Flawed Media Narratives from the NFCCG

[kearly]

Been soaking it all in today, it's just been something to hear non-Seahawks fans gush about this game and our team. Unfortunately, there have been some less than accurate narratives that have taken hold after this game and will unfortunately go down in the history books despite being misleading or untrue.

#1: The Twelves left early.

It's understandable that some fans would leave early when they think their team is about to lose in devastating fashion. I have little doubt that of the 67,000 fans in attendance, at least a few left.

But a picture of 50 fans looking through a window doesn't really tell you anything. During football season, especially on Sundays, you could probably find 500,000 people wearing Hawks uniforms within the city limits, whether they went to the game or not. Wearing a jersey doesn't mean you just came from the game.

I've seen several videos now that were taken from within the stadium during the game's final plays, and I seriously couldn't spot a single empty seat. This narrative is lazy at best, fan jealousy at worst.

There's also a sister-narrative about how Century Link was dead quiet in this game, which is equally laughable.

#2: Mike McCarthy called a shit game.

While it's true that Green Bay only scored 6 points off of 5 turnovers, they still rushed for over 130 yards as a team, had a deceptively effective game from a gimpy Rodgers, managed several long drives and put themselves in position to have a 99.9% chance to win the game. At one point the Hawks literally had a 0.1% chance to win this game. (Other metrics had Seattle below 4%). Obviously, Mike McCarthy and his staff did something right for the first 57 minutes of the game, even if Seattle helped them A LOT.

And when Seattle made their furious comeback, it felt a lot more like unyielding destiny than a series of coaching gaffes.

Basically, McCarthy has taken heat for kicking FGs on 4th and goal from the one, despite the fact that Seattle has one of the best defenses in history and had stuffed Green Bay on multiple short yardage attempts prior. Pete Carroll was facing a similar scenario in SB XLVIII. Twice in the first quarter he had fourth and short in the red zone and took the points. He didn't risk handing morale to his explosive opponent. Look how that worked for Pete in an even bigger game than this.

McCarthy took the same tact, and for 57 minutes, this appeared to be the wise decision. Saying "woulda shoulda" now is classic MMQB'ing.

#3: Clinton-Dix should have defended the two point conversion.

This is a fairly minor one, but it's still wrong. Watch the play. Clinton-Dix GOES FOR THE FOOTBALL. But Luke Willson has the size advantage and Russell Wilson somehow makes a throw to a spot where only Luke Willson can get his hands on it. There is literally nothing Clinton-Dix can do there to make the play, other than committing DPI or making the tackle of a lifetime.

#4: Morgan Burnett getting massacred for sliding after 4th pick.

I have mixed feelings on this one. I think the decision to slide was probably a mistake, but at the same time, we just saw a game two weeks ago where a Dallas player didn't slide after recovering a late fumble and fumbled it back. We saw a game many years ago with the Pats and Chargers where a crucial Tom Brady interception was fumbled back when the Chargers defender attempted to return it, a decision that ultimately cost his team the game.

This wasn't the same situation as those two, but I think Burnett was making the conservative decision in a conservative situation. If I was him I would have returned it and tried harder to put the game away, but by no means was it a display of incompetence.

#5: (see below)

The last one isn't a narrative, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. Aaron Rodgers first interception of the game very likely cost Green Bay points, and with three extra points we're probably talking about Atlanta 2.0 today. Rodgers said after the game that he threw that pass because a defensive lineman (I think Michael Bennett, but not 100% sure), jumped offsides. Rodgers thought he had the free play so he tested Sherman. The offsides flag was not thrown, but if you watch that play again, you can clearly see a Seahawks DL jump well into the neutral zone and does not get back before the snap. Had that been flagged as it should have been, it's a very different game in the final minutes.

That's not to diminish how amazing this comeback was. It was one of the most incredible displays of resiliency I've ever seen in an NFL game. But at the same time, Seattle was not the only team to suffer a few shitty breaks, the Packers did too. I guess that's why the ending was so great. The very best games are often riddled with imperfections.

 

[homerun1970]

Nice post! You watch games with a much more impartial and educated eye than I can ever hope to have. The media it seems are lazy one says something the rest go with the flow. If they would all watch and make their own decisions and discussion points it would be alot better.

 

[endzorn]

Totally agree on McCarthy. Points are extremely valuable against Seattle and you have to take them when they're available. I think fans and media see it in hindsight and decide they'd have the giant balls necessary to take those risks so McCarthy should too. He gave them every opportunity to win and other than Seattle just flat making plays and a couple physical errors by Green Bay, this game has a much different ending.

