So, basically, they didn’t expect their receiver to catch the ball, but they didn’t expect it to be intercepted either.
That actually makes sense. What really messed this whole thing up was not that they didn’t run it, but that a pass was intercepted. That is a critical nuance.
In the history of running that play in critical situations, that is the first time it has ever been intercepted. I think they wanted it down just short of the goal line to force NE to use a time out.
“..they didn’t expect their receiver to catch the ball, but they didn’t expect it to be intercepted either.”
Right, that’s what Quin Hillyer was saying over at NRO, but, even aside from hindsight being 20/20 it doesn’t make sense.
Hey, Hillyer probably knows a lot more about football than I do, and obviously Carroll does, but I think in a pinch, don’t you go with your strongest suit?
Not only Lynch, but Wilson’s a great runner too.
If they didn’t expect the ball to be caught why would you throw it in the middle? If that was the coaches expectation it should have been a safe fade pass.
That actually makes sense. What really messed this whole thing up was not that they didn’t run it, but that a pass was intercepted. That is a critical nuance.
Agreed that "wasting" a pass play in that situation makes a bit of sense. I just don't think that the pass play should have been a pick/slant right in the middle (where NE's goal line defenders were). Want to waste a play? Throw a little back-shoulder pass in the corner of the endzone.
“What really messed this whole thing up was not that they didn’t run it, but that a pass was intercepted. That is a critical nuance.”
Yes, you are right.
Now, I utterly despise Pete Carroll, and have ever since he was at USC. But his explanation makes a great deal of sense. The one intangible was an interception (as you point out), and as one of the analysts stated, no NFL team had thrown an interception from the 1-yard line...until last night.
I’m happy New England won. I think its run is over, though, as I think Brady will either retire after this year or have may one more season. The Seahawks, however, are a very young team, and have a good chance of being the dominant team for many years to come (kind of like Pittsburgh in the ‘70s).