Worst...call...ever

[SixtiesFan]

"Russell Wilson will not get much of the blame for what happened."

And why is that? If Tom Brady had done it he would have received a LOT of blame.

Forget Tom Brady -- what if PEYTON MANNING had thrown it? ESPN might have canceled all other programs for a week and shown that play around the clock, interspersed with talking heads discussing his "legacy."

Yep, I thought the same thing after making the above post.

[NWebster]

"Russell Wilson will not get much of the blame for what happened."

And why is that? If Tom Brady had done it he would have received a LOT of blame.

Forget Tom Brady -- what if PEYTON MANNING had thrown it? ESPN might have canceled all other programs for a week and shown that play around the clock, interspersed with talking heads discussing his "legacy."

Yep, I thought the same thing after making the above post.

I'm always reminded of the following piece when thinking of the Brady / Manning narrative. And that if their careers were reversed maybe we'd think differently. I do honestly think that Tom's early success left him in a position to be able to slough off adversity that Peyton never had only because his poor start (including at Tennessee) meant he kept trying to think his way out of failure so much that it lead to failure.

http://gladwell.com/the-art-of-failure/

[JoeZagorski]

The only two that vaguely compare to it was Joe Theisman's failed screen pass to Oakland Raiders reserve linebacker Jack Squirek in Super Bowl XVIII, and Red Right 88, the failed Cleveland play which cost the Browns a spot in the 1980 AFC Championship Game. I feel that Wilson's pass in Super Bowl 49 was worse than all the others, because it meant the difference between winning a losing a World Championship.

[rhickok1109]

Interesting ... Lynch was given five chances to score from the 1-yard line this year and he only succeeded once, according to the WaPo.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ear ... yard-line/

[rhickok1109]

Here's another interesting discussion of the call:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-h ... e-carroll/

[BernardB]

That is a good stat rhickok. Even when a team has Marshawn Lynch its a requirement that they mix it up on the goal line. Go figure, coaches like Darrell Bevell who have spent most of their waking lives doing and thinking football know more about football and play calling than the typical fan.

Darrell Bevell has already become the latest "dumbest person on the planet" and that image, unfortunately, is going to stick like stink on a skunk.

[Bryan]

and Red Right 88, the failed Cleveland play which cost the Browns a spot in the 1980 AFC Championship Game. I feel that Wilson's pass in Super Bowl 49 was worse than all the others, because it meant the difference between winning a losing a World Championship.

Interesting ... Lynch was given five chances to score from the 1-yard line this year and he only succeeded once, according to the WaPo.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ear ... yard-line/

I think these points are somewhat related. People criticized Rutigiliano's decision to try to pass one more time instead of doing a line plunge and kicking the field goal, but Cockroft had missed 2 FGs, had an XP blocked, and another FG attempt had a bad snap.

In Carroll's case, the fact that he had spread personnel and New England did not send in their goal line personnel would perhaps be even MORE reason to run Lynch from the 1 if the Seahawks had difficulty just pounding it in during the season. I thought Seattle had the advantage, because at the very least the defense would still have to key on Lynch and Russell Wilson would probably score himself on a read option (New England hadn't really tackled him all game).

I thought it ironic that Bevell's big call in the Vikings NFC Championship loss to New Orleans was having a gimpy Brett Favre try to execute a rollout...whereas in the Super Bowl he had perhaps the most shifty QB in the NFL and he decides NOT to call a rollout and instead tries a rub play over the middle. I thought a rollout with Wilson would have been ideal, because it gives you the option of throwing the ball away.

Its interesting trying to piece together what happened. I think Belichick was waiting to see if Seattle brought in their goal-line people...had they done so, he probably would have called timeout (IMO). I think Carroll was expecting Belichick to call timeout and then he could discuss the play call with his staff. As it was, Belichick was standing by the ref but never called timeout, so by the time Carroll realized a play needed to be called, the play clock was winding down.

[rhickok1109]

The simple fact is that any play call can be criticized when it doesn't work and praised if it does.

Remember the Rams' fake punt against the very same Seahawks? They were inside their own 20 with a 2-point lead and about 3 minutes to play. They got the first down and it was widely hailed as a really gutsy call that "won the game." But what if it hadn't worked?

Ask Todd Haley. When he called a fake punt near midfield with 6 minutes left and a 3-point lead against the Bengals, it resulted in an interception and was widely hailed as the dumbest play call of the year, even though Pittsburgh went on to win the game.

[BD Sullivan]

The simple fact is that any play call can be criticized when it doesn't work and praised if it does.

Much like a coach can be hailed for being gutsy when he goes for it on fourth down--and it succeeds. When it fails, he's a clueless moron.

[Byron]

Interesting ... Lynch was given five chances to score from the 1-yard line this year and he only succeeded once, according to the WaPo.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ear ... yard-line/

During the Super Bowl, Lynch was 1-for-3 on short yardage conversions.

1Q 10:14, 3rd and 2 at SEA 24, 0-0 = Marshawn Lynch up the middle for no gain

2Q 2:22, 3rd and 2 at NE 3, 7-7 = Marshawn Lynch right tackle for three yards, touchdown

3Q 11:51, 3rd and 1 at NE 8, 14-14 = Marshawn Lynch left tackle for no gain