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Anyone else feel like this is karma for Pete Carroll? I can't help but still be bitter about the last couple of Rose Bowls we lost to him and he royally screwed the Trojans on the way out.
Most are calling the goal line play the worst call in the history of football, which might be hyperbole, but I can't say I feel bad for him.
Edit: Not Hyperbole. It was a horrendous call.
It was a pretty bad call.
Obligatory.
marshawn lynch?
enjoying the schermanfreude as well
What exactly do you dislike about Richard Sherman?
For one he made his name by being a jerk. Nobody knew who he was until that obnoxious interview. His bad behavior made him a star.
He made his name by being the best in the game at his position.
I had no idea who he was until his outburst at the end of the NFC title game last year. It was one of the most unsportsmanlike displays I have ever seen.
To be fair to Seattle hippies, they really like their soccer team.
A poor winner!
If it were Jabrill Peppers against Ohio State instead of Sherman/49ers you'd prolly love it.
Ever heard of Patrick Peterson, Brent grimes, darrele revis, or Joe Haden ? All have an argument to be made, personal I'll go with patrick Peterson.
Earl Thomas is better than Sherman.
Revis has a claim, and has done it for longer. Peterson isn't even close. Haden is very good but not as good as Sherman or Revis either.
Peterson is probably a more gifted athlete. But as a corner it's not close right now. Hate him all you want. But Sherman is the best.
I think the dude is a dick...
But nobody plays his position better then he does.
Peterson is probably the best athlete on your list, but he's not even close to being the best CB.
He commits PI on every play and dares the ref to be "that guy" who calls 50 PI's on one player. He's good, but he is allowed to play the football equivalent of "Duke Defense."
Do you actually watch the games, or are you just buying into a narrative created by people who don't like Sherman? Brady only targeted him one time in the entire game tonight, there's a reason for that.
This guy has a clue.
Exactly. There were times that Sherman covered Gronk (and NE could have had the matchup any time they wanted it) and Brady looked that way, saw Sherman, and dumped it off to someone else.
Sherman is in the territory where he doesn't look as good as he is because nobody even throws the ball his way anymore. He's a prick off the field, but he's a great cornerback on the field.
Seriously? Nobody knew he was? You may not have known but folks who follow the NFL knew. Sherman was first team All NFL in 2012 and had a QB rating against of 44.9. In 2013 he had already been named to the Pro Bowl, as well as leading the league in interceptions at the time of the interview you mentioned. I think his QBR against was like 48.7 that year. Later named first team All Pro obviously. Obviously a pro bowler this year and will be 1st team All pro again. He's been the best corner in the game for the last 3 years and had been so for the 2 years prior to that interview.
Obviously Sherman is exceedingly brash and cocky but he does have the game to back it up. He's also one of the most articulate and entertaining athletes in the world and he's been on point with his criticisms of the NFL. And the NCAA too boo. And Skip Bayless.
Sherman from 4th and 18 against USC in 2007.
It's fine if you don't like him, but everyone who watches the NFL knew who he was before that interview. He is obnoxious, but he is also one of the best CBs in the league.
Did you forget the /s?
No.
Not speaking for the OP, but his act is just tired at this point. He walks right up to that line between acceptable NFL behavior and being an ass, which is probably a blast for Seahawks fans but is just annoying to the rest of us. He's a smart guy who knows how to get attention, but between screaming his head off about Crabtree, the "You Mad?" comments at Brady some years ago, the big talk when they win but not talking to reporters when they lose, all of it is just annoying to me. And yeah, the least surprising thing was watching the Seattle D start throwing punches when the game was out of reach.
exactly
I think you're confusing the entire Seattle defense with Richard Sherman. He was actually the guy that was the first to shake Brady's hand to congratulate him.
I'm getting a sense you are a Seahawks fan, so I'm not going to argue with you. Great, Sherman came over and shook the hand of a guy who defeated his team in the SB. That makes him absolutely as normal a person as basically every other Seahawk today. But if you are trying to convince me that the guy who ran up to Brady yelling "you mad", who ranted about a "second-rate" receiver in Crabtree and talking about how he wants to "choke him out" every year (I'm sure in terms of coverage, but still), who wouldn't talk to the media after SD beat Seattle with a strong focus on throwing at Sherman, etc. isn't annoying or a hypocrite, you are going to be wasting a lot of time.
Way too much shit!
Way too much shit!