 

[Polaris]

Kearly,

I agree with most of your post except for one small nitpick. That first pick by Aaron (where Bennett was offsides but wasn't called) did *not* cost GB any points. Why? Because Wilson threw the ball back to Green Bay on the very next play. So if that first pick had been wiped off the board, then the GB drive continues and most likely would have netted GB only a FG anyway (given how Seattle's defense was playing in the red zone all game long). At the very least it did not actually cost GB a scoring opportunity (the only difference would be that both teams would have had one less turnover).

 

[kearly]

Good point.

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

Fantastic points, Kip. Moving this into the main forum because it's absolutely Seahawks-related.

The one thing I noticed very distinctly on my re-watch was how the announcers stated immediately that most of those second-guessed plays were the correct ones to make. They applauded Clinton-Dix's decision to go down immediately. And given the situation, I think it was the correct call too. No way you want to give it right back to us and put us right back in line for the comeback. You put Aaron Rodgers and the league's #1 offense on the field and try to pound it down the field for the remaining four minutes, or at least long enough that two touchdown drives weren't going to happen.

 

[Vpk0718]

Kearly,

I agree with most of your post except for one small nitpick. That first pick by Aaron (where Bennett was offsides but wasn't called) did *not* cost GB any points. Why? Because Wilson threw the ball back to Green Bay on the very next play. So if that first pick had been wiped off the board, then the GB drive continues and most likely would have netted GB only a FG anyway (given how Seattle's defense was playing in the red zone all game long). At the very least it did not actually cost GB a scoring opportunity (the only difference would be that both teams would have had one less turnover).

Not to mention the terrible illegal use of hands call on Avril in the second that gave Green Bay 3 points. That to me cancels out what Rodgers is whining about.

 

[Scottemojo]

I think the GB staff had told GB players to go to ground if they got a turnover. YOu can see Peppers gesturing to Burnett to go to ground.

I think the two point conversion pass sailed a couple yards on the breeze. It helped us quite a bit.

I think GB did go conservative. Trips to the red zone ended in an interception and goal line stands. Once GB committed to stopping the clock and not the Hawks, the game got easy on offense.

I never bought the silent crowd thing, and I didn't see empty seats either.

 

[Torc]

I think you should add another one: "The Packers dominated the game for the first 55 minutes."

When you look at Rodgers completion percentage, the Packers 3rd down percentage combined with where the Packers were getting the ball, this just isn't true. You could say their D was dominating our O, but that's it.

 

[Hawks46]

Great post, and I agree with all points.

Funny, McCarthy is being castigated for going conservative, but name me a coach outside of Bellichick that slings the ball around the yard up by 16 and with your defense just dominating the hell out of the opposing offense. Our offensive numbers were putrid.

How many times has Carroll done the same thing ?

Rodgers had 2 picks and his calf looked to be degenerating. The Packers had been runniing the ball well all day. No way I can fault him for trying to bleed the clock and let his defense keep cleaning our clock.

I saw the same thing on our 2 point conversion. Willson blocked out Clinton-Dix nicely. Not much he could've done about it really.

 

[KitsapGuy]

During a post-game interview, McCarthy said he thought 20 points would be good enough to win. This was a number he had set in his mind. Who gets a number set in his mind during a championship game and then lets off the gas after he reaches it?

 

[themunn]

When you look at Rodgers completion percentage, the Packers 3rd down percentage combined with where the Packers were getting the ball, this just isn't true. You could say their D was dominating our O, but that's it.

That seems to be the thing that's been undersold since.
Prior to going behind with 1 minute left, Rodgers was 16-29 for 142 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs.

If it wasn't for the fact that Wilson was in the midst of the poorest game by a QB for any team all season at that point, all fingers would be pointing at him right now, even though the Seahawks defense was simply awesome. It was his 2nd worst QB rating in a game since 2010 (the Bills game earlier this year his worst). But with THREE drives starting either inside or just outside the redzone, you would expect him to get a few TDs usually. I mean, this is the "number 1 offense in the league"! And the Seahawks shut it down yet again.

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

During a post-game interview, McCarthy said he thought 20 points would be good enough to win. This was a number he had set in his mind. Who gets a number set in his mind during a championship game and then lets off the gas after he reaches it?

Even weirder, that's far less than the Seahawks' average of 24.6 points per game scored this year, and against a lot tougher defensive schedule than the Packers. How he could think that when it's not even the average we put up against tougher opponents than his team is mind-boggling.

 

[Vetamur]

I know more people than you might be guessing left. It didnt leave a half empty stadium or anything..but from my seats I can see people going to the exit. At the 4th INT , even the guy next to me and his son had left. And I dont consider them bad fans..they couldnt take the pain. They actually ended up coming back because the son had stopped to watch a monitor and the come back started. My guess is that several hundred people left. Looking across the stadium my friend and I found 2 empty "pockets" in Section 206 (that section is notorious.. bunch of company accounts..) and..one more I cant recall.

