Luke Willson talking about THAT play

[Vpk0718]

If you can stomach revisiting it then it’s a good watch and a really good perspective.

Players demanding answers from the coaches right away. Can just imagine pathetic Bevell saying nothing and passing the buck.

Get over the Bevell thing, Pete told him in the headset system to call a pass play because the Pats had sent their "heavy" package in and there was no guarantee Marshawn would have been able to score against that defense as most assume he could have.

GO HAWKS!!!

I will get on Bevell all I want because the problem wasn't passing, it was the play call itself, which is all Bevell. Lynch has to be involved in EVERY down there, even if they're passing. Play action was the correct call. If they have their run package in, then try to fool them.

Butler was there because he knew right away from the formation that they were passing.

 

[scutterhawk]

The play called would have worked if they ran it just like they did except instead of throwing it to Lockette, throw it to the WIDE OPEN LYNCH !!!!!!!

This^^

 

[Sports Hernia]

I still have no problem with the concept of passing on that play. But play action, Russ rolls with one of 3 options 1) run it in, 2) throw to someone wide open in the back of the endzone cause his man bit on the play-fake 3) throw it out the back of the endzone if neither 1 nor 2 is available.

Pats heavy package means bigger guys and more people towards the middle. So why call a play throwing there to a guy known more for his special teams play than receiving skills?

Pats “heavy package” was ranked 31st (next to the worst) that year in goal-line situations, so there is that.

 

[Uncle Si]

I saw Brees execute the same play from basically the same spot against the Vikings a few weeks ago with ease. My only issue was the play was that it did not lean on the strengths of the offense. Running Lynch, Run Option with Wilson, Wilson moving in the pocket... those were the team strengths.

Execution and it works, just like with Brees.

Low snap by Unger...............Kearse gets manhandled by Browner and doesn't pick Butler.............throw not low enough by Russell..............and voila, no SB win #2.

As much as I hate the Patriots, that play is a microcosm of why they're going for their 6th SB win in 15 years, and we're sitting at home. They're the most disciplined clutch prepared team in NFL history that just flat out executes when it matters most, on both sides of the ball.

right... because the Patriots put their success into the hands of their best players. The Seahawks, on that occasion, did not. However, it was relying on Chris Matthews that even kept them in the game in the first half.

The Patriots are disciplined and have gotten away with waiting for the other team to make THAT mistake. It's often a war of attrition.

The Seahawks had their chance. one play. they chose the wrong play. You can argue execution, but again, that just belabors the point of having the ball in the air when you are a power running team.

 

[HawkRiderFan]

I saw Brees execute the same play from basically the same spot against the Vikings a few weeks ago with ease. My only issue was the play was that it did not lean on the strengths of the offense. Running Lynch, Run Option with Wilson, Wilson moving in the pocket... those were the team strengths.

Are you talking about the slant TD to Thomas in the playoff game? IIRC the one big difference was the Saints ran play action. Brees faked a pitch to Kamara while on the Hawks play there was no deception.

If you want to play the butterfly effect game, imagine the Hawks score (no matter how but get the TD) and win that game. Does the Jimmy Graham trade ever happen?

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Fast forward to the year 2027: They should have ran the ball! :lol:

 

[Sgt. Largent]

right... because the Patriots put their success into the hands of their best players. The Seahawks, on that occasion, did not. However, it was relying on Chris Matthews that even kept them in the game in the first half..

Other than Gronk, the Patriots offensive roster is mediocre at best. So not sure what you mean by this statement. Most of their late game TD winners are guys like White, Amendola, etc.

Hell yeah put the ball in the hands of Brady, so you're saying Russell wasn't worthy of putting the ball in his hands?

I'm not saying we shouldn't have handed it off to Marshawn, but let's remember Marshawn's goal line success rate that year was like 40%?.............and the Pats had their heavy goalline defense in the game expecting it.

Execution, execution and execution. That's why we lost. The Pat's D executed flawlessly, and we didn't. Everyone assumes handing it off to Marshawn would have worked, when as I referenced about, it most certainly wasn't a sure thing either.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I think the biggest failure here is the fact that this was THE only play we ran from that formation, in that situation. The Patriot defenders knew what was going to be called the moment we lined up at the LOS. The second big issue was match-ups. We put our players in a position to fail at the get go. Lockette was one of our worst receivers on our team, and he was known for having poor route running on a play that required precision. We required Kearse to get free from a man that has made his career disrupting situations like this, Browner. He got absolutely manhandled at the LOS. We played right into the Patriots strengths. It was a failure from a play design prospective from the get go.

This is why I cringe every time I hear Pete Carroll talking about focusing on what our own team does, rather than the other team. This approach may work for defense, but on offense it is a recipe for failure.

 

[HawkGA]

One of the things that comes across to me is that he (and I presume most of the other players) were already looking ahead to the victory and they basically sleep walked through that final play.

I didn't love the play call . . . okay, I hated it for reasons we don't need to rehash here . . . but I think the play call could have and would have worked if the offense had kept a killer instinct about them. More aggressiveness and that is a completed pass.

Instead the Patriots were the ones with the killer instinct.