Yes the shermanfreude is really just as good. I can't stand the seahawks and all the 12th man etc. I like the pats especially because of Brady. But I loooove watching the seahawks lose too
I also can't stand a lot of the 12th man stuff, especially since a lot of people have jumped on the bandwagon recently and have only known success. As a Lions fan I feel like they're Bran and I'm Old Nan from Game of Thrones and I want to give the "Oh, my sweet summer child. What do you know about fear?" speech.
Teams that win get lots of fans. But at same time, they get almost as many blind haters. the same people that hate the Seahawks today probably hated the Patriots 10 years ago, minus most michigan fans.
I don't blindly hate the Seahawks, I actually don't hate the Seahawks at all. Their fans, however, I have found to be annoying and oversensitive.
I live among them. They've suffered for most of the Seahawks existence, like I have with the Lions. They're just enjoying it while they can. You want to see obnoxious, come see me if the Lions ever win one.
Can't stand Sherman or Pete Carrol or pretty much any Seahawk except Russell Wilson.
And Kam Chancellor. I really like the way that dude plays.
The only way this could be better is if it was preceded by a clip showing Sherman mocking Darrelle Revis by signalling "2 - 4" to the camera, like he did after Seattle's TD pass earlier in the game.
Bro" ?
This is a thing of beauty
If I could figure out how to do it, I'd post that "whatever" picture of Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney that went viral a couple of years ago.
Here's hoping this picture suffers the same fate.
Not going to lie - found a bit of humor in watching his reaction.
Well if karma is winning a super bowl one year and going back and almost winning another one than sign me up. I think he's a scumbag but the patriots pulled it out with come clutch plays at the end.
Definitely the worst call I can remember in playoffs, at least that decided a game.
But really if Brady would have lost another one after the 2nd luckiest catch ever in Super Bowl history... that would have SUCKED.
It's karma.
That's what happens when you get too cute. You have one of the best backs in the league with more than enough time/attempts to put it away. Run. the. goddamn. ball.
Michigan got absolutely obliterated by more talented USC teams.
Tip of the hat.
That slant call tho...
trailing 19-11 (within one score) in the 4th quarter and ultimately only losing by two touchdowns is being "absolutely obliterated?
Michigan almost certainly had a huge letdown after just coming extremely close to winning their biggest game in many years and going to the national championship in 2007. Yet they were within one score of USC in the fourth quarter of the Rose Bowl after playing unusually crappy. They were very talented and very capable of beating USC. And they were not "absolutely obliterated."
Maybe we didn't really understand the phrase yet back in '06, but in the last seven years we've gotten some experience with "absolutely obliterated" and that wasn't it.
we were all experiencing the letdown of the previous game, and the team showed it on the field that day.
We had no idea what being on the losing end of a beatdown really was at that phase of our lives.
How much camera time he was getting. Never saw that before. The camera went to him after every play. What was up with that?
Don't feel bad one bit, in fact I love it.
I rather enjoyed that myself.
Seattle fans have to be gutted. A split second before they're celebrating winning the super bowl. Everybody watching knew you hand it off to lynch one more time and it's game. Then they blink and the pats have the ball, game over, you lost. What a crazy gut wrenching ending for them. To be fair, though, that's how most of Seattle's games end, they're just usually winning that way, instead of being on the receiving end
Yeah, they can share a beer in misery with Green Bay.
Almost no chance Seattle aren't Super Bowl champs right now if they just run it with Lynch. I was flabbergasted when they a) threw it and then b) it was picked. They had the game and gave it away
Lynch has had 5 carries from the one yard line this year and scored one TD.
What's your deal Coach?
Honestly, why you don't run Marshawn Lynch right up the gut is beyond me. He's as much a sure thing in this league as there will ever be at the RB position, and even if he doesn't punch it in, you still keep the clock going and give Brady less time to work with.
Carroll single handedly cost Seattle a second straight Super Bowl. He could win another few in his time there, but he will always be criticized for making that call. Rightfully so.
still haunts Carroll.
Could be some truth to that. Coaches never forget the plays that don't work. He definitely over-thought the call this time.
Since Carroll is the head coach and not the offensive coordinator (Derrell Bevell is), nor is he an offensive guy. You pointing him out for single-handedly costing him the game is asinine.
Personally, I don't think it was a horrible call. Those plays are usually lower risk, and it would have been open except for a damn good read and react by Butler. Giving it to Lynch may have been a good idea, but if he didn't get in, you may have been hurting more for time. Just my opinion.
You can have your opinion, but I think you are in the smallest of minorities - it was a bad call to throw a slant when the defense is packed at the line. Run the ball, throw a fade to the corner or rollout Wilson, but you do NOT throw a slant there.
