Have you seen a better defensive play than this?

[Smellyman]

It seems easy to discount "The Tip" because it's so famous and we've seen Sherman do it before, but I think it's nevertheless an incredible football play. To get hands on a fade ball thrown to the corner of the endzone is unbelievably difficult in itself. That ball is generally impossible to intercept. To have the discipline to tip it perfectly into the hands of a trailing teammate was almost unthinkable prior to that season and then the Seahawks made it an art (starting against NYG).

Earl's judo chop is right there as one of the very best defensive plays of last season, along with Brent Grimes one-handed INT (sheer spectacle) and obviously Malcolm Butler... (context and degree of difficulty)

add to the fact that Crabtree was shoving him in the back with obvious offensive PI, which made RS really have to stretch back with the left hand. Great play at the biggest moment in team history.

 

[LoneHawkFan]

Might not be the best play, but it's a killer photo of another great Earl play...and the very reason that the first official Seahawks jersey I ever owned was of #54

 

[keasley45]

Cant find video of it, but IMO one of the best defensive plays i've seen in the last 20 years was Lofa's goal line stop against Dallas at the end of the 2006 Wildcard game. The game was on the line and Lofa was left in space to stop the RB. He ended up making the play, literally at the 1ft line, standing the runner up (J Jones maybe?) before twisting him sideways and pulling him down - he did get some help toward the end. One of the best examples of pitting one man's will, strength and ability against another with everything on the line. That stop forced Dallas to go for the field goal and we all know what happened there.

Beast of a play...

 

[Threedee]

I sat through a lot of crappy football as a Seahawk fan.

One of these days, when all this is over, we are going to look back on those years as having had the privilege of watching some of the finest football being played at the time.

I remember when they picked Earl Thomas, and I was OK with it. I had no idea it was the game changer it was. Same with Kam Chancellor, I was excited about the big and fast part...but had no idea I was going to be watching guys that would play HOF quality ball whether they ever reached the hall or not.

We are fortunate.

That play by Thomas was insane.

That was at a visiting stadium, but someday it is going to be a big deal to say you saw those guys play in person.

Can you imagine reconciling the way people feel about the Seahawks now vs the general apathy people had about them when the Seahawks were trying to get the stadium funded and people had bumperstickers that said stuff like "Go Mariners and take the Seahawks with you!"??

Now I look back, see the 2 top sports teams at the time (Sonics and Huskies), one is gone and the other is there but that is about all you can say for them. Meanwhile the Seahawks are a juggernaut. The Mariners still blow dogwater though you cannot win them all.

If you are not buying a ticket and seeing this live, even if it is only one game here and one game there, you are missing out. We are really lucky to have gotten a chance to see this.

It's been a trade-off for me. I am a Notre Dame fan, and they were still a powerhouse in the 90s when I was a kid. About the time time the Irish started to fade away, the Seahawks began to emerge from their 90s funk.

I would say that based upon their positions, and the likelihood of longevity, Thomas and Wagner are HOF locks, with Sherman right behind. That leaves Wilson and Lynch with a harder task, but they have the talent. Also, now that Graham is here, we have another HOFer on our roster if he continues to put up the numbers.

Everytime Largent, Kennedy, and Jones have a microphone, they plug Easley. Who knows where that campaign will lead.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Have I seen a better defensive play than the ET strip at the goal-line?

Yeah, unfortunately it came on February 1st.

 

[StoneCold]

No.

/thread

 

[DYLcurry59]

Cant find video of it, but IMO one of the best defensive plays i've seen in the last 20 years was Lofa's goal line stop against Dallas at the end of the 2006 Wildcard game. The game was on the line and Lofa was left in space to stop the RB. He ended up making the play, literally at the 1ft line, standing the runner up (J Jones maybe?) before twisting him sideways and pulling him down - he did get some help toward the end. One of the best examples of pitting one man's will, strength and ability against another with everything on the line. That stop forced Dallas to go for the field goal and we all know what happened there.

Beast of a play...

If I remember correctly, it was Witten that Lofa stopped.

 

[nepahawk]

Not only saves a touchdown by a matter of inches, but also results in a turnover because it goes through the end zone for a touchback. Seattle is inches away from conceding a score and ends up with the ball on their own 20. If he was a second late to this play he doesn't save it. If he's a second early he probably doesn't get the chance to swipe the ball.