 

[TwistedHusky]

If you run the ball, even if you fail, you went down doing things like you have always done that got you wins.

Lynch running for TDs was part of that season. I even rigged up a system that loaded pressurized air behind the the TV so that tubes of skittles would pour up from a reservoir behind the TV, run through tubes up the wall and then shower down in sheets on all the people watching in the Living Room.

(It was awesome if a bit messy)

Lynch and the candy showers were the symbol of that offense. But we went away from it.

Even if we did that and failed, it would have never been as harped on. But we picked a play that relied on one of our least clutch receivers, beating one of the best defenders against us (since he used to play for us) and shockingly it blew up. Let's leave aside the Lynch being open thing for a moment...

It was an epic failure on the part of our coaches and on Wilson. Wilson gets a tiny pass because he was a young QB.

Luckily, the key coaching issue was Bevell and at least he is gone.

People would be upset losing if Lynch fumbled or something, but it wouldn't have come off as terminally stupid like the play call we went with did.

 

[razor150]

I still have no problem with the concept of passing on that play. But play action, Russ rolls with one of 3 options 1) run it in, 2) throw to someone wide open in the back of the endzone cause his man bit on the play-fake 3) throw it out the back of the endzone if neither 1 nor 2 is available.

Pats heavy package means bigger guys and more people towards the middle. So why call a play throwing there to a guy known more for his special teams play than receiving skills?

Because Bevell has a very poor awareness of the personnel on the field.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I even rigged up a system that loaded pressurized air behind the the TV so that tubes of skittles would pour up from a reservoir behind the TV, run through tubes up the wall and then shower down in sheets on all the people watching in the Living Room.

(It was awesome if a bit messy)
.

Did you really? That's awesome.

 

[ZagHawk]

I still have no problem with the concept of passing on that play. But play action, Russ rolls with one of 3 options 1) run it in, 2) throw to someone wide open in the back of the endzone cause his man bit on the play-fake 3) throw it out the back of the endzone if neither 1 nor 2 is available.

Pats heavy package means bigger guys and more people towards the middle. So why call a play throwing there to a guy known more for his special teams play than receiving skills?

Because Bevell has a very poor awareness of the personnel on the field.

Because Bevell wanted to prove how creative he is...should have fired him that off season.

 

[NJlargent]

Exactly. I hate the Pats too. But as usual, they were extremely prepared. NO team in history has been as disciplined and can finish like the Pats have. A 10 point lead might be safe against many teams, but not the Pats.
After that miracle catch by Butterfingers Kearse, they were playing w/house money at that point. It seems rare that people actually give credit to Butler, that was a hell of a play.

Rare only for Seahawks fans, everyone else debates it as best all time SB play ever. Hard to give all the credit to Butler as a Seahawk fan because we can find several failings that opened the door for him to pull off the near impossible.

To be fair, when you google "worst play call in super bowl history" we unanimously own the entire first page of search results.

 

[brimsalabim]

Just to add the the "what ifs" and all the things that had to simultaneously go wrong I saw a photo (i'll have to search to see if I can find it again) that showed Lynch not wide open but being grabbed by a defender coming out of the backfield running the opposite direction of the play while Baldwin was also clearly being held. Kearse is being held by Browner too. As the series of photos progress Kearse never gets free and Butler blows right through Lockette on the way to beating him to the ball.
Had this been reversed with Tom Brady and the pat's knocking on the door there is no way that we would not get flagged.

 

[NFSeahawks]

Time to let it go.....enough already

It's not actually, it should always be a reminder that you should never be complacent during a football game.

 

[MD5eahawks]

I found that interview to be very informative. I know some here are saying time to let it go, but with the players actually talking about it brings it full circle. Just part of the process of letting it go.

 

[Seahawkville]

I ran a ball once.

It HURT.

 

[scutterhawk]

Just to add the the "what ifs" and all the things that had to simultaneously go wrong I saw a photo (i'll have to search to see if I can find it again) that showed Lynch not wide open but being grabbed by a defender coming out of the backfield running the opposite direction of the play while Baldwin was also clearly being held. Kearse is being held by Browner too. As the series of photos progress Kearse never gets free and Butler blows right through Lockette on the way to beating him to the ball.
Had this been reversed with Tom Brady and the pat's knocking on the door there is no way that we would not get flagged.

:sarcasm_on: C'mon man, you don't really think that Billycheat & his Cheatriots were actually mugging our key players on Offense, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE OFFICIALS, and getting away with it, now do ya?? :sarcasm_off:

 

[SeadogEast]

Long time lurker here. I appreciated Willson's being candid about that play. The play is water under the bridge and there were a ton of things that could have been done differently. Butler was just beaten on two plays earlier and he was the third corner back on the field on that play. He was a rookie and his spirit should have been broken.

After watching the play it was a bad read, bad throw, and the worst route I have ever seen. It took Lockette far too long to get to his spot and he never sold the play to get free from Butler. Butler just ran where he thought the ball was going to be. Good guess. To be honest though, I have more problems with the earlier play. Okung totally wiffed on his block. If he seals the defensive end, Seattle is up by 3 with a minute to go. We may have watched Brady march right down the field and break our hearts or lose in overtime