And everyone on the internet is suffering from severe hindsight on the call. What happens if they run Lynch and he gets stopped? NE is loading up for the run, probably has a run blitz call on, and if Lynch does get stopped, you have to call timeout and now your stuck having to throw when NE knows you have to throw. By throwing on 2nd down, you keep the timeout and keep Lynch involved.
I'm sure if Bevell knew that the undrafted rookie free-agent CB would make the perfect counter-play to the call and intercept it (not just knock it down with all of the traffic in the middle), he'd have called something else.
Was it a risky move? Sure, but everybody celebrates Carroll as a genius if it works.
Apparently my opinion is also shared by Brian (see front page).
It would have been a good call.
On 2nd down with a TO in your pocket, Marshawn Lynch must get that ball. If he falls short, call the TO and run that on 3rd down.
There was enough time to get three plays out of that.
I am thrilled for Brady and the other UM guys.
But I really dislike the patriots otherwise.
And it was THE worst call of the super bowl era. Without it, the pats almost certainly lose.
He still has a college championship and a Super Bowl win under him. That's not too shabby.
Don't feel bad for him or any of the Seahawks.
They showed what kind of team they are the play after that pick.
The only thing better would have been Lynch fumbling the ball and the Pats taking it back for a TD in that situation.
The problem is that idea is incredibly stupid for many resons, including time management, and ball security.
I would hate to be that fella. He screwed the pooch in the biggest of moments.
The real mistake Carroll made was bleeding so much time off the clock after the 1st down run. He should have had the 2nd down call ready (they called timeout before the 1st down call) and gone hurry up. NE wouldn't get to substitute or has to call a timeout.
Either way, Carroll forced his own hand by letting the clock run down. He played it like the touchdown was guaranteed and he got to choose how much time would be left afterward. Never play the game like anything is guaranteed. Make sure you score, then trust your defense to stop the other team, no matter how much time is left.
This is true, but you have to keep in mind that if he kept more time on the clock and punched it in immediately, he is giving Tom Brady and the Pats more time to try to march it down the field, and all they would have needed was a field goal to tie and send it into overtime.
Carroll was interviewed after the game and specifically said it was his decision to throw on second down because he knew if they didnt get it, the clock would stop, and they would try to punch it in on third down. If they didnt punch it in on third down, they would use their last timeout and then try again on fourth down. I can understand his logic, but still not a good call. Then again, he is likely taking the blame and covering for someone else's poor decision...
they had a timeout. If Lynch doesn't make it, they call a t.o., and either run him again or throw a pass and run him on 4th down.
Of course, I remember when Notre Dame ran it up the middle against us on the goal line four straight times, didn't make it, and lost.
Carroll's argument was that if they run it they wouldn't get a 4th down. He said if we throw there I either win or get two running plays if I want them. Classic case of overthinking the situation.
for that bizzarro call would be Carroll forcing the Patriots to defend both the run & the pass on all three downs.
If Marshawn was stopped on 2nd down, then the Seahawks would have had to use their last timeout. From there, if the Seahawks had run on 3rd down and didn't make it, they would either have seen the clock run out before the 4th down snap or they would have gotten off a harried 4th down play.
So perhaps Carroll was thinking, I have two runs and one pass left. Why don't I use the pass when no one expects it?
OK, I tried.
EDIT:
Oops, Pete Carroll is on the hook, I and tried to let 'im off.
The first down snap (Marshawn to the 1) occurred at 1:06. Say the play took 5 seconds and it took 15 seconds to get set (generous). That leaves ~45 seconds for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th downs. Plenty of time for three runs with one timeout.
That there were only 20 seconds left after the interception play was because Seattle wanted the clock run down.
who knows nothing about football was loke why wouldn't you run the ball lol
Haha. Sneaky Pete. Haha.
Wisconsin QB << Michigan QB.
Weirdly, 4 Rutgers guys got rings today. Damn.
Bellicheck loves him some Rutgers
It wasn't that it was a terrible playcall - it would have been a TD with 6 more inches, but that it was 2nd down and you had a TO. Run the ball up the gut; at worst you have an incredibly short field for 3rd down, and best you score. And if you want to throw, do it to the outside where your WR isn't surrounded by Pats. But throwing inside made no sense there.
