SB49 what ifs: Golden Tate?

[Rocket]

And, if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle.

Nah. She's be your old weird aunt with gnarly she-balls.

 

[Rocket]

I think people put far too much emphasis on that final play.

Give that man a box of Cubans.
( cigars, duh )
Exactimundo !!!

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

I think people put far too much emphasis on that final play.

Give that man a box of Cubans.
( cigars, duh )
Exactimundo !!!

No, not really. (respectfully disagree) Of course the rest of how the game played out factors in. Nobody necessarily denies that in any discussion about how that last drive ended. Of course people focus on that final play because with all that happened throughout the game, you're down to that. Score and you very likely win. That's not putting too much emphasis there. (Probably not ENOUGH emphasis, if anything. Score and win. That's huge.) It's how games play out battling through it all. It doesn't make a fan any less understanding to point to that play while not forgetting 60 minutes of play. Yeah, it would have been nice if it didn't come down to that. But it did.

IMO, the "turning point" was the 3rd and long conversion (10 point lead, roughly 10 min left in the 4th quarter) where Brady waited for Stork (their Center) to lock up Bennett with his arm over Bennett's shoulder and drove him to the ground without trying to re-establish his hands inside - which allowed Brady to step up in the pocket to deliver the pass to Edelman. They couldn't stop #72 (was having an MVP game), so why not hold him and hope you don't get called. Brilliant, but honestly should have been 3rd and 24 after called back. I watched that play over and over in slow motion. Brady just sat back far enough and keyed on the handling of Bennett. But, holding wasn't called and there's nothing the Seahawks could do about it. That's football (uh em). That certainly made the game more "interesting" for the general viewing audience. That's the way it goes. Nothing fans can do about it now.

But, the Hawks could have not let the time tick off the clock and not burn a timeout and run Marshawn and still erased all that didn't go their way.


(Now responding more broadly to continued discussions on the matter...)
I know some are tired of how much it's been discussed already. It will never go away. It's already being named the worst play call in sports championship history. All Hawks fans better get used to it. No one will ever "let it go" because it was such a big moment. Pretending it didn't happen doesn't solve anything.

Some understand what I'm talking about and agree. Others do not and get a bit chippy in here when others say anything referencing it. Lol. Whatever. It's a nightmare ending for us whether we ignore it or talk about it. If we understand the whole game isn't just about that play, then there's no harm in any mention of it. Remembering it doesn't make it any worse.

I'll say this and perhaps we can all agree. (We = .net Seahawks fans.) It's absolutely fantastic to be in this position to have a team battling for Super Bowl Championships to see what this team has become and still considered the best team in the NFL after a Super Bowl loss. This is an unforgettable ride that I'll take - the good with the bad - rather than not be on it at all.
:thirishdrinkers:

Definitely looking forward to 2015 and beyond with the understanding there's no way to erase the memory of SB49.

Probably no cigars coming my way. That's alright. Go Hawks.

 

[drdiags]

What if the refs called the PI on Butler against Lockette as he raced down the middle of the field with nothing but green grass in front of him?

What if the Seahawks get a TD instead of a FG to open the second half scoring?

What if Mebane doesn't pull a hammy?

What if the stupid Packers TE does his job instead of trying to be a hero?

Not saying to let it go. John Schneider states in the article or maybe it was another that the choice came down to either try to sign Bennett or Tate, couldn't or wouldn't do both. He also said they had less time to prepare for FA last year due to the Superbowl run and weren't as prepared as they should have been (not sure how that happens but that is what he said).

They felt WR pool in the draft was better than DEs so they went after Bennett. I wish there were no cap, but to the NFL's credit (though it was greed that motivated them), the NFL FA helps fuel a huge interest during the offseason. I hate the team had to let Z Miller go. And if they let Mebane walk, that will be another reason I hate the cap. Fans love the cap because they hate teams having to carry players who are done but have guaranteed money the life of the contract.

Tate would have made a difference, unless he had one of those spaz moments and ran backwards during his keystone cops mimicking.

 

[Laloosh]

What if the refs called the PI on Butler against Lockette as he raced down the middle of the field with nothing but green grass in front of him?

What if the Seahawks get a TD instead of a FG to open the second half scoring?

What if Mebane doesn't pull a hammy?

What if the stupid Packers TE does his job instead of trying to be a hero?

Not saying to let it go. John Schneider states in the article or maybe it was another that the choice came down to either try to sign Bennett or Tate, couldn't or wouldn't do both. He also said they had less time to prepare for FA last year due to the Superbowl run and weren't as prepared as they should have been (not sure how that happens but that is what he said).

