Seahawks ‘just don‘t understand’ the Super Bowl-losing play call

nypost.com ^ | February 2, 2015 | Paul Schwartz

[Berlin_Freeper]

There were plenty of explanations offered, first by Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, then by offensive coordinator Darren Bevell and quarterback Russell Wilson, but at the end of Super Bowl XLIX, with everyone left breathless, the question still hanging out there along with the confetti falling on the victorious Patriots:

How in the world does Marshawn Lynch, as fearsome a runner as there is, not get the ball on second down from the New England 1-yard line in the final seconds?

“We had it,’’ Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin said. “I don’t know how you don’t give it to the best back in the league on not even the 1-yard line? We were on the half-yard line and we throw a slant. I don’t know what the offense had going on, what they saw. I just don’t understand.’’

[RayChuang88]

Marshawn Lynch is big and strong enough to bowl through that Patriots defensive line. Why didn’t the Seahawks—who still had one time out left—at least tried a running play with Lynch once, especially since the Seahawks was just one yard from the goal line? (shaking head)

[21twelve]

“..and just beat Lockette to the spot.”

The guys on the radio were giving Kearse a hard time for not getting off the line fast enough to put the block on the other defender, which would have made Butler make a step sidewise and prevented him from getting to Lockette in time. And they were giving the receivers a hard time about having the chip on the shoulder about being “pedestrian”. Well - if you can’t execute that play - you ARE “pedestrian”.

Butler had practiced this play earlier in the week - they obviously saw something in the film. So when he saw how the play was setup - he knew he was getting the interception.

My wife saw on Facebook a hotline number for Seahawks fans to call if they are overwhelmed with depression today:

Call 1-800-pass-2-lynch

(He looked like he maybe could have got open - or at least could have thrown it over his head and out of the end zone seeing as Carrol considered it a “throw-away” play anyway.)

[Alberta's Child]

I don’t think a true pocket QB ever would have had that pass intercepted. After looking at the replay I’ve decided that it doesn’t look like he got enough zip on the ball. A QB like Peyton Manning or Aaron Rogers would have thrown that pass hard enough to break someone’s hand.

[chimera]

I agree. Throw that ball into the third row of seats if the opening isn't there. They had two timeouts and two downs to push it in with Lynch or even a bootleg by Wilson. But Butler made a quick move on the ball and its possible Wilson didn't see that coming. He saw the shotgun and knew enough to hang back rather than clog the middle against the run which obviously wasn't coming on that down. Like I said a pass play in that situation isn't necessarily a bad call, it just has to be the right pass. I still say a fade to the deep corner with a tall wideout rather than a slant would have been a better call if you're going to pass in that situation.

But what do I know? I'm just an armchair general who didn't have a dog in the fight. Just wanted to see a good game between two good teams and I think we got that.

[Robe]

Dog gone.......you’re right it was Woody Hayes ....however I do remember Madden quoting him on Monday night football.....

[editor-surveyor]

.
The ball is the indicator at the goal line, not which part of his feet are across the line.

When his hands closed on the ball, his feet were both astraddle of the goal line, but it was impossible to tell conclusively from the broadcast view whether the ball had penetrated the plane of the goal line. but at least one of the officials could see it, and had started to raise his arms, but stopped.

Had he just allowed himself to fall back to the ground at that point, he would have in all likelihood have been in with the touchback, but he instead fought his way forward.

I was baffled at that moment.
.

[discostu]

Maybe. Check out the pic here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3253314/posts?page=81#81

Ignoring the shark obviously. Now we see his back there so you don’t know if he’s caught the ball, but if it is that ball is pretty clearly in the field not the end zone. There’s a few other pic and replays around that make look like an either or. And remember turnovers are automatically reviewed.

I’m still with him on it. When in doubt don’t give the refs a chance to mess with you. And really he was right there, maybe he knew he really was on the wrong side of the line at the catch.

[NKP_Vet]

“I wonder if there ever was a team that had needed as much dumb luck to get as far as they did”.

Arizona playing without their quarterback the entire year, but Seattle still could not capitalize and only clinched the playoffs and homefield on the last day of the season, because of another Arizona loss, playing with a third string qb.

