With two timeouts in his pocket and Seattle on the doorstep of success, Bill Belichick let the clock run down between the first and goal at the five with 1:06 on the clock and the second down from the one. Wouldn't any other coach try to save that 40 seconds for a Brady attempt at a miracle? Please don't try to tell me he knew they could take the ball away. Some coaches may have even allowed the score figuring on getting back in position for a game tying FG. Is Belichick a time traveler?
I was literally thinking that when Seattle got the ball at the 1. Why the **** wasn't BB using his timeouts to stop the clock? Seattle gave this game away, not just figuratively, but literally. Christ....
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. First, I'm amazed they didn't let them just score on 1st down and then they let the clock go down. If that INT isn't made I have to imagine people would be crucifying Belichik right now.
That's what it comes down to. When your guy makes a catch like Kearse did you need to win that game. That game was pretty much over if you don't find a way not to lose. No one will harp on BB not calling timeout because he has the ring. The only talk will be about the call that never was. Unbelievable, and go Jets. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I did not understand what he was doing, made no sense at all. The vaunted Belichick was about to see his D blow a 3rd SB and could have left the man responsible for the championships get one last shot if he managed the clock properly. anyone who thinks BB is more responsible than Brady for the dynasty is way off and please let us never speak of Manning and Brady in the same sentence again.
It's debatable whether you use a timeout after Seattle gets to the five. Personally I don't, I make them score from there. But when they get it to the one-yard line with a minute remaining there is NO debate, you use a timeout at that point and then let them score if it's a run.
he ran out of bounds at the 5, they didn't have a chance to call TO. they should have called one after the run to the 1 but as it turns out it worked out.
I thought an equally stupid call was the kickoff by NE with 2:02 left on the clock. Why kick it out of bounds and give Seattle a free time out at the 2 minute warning? I thought you kick that ball to the goal line, force them to run it back and take away the 2 minute warning. Bad call there, and not calling timeout was insane. My wife, who is a Redskins fan thinks a fix was in.
Junc--you should know better, cuz you don't understand it, it means it was a bad move? Even though it won him the game? Let's say he did it to keep pressure on the decision makers of Seattle as the clock wound down. If you agree with the masses that the slant was a bad play call, it was because they were not able to calmly evaluate the situation. In any case, questioning BB is like a science duffer questioning Einstein--IMO
there was no pressure for Seattle there, they had a TO and plenty of time to do whatever they wanted. they decided to throw and NE got lucky. If they score NE doesn't have time to come back. Seattle had all day to calmly run a play, they didn't call that b/c of pressure.
absolutely. He led his O to 14 4th qtr pts, gave his D another late lead in a SB. just like the last 2 it wouldn't have been his fault had the D blew another one. Contrast that w/ Manning's 2 SB losses where he threw game losing INT for TD late in 4th qtr and led his O to 8 pts against same Seattle D Brady carved up and all 8 pts were in garbage time.
If you agree that it was such a bad call, and everyone basically agrees that the OC has a decent history, what reason do you attribute to this terrible decision?
Sorry but I don't think this answers the question--doesn't he always try to outsmart the opponent? Why does he make such a bad call at that moment and historically, apparent never made such a bad call? What was different about this time that led him to make such an enormous error in judgment?
NFL history shows that its more dangerous to try to outsmart an opponent than to beat him with your strength. And its a primary, basic, elementary text book rule...Don't risk an int on the one yard line of the Super Bowl with 28 seconds to go as you are on the verge of taking hte lead and winning the game.
I was wondering the same thing at the time. But he apparently wasn't coaching to let them score. If that was the strategy, he would have called the timeout right away. It was goal line stand or bust at that point. You could argue that calling a timeout there helps Seattle as much as it does NE, because Seattle had only 1 timeout remaining. It would have allowed them to huddle up and figure out 3 plays for 2nd, 3rd, and, if necessary, 4th down. If NE calls a timeout and Seattle has a chance to regroup on the sideline, maybe calmer heads prevail and they run the read option or a QB sneak there instead of the dumb passing play. The passing play was dumb for so many reasons. Aside from the obvious (just give it to beast mode or let wilson run it in, or what if you take a sack there??), when you throw to the middle of the field down at the goal line, you are just asking for trouble. Balls get tipped, deflected, batted up in the air, D-lineman can drop back into coverage, linebackers and DBs can close in quickly, there are so many variables with the potential traffic in that area. It's mind boggling when you consider that a similar thing happened earlier in the year when Seattle played in Carolina. Wilson threw a bullet on a quick slant from inside the 5 to Beast Mode and the LB or whoever broke in front of Lynch for the INT. Lynch was open but Wilson either led him too much or Lynch wasn't "strong enough to the ball." Whatever the case, it was a turnover and it pretty much cost them the game.
Belichick was saved. Seattle had him dead to rights. He was about to lose his 3rd straight SB on a ridiculous catch. But another play that nobody has mentioned is the illegal trip that wasn't called on the opening play of Seattle's drive in the 4th quarter. NE had just scored the TD to cut it to 24-21. If the DB doesn't trip Lockette there (or if the refs actually call a penalty against NE for once), it's first down Seattle at midfield with 7:55 left in the game. Instead Seattle goes 3 and out and have to punt it back to Brady at which point everybody in the world knows NE is going to go down and score. The non-call on the trip was a huge play in the game.
