Dumbest call ever...

[catnhatnh]

...unless Butler misses the pick and the pass is completed.

Just picture the commentary after that scenario, the praises that would have been sung. Just as you are sure Lynch could have run the ball in, well-11 defenders were just as sure also and determined to stop him and strip the ball. You've got first and inches but every stop on the field runs precious seconds off the clock and each attempt is one more chance to fumble or have the ball stripped.

How much better to throw a short pass and end the game...Hell, Wilson hadn't thrown an interception all game. Virtually ANY caught legal pass is a TD. Every Patriot pass defender is actually looking to cover the run.

Essentially any play, pass or run to anyone but Lynch would take the defense by surprise. And the ONLY outcome that makes the choice look stupid is an interception-an incomplete would seem a smart move to loosen up the defense.

But instead there was a pick and obviously the play caller was mentally defective......

[Hoyt]

1. I don't think anyone would have called that a smart play, maybe "lucky" if it had worked.

But not smart.

[world wide wally]

2. It was a dumb play when all is said and done. Between Lynch and Wilson himself, they had a great

chance of getting into the end zone. They just don't normally pass in those situations like the Pats or Colts or Broncos. Plus they still had a timeout if they didn't get in on the first run.

[moondust]

3. Yes.

The 5-yard look-in bullet pass at the goal line like that is seldom intercepted; happens too fast. Knocked down, sometimes; intercepted, rarely. Butler had to be in just the right place at just the right instant. I wonder if he goes to church?

[lovemydog]

8. Butler said post-game that right before the play

he had a vision. Of making a huge play He sure did. Congratulations to him!

He was mentally & physically prepared. He knew they needed a huge play and he took the risk.

I agree, that bullet pass rarely gets intercepted. It stunned the heck out of me because it all happened so fast.

[moondust]

10. Amazing turn of events. n/t

[rufus dog]

4. plenty of time left

even if you run up the middle and get stuffed you can still line up and do it again, and again.

So if any pass or run to anyone but Lynch takes the defense by surprise, then why in the hell don't you fake dive with Lynch. That is the only other logical play. They didn't, they immediately broke Lynch out to the left, so every other Pats player, except for the one who had to cover Lynch, was able to jump immediately into pass play mode. The db did, and picked off the ball. BAR FUCKING NONE, Dumbest call ever!

[exboyfil]

5. Reminds me of the Harrison pick

of Warner in the Super Bowl. Apparently Lynch has had issues punching it in from the goal line this year. Pass was not a bad call, but passing it with so much traffic around? If you are not giving it to Lynch, then I would have preferred to see a fade or some sort of option with Wilson moving out of the pocket.

Best is simplist. Line up the beef (two tight end set with full back) and give it to Lynch.

[egduj]

6. You know what people would be saying if that play would've worked?

They'd be saying the same thing. Why the hell didn't you give the ball the Marshawn Lynch!

Stupidest coaching decision ever made in a Superbowl.

[busterbrown]

9. But it didn’t work.. And Wilson wasn’t exactly sharp tonight..

2 of the his most important receptions were great catches.. But more importantly he looked lost out there for good part of the game.. Patriots defending man to man seemed to tie him up..He’s talented, young and has much to learn..

But whatever, that last play was just freaking stupid..

[exboyfil]

13. What I saw was Wilson scrambling alot to keep

a play alive when his receivers could not beat their man even one on one. He made some great passes. One along the sideline that was dropped I remembered. It is hard to know what he was seeing down field, but they showed several times great coverage. He finished with 247 yards, 2 touchdowns, made some key runs, and a quarterback rating of 110.6. He actually had a better game than Tom Brady. While his last pass was ill advised, you have to put a huge part of the blame on whoever called that play (along with it being a great play by a rookie). Brady's interceptions were much worse in context. Now if Wilson decided to call that play himself then he would be subject to more criticism.

[cyberswede]

7. This explains it

Last edited Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:25 PM - Edit history (1)

[aikoaiko]

15. Lol

[AtheistCrusader]

11. It was a gamble. Patriots read the play and put themselves in a good position to counter it.

A dash of luck, and no joy in Mudville for us.

Then a 5 yard penalty, so they didn't have to down it in the end zone. Shit.
Then a 15 yard penalty for the shittiest display of sportsmanship I've ever seen in the superbowl.

When we came back and destroyed Green Bay's hopes, they didn't start any fights. We owed the Patriots as much.


That sucked.

[OldRedneck]

12. One chance in three

Legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant is quoted as saying: "When you throw the ball, three things can happen and two of the are bad."

Inside the 10-yard line, receivers have almost no room to maneuver; inside the 5 is worse, thus making the likelihood that one of the two bad things will happen.

Can't tell you how many times I've been watching a game in which a similar situation developed with similar results.

With first and inches to the goal, RUN THE BALL.

[UncleYoder]

21. I must protest.

It was Woody Hayes, not Bryant with the quote.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Woody_Hayes

And I agree, you dance with who brung ya. Give the ball to beastmode.

[Drunken Irishman]

14. Even if the pass is complete, it doesn't make it the right call.

That's always a false narrative with these things. As a coach, it's your job to weigh the positives and negatives of a play call. You can't think, "boy what if this works..." and instead think, "will this work and is it worth the risk?"

1. You've got the best back in the game. You just ran on the last play as many yards as you need to score. It's second down, hand it off and see what happens.

2. You're on second down. You don't need to get cute here. Getting cute increases the chances for a mistake.

3. You want to kill some time. The last thing you want to do is throw it, have an incomplete, lose that down and stop the clock - well outside throwing a pic.

4. If you're going to throw, don't throw up the middle where it could easily be batted down or, as we saw, intercepted.

Just a bad play call. The fact it could have worked doesn't change that. Hell, they could have ran a triple reverse lateral there that could've worked - but it wouldn't have been the right call.

[PCIntern]

16. Ex-actly. nt

[Orrex]

17. What did Lynch have to say in the press conference?

[sharp_stick]

18. I don't think he spoke

he makes Bill Belichick look like an overly talkative guy on a flight on a good day. After that game he's probably going to want to keep to himself for awhile.

[DrDan]

19. dumbest call ever . . . nuff said

[Baclava]

22. Worst playcall in SB history. No doubt about that.

"The Playcall" - that's all Seattle fans are gonna hear for the next 50 years.

[maxrandb]

20. I don't know. I think the dumbest call ever

was someone picking Palin as their running mate.

[aikoaiko]

23. Screwed the Pooch

That's the phrase that comes to mind.

Risk was too high for passing given 3 chances to run it from 1 yard line to win the MF Super Bowl.