Makes it an incredibly terrible play call
It was a dumb playcall, but again it could have been a completion with a bit more air/time. To me, truly terrible playcalls are ones that never had much chance of success and couldn't be justified in really any context. Like, when McNabb tried to rally the Eagles and had terrible playcalls that ate up time, that was horrible playcalling. This was just a bad play, one exasperated by a better option.
It's probably semantics I'm arguing here; it obviously didn't work out. But had Wilson connected people wouldn't be calling it a terrible playcall at all.
.
The play itself wasn't terrible; there are far worse plays they could have run there. But it wasn't the right time. Had that been the 3rd-down call, I wouldn't have had an issue.
To me, a far worse playcall was the Pats coverage on the Seattle TD right before the half. The Pats gave huge cushions to both outside receivers for Seattle, and Matthews wasn't even touched before the ball go to the endzone. That was a terrible playcall.
Pretty much. Throwing a ball from the 1-yard line on a crossing route isn't the worst play in the world, and again, a couple of inches and it's a TD. But giving up 8 yards of cushion when you only need 7 yards for a TD was terrible, and you could tell it was a terrible call because everyone was screaming about the formation as soon as they broke it out.
This is a subjective argument so I'm not sure your drive to "convince" me I'm wrong. You think throwing a short pass instead of giving your RB a shot at a TD from the 1 yard line is the worse call, and I'm not going to argue with you that it wasn't a bad call. But people are acting like it was a terrible decision because of the result, not because of the playcall. Had it fallen incomplete, now Seattle has a choice between running the ball on two more plays (3rd and 4th) and still have a TO. You run there and he gets stopped, you have to throw the next two downs and that limits you. It was a dangerous throw and it was picked off, but it was also a great play by the Patriot DB. Your mileage may vary with this argument, but that's how I viewed it.
EDIT: I think the result of the play is so intertwinned that the argument of "terrible play" is hard to distinguish. It was an INT so it was a terrible result, but throwing a pass on 2nd-and-short near the goalline wasn't a terrible decision, and based on stills and videos of the play it probably would have worked had the throw been a bit better. My issue with the "worst playcall in history" argument, which I've seen here and other places, is that it is based on the result, not necessarily the play called.
He wasn't surrounded by Patriots. Butler started to the outside; he just jumped the route at the perfect time. It isn't like a linebacker or defensive end tipped or picked the ball.
Yeah, lets talk shit about Carroll who dominated Michigan while at USC and dominated Harbaugh while at Seattle. Seriously, without Carroll Harbaugh is not at Michigan right not.
THANK YOU PETE CARROLL!!!
didn't "dominate" Michigan. He won two games by only two touchdowns each time. That's a winning record but not exactly domination. And he didn't exactly dominate Harbaugh overall either. Harbaugh kicked his butt (2-1 record and a beatdown in the last game) while at Stanford even though he had major disadvantages. Then at SF, I believe Harbaugh only trails Caroll 5-4 overall after an initally leading 4-2. Obviously, the last couple games Harbaugh's SF was crippled by injuries, suspensions and incompetent/undermining management.
The games weren't close and you know it. USC didn't even want to be in the Rose Bowl those years. Carroll's USC teams were light years ahead of Michigan. He's a great coach.
He's a gum-smacking douche and the schadenfreude is beautiful.
Those USC teams were unquestionably elite and did dominate us, but that was against Lloyd so I'm not sure how that's relevant. You said he dominated Harbaugh, which isn't true at either Stanford or San Fran.
is not an "only."
I'm not on board with the "worst call ever" chorus. It's all a flip of the coin. If his players out execute the opponent then they win and it's a brilliant call. If they run Lynch and get stuffed then everyone would be on him for being too obvious.
You don't flip a coin on 2nd and 1 at the goal line with the SB on the line and Lynch in the backfield. The call maybe, maybe, could be excused if Pats are the one's driving. They weren't, it was the Hawks who have Lynch. If they were so intent on throwing and surprise they should do a fade or something that doesn't throw right into the teeth of a loaded up box.
What kind of maniac would complain about running Lynch there? It wasn't 4th down. There were ~30 seconds left. They had time outs.
I agree that running beast mode is the right call there, but let's be honest, people would hate on it if didn't work (although not nearly as much as they are and will be picking apart the call that was made).
I am not Pete's fan but I appreciate how he handled the questions afterward. They had a plan and it did not work out. Props. His steadiness bodes well for a return visit for Seattle.
would have made that play? Not many. Give some love.
plus the previous play was a freaking miracle so....
When USC had a 4th and 1 play to win their third consecutive championship, they ran the obvious play -- Bush up the middle. Texas stuffed it, Vince Young then did his thing etc.
