How about a Super Bowl 49 thread?

Saturday Super Bowl

I have never heard a reasonable reason why it should still be played on Sunday since there is a two-week break.

 

Here's Bevell talking about the impact of the game clock on the play call. "We were conscious of how much time was on the clock and we wanted to use it all," Bevell said.

Super Bowl XLIX -- Darrell Bevell of Seattle Seahawks -- Play call made to kill clock - ESPN

It doesn't excuse the play call, of course ... but it does explain what Belichick was thinking in letting the clock run. Most people were wondering why he didn't A) let them score on first down; or B) start using timeouts so Brady could get the ball with close to a minute left. But letting the clock go changed the Seahawks' outlook. Plus I think it caused them to think faster than is optimal, which is always an important and underrated part of handling pressure situations.

 

After thinking about it. Running a pass play on second down in four down territory isn't the worst idea ever. It is actually pretty standard.

Incompletion stops the clock. Touchdown wins the game. Bootleg/rollout runs time off the clock and if sacked, you have to lose your one timeout. So a quick slant preserves the most time plus if the pass is incomplete, you have two downs and a timeout to go the four-ish feet.

As already noted, burning that timeout was a much bigger deal in hindsight. If the Seahawks had kept that, you probably would have seen four straight runs but Carroll took a chance on a pass that was ultimately intercepted.

 

Run the damn ball. That's my numbers 1 - 10. If you don't have a timeout, then you have to pass, sure. But the Patriots weren't really slowing Lynch down at the end. He's your horse. You HAVE to give him a chance to win the game for you.

 

Carroll also said after the game that they put three receivers out there to spread out the defense and make it easier for Lynch to find a gap, but the Pats stayed straight goal-line so the advantage was in throwing it.

That's another Belichick +1, then.

 

I always pegged Carroll to be a rock-n-roll kind of guy, didn't realize he listened to country like Dierks Bentley. #WhatWasIThinking

 

Belichick not calling timeout was really interesting. I wonder if that somehow dictated the pass call because maybe the Seahawks OC panicked and thought a stuffed run would take too much time off the clock. Weird how fortuitous not calling a defensive timeout became.

 

No, no, no, no, no. Run the ball. If you feel like you HAVE to throw, roll out so Wilson has an option to throw it away.

So much can go wrong on that slant. Ball could bounce off the receiver's hands, can get tipped at the line, linebacker could be hidden from view, etc. It's probably the riskiest route in that situation.

 

Did this get discussed yet?

Gregg Bell @gbellseattle · 13h13 hours ago
OC, play caller Darrell Bevell: "We could have done a better job staying strong on the ball" Lockette breaking on final slant. #Seahawks


He's probably right. But he also had the bigger screw-up.

 

Maybe he's right, but he's chicken shit for saying that.

 

some of the stupidity on this thread is amazing. I would have like to see them run too but that play is normally broken up not picked. Lockette was not hard enough on it.

To blame Carrol and say he gagged is ridiculous. It's the same people who would have taken the points at the end of the first half and had no problem with Mcarthy kicking field goals from the one.

 

Ratings. Sunday's a TV night, Saturday isn't.

My hangover wishes you were right.