[Rondec]

Nobody thought anybody would be stupid enough to pass from the ½ yard line. Pete Carroll proved them wrong.
Well, almost nobody, that is.
Pete Carroll didn't think that New England would think he was stupid enough to pass from the ½ yard line. New England proved him wrong.

There really is roughly the same risk of throwing an interception from the 1 yard line as there is fumbling from the 1 yard line. There hadn't been an interception thrown by any team from from inside the 2 yard line all season. From Carroll's perspective, it seemed like a low risk throw and I suppose he hoped to catch the Patriots off guard, since they would be gunning for the run. It was an amazing play on the part of Butler to jump the route.

Not a Carroll fan, but he is a good coach. The fact that he brought them to two super bowls and had them that close to winning two in a row confirms that fact. It was pretty gutsy on his part to go for the touchdown at the end of the first half and that worked out pretty well.

The reality is that these games often come down to a couple of plays either way, when the teams are as close talent-wise as these were and it is just luck that decides it.

[tuco]

I regret not going to a sports bar with my camera and capturing the roller coaster of moods and expressions on people's faces as they watched the game. Perhaps most notable would have been the agony of defeat on the Seattle fans faces after just moments before being lifted with that saving catch and what looked like an inevitable victory.

[Parallax]

In all seriousness, the only stupid play would have been a Field Goal. Anything else was a calculated risk. If he had called a run and it didn't work, he would have been ostracized for not calling a pass. "DUMMY! He should have called a pass. Nobody would have expected it. They would have won."

[lammie200]

In all seriousness, the only stupid play would have been a Field Goal...

Not the only one. I heard that Pete Carroll actually called for a suicide squeeze play, but then realized that that is meant for baseball - not football.

BTW, it was second down with 20 seconds on the clock and they had one timeout left. They could have had three plays to get a TD from the one yard line. Also, look at the way Seattle scored their previous TD. Pretty easy pass to the corner of the end zone. Carroll's excuse was that NE had their goal line defense in the game, so he called a pass because he liked the match ups. But he called a pass right in the middle of the field at the goal line. Where is the concentration of a goal line defense? Answer: Right in the middle of the field. Granted Wilson still made the throw and should have known that it wasn't going to be easy. But this was a case of Pete Carroll outsmarting himself and no one else. Very funny IMHO.

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Last edited by lammie200; 02-04-2015 at 02:59 PM.

[Parallax]

LOL