Jason Jenks examined the 19 plays, prior to Sunday, that Seattle ran from inside their opponents' three-yard-line.
Of those 19 plays from 3 yards or in:

·Lynch carried the ball 11 times. He scored touchdowns on five of those carries.

·Wilson carried the ball twice. He scored touchdowns on zone-read plays in which he faked a handoff to Lynch, then pulled the ball back and took off running. He scored untouched both times.

·Wilson and the Seahawks attempted six passing plays. Wilson completed three of five passes and was sacked one other time for a 1-yard loss. He threw two touchdown passes. One went to Robert Turbin out of the backfield for a 3-yard touchdown, the other to tight end Tony Moeaki after faking the handoff to Lynch for a 1-yard touchdown.

That's seven scores on 13 rushing plays, compared with two scores—one of them with play-action—on six passing plays. Pete Carroll may not have vetoed giving the ball to Lynch, but when the Seahawks called for a quick slant, with no misdirection or moving parts, they were getting away from what had worked for them all year.
One blogger writes:
Homey the Clowney to Barry Petchesky

Pete Carroll lost that entire locker room with that call. No way those guys ever trust him again. The Seahawks run is done.

As a Hawks fan, I hope to hell I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.
Oh my God. Where is that cliff to jump off? LOL
RCCola to Barry Petchesky

Conspiracy theories are usually dumb, but this one is a special kind of dumb.

"I'm going to risk losing the Super Bowl to f*** over my running back."
:thup:
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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OK. I will ask the question: Out coached?

Well, in this one instance, and perhaps for the game, Yes. Out prepped. IMO ...
“Really the way the route generally works is the back receiver gets shielded off so that the play can get thrown to the guy trailing. And it’s worked really well, it’s been a really nice concept but they jumped it, did a fantastic job. I don’t know if they prepared to do that or he did it on his own, but it was a great play.” -- Pete Carroll
As noted above, it seems very much the Patriots prepared for that exact play, in that exact situation. Adjustments in how to play it were made, with detailed coaching.

I am not knocking Pete Carroll. I think he is fantastic. Way outside the box. :thup: But, does anyone, does any staff, do as good a job as Belichick and his staff in preparing for games? Change players. Go big (Gronkowski). Go small (Edeman and Amendola). Run. Pass. Defend. Get beat twice in the Super Bowl on unlikely passes. Win four Super Bowls. They anticipate so well. They coach and teach so well. They prepare to such a degree. They motivate so well. They find talent that others overlook or underrate. They change running backs all over the place. And they keep on winning.

Passing games in the Super Bowl. Patriots > Hawks. Did the Patriots plan and execute a very effective passing game? Absolutely.

Running games in the Super Bowl. Hawks > Patriots. Did it determine the outcome of the game? No. Can any team shut down Lynch? Not likely. Can teams run on the Hawks? Very, very difficult.

Did the Patriots play well defensively? Yes.

Did the Hawks? Not up to the standard of their season.

And yet, the Hawks, with their brand of magic, made it so close. The magic of Wilson and Lynch. And Wagner. And Carroll. What did he pump into Matthews just before that TD catch?

Great game. Very interesting. Grist for the media mill for years to come.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Toppy Vann
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I read a Linkedin defence of the great Pete Carroll and most trashed the call as I did.

He's a great coach - that was a dumb play there as the QB can run unlike any other and Lynch was able to run. Two more downs is not a slam dunk but wasting it on a pass was silly.

I read one conspiracy theory that the call did not go to Lynch as he was a dick with the media and they wanted to make Wilson the game super star. That is so dumb it is not worth attacking even.

They'd give the ball to a murderer, wife or child beater if he was out on bail and they had a sure fire TD sitting in front of them.
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
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KnowItAll
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at least Disney knows who the true contenders for MVP should have been.

or was Brady too stuck up to do the commercial.
Every day that passes is one you can't get back
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