Maybe one or two of us who know what we are looking at should make a definitive post on it with screenshots of the All 22 and video of it breaking it down to keep as a thread that can be referenced in future posts to keep the discussion there.I find it interesting that THE PLAY keeps surfacing every year or two. It's like that injury that you can't help but keep poking even though you've been told to leave it alone and let it heal.
While I agree that the Hawks would have won had they given the ball to Marshawn Lynch, to me that's not the point. The real point is that giving the ball to Beast Mode twice is consistent with who they were as a team. For one second, imagine what the narrative would be if the Seahawks had given the ball to Marshawn twice and the Patriots had stopped him twice. From the perspective of the team, my guess is the reaction would be that on this day for those two plays the Patriots were better. So what, we were the better team and we're going to go reload this offseason, come back next year, and kick your a$$. Instead, as was pointed out in the video, that play fractured the team and derailed any chance it had of becoming a dynasty.Just give it to 24. He would've made it.
I think Peyton was brought in to do whatever he feels necessary to build a winner. I don't think he cares for his qb (if you believe reports) and I honestly think he will use this season as an evaluation period to see if Russ can do what the offense requires. If he can't...Payton was brought in to clean house and kick Russ's ass back into some semblance of a good QB.
So yeah, I don't think he'll hesitate to yank Russ if he continues to stink up the joint like he did last year. Payton is not beholden to Russ, he's there to win.
I agree, the first order of business would be to win the championship. How ? Well,While I agree that the Hawks would have won had they given the ball to Marshawn Lynch, to me that's not the point. The real point is that giving the ball to Beast Mode twice is consistent with who they were as a team. For one second, imagine what the narrative would be if the Seahawks had given the ball to Marshawn twice and the Patriots had stopped him twice. From the perspective of the team, my guess is the reaction would be that on this day for those two plays the Patriots were better. So what, we were the better team and we're going to go reload this offseason, come back next year, and kick your a$$. Instead, as was pointed out in the video, that play fractured the team and derailed any chance it had of becoming a dynasty.
He was the LAST Seahawk to have his hands on that ball, it was HE who threw that >errant pass<, so he absolutely was "the common denominator".In no way I'm excusing RW for poor execution. Unlike you, I'm not blaming him solely for that play. Russell Wilson isn't "the common denominator" unless you think Russell calls every play on offense for the Seahawks (minus the input of the OC and PC). Which could be true but you have no way of proving it. Unless you're in that huddle or having the conversation with coaches on the headset, you won't know if RW was the final one to make the call. Really the fact that Bevell was throwing players under the bus suggests that he may be the culprit. If he wasn't, why would he even have to defend himself? He could have just said the play I called was changed. He didn't. Furthermore, Russell wasn't the only one who executed poorly on that play. It was a failure all the way around.
“I think he played well in the two starts he had this year," Payton said in March. "If you study closely the San Francisco game, he’s smart at the line of scrimmage. There were a couple of directions really with that position and there were a handful of No. 2’s that either I have worked with, or we felt comfortable with. In this case, I think he’s a No. 2 whose arrow is moving in a direction where we feel like he can become an NFL starter in our league.
CAUTION: The following video is for those of you who are truly into self-abuse. It covers THE PLAY from the perspective of the Patriots. I watched it several years ago, but something Luke Willson said in the interview caused me to take another look at it.
Lots of interesting stuff in here. First off, I forgot about the play Hightower made before THE PLAY. For those of you still confused about what it means to stack and shed go to the 2-minute mark and watch Hightower bench-press Russell Okung, toss him aside, and stop Marshawn inside the one. I'm very comfortable saying that 95 times out of 100 Marshawn scores on this play. Hell of a play by Hightower.
My next point is where some of you might want to stop reading. When I heard Luke say that THE PLAY was not part of their goal line package I pulled up the video to have another look. To get to the point, with the Super Bowl on the line, instead of going with the goal line package Bevell had prepared and worked on leading up to the game, he went off script and called the pick play. Conversely, the Patriots' defense spent significant time working on defending the pick play. For a little more salt in the wounds, Belichick claims that Malcolm Butler correctly defended this play exactly one time, and that was in the Super Bowl.
Enjoy the rest of your evening!![]()
Malcolm Butler reacted perfectly because Brandon Browner knew the play call as soon as the Hawks lined up and immediately latched on to Jermaine Kearse so he couldn't pick Butler.Like I said, ERRANT PASS by Russell Wilson, & the Patriot Rook read and reacted perfectly to it.
BUT, it was still Butler who READ & REACTED to that errant pass-play to PERFECTION, yes?, no?Malcolm Butler reacted perfectly because Brandon Browner knew the play call as soon as the Hawks lined up and immediately latched on to Jermaine Kearse so he couldn't pick Butler.