SB 49 game thread....Seattle and New England

[habernac]

What. A. Game.

I thought it was happening again. Another damn circus catch after a terrific 4th quarter. Then the "play call" happened. I'm not sure I've experienced more changes of emotion in a game than that one. On paper, it promised to be a close one. The teams both delivered. Brady got the MVP, but everyone knows it should have been Edelman. Incredible end to a great season.

Tip of the cap to Seattle. They were a more than worthy foe. I have no doubt they'll be back to the big game soon.

[DiracSpike]

LOL why do people waste their time hating nfl personalities so much it makes no sense. If you watched that entire spectacle and your main felling was "damn Brady is such a smug db I hate seeing him win", or "ya take that Richard Sherman!" you're doing sports wrong, and probably doing life wrong too.
Also no one is talking about bennet jumping offside on that play in the end zone at the end, it would have been really interesting to see how that would have played out.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by shermanator

In game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals...

while on a 2 man advantage powerplay.

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

You just can't anticipate the DB jumping the route so quickly -- he got there before the receiver did.

Butler read the play the whole way. He was him linning up facing the throw so he actually had the advantage over the Hawks receiver.

That said it just shows the your luck will run out sooner or later. The Hawks came back against GB in the most improbable fashion only to be matched by the equally improbable Kearse fluke lie on the ground catch. Ironically, their luck ran out on a pick play that has maybe 10% chance of being picked.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Brady throws 2 INT and is the MVP. Wow. Good thing for him the worst call in recent memory happened with 20 seconds left.

As a neutral fan...... fun game to watch, and what a friggin catch to set up the final moments,crazy.

Half time show was lame. Bring Lenny Kravitz in to sing a Katy Perry song? Terrible. But at least she sang live, Missy Elliot couldn't even lip sync her own song properly, what was the point?

You think she sang live? Looked all lip-synced to me. Agreed on Lenny Kravitz, that was awful

[CaptainCrunch]

That was a great game to watch. You could argue that Brady was the MVP even with the 2 picks. The guy threw the ball 50 times and put up 328 yards against a very good Hawks secondary.

I had stated during the game that the weakness in Seattles defense was in the middle of the field and Brady exploited that all day long with those mesh routes.

The playcall was absolutely terrible. I get why he did it, he expected the Pats to clog the middle. What makes the call terrible wasn't that it was a passing play, even though you have an awesome short yardage back. But that they chose to throw that slant route into the most congested part of the field.

A great play by a rookie, who saw what was coming.

Its going to be a long off season for the Hawks, and they won't be as strong when they come back. The NFL more then any other league in the world sees that competitive window slam shut in a hurry.

[habernac]

When Butler picked off the football I felt like the character George in a Fish Called Wanda when Ken told him the old lady witness had died of a heart attack. "Unbef!&*ingleavable!!"

[tvp2003]

A couple of Brandon Browner articles:

Browner getting switched over to neutralize the 6'5 Chris Matthews: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...cover-matthews

Browner getting the jam on Kearse on the goalline, preventing Butler from getting "picked" on the interception: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...s-former-team/

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

I agree the single timeout remaining had the biggest influence on the play call. Run on second down and get stuffed, your only options are to quickly run another play on third down (no) or to call timeout and then throw on third down (especially after you've bled the clock down and will have no timeouts left. Also, I'm pretty sure it was Lynch who was stuffed for a loss on third and one earlier in the quarter? Or am I misremembering? EDIT: according to the play-by-play it was the first drive of the second half -- Seattle with 3rd and 1 from the 8 and Lynch is stopped for no gain (resulted in a field goal). It said they were lined up in the shotgun though -- perhaps a precursor of things to come?

I disagree that the better pass call would have been a back corner fade -- too risky IMO. If the ball is even slightly underthrown, it could be an INT. If the DB has good position, it becomes a jump ball. I think the safest call would have been play action, and leak someone out into the flat. If it's not there, you simply throw it away.

Even the pick play they called -- I bet they ran that multiple times this season and it was extremely successful (albeit maybe not on the goal line, although it must have been part of their red zone package -- unless they completely went stupid and called something off the script). For all intents and purposes it was properly executed by the Seahawks -- the guy was open and the throw was on the money. You just can't anticipate the DB jumping the route so quickly -- he got there before the receiver did.

The idea was to catch the Pats off guard with the tight formation and expected run. A throw was coming on either 2nd or 3rd down. If Lynch cant punch it through on 2nd down, then they call time out and spread the O for a higher percantage play. Incompletion stops the clock for a final Lynch run on 4th down.

All Bevell did was bump the throw play up to 2nd down. Probably not a great play call, but it can be somewhat rationalized. Because its the superbowl, people will rush to call it the worst call in history, which I think is a little dramatic.

[GirlySports]

Belichick in classic trolling mode says NE would have spent a timeout if Seattle had run on 2nd down and not gotten in.

[Stay Golden]

The look on Sherman's cocky face was outstanding.
The only reason SEA was on the 5 at the end of the game was luck on their side. Butler played that pass what seemed to be perfect and as good/bad luck would have it the ball falls onto Kearse on his back.
But it is what a team does with that luck. Carrol and all his cocky swagger nope throw at the 1 with Lynch likely poised to rumble.
When NE realized that SEA was passing Butler picked a spot where Wilson might throw gambled and won. NE got a stroke of luck that SEA decided to pass but they capitalized on that ridiculous decision by Carrol and his staff.
Hell of a pick and hell of a read by Browner to eliminate the "pick" play Carrol was going to call knowing there is noway the refs would flag at that moment.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

You think she sang live? Looked all lip-synced to me. Agreed on Lenny Kravitz, that was awful

Looked like it to me, sounded like she was 'off' on a few notes.

