Gunfighter 09 said:No and No.
You CANNOT run the ball three times in 26 seconds with one timeout. The Pats are smart and would have ensured that it took at least ~15 seconds to unpile after an unsuccessful second down run, meaning they have to call their last timeout and thus have to pass on third down, then run on the last play of the game, 4th down. Planning for three shots at victory, Carroll had to pass once and chose to do it when it was most unpredictable.
Running the clock down makes a ton of sense when you consider the Hawks last playoff loss featured Matt Ryan beating them with :34 and two timeouts.
You seem to be advocating Carroll going all in with two Lynch runs vice two runs and one pass. Of course, the more I think about it, a rollout pass that puts Wilson's legs into the equation was probably a better individual play call than the slant.
To me this is the bottom line. The equation is 1 pass + 1 runs > than 2 runs. As simple as that.
Mark Schofield said:Yeah, I've got a piece in the pipeline for FC arguing that once the ball is snapped, the decision rests on Wilson. If he is gonna make that throw, he needs to put it to his back shoulder/second number and use Lockette as a wall between Butler and the ball. Make Butler drive through the WR.
Or, he needed to put it in the third row.
That's been my take, as well, that Wilson (who I love, but still...weren't experts saying he's better than Brady) has to take the lion's share of the blame. Be certain or throw it away.
I think you can make 2 more cogent arguments putting blame on the Seahawks' coaches:
1: sensing disorder or just because they have a young QB who, as steady as he normally is, hadn't been that steady down the stretch, maybe they should have used that time-out after Lynch's run. Maybe bring Wilson to the sideline and walk him through exactly what the sequence would be and to throw it away if even a shot at an INT.
2: was a pass play into a tight window the right call? Maybe a rollout with some options or the easy throw away would have been better.