Deflated Greatness & Super Bowl post game thoughts

[Angel Oracle]

It was most definitely one of the best 5 Super Bowls ever. 

 

The ones that stand out to me:

SB III - Namath's shock the world proclamation comes true. 

SB XVI - 49ers LB Dan Bunz (yep, LB alum) stuffs the Bengals twice on a goal line stand.

SB XXXIV - Rams hold off the Titans as a pass completion takes the Titans to the 1 yard line as time runs out.

SB XLII - David Tyree's helmut catch, unlike Baldwin's catch yesterday, helps keep winning drive for the Giants alive and denies Pats the perfect season.

SB XLIX - Pats rally late, and then the last seconds INT preserves the win.  

[OregonLAA]

It was most definitely one of the best 5 Super Bowls ever.

The ones that stand out to me:

SB III - Namath's shock the world proclamation comes true.

SB XVI - 49ers LB Dan Bunz (yep, LB alum) stuffs the Bengals twice on a goal line stand.

SB XXXIV - Rams hold off the Titans as a pass completion takes the Titans to the 1 yard line as time runs out.

SB XLII - David Tyree's helmut catch, unlike Baldwin's catch yesterday, helps keep winning drive for the Giants alive and denies Pats the perfect season.

SB XLIX - Pats rally late, and then the last seconds INT preserves the win.

The Cardinals - Steelers game has to be up there

[Hollyw00d]

I like Russell Wilson, but putting the ball in his hands over beast mode is a fail. Unless the call is a naked bootleg

[Hollyw00d]

The Cardinals - Steelers game has to be up there

This was my favorite, and I don't like the squealers

That game was filled to the brim with amazing football

[Corona]

[Brandon]

It shows it as such a great jump. Again, I don't even mind the play call. It's just a great play by an undrafted FA that only came in the game because someone picked up from Footlocker was destroying Arrington.

[Lou]

but it's not 2nd guessing.  it's 1st guessing.  from the moment the play was run, almost everyone was in disbelief.  hell, look at Brady's reaction to the play.  it was a stupid call.  

 

and the undrafted FA made that play because they knew it was coming .   Coach Hoodie even

stopped practice to show Butler how to defend after he was beat on the play.  

[Lou]

From what I gather from the ex-pros that are now talking heads, this was the idea. However, the opening was there and instead of a wasted play Wilson takes the chance.

Here is the link I mentioned earlier for the best breakdown I've seen today. They have a pic of the build up we've all seen.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/super-bowl-new-england-patriots-seattle-seahawks/

 

but that scenario is based upon this statement:

"As Wilson took that fateful second-down snap, there were 26 seconds left and Seattle had one timeout. "

 

however, the 1st down play was run with 1:06 left on the clock. the only reason seattle only had 26 seconds left when they threw that idiotic pass was because they allowed the time to run down.  

[nate]

[InsideThePark]

but it's not 2nd guessing.  it's 1st guessing.  from the moment the play was run, almost everyone was in disbelief.  hell, look at Brady's reaction to the play.  it was a stupid call.  

 

and the undrafted FA made that play because they knew it was coming .   Coach Hoodie even stopped practice to show Butler how to defend after he was beat on the play.

Yep. It was a good read by the DB but he got that great jump because he knew it was coming. Gotta be a little deceptive when you pass on the one yard line.

[HeavenlyHalos]

Meanwhile, 285 miles away, Wazzu fans are applauding the continuing excellence of "couging" in the state.

[Brandon]

Now the NFL is saying just one of the balls were deflated and the others were slightly lower, but in a normal amount considering the conditions.

Such a dumb media build up to prop the Super Bowl.

[HeavenlyHalos]

Ironically they stopped him the play before.

Grantland played devils advocate and makes a strong case for the call.

I get them trying to kill the clock so that NE has as minimal time as possible. The problem was that in doing so, they actually had an opening (some dude on Twitter broke down the route) and in a split second it went from wasting time to the possible game winner.

The thing is no one is giving the CB props for jumping the route and making the play.

