BluePhantom
Educator (of liberals)
Well we have had time to calm down, reflect, and let the alcohol filter through our systems. Just my final take away and observations from the game.
- First total credit to the Patriots for their win. They played a fantastic game. They had a great offensive game plan. It's a shame I think that all the talk on media today is that the Seahawks pissed it away instead of giving credit to New England for the things they did to win. They played great and earned the victory.
- Losing Jeremy Lane and Cliff Avril....wow what a huge impact. Tharold Simon is not a slot corner. He is good at protecting the sideline as a traditional corner, but slot corners are expected to do different things and that's not Simon's game. Lane is very good at that and as soon as I saw Lane go out I was immediately concerned and to the Patriots' credit they took advantage and attacked that weakness. That's a bad break for Seattle and smart play by New England. As for Avril....we were never able to pressure Brady effectively after he went out and it gave Brady the time in the pocket to do what Brady does. Another bad break for Seattle and a great job taking advantage for the Patriots.
- I was also concerned when they reported just before kickoff that Sherman had torn ligaments in his elbow (which this morning is reported will require surgery), Thomas has a torn labrum, and Chancellor was in a knee brace. Leading up to the game Seattle insisted they were fine. Clearly they were not and it showed. That's not taking anything away from Brady. It's not his problem. He plays the game against what is out their and that's what was out there and he used it to his advantage. Great for him.
- The long Jermaine Kearse catch at the end. Luck or great catch? Both. It was a lucky bounce of the ball for sure but Kearse showed incredible concentration keeping focused on the ball, bringing it in, and then having the presence of mind to get up and run. It shows awareness of what was happening in the play. Seattle caught a break that the ball got a good bounce, but Kearse showed incredible skill by taking advantage.
- And of course.....the final play. I don't think there is a person alive who can really honestly look at themselves and say "we would have stopped Lynch at the half yard line on two or three attempts". I can't imagine even the biggest Patriots homer saying that. Seattle's offensive co-ordinator called Lynch and Carroll called a pass instead in order to get tricky. It wasn't a bad pass. It's wasn't a poorly executed play. It was a timing route that was designed to be quick so there was no opportunity to react. New England made an absolutely fantastic play and stole the game from the Seahawks. Total credit to them for that. But....like everyone else in the world is asking "what in the hell was Pete Carroll thinking passing that ball? It cost them the game."
So my final take is that you can't take anything away from New England. They played great. They did everything they needed to do to win. They took advantage of the breaks that came to them. Seattle also played well enough to win. They almost certainly should have won. But in the very final analysis...Pete Carroll out-thought himself by trying to do something unexpected instead of taking the easy touchdown, and the Patriots made him pay for it. You have to give as much credit to the Patriots for taking advantage of Carroll's stupidity as scorn for Carroll calling the pass in the first place.
So congratulations to the Patriots. Great game. You have a fantastic team and you earned your title. And Pete Carroll.....I swear to God if you ever do that again.........
- First total credit to the Patriots for their win. They played a fantastic game. They had a great offensive game plan. It's a shame I think that all the talk on media today is that the Seahawks pissed it away instead of giving credit to New England for the things they did to win. They played great and earned the victory.
- Losing Jeremy Lane and Cliff Avril....wow what a huge impact. Tharold Simon is not a slot corner. He is good at protecting the sideline as a traditional corner, but slot corners are expected to do different things and that's not Simon's game. Lane is very good at that and as soon as I saw Lane go out I was immediately concerned and to the Patriots' credit they took advantage and attacked that weakness. That's a bad break for Seattle and smart play by New England. As for Avril....we were never able to pressure Brady effectively after he went out and it gave Brady the time in the pocket to do what Brady does. Another bad break for Seattle and a great job taking advantage for the Patriots.
- I was also concerned when they reported just before kickoff that Sherman had torn ligaments in his elbow (which this morning is reported will require surgery), Thomas has a torn labrum, and Chancellor was in a knee brace. Leading up to the game Seattle insisted they were fine. Clearly they were not and it showed. That's not taking anything away from Brady. It's not his problem. He plays the game against what is out their and that's what was out there and he used it to his advantage. Great for him.
- The long Jermaine Kearse catch at the end. Luck or great catch? Both. It was a lucky bounce of the ball for sure but Kearse showed incredible concentration keeping focused on the ball, bringing it in, and then having the presence of mind to get up and run. It shows awareness of what was happening in the play. Seattle caught a break that the ball got a good bounce, but Kearse showed incredible skill by taking advantage.
- And of course.....the final play. I don't think there is a person alive who can really honestly look at themselves and say "we would have stopped Lynch at the half yard line on two or three attempts". I can't imagine even the biggest Patriots homer saying that. Seattle's offensive co-ordinator called Lynch and Carroll called a pass instead in order to get tricky. It wasn't a bad pass. It's wasn't a poorly executed play. It was a timing route that was designed to be quick so there was no opportunity to react. New England made an absolutely fantastic play and stole the game from the Seahawks. Total credit to them for that. But....like everyone else in the world is asking "what in the hell was Pete Carroll thinking passing that ball? It cost them the game."
So my final take is that you can't take anything away from New England. They played great. They did everything they needed to do to win. They took advantage of the breaks that came to them. Seattle also played well enough to win. They almost certainly should have won. But in the very final analysis...Pete Carroll out-thought himself by trying to do something unexpected instead of taking the easy touchdown, and the Patriots made him pay for it. You have to give as much credit to the Patriots for taking advantage of Carroll's stupidity as scorn for Carroll calling the pass in the first place.
So congratulations to the Patriots. Great game. You have a fantastic team and you earned your title. And Pete Carroll.....I swear to God if you ever do that again.........