What If (SB 49)

[ZagHawk]

I'm sure a lot of us have played out this scenario in our head (History is history we can't change it, but what if...)


What if the Hawks did run the ball at the 1 yard line of SB 49?

I do wonder what would have been the outcome?

Would beast mode have been stuffed? forced time out? some weird play action that results in an Interception anyway, or perhaps a win? or perhaps just the lead momentarily and Brady comes back and wins the game anyway since the defense wasn't stopping him anymore in the 4th quarter.

If the Hawks did win, would Brady have retired because he couldn't get it done anymore because all everyone would talk about would be how he lost his last three SB appearances. Would the Hawks players and coaching staff not have imploded somehow truly became a dynasty and even "Three-Pete" and the Seahawks would become the new Patriots Brady-Belichick dynasty in the NFL but it would be RW and PC? or would the players have taken their new contracts elsewhere and the team slowly falter as we're seeing now (just with one extra SB win to show for it).

If the Hawks still have lost, but perhaps via Brady final come back...Would they have stayed bought in accepting a loss perhaps by the defense and come back again strongers? Or perhaps a finger pointing game at the defense instead of the offensive play calling at the end of the game?

Anyway, just curious for those out there who have played this scenario in their heads, what did you realistically see happening for SB 49 ending and how the next 5 years or so would have played out had the play call changed?

 

[Shanegotyou11]

They score. Or Lynch fumbles. One of the two.

If they score? One more chip for Seattle after SB49. Of lynch fumbles? The locker room is not as divided and maybe 1 more chip.

In the end, that loss ended a possible dynasty.

 

[Sports Hernia]

I'm sure a lot of us have played out this scenario in our head (History is history we can't change it, but what if...)


What if the Hawks did run the ball at the 1 yard line of SB 49?

I do wonder what would have been the outcome?

Would beast mode have been stuffed? forced time out? some weird play action that results in an Interception anyway, or perhaps a win? or perhaps just the lead momentarily and Brady comes back and wins the game anyway since the defense wasn't stopping him anymore in the 4th quarter.

If the Hawks did win, would Brady have retired because he couldn't get it done anymore because all everyone would talk about would be how he lost his last three SB appearances. Would the Hawks players and coaching staff not have imploded somehow truly became a dynasty and even "Three-Pete" and the Seahawks would become the new Patriots Brady-Belichick dynasty in the NFL but it would be RW and PC? or would the players have taken their new contracts elsewhere and the team slowly falter as we're seeing now (just with one extra SB win to show for it).

If the Hawks still have lost, but perhaps via Brady final come back...Would they have stayed bought in accepting a loss perhaps by the defense and come back again strongers? Or perhaps a finger pointing game at the defense instead of the offensive play calling at the end of the game?

Anyway, just curious for those out there who have played this scenario in their heads, what did you realistically see happening for SB 49 ending and how the next 5 years or so would have played out had the play call changed?

They hand the ball to Beastmode they win back to back rings, IMHO.
I don’t think they make another SB after that but the slide into mediocrity would have been slower and the drama would have been so much less.

 

[Torc]

According to ESPN in an article after the game:

Among 39 running backs with at least 10 carries from the 1-yard line in the past five seasons (including playoffs), Lynch’s touchdown percentage (45 percent) ranks 30th. Also consider that this season, Lynch scored a touchdown on 1-of-5 rushes from the 1-yard line.

Lynch was not great from the goal line that year. Or, more accurately, the Seahawks were not good at goal line runs. Maybe with the Super Bowl on the line, everyone mans up and Lynch gets in. That's one outcome.

Another possible outcome: Lynch doesn't get over the line, the Patriots are slow to get off of him to use up clock, and the Seahawks use their last time out. There's 20-ish seconds left at that point, enough time for two plays, as long as the first one is an incomplete pass.....so the same thing happens. Worst case, you run lynch and fail, burn a time out and run Lynch again and fail again...and the game is over.

The media narrative is all wrong on this. "A" pass play was the right call, because it allowed Russ to kill the clock. "THAT" pass play was idiotic - it was a timing pass in the middle of traffic without any room for Russ to read it and Browner knew the play. They should have faked the run, rolled Russ out and given him the option to run or throw it, either to a receiver or out of the end zone to preserve time. Then you have a second down, and with a time out you can again either do a run or a pass play. They had 26 seconds let at the snap of the interception play, which was a first down. If they do it right, they have time for four plays - 2 quick incompletes and a time out in whatever order you want to try.

 

[Welshers]

According to ESPN in an article after the game:

Among 39 running backs with at least 10 carries from the 1-yard line in the past five seasons (including playoffs), Lynch’s touchdown percentage (45 percent) ranks 30th. Also consider that this season, Lynch scored a touchdown on 1-of-5 rushes from the 1-yard line.

