A Head Coach Botched The End Of The Super Bowl, And It Wasn’t Pete Carroll

FiveThirtyEight ^ | February 2, 2015 | Benjamin Morris

[OddLane]

Everyone knew it was coming. Second-and-1 on the 1-yard line. Marshawn Lynch was waiting in the backfield, poised to do what he was put on this Earth to do: Get a touchdown — this touchdown. The football gods had telegraphed how they wanted the game to end, directing a floating ball straight into Jermaine Kearse’s hands. Beast Mode was going to drag the New England team kicking and screaming into the end zone if he had to. But the play call came in, Russell Wilson attempted a doomed pass that Malcolm Butler intercepted, and it was Seattle that punched and screamed its way off the field.

The Web erupted in outrage that Beast Mode never got his moment. For Seahawks fans, calling a pass was essentially Pete Carroll denying his team’s fate. For many others, it seemed like an inexplicable miscue.

[TADSLOS]

Ouch. LOL.

[smoothsailing]

Screw the stats, it shoulda been Marshawn’s ball for the rush and TD.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

You can manufacture any statistics you like but they don't change the result, and the result is all that matters.

[GunRunner]

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.

This quote explains this non-story thoroughly.

If the Hawks had 3 timeouts, they would have run 4 times.

They didn't. They had 1 timeout and wanted to have one pass in the series to act as a score/timeout (if incomplete).

Like DeflateGate, this isn't all that hard to understand, the media just has another bone they can chew on and exploit peoples' ignorance of the game.

[Sacajaweau]

You sure have to consider it.

[TexasGator]

Yes. Spread offense and when defense stays stacked up the middle you ... toss it into the crowd ...

[kjam22]

The part that it seems few people are placing enough emphasis on is this.... the defender "Malcom Butler" made an absolutely GREAT play. If you watch that play back on youtube.... he made as good of a defensive play as I've ever seen. He didn't tip his hand that he knew where it was going to go. Most any other defender and that play was a touchdown. Or at worst, an incompletion due to pass interference. That kid deserves all of the "blame" for Seattle losing.

The other thing to consider is that Lynch was stuffed on the series that Seattle had to settle for a field goal on. While everyone, including me, suspects he would have scored.... that's not a forgone conclusion.

[mmichaels1970]

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.

Bull. They could have rushed with 26 and called timeout with 20 if they didn't make it. Then they could have rushed again and had 13 or 14 seconds left (absolute minimum 10 seconds) to get to the line and run it one more time.

[Ingtar]

In the history of running that play in critical situations, that is the first time it has ever been intercepted. I think they wanted it down just short of the goal line to force NE to use a time out.

[Hugin]

“We were going to run the ball in to win the game, but not on that play,” he said. “I didn’t want to waste a run play on their goal-line guys. It was a clear thought, but it didn’t work out right.”

A clearly dumb thought. It's like a receiver looking downfield before he's caught the ball and dropping it.

[SaxxonWoods]

Dumb call by Carroll.

If he wanted to kill time he should have called a rollout option.

1. Runs more time off.
2. Wilson better when moving than in pocket.
3. Easy toss into the stands if no one open or too much pressure.
4. Allows safer throw into corner of end zone or throw away, or option of running it in.

Right idea, wrong play.

[SamAdams76]

Everybody's overanalyzing this.

The Patriots were in a tough spot and they needed a "lucky bounce". They got it. End of story.

[Texas Eagle]

The problem is even if Kearse had caught the ball it looked like he was going to be stopped short of the goal line anyway.

[cuban leaf]

I think you are right. I loved the tweet in the article.

Of the 66 times it was intercepted only once. And this was that once...

[kjam22]

Yep.. the defender made an incredible play... that 65 others didn’t make.

[TexasGator]

Nobody here is talking about how an undrafted rookie stepped up and took the ball away from Lockette.

[latina4dubya]

i am sorry but worry about scoring first... i know time on the clock is important, but sheesh... so is scoring...

[ClearCase_guy]

Yet the Pats let the clock run, as if head coach Bill Belichick psychically knew the Seahawks would muck it up.

I've really started to worry about football. It has aspects of Pro Wrestling now.

[kjam22]

See my #27

[jocon307]

I love that, it’s so brilliant, and that little boy is so cute. I’m very glad I didn’t see the ad, but kudos to whoever created that meme or whatever you call those.