Wonder if that was in the back of his head. Dont do the obvious.
4th and 1 in your opponents territory to ice a game late and 2nd and 1 at the goal needing a TD to win the game are not even remotely similar.
He ran White. Bush was on the sideline, so Texas knew it would go to White. Easy stop.
I really really wish Tressel had thought of that play call in 2005.
Best running team in football? Check. Marshawn Lynch in the backfield? Check.
Run Lynch three times to get one yard. Not a single person on the planet can be upset that he isn't stopped. Conversely if he is stopped you tip your cap to the Pats and not a single person can be upset.
It was, without doubt or hyperbole, the worst call in the history of any sport. It's hard to understand and as a lifelong Seahawks fan who has watched some terrible football it might have been the most painful thing I've ever experienced.
So even if Lynch was stopped the Seahawks could have called a TO. But even if they wanted to throw it a fade would have made more sense. Safer pass. Why you throw the ball over the middle in such tight circumstances at that point I have no idea.
It was inexcusable. With the TO in the backpocket it makes it even worse.
I found the play all to be excellent. Go Pats! Go Brady!
Shocking.
Douche Bag who had absolutely no regard for any semblance of integrity in college football... He was well aware of the tire fire he started and was approaching USC. He did what most con men do... run to where they won't extradite. His safe haven was the NFL.
That is why the play that happened to night came at the time it did.... to punk him out at the biggest moment and on the biggest stage. Sleep tight Pete....
for a take out of left field ...
intercepting what appeared to be a sure TD pass against the Patriots' goal line rush defense. The play call is being questioned. I get that.
It was rock, paper, scissors time; the Seahawks decided to go scissors, thinking they'd have two more downs to go ROCK. But rookie Malcolm Brown wasn' t thinking about the incredible catch Kearse made against him two plays earlier, he was thinking about what he'd seen on film when the Seahawks lined up with stacked receivers, and he made the play of the game on the biggest stage.
What a great finish to a great game.
Can we get a UFR of Q4 for our former QB and now 3 time Superbowl MVP?
But I think you have the RPS rules wrong.
But Lynch has fumbled in the past, so it's
"Lynch *usually* beats paper".
Are the second most insufferable in sports, after sparties. So this was a less than desirable result, though I have a ton of respect for Brady and the pats players
Huh? Really...Boston? I can think of tons of worse cities and teams.
Boston fans are really annoying. Personally, I'm a little biased against Chicago but Boston is right up there
Pats fans are actually pretty cool in my experience but Red Sox and Celtic fans are insufferable.
Beyond a doubt, they cannot handle any sort of success without talking down to every other fan base, it's really awful.
Carroll is the reason Harbaugh is at Michigan right now so...
cc
Well, Carroll won 5 out of the last 6 so I'd say that has something to do with it.
a guy who went to three straight NFC title games including a Super Bowl. Sometimes certain coaches have a streak against other coaches. Those can be ended.Tony Dungy was whipped by Belichick, but did the Colts fire him? Nope.
All Jed York and Trent Baalke. Pete had nothing to do with it.
5/6
Jed York and Trent Baalke would have "consciously decoupled" from Jim Harbaugh even if he had won 5/6 vs. Pete Carroll. York only cares about profit margin, and Baalke wants to have the biggest unit in the Niners office.
Double post...
defensive play. I don't think it was that insane of a call.
While there have been some mind-boggling calls at critical moments in Super Bowls past, what the Seahawks did there really stands out to me as one of the more unreal "WTF" strategic gaffes in recent Super Bowl memory. As other have mentioned, if you were going to try anything in the air, you would have done better to go all Mike Leach and throw goal line fades, or do something more conventional and just run Lynch up the middle until a TD happened or someone died. The pass up the middle was just...wow.
As a counter, had the ball been 6-inches more inside Seattle scores there. It wasn't a great playcall by any means, especially with a TO in your pocket, but the Patriots DB made a tough play in traffic that could just as easily been a TD.
Looked like if the pass was right at the receiver instead of out front, there's no way it gets intercepted. At that close of range, no need to lead very much.
How close a play was to working doesn't alone justify how smart of a playcall it was. YOu have the #1 rushing attack in the NFL, you have an RB who hasn't lost a yard all game long, you have one of the most elusive QBs in the league. There are so many better options there. They tried to go for a quick play that would catch NE off-guard, but in doing so they called a play that in no way resembles the Seattle offensive identity. It only looks like teh worst call ever because of the circumstances, but regardless it's still really really bad.
from living in LA while he was coaching USC.