Packers, with a one-legged Aaron Rodgers, completely outplaying them for 95% of the NFC title game, then totally collapsing in the final minutes to allow Seattle to make the Super Bowl.

Pete Carroll having no answer to a one-dimensional Patriots team, with Tom Brady shredding the so called greatest defense in football. Maybe when Carroll can get his players to start playing a full game and not wait to the second half before they show up, Seattle might be able to win another championship.

[SparkyBass]

Stinkin' Left Shark...

[Fledermaus]

But why pass? Fake a run with Lynch and naked bootleg with a tight end pull on 2nd down. Wilson can run it in or lob it into the endzone.

[editor-surveyor]

Perhaps you’re right, even if only a finger tip had touched the ball.

[mad_as_he$$]

I believe they Hawks thought they had Butler beat. That said my pass would of gone to a corner.

[Thank You Rush]

“”I cannot put into words for the lay person, including my wife, how utterly incomprehensibly stupid it was. There is almost nothing to compare it to.””

We have someone in DC making decisions like that every day.

Oh! You’re talking about football?

[Old Teufel Hunden]

You can try to explain away the stupid call all you want. The majority of the football watching (and coaching and playing) universe all agree that it was a stupid call. Add to that it was to Ricardo Lockette. With the Super Bowl game on the line do you go to one of your superstars? No, you go to a guy who had 11 receptions this year and has 18 receptions for his career. But I guess that was another way to fool the Patriots, right? Go to the guy who is least likely to get it in that situation.

[Tenacious 1]

I am not a fan of professional football but I did play the game in high school and college, so I know how the game is played.

I thought you were going to mention the Holiday Inn you stayed at last night. Sorry.

[NELSON111]

>>>But Carroll tried to get a little too cute and you don’t do that in the SB, especially not with the Pats D.

Interesting theory out there that Carroll wanted Wilson to get the glory for the win...and not Lynch...as a sort of pay-back for his antics.

I could see that happening...

[nikos1121]

I heard that they practiced the play with Butler during the week, and he was beat bad. So, he was ready for the play. Must have been a play that’s worked for them in the past.

The other thing, is that the Patriots did NOT call time out and lined up right away. That shows confidence and poise.

I don’t think Lynch would have scored that easily.

[discostu]

If there’s one thing to be learned listening to top 40 radio, or during the time of a bad presidency, it’s that the majority aren’t always right. They’d gone to Lynch 5 times in that situation this season, he was 1 for 5 with a net -1 yard. So going to him really isn’t the obvious choice people want it to be. Or maybe it’s the too obvious choice other defense were expecting and stacking up against making it fail while the pas often succeeds.

They’d had success in the pass with unexpected receivers already. Mathews caught his first career pass in this SB. They don’t actually have any superstar receivers. Going to unexpected guys is a way to fool the other team, again Mathews, whose big catches opened up the game and turned it into a contest, had been cut TWICE this year and never been thrown to.

Hindsight is 20/20 and it’s easy to be a monday coach pointing out all the things that “obviously” were wrong because they didn’t work. But Pete’s got the job of making those calls BEFORE he knows the results, and those calls work for him more often than they don’t. This very call he made HAS worked for him in the past, which is why Bill found it in the tapes and practices against it.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"Hindsight is 20/20 and it’s easy to be a monday coach pointing out all the things that “obviously” were wrong because they didn’t work"

Actually, this was not hindsight for me. We were actually discussing whether they were just going to let Lynch walk in so that they could have some time left on the clock to possibly take the ball down the field and get a tying field goal to send it to overtime. None of the people who were watching with me even considered that they would do anything else than hand the ball to Lynch after that previous run of his. It made no sense to us before the play and less sense after the play.

If he would have tried a fade or an out pass you would have heard no gripe from me. You just don't throw into the teeth of the goal line defense on the 3/4 yard line. It's stupid. The funny thing is that the Pats on their go ahead TD were in a very similar situation and threw. Of course they have jabronis for running backs so it makes more sense, but even if they had a decent back, they made the right call by going outside to Edelman in one on one coverage. And this comes from the team who practically invented the wide receiver pick play that Seattle ran.

[HotHunt]

Funny guy. :-)