Lynch was not great from the goal line that year. Or, more accurately, the Seahawks were not good at goal line runs. Maybe with the Super Bowl on the line, everyone mans up and Lynch gets in. That's one outcome.

Another possible outcome: Lynch doesn't get over the line, the Patriots are slow to get off of him to use up clock, and the Seahawks use their last time out. There's 20-ish seconds left at that point, enough time for two plays, as long as the first one is an incomplete pass.....so the same thing happens. Worst case, you run lynch and fail, burn a time out and run Lynch again and fail again...and the game is over.

The media narrative is all wrong on this. "A" pass play was the right call, because it allowed Russ to kill the clock. "THAT" pass play was idiotic - it was a timing pass in the middle of traffic without any room for Russ to read it and Browner knew the play. They should have faked the run, rolled Russ out and given him the option to run or throw it, either to a receiver or out of the end zone to preserve time. Then you have a second down, and with a time out you can again either do a run or a pass play. They had 26 seconds let at the snap of the interception play, which was a first down. If they do it right, they have time for four plays - 2 quick incompletes and a time out in whatever order you want to try.

Not to nitpick, but the interception play was on 2nd and goal. So they would have had 3 plays at the most left. So it does change the thinking a little. I assume he threw 2nd down because if incomplete then he can run, timeout, run again on 4th down if not in. So it actually makes more sense than a lot of people believe, what Carroll did I mean. Just a bad way to do it over the middle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i96fPP37RyA
The interception is at 10:55 of the video. 2nd and goal.

 

[byau]

Probably option to Lynch because everyone is expecting it and Russ scores the TD. And then Russ gets MVP. And the dynasty lives. I think we do get to maybe one other SB, definitely remain in contention. Too much toxicity after that and people who couldn't let it go.

 

[chris98251]

All they had to do was fake to Lynch and he was going left and roll out look right and then throw to lynch who was wide open in the left flat with one guy to beat at the goal line a CB to boot., you think a CB with a win on the line is going to stop Lynch with a head of steam, they could have been Co MVP's then.

 

[LegendKiller]

Honestly, it's in the past. We can't dwell on the past. At some point we all have to move on from it. I never want to think about that day again. No point in thinking about "What If"s. That's not going to change anything. This is where we are now and need to think about how we can get back to having that opportunity again.

 

[Sports Hernia]

According to ESPN in an article after the game:

Among 39 running backs with at least 10 carries from the 1-yard line in the past five seasons (including playoffs), Lynch’s touchdown percentage (45 percent) ranks 30th. Also consider that this season, Lynch scored a touchdown on 1-of-5 rushes from the 1-yard line.

Lynch was not great from the goal line that year. Or, more accurately, the Seahawks were not good at goal line runs. Maybe with the Super Bowl on the line, everyone mans up and Lynch gets in. That's one outcome.

Another possible outcome: Lynch doesn't get over the line, the Patriots are slow to get off of him to use up clock, and the Seahawks use their last time out. There's 20-ish seconds left at that point, enough time for two plays, as long as the first one is an incomplete pass.....so the same thing happens. Worst case, you run lynch and fail, burn a time out and run Lynch again and fail again...and the game is over.

The media narrative is all wrong on this. "A" pass play was the right call, because it allowed Russ to kill the clock. "THAT" pass play was idiotic - it was a timing pass in the middle of traffic without any room for Russ to read it and Browner knew the play. They should have faked the run, rolled Russ out and given him the option to run or throw it, either to a receiver or out of the end zone to preserve time. Then you have a second down, and with a time out you can again either do a run or a pass play. They had 26 seconds let at the snap of the interception play, which was a first down. If they do it right, they have time for four plays - 2 quick incompletes and a time out in whatever order you want to try.

I will counter with the first part of your post with, The Patriots were 31st in goal line defense that year. Also, If you don’t want to run into a loaded box then while in the heck are you passing into one @ your 5th best receiver?

The “2nd and wrong” playcall was dumb on so many levels.

 

[LTH]

I'm sure a lot of us have played out this scenario in our head (History is history we can't change it, but what if...)


What if the Hawks did run the ball at the 1 yard line of SB 49?

I do wonder what would have been the outcome?

Would beast mode have been stuffed? forced time out? some weird play action that results in an Interception anyway, or perhaps a win? or perhaps just the lead momentarily and Brady comes back and wins the game anyway since the defense wasn't stopping him anymore in the 4th quarter.

If the Hawks did win, would Brady have retired because he couldn't get it done anymore because all everyone would talk about would be how he lost his last three SB appearances. Would the Hawks players and coaching staff not have imploded somehow truly became a dynasty and even "Three-Pete" and the Seahawks would become the new Patriots Brady-Belichick dynasty in the NFL but it would be RW and PC? or would the players have taken their new contracts elsewhere and the team slowly falter as we're seeing now (just with one extra SB win to show for it).