I'm struggling to think of a better play.

[youtube]wQLFqQjyWms[/youtube]

How about the play Malcolm Butler made last February.

 

[nepahawk]

Have I seen a better defensive play than the ET strip at the goal-line?

Yeah, unfortunately it came on February 1st.

Sorry, didn't see your reply.

 

[Reaneypark]

I was in the stadium in the opposite end zone when that happened and I remember thinking, WTH? Why isn't that a touchdown? Then we saw the replay. Just amazing! Yeah, I'd say it's right up there.

 

[Anonymous]

The chop certainly has badassedness written all over it, no doubt.

But for my money, Kam's interception of Newton in the red zone, and a subsequent run back the length of the field for 6, was so timely, so stanky, and so damn nasty, it simply cannot be ignored.

 

[Ad Hawk]

The chop certainly has badassedness written all over it, no doubt.

But for my money, Kam's interception of Newton in the red zone, and a subsequent run back the length of the field for 6, was so timely, so stanky, and so damn nasty, it simply cannot be ignored.

That was an incredibly timely play, as was Browner's. But were they the "best defensive play?"

I don't feel they required the most skill, physical ability, mental awareness, field-position, and fortune all at converging at that same moment. ET's play was about as amazing an individual effort as I've seen. I'm still blown away by it, start to finish. The Tip is close, but I'd put it second or later to ET's chop.

 

[LargentFan]

I get what you're saying about Kam's interception. Lots of guys could have jumped up and grabbed that ball and taken it all the way back.
The Browner play is different. He did something basically impossible. You just can't beat an option like that alone. If you gave him 99 more tries, he doesn't make that play again and I don't think anyone else could do It either. His performance was literally perfect from start to finish on that play.
As for Earl's chop, I'd bet Earl didn't think we was going to make that play. Obviously, the vision and timely decision making he exhibited were amazing. Very few players possess the physical gifts to even put themselves into position for that play. That said, the ball was SO close to the goal line that I think Earl likely thought it was going to be a fruitless attempt. Glad to see that he tried anyway.
Rare combination of supreme athletic ability, vision and heart.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

Although this was a great play, I believe 'the tip' was a better play.

Disagree with you, Lymon. The Tip was a very well-timed play, but it's not uncommon to see corner fade passes picked off or batted away. I guess the tip play as a whole between Sherman batting it away, and Smith being there to gather the ball for the INT is pretty good, but I don't think it's on the same level as the Earl Chop. Like Rob pointed out, there's a window of less than a second for Earl to make the play he does, and for him to have the presence of mind and reaction timing to knock the ball through the endzone after dislodging it is absolutely mind-boggling. In terms of impact, the Tip wins every time. it was an amazing play that saved a potential TD against a rival in our own house at the end of the 4th quarter of the NFCCG. The very definition of a big-time play. But examining the two plays without all of the other stuff, the Earl Chop wins out, at least in my opinion.

An awful play by the RB to hold the ball out.

Sort of. I'm certain he wasn't expecting Earl to come in and make that play. All that ball has to do is break the plane of the goal line and it's a TD. That was literally milliseconds from happening. If Earl arrives a few milliseconds later, that's a TD, even if the ball comes out. Had the RB tucked, he may have been stopped before the goal line, so I feel like he probably made a better play, because 99% of the time, that's a TD, which makes the Earl Chop an even more impressive play.

It was literally NANOSECONDS from happening--that's what a great play it was. GO HAWKS!

 

[AgentDib]

That's obviously a great play. Still, after 37 posts I would have expected a mention of the Largent hit. Peterson blowing up Gore in 2010 and Kam blowing up Vernon Davis in 2012 were also both pretty great because they set the tone for how we were going to play vs. the 49ers.

 

[Tical21]

If context is included, Butler made the best defensive play in history. The Clowney play might be the best I've ever seen.

 

[BlueTalon]

I think the implied context to the thread was the best Seahawk defensive plays.

 

[volsunghawk]

Have I seen a better defensive play than the ET strip at the goal-line?

Yeah, unfortunately it came on February 1st.

Yeah, that's what came to my mind, too.

Best Seahawks defensive play? I think it has to be between Earl and The Tip. I think Earl's play is more impressive in a vacuum, but with the context of the NFCCG, I'd give the prize to Sherm and Smith.

Still, Butler's play trumps them all when it comes to context. Dammit.