 

They did stop him, but he got 3 1/2 of the needed 4 yards. He's their best offensive player and the best RB in football, you have to give him the ball there. However, if you need to pass, why the hell would you throw an inside slant where all the defenders are? The chances of the ball being tipped or picked are a lot higher. I typically hate the fade route as it has a low success percentage, but if you must throw it, that wouldn't have been the worst call throwing it to Matthews.

 

It was certainly a great play by the defender, but the story isn't focused on that because this is a classic "WTF were they thinking" moment as the highest level of American sports. I would be incredibly pissed if I was a Seahawks fan. Hell, I am incredibly pissed because I bet on the Seahawks and thought I had it in the bag. 

[DW711]

If it was me...I just go into that play thinking what's the one way I can score a touchdown with the LEAST possible chance of turning the ball over.

 

I'll give it to Butler, he guessed his ass off...but he took the perfect angle and didn't hesitate in the slightest.

 

For the OC to say they were trying to burn time...no you wern't.

 

I don't care if you hand it off to the full back, do a bootleg, a jump ball to Mathews or why not a play-action pass that led to a guy being wide open by about 10 yards (or do the obvious even if the entire defense saw it coming).

 

Not a throw that easily could have been deflected or tipped (or worse).

 

It's just not playing the odds.

Edited February 5, 2015 by DW711

[Lou]

DW, Butler didn't guess.

 

they knew that play was coming and had practiced specifically stopping that play

[DW711]

Interesting.

[Brandon]

Yeah, that's why I don't dog the play as much as I applaud the coaching and Butler. Even knowing the play Browner needed to jam him like he did and Butler needed to take that route in the quickest way possible as we have all seen the route and opening....even Wilson says he thought when he threw it that it was a touchdown.

 

I still would have ran it, I can at least get the concept and overall picture. This is the same team that had GB comeback after their score and the year or two before Atlanta did the same thing with minimal time. I still think 20-26 seconds is good enough for the defense, even if it's Tom Brady.

 

But I get it. Lynch was stopped damn near every time inside the 5 this season and when passing from the 1 yard line the stats are 66 td's and only 1 int.........that int was that particular play. So the math and strategy makes sense. If that play scores like it almost did no one is saying how dumb it was they threw on 2nd down and instead the masses are talking about how dumb NE is for only playing a Lynch run.

[InsideThePark]

They had three wide receivers on the field so of course they weren't just going to play the run. You can't. That's why Butler was in the game. Bring in your goal line offense, and then if you want to pass, you have a much better shot at catching the defense off guard and averting disaster. It just wasn't smart. Sorry.

[HeavenlyHalos]

I don't think anyone would have questioned NE for trying to stop the rush, if that's how it played out, however, they most certainly would have wondered why the hell BB didn't call a timeout after first down.

[HeavenlyHalos]

And again, my biggest issue wasn't necessarily that they passed the ball, although I do think that alone wasn't a good decision, but throwing it into the middle where the defenders are bunched up already to stop Lynch was incredibly dumb.

[Brandon]

They had three wide receivers on the field so of course they weren't just going to play the run. You can't. That's why Butler was in the game. Bring in your goal line offense, and then if you want to pass, you have a much better shot at catching the defense off guard and averting disaster. It just wasn't smart. Sorry.

Butler had been in long before replacing Arrington because he was getting burned and outmatched by Matthews.

[InsideThePark]

You kind of missed the point. The Patriots couldn't have set up that way defensively if the Seahawks brought in their monsters. They had plenty of time to sub them in with all the time they let run off the clock. Plenty of quality pass plays they could have run from the goal line formation.

[InsideThePark]

I don't think anyone would have questioned NE for trying to stop the rush, if that's how it played out, however, they most certainly would have wondered why the hell BB didn't call a timeout after first down.

Yep. And to Brandon's point, the media would have flipped on Belichick for not taking a timeout if the Seahawks had scored. I heard a couple former players say that if the Seahawks would have gotten up to the line quickly, the Patriots should have considered letting them score so they can get the ball back with more time on the clock. Now that would have been stupid.

[Hollyw00d]