They felt WR pool in the draft was better than DEs so they went after Bennett. I wish there were no cap, but to the NFL's credit (though it was greed that motivated them), the NFL FA helps fuel a huge interest during the offseason. I hate the team had to let Z Miller go. And if they let Mebane walk, that will be another reason I hate the cap. Fans love the cap because they hate teams having to carry players who are done but have guaranteed money the life of the contract.

Tate would have made a difference, unless he had one of those spaz moments and ran backwards during his keystone cops mimicking.

That's slow clap worthy.

 

[Cyrus12]

circus catch aside...what if Kearse didn't have stone hands??

 

[randomation]

circus catch aside...what if Kearse didn't have stone hands??

Then we make that third down and likely put the game away before the Pats even start a comeback sigh.

 

[HawkFan72]

circus catch aside...what if Kearse didn't have stone hands??

Then we make that third down and likely put the game away before the Pats even start a comeback sigh.

Yeah that play was brutal. It's game over if he makes that catch. I felt at the time that it was a huge missed opportunity to put the game away, and I hated that it turned out to be true.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Regarless of all that went wrong on that play, if a WR that attacks the ball was in that spot (ala Tate), an interception would have been averted at the very least. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

 

[PlinytheCenter]

If we'd had Golden Tate, Sidney Rice, Zach Miller, Percy Harvin and a healthy Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor & Jeremy Lane the game wouldn't even have been close.

Sherman was banged up too. Our entire secondary was hobbled. THAT is what cost us the game IMO. Avril being out didn't help either. Oh well, on to SB50!

 

[Seahawkfan80]

I have still not re-watched XLAX yet. I call it that as the way Baldwin put it. I will some day.......maybe.

 

[Hawkintent]

If Burley and Norwood were active we would have won.

Burley was much better suited for the quick receivers than Simon (not a knock on Simon)
And while Norwood didn't do much this year when he did it was on slants for 3rd down conversions.

Just some more stupid what ifs that I think about quite often.

 

[themunn]

circus catch aside...what if Kearse didn't have stone hands??

Then we make that third down and likely put the game away before the Pats even start a comeback sigh.

Yeah that play was brutal. It's game over if he makes that catch. I felt at the time that it was a huge missed opportunity to put the game away, and I hated that it turned out to be true.

Revisionist history! It was a good play by Butler, not a drop by Kearse

 

[evergreen]

What if the D forced a safety instead of going offsides and giving them kneel down room? THEY were on the one foot line and were highly likely to run the QB sneak. Never in the history of the NFL was there such a chance at a rebound play after a dream crusher play. What if...

 

[NINEster]

What I find most fascinating about this game was that the Seahawk offense was rather inept except to close out the first and second half.

Why was that?

 

[NINEster]

Didn't need Tate. Didn't need 2007 Randy Moss. Didn't need Jerry Rice in his prime. Run play, championship. The end.

Playing the Butterfly Effect beyond that just prolongs your pain. Best to move on.

I studied that final sequence quite a bit and the pass was probably the best call.

A run play that scores is great, obviously.

But if it FAILED?? (and Lynch's 20% conversion from the one yard line all year suggests it was no guarantee)

Hawks would have been in big trouble.

Forced to call the final timeout, and now you have two more downs to score -- but can you risk yet another run? Because if that too fails you have fourth down and no ability to stop the clock.

An extra time out would have probably won the SB for the Hawks or at least made a run play a 100% guaranteed call.

With the pass, had it failed in a non destructive way (incomplete), you retain the timeout and obviously the clock stopped. At that point you can give it a go for two runs if you so choose or whatever combination of run/pass you like.

In hindsight, a spiking of the ball would have been the same effect (would have looked "wasteful" perhaps). Belichick whether he was doing it intentionally or not helped his cause by not calling timeout. People are conveniently forgetting the clock was running.

The "mistake" was the slant pass in traffic. There's probably only a handful of QBs in the league in any era where I'd trust them to make that throw in that situation -- Wilson isn't one of them, sorry. (and before you go with the obvious counter-response, yeah "he" isn't either).

Fades rarely get picked off. Should have went with that.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

What I find most fascinating about this game was that the Seahawk offense was rather inept except to close out the first and second half.

Why was that?

We've talked about this before. Teams that frustrate the Hawk's offense are ones with bigger press corners that don't allow our midget WR's off the line so they can stack the box to stop Lynch and contain Russell.

It's why I've said I wish Pete would let Russell go up tempo with the 4 minute offense more often, and not just at the end of halves. Seems to put the offense in rhythm faster and allows Russell to take over to move the ball more successfully..............which is what we saw at the end of the half and game in the SB.

But Pete's defense first, so he prefers to stay conservative with a lead and lets his defense hold it. Which they couldn't do.