I did get angry at the narrative I read as well in the national reports..some talking how the stadium was quiet all day until the Seahawks got the ball back with 2 minutes left. Not only are they lying about it being quiet, they are insulting the fan knowledge by implying it got loud when the Hawks were on offense.

Agree that saying their coach called a bad game is fair.

He was conservative, but against the Hawks D you take the points.. and until the end our Offense hadnt scored..why would he expect them to suddenly score 3 touchdowns? He was playing the numbers.. he just didnt count on Wilson becoming Wilson again.

 

[Hasselbeck]

I disagree on points 3 and 4 .. but that's just semantics really. And actually I think on the Burnett thing, we're both in agreement that he should have at least tried to get some extra yards on the return.. even if it meant bear hugging the football like a fullback that gets 2 carries a year and doesn't want to screw up.

I still can't figure out what in the world Clinton-Dix was thinking on the 2-pointer. It looks as though he thinks about jumping then hesitates for a split second which allowed Willson to have a shot at the ball. Just truly bizarre and at that point you felt really good about the Seahawks winning the game.

While I also think McCarthy should have been more aggressive down near the goal-line, thats a moot point if they defend the 2 pointer or recover the onside.

 

[KitsapGuy]

I guess I misquoted him. Here is what he said.

Q: How tough was it to settle for field goals especially early in the game, and why weren’t you able to punch it in for touchdowns?

COACH MCCARTHY: The field goals early in the game, we know that points were at a premium. Frankly, I would have liked to have gone for it there on fourth down based on what we saw on the second and third down.

But I just felt that you had to take points. I didn’t think a lot of points would win this game. I didn’t think it was going to take a lot of points to win this game. Today that was my thinking coming in. I felt great about our defense all week just the way they’d been building here in the last, eight, nine weeks. So that’s why we had to take the field goals.

Q: Do you wish a different direction there at all? It’s easy to question your play calling now?

COACH MCCARTHY: If you want to question the play calling.



Q: I’m asking you. I’m not questioning it.

COACH MCCARTHY: I’m not questioning it. I came in here to run the ball. One statistic I had as far as a target to hit, 20 attempts. 20 rushing attempts in the second half I felt would be a very important target to hit for our offense.

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/seahawks/ ... ddie-lacy/

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

I can't for the life of me find any proof of a whole bunch of fans leaving early. The narrative is there, but in every shot of the crowd after that five-minute mark, the stands are still packed and rowdy as ever. Here's one example that shows quite clearly how full the stadium was at the end of the game. Were a handful of people gone already? Sure. Doesn't look to me like any more than the usual amount of people who head for the exits before the game is over every single game of the year.

[youtube]Lm2xsMaYehk[/youtube]

 

[Zebulon Dak]

I disagree on points 3 and 4 .. but that's just semantics really. And actually I think on the Burnett thing, we're both in agreement that he should have at least tried to get some extra yards on the return.. even if it meant bear hugging the football like a fullback that gets 2 carries a year and doesn't want to screw up.

I still can't figure out what in the world Clinton-Dix was thinking on the 2-pointer. It looks as though he thinks about jumping then hesitates for a split second which allowed Willson to have a shot at the ball. Just truly bizarre and at that point you felt really good about the Seahawks winning the game.

While I also think McCarthy should have been more aggressive down near the goal-line, thats a moot point if they defend the 2 pointer or recover the onside.

I've only seen the wide tv angle, but my guess is that maybe Dix didn't actually see the ball coming? Again, I'll have to see some angles, but that was my initial thought.

 

[SalishHawkFan]

Looking at the replay several times, I think Scotte is right, the wind carried it. Looks like Dix misjudged the ball, tried belatedly to get to it and totally should have slammed into Luke and drove him back instead.

 

[BlueTalon]

I can't for the life of me find any proof of a whole bunch of fans leaving early. The narrative is there, but in every shot of the crowd after that five-minute mark, the stands are still packed and rowdy as ever. Here's one example that shows quite clearly how full the stadium was at the end of the game. Were a handful of people gone already? Sure. Doesn't look to me like any more than the usual amount of people who head for the exits before the game is over every single game of the year.

There were overhead shots of people streaming from the stadium exits. Of course, it doesn't take a lot of people to make it look like a lot of people, at least comparatively. Put that number of people in a supermarket, and it's packed to capacity. Take that same number of people out of a stadium, and you can't even notice it.

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Kearly, I appreciate it whenever you take the time to write anything. I always consider it a must-read.