Saw this tweet this morning, got a good chuckle.

Paul Wiecek ‏@PaulWiecek
And forever after, a football coach will ask himself: What would Pete Carroll do? And then he'll do the opposite.

[Senator Clay Davis]

It really is the worst call in history. The Seahawks chose to use a mediocre QB and a guy who's ranks, generously, in the top 150 receivers in football to try and win the game for them. Marshawn Lynch is at worst in the top 3 backs in the league. Seattle could easily have ran it 3 times in a row even after they somewhat botched the clock.

Seattle got cute and they got torched, it's pretty much that simple. Their foundation as a football team on offense is power running through Lynch, with Wilson as a speed threat on the perimeter. They basically tried to win being New England, forcing a pass into a tight window. They betrayed who they were at the most critical time. It's an inexcusably terrible call.

[troutman]

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/02/02/super-...feat-seahawks/

You saw what happened. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, on second and goal from the New England one, saw Jermaine Kearse and Ricardo Lockette lined up in a stack formation to the right. The Seahawks spread their formation at the one, despite having an Earl Campbell type of bruising runner, Marshawn Lynch, plus one timeout, on their side. “I knew they were going to throw it,” said Butler. “From preparation, I remembered the formation they were in and I knew they were doing a pick route.” On the infamous play call, Seattle had the right look for the slant to work.

Kearse was supposed to pick the corner trying to stay with Lockette. Wilson threw. Butler burst through the poor pick and made an easy catch.

Butler was shellshocked by it all, standing by his locker after the game, and Patriots PR czar Stacey James was explaining to him how his life was about to change

Brady on his last two possessions, against a top historical defence:

13 of 15, 121 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 139.9 rating

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/02/02/super-...-interception/

“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.

[Stay Golden]

Brady answered the yearly debate who is the greatest QB in NFL history.
He owns or shares all the playoff and Superbowl passing records
Throws 50 times at the #1"D in the biggest game. Doesn't wilt after either Int's.
4 TD's to 4 different receiver's and once again drives the length of the field eating up almost 5 min leaving only 2 min for his opponent.
Brady once again did everything he could to put his team in position to win.
Brady is the best QB of all time purely on the fact he accomplished everything Montana did with far less for receiver's.

[corporatejay]

The more I think about the call, the more I don't hate it. I get Pete's explanation, I get why they did it, Kearse missed the block (on a great play from Browner) and Butler made an amazing play to not only break up the pass but hold on for the pick.

Seahawks play with balls and sometimes it bites you, the Pats came up huge on that play and they deserved the win.

[tvp2003]

For those questioning Brady as the MVP -- his stat line for the final 12 minutes of the game, with the Patriots down by 10:

13 of 15, 121 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 139.9 rating

[corporatejay]

Look how open the middle of the field is. Man on Man coverage with a rookie corner, no safety help. This article by Barnwell is fantastic.





http://grantland.com/the-triangle/su...ttle-seahawks/

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

The more I think about the call, the more I don't hate it. I get Pete's explanation, I get why they did it, Kearse missed the block (on a great play from Browner) and Butler made an amazing play to not only break up the pass but hold on for the pick.

Seahawks play with balls and sometimes it bites you, the Pats came up huge on that play and they deserved the win.

I agree. I also don't think it was that bad a throw. Maybe Wilson could have put it a little tighter to the receiver, maybe the receiver could have fought a little harder for the ball. But sometimes a defender just makes an outstanding play. This was a great athletic play that came from watching film and knowing your opponent's tendencies. New England didn't sub out of their goal line package so Seattle had a mismatch with one of their receivers when they spread it out. New England just executed better. Personally I still would have run the ball but I don't hate the call and I like it a heck of a lot more than a fade pass to the back of the endzone.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

The more I think about the call, the more I don't hate it. I get Pete's explanation, I get why they did it, Kearse missed the block (on a great play from Browner) and Butler made an amazing play to not only break up the pass but hold on for the pick.

Seahawks play with balls and sometimes it bites you, the Pats came up huge on that play and they deserved the win.

The more I think about it, the worse it looks. Consider that in 2014, the Patriots ranked as the worst team in the league in 1 yard situations (i.e. 3rd/4th and 1, goal to go from the 1). Then consider Seattle ranked as the second best power running team in the league. Maximum strength against maximum weakness, and Seattle goes away from it.

Carroll's explanation is actually atrocious. So he's got 3 chances to win the Super Bowl, and he's basically saying he wanted to throw a play away to set up 3rd and 4th down? What kind of idiocy is that? It's the quintessential case of over thinking a situation. He was actually scared here New England would come back and tie it or win it (likely from experience...Green Bay 2 weeks ago, Atlanta in 2012), so he was more concerned about the clock than simply scoring, which should have been his only consideration. If Tom Brady makes some miracle comeback, so be it.

Then consider the target of the play, Ricardo Lockette, has 18 NFL catches...ever (4 seasons). Not in just the playoffs, not just this year,...ever. That was the target of the play to win the game. And this from an incredibly weak Seattle receiving core. It's not like they have great weapons to choose from, Lynch is probably their most dangerous receiver.

With the result of the play (a Super Bowl loss), it's really hard to not have it as the worst play call ever. If they ran Lynch 4 times in a row from a goal to go situation, no one would question anything, it'd be riding your horse as you should and if they stop him, tip your cap. Instead Seattle thought they would outsmart everyone. In the end they outsmarted themselves. If not the worst play call ever, certainly the most arrogant.