If the Hawks still have lost, but perhaps via Brady final come back...Would they have stayed bought in accepting a loss perhaps by the defense and come back again strongers? Or perhaps a finger pointing game at the defense instead of the offensive play calling at the end of the game?

Anyway, just curious for those out there who have played this scenario in their heads, what did you realistically see happening for SB 49 ending and how the next 5 years or so would have played out had the play call changed?

They hand the ball to Beastmode they win back to back rings, IMHO.
I don’t think they make another SB after that but the slide into mediocrity would have been slower and the drama would have been so much less.

The interesting thing is if they would have won that SB would they have kept the LOB together... clearly there was a problem in the locker room and key players like Sherm and beast mode stopped buying into Pete... that was a defining moment in the organization as a whole and IMO affected the next season.. Its an interesting question IMO


LTH

 

[AROS]

I would have opted for the play I have said would have won many games over the years if called. Bootleg. Outside of the pass play that Browner and Butler sniffed out instantly in formation, I would have gone for a naked bootleg. If it doesn't work (I bet it would have, we will never know) you have two more downs to punch it in.

 

[xray]

What if I pass the blame around and point out that in the 4th quarter , the LOB failed miserably to defend a 10 point lead and were thoroughly bullied by Brady and the Pats . Just sayin.

 

[Sports Hernia]

What if I pass the blame around and point out that in the 4th quarter , the LOB failed miserably to defend a 10 point lead and were thoroughly bullied by Brady and the Pats . Just sayin.

That is true, but the Hawks secondary was dropping like flys that day.

 

[seadawg]

Cliff Avril leaving the game per the NFL concussion protocol had a huge impact on the game IMHO. It certainly made it easier for Brady and the Pats to make their 4th quarter comeback. I wonder how things would have turned out if he doesn't leave the game.

So many what if ?s...
What if Sherm and Chancellor were as healthy going into that SB as the previous one? etc., etc...

 

[pittpnthrs]

I could have lived with Lynch not getting in or even fumbling, but that play call with the slant, I knew right then and there that was the end of that team and it was.

 

[Sports Hernia]

I could have lived with Lynch not getting in or even fumbling, but that play call with the slant, I knew right then and there that was the end of that team and it was.

As soon as I saw Beastmode leave the backfield I yelled “what are they doing?”
I knew they were boned the split second it happened. Bevell telegraphed that play. Idiot.

 

[DJ_CJ]

According to ESPN in an article after the game:

Among 39 running backs with at least 10 carries from the 1-yard line in the past five seasons (including playoffs), Lynch’s touchdown percentage (45 percent) ranks 30th. Also consider that this season, Lynch scored a touchdown on 1-of-5 rushes from the 1-yard line.

Lynch was not great from the goal line that year. Or, more accurately, the Seahawks were not good at goal line runs. Maybe with the Super Bowl on the line, everyone mans up and Lynch gets in. That's one outcome.

Another possible outcome: Lynch doesn't get over the line, the Patriots are slow to get off of him to use up clock, and the Seahawks use their last time out. There's 20-ish seconds left at that point, enough time for two plays, as long as the first one is an incomplete pass.....so the same thing happens. Worst case, you run lynch and fail, burn a time out and run Lynch again and fail again...and the game is over.

The media narrative is all wrong on this. "A" pass play was the right call, because it allowed Russ to kill the clock. "THAT" pass play was idiotic - it was a timing pass in the middle of traffic without any room for Russ to read it and Browner knew the play. They should have faked the run, rolled Russ out and given him the option to run or throw it, either to a receiver or out of the end zone to preserve time. Then you have a second down, and with a time out you can again either do a run or a pass play. They had 26 seconds let at the snap of the interception play, which was a first down. If they do it right, they have time for four plays - 2 quick incompletes and a time out in whatever order you want to try.

This! A pass in that situation wasn’t a bad call, that particular play call was. PA with a Russ roll out where he can find open receiver, take off for the TD or huck it in the stands. As soon as they kicked Lynch out of the backfield pre-snap I instantly had a feeling of oh shit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ZagHawk]

What if I pass the blame around and point out that in the 4th quarter , the LOB failed miserably to defend a 10 point lead and were thoroughly bullied by Brady and the Pats . Just sayin.

This is why I do wonder, what if...the Hawks did hand it off and Beast Scored. Would Brady have just somehow found his way up the field and scored right back and game over?

 

[TheLegendOfBoom]

There’s a theory that what’s meant to be, will always be. No matter how it happens.

Seattle was not meant to win. Even if Lynch scored.

Seattle scores with Lynch, and Brady drives down the field and scores again before time expires.

The Legion of Boom defense blames each other and the team gets dismantled.

Very much so like how it played out anyways.

Whats meant to be will always be.

 

[Msfann]

I never let the loss bother me, I was and still am on a high from winning it the year before. If 48 didn't happen I would probably have been crushed at the end of 49 though.
I ejected 49 from my mind the second the game ended.