That's a nice clip. My favorite moment is they think that if they'd won that year, they would have won the following year, too. One of the really nice things about the Pats two title stretches is that they derailed two other potential dynasties in the Rams and Seahawks, and both of those teams know it.
Russell Wilson threw that ball blind and never got any shit for it, it's amazing.
The first TO was after an incompletion right after the 2 minute warning. 2nd and 10 with 1:50 to play. I think that's probably what you meant to write, as it was a stopped clock situation. Just ridiculous for it to happen twice in a drive. At least I can semi understand the post-Kearse catch, there was a lot going on at that point.
Ah yes, thanks for the correction, it was IIRC on the Butler pass breakup that probably should have been called PI. As you say, idiotic of them to waste a TO there.
The TOs definitely hurt them. In terms of clock management they also let the clock run down from 1:01 to 0:25 after the Lynch run to the one yard line before the second down snap, which happened in part because they substituted their a
It was on a PBU but a clean play. The PI was in the 3rd when he tripped the WR
That’s essentially what Bill has suggested; he addresses the TO issue at about the 2:30 mark of the following excerpt from the first ‘Do Your Job’ retrospective.
This.
It never ceases to amaze me how impressive the interception is. How many corners reliably hang onto that ball even if they make the read and undercut it? Wilson threw a bullet from six yards out from the rough equivalent of the left to right hash, and Butler has a full on collision with the receiver. Crazy.
Given the context, the stakes, the moment, and the quality, it is the single greatest play in NFL history. The second greatest is probably the Roethlisberger-to-Holmes TD at the end of the Super Bowl vs. Arizona.
Malcolm hesitated for about 1 millisecond before running to EXACTLY where the ball would be. He went all in on the play; had he been wrong about it and Lockette ran to the corner of the end zone he'd be seen as a fool. Instead he's a legend.
That's not a guess by Butler, really, it's coaching...there is video of the coaches telling him to do precisely what he did in the game against this set from a practice. He hesitated in practice and couldn't get to the receiver, so they said "no, from this set you just go". So he wouldn't have been responsible if the route were different, they had a defense for exactly the set and Browner (who of course knew Seattle playbook well) signals to him that yes, this is that play. The genius of Belichick is he coaches guys to respond to situations and that's precisely what happened here---Butler ran the defense they had coached him on for the set they taught him to identify. I'd be willing to bet a lot that if Lockette had gone to the corner instead that BB would have said in the postgame "yeah, that's the corner-whatever screen play, they always break that inside and that's how we defended it and Lockette changed the route. Credit to him" That's not to minimize Butler doing it, but it was anything but a guess. The video linked above covers it---virtually every Pats DB practiced how to respond to that exact play and was coached to do precisely what Butler did. The preparation to do that---across all the DBs even down on the depth chart to Butler---is just incredible
After hearing so many people talk about how it was a sure thing if they'd just given it to Lynch, their very next game (the opener of the next season) they had a chance to prove it.
I remember the Dion Lewis trickery at the end of regulation (on which he might’ve scored if he doesn’t blow a tire) but not this. Good find and I totally agree about the Seahawks game – must’ve been an Ernie find.
They missed an extra point, they then had first and goal from the Falcons 7 yard line and had to settle for a FG. The fact that it didn't all go their way even when the comeback started is a big part of what made that game so impressive.
I missed that remark, but I caught a few minutes of the golf yesterday (but I think it was a recording from Saturday) and I think the same guy made another crack about the SB. Something about how things were falling apart, players hitting provisional shots and then something like "it's starting to remind me of the Falcons in the Superbowl" or something. Jim Nantz did not seem amused.
The biggest thing is that the Falcons could have (essentially) iced it so easily after that nuts Julio Jones catch put them into field goal range. All you have to do is run the ball three times and as long as you don't fumble (shit they could have just knelt) you would be looking at a 37-yarder to go up by 11, kicking off to NE with either 2:20 left and 3 NE timeouts, or something like 4:00 left and no timeouts if NE decided to use their timeouts while you were running clock. In either case that's two possessions and even if you don't think you can stop Brady anymore, the Pats would have most likely needed a successful onside kick to have not just ran out of time.
That catch remains one of the greatest forgotten plays in super bowl history, at least outside of Atlanta and New England. The Pats largely kept Jones from killing them in that super bowl (just 3/60 up to that point, no TDs and just 3 total targets), but that play was insane - perfect throw by Ryan, perfect coverage by Rowe, and otherworldly hands and footwork by Jones. There was no fluky helmet shit by a scrub or an odd ball bouncing off multiple limbs, just an all-time great catch by one of the best receivers of the decade. I was mentally prepared for that play to be the nail in the coffin for the Pats (all quarter long the Falcons were just begging for one player on either side of the ball to make a big play to end it, and that should have been it), but instead it was just a prelude to the play calling and execution disaster you described.
This piece suggests it was Shanahan, and he describes his thinking during that sequence:
The Falcons never really recovered after that loss. Shanahan went to SF and Quinn got the lion’s share of the blame for the team’s subsequent underperformance. But Shanahan is one of those guys the media seems to just think is so brilliant they almost never criticize him.
It was a comedy of errors. Bad sack, bad hold, bad play calling. Sports is amazing in that an entire career (for Quinn, Ryan, Julio Jones, Shanahan, etc.) can be defined by three plays. But we'll take it! Could say the same thing about Asante Samuel's butter fingers. It's why BB can keep getting up at 430AM to work on this stuff. It's endlessly interesting.
When you blow a 25 point lead in the super bowl, you're going to get killed regardless. You make calls that give you the best chance to win, and Atlanta panicking after losing 1 yard on the first down run killed them. They were still in easy field goal range, safe plays to make it a 2 score game was still the correct call. It's not the same as getting to the very edge of field goal range (50-55 yards) and getting conservative - they were at the Pats 22, just a 39 yard field goal. And their kicker was Matt Bryant, who made the pro bowl and including extra points, was a combined 63 of 65 on 30 to 39 yards out that year. Running the ball 3 straight times was the right play, assuming there isn't a fumble or holding call that pushes you way back.
If they had run the ball three times for no gain they would have had a basically gimme FG to go up 11 as I detailed, and if the kicker choked on it no one would blame the playcalling there.
Quinn is the head coach. He can tell Shanahan to do something different if he doesn’t like what Shanahan is doing.
The QB and the HC get the bulk of the credit when things go well (for good reason), stands to reason they get the bulk of the blame when things go wrong (also for good reason). Even if Shanahan is the guy making the actual call, both Ryan and Quinn went along with it. What's transpired since then (Ryan had a few more solid years but never even got back to the pro bowl, Quinn was fired after going 24-29 over the next 3+ seasons, Shanahan hasn't won a super bowl but has had a few really strong seasons even without a legit QB) only highlights that it was Quinn/Ryan blowing their big moment, while Shanahan's future remains pretty bright.
Yeah, that's the play that nobody remembers. 52 yarder even without gaining a yard even after the sack. The hold was so egregious, but I'm not sure that it impacted the play -- I don't think the Patriots were going to get there for the sack even without the hold, and the play they ran for Sanu was a really good one that should have won the game, assuming Bryant can make a 43 yarder.
The game was over either way whether they converted or kicked a FG. I think it was within sneak range so I'm surprised they kicked given Brady was perfect on sneaks lifetime and a FG attempt could go epically wrong in a worst-case scenario, plus the Rams would get an extra seven yards with a FG miss.
With Aaron Donald and Suh in the middle, everyone expecting a sneak or interior run, and Brady himself suggesting a FG, I can’t say I was surprised they kicked.
Right, but not over if they failed to convert or missed the FG. Which was the higher percentage play: the FG attempt or the 4th and inches conversion? Interesting question.
If Brady wanted to kick (which I had no idea about), then I understand. I'm just surprised given his perfect record on sneaks (many of which came against Ravens/Steelers/Rex Ryan defenses) that he wouldn't want to ice it himself.
Given Brady was perfect on sneaks (that is true, right?), I would've sneaked. Gostkowski had also missed from 46 earlier. Not only did a sneak probably have a better chance, but it has way less downside if it fails. A failed sneak gives them the ball at the 24. A missed FG gives it to them at the 31. A blocked FG gives them the ball god knows where.