Ok.
Pete is actually a good dude in Seattle, and I hated the guy at USC.
Ok.
Because he's coaching your team and winning, perhaps? The USC stuff doesn't go away and he's turned the 'Hawks into the MSU of the NFL. He's still a jerk.
Only the third owner to face a coach he fired in the Super Bowl. Hard to believe it happened that many times. Crazy!!!
I'm really confused....
The Seahawks had second-and-goal at the New England 1 with 26 second to go Sunday, but instead of giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch, Seattle ran a slant route intended for Ricardo Lockette that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler in the 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots. "We were conscious of how much time was on the clock and we wanted to use it all," Bevell said. "It didn't turn out the way I hoped it would."
so a pass to the end zone was their attempt to use all of the clock? can someone fill me in on that logic please.
I guess it was a designed .5 yard slant. nevermind.
I get that the time runs while the qb drops back, but carroll made it out like that was part of their plan to use more downs.
I would assume that his point is that they did not have enough time to run 3 running plays from 2nd down on given the clock but by passing to the end zone and killing the clock on one of those plays they would be able to get in all 4 downs. If you run on 2nd down, you then call TO and then it's possible that after a failed 3rd down run you dont have time to reset and get off a 4th down play. That much is probably true but debateable as the time would be close. Of course, even if you accept that premise, you can call a run on second down, call TO and then pass on 3rd down so that you can have a 4th down play. Or even if you pass on the 2nd down, run a different play than that one. His point might be valid for the 3rd down play but you have to run Marshawn again on 2nd down. He gets a few yards on almost every play, in this game and in general.
What if the 2nd down pass is caught but Lockette is tackled before he scores? You still have to call TO. Just a terrible play call and an even worse decision.
Because the pass is into the endzone, so its either touchdown, incomplete, or interception. It's not like he threw a bubble scrren behind the line.
The logic is that by passing on 2nd down, you keep the timout and run on 3rd down. If you don't score on either down, you let the clock run down to :01 and you leave the Super Bowl down to 1 play. Since it's 4th down anyway, it doesn't matter if you run or pass it.
I don't agree with the playcall (I go hurry up and try to score ASAP), but I understand his line of thinking. It's risky, but so is scoring with :20 left on the clock and Brady (with 2 timeouts) needing only a FG to tie the game.
That play call was the worst in recent memory.
Pete owned up to it.
Congratulations to the pats.
next...
I've started to hate the Seahawks. I've never seen a pro team act more "disrespected." Every player acts like they've been told they're the worst player in the league every day. And then the ridiculous stuff at the end of the game. They are the most MSU NFL team I've ever seen.
Never liked the seahawks. I think it's the color scheme. And what is a seahawk? Why couldn't they use Osprey?
Jim Harbaugh is definitely smiling after seeing Carrol and the Seahawks lose.
Seattle benefited by contrarian tactics as much as they suffered from them. NE's D focused on Lynch and pretty much took him out of the game. Hindsight Harry will always kvetch. This game will go down in my mind very much like Dyson getting tackled at the one in SB XXXIV.
Sometimes great defensive plays win it. Sometimes unknown talents make the difference. Brady and Wilson played great and made gaffes. Carroll is as much to be credited as to be blamed (the score at the end of the 1st half is to his credit and gave Seattle the mo in the game.) Great great game. Decided by caprice as much as strategem. Why throw darts when faced with utter greatness.
102 yards on 24 carries with a TD and 31 yards on 2 passing targets is not taking Lynch out of the game. Unless you meant they took Lynch out of the play at the end in which the offensive alignment did that without any help from NE.
still good but 1.5 yards off his season average. Those long runs were for 15 and 14 yards and weren't field/game changing. He had a sub Lynch outing but a solid performance. The story of the Seahawks scoring was in the big plays through Wilson. That is not to say Lynch wasn't a part of that since NE dedicated Hightower and others to anti-Lynch duties.
There aren't too many other backs I would trade for Lynch. I'm just talking about the game, and honestly the feel - as I admit - I didn't look up the stat line before saying NE contained Lynch.
Even Jan Brady knew who to go to.
There is too much armchair quarterbacking and hindsight being 20/20. If the CB doesnt make a great play, one that he has never made before, then Carroll looks like a genius with his 2 rings.
To me, the far worse call was Belichick not taking timeout after the first run by Lynch. If the Patriots had lost and not had time to come back, he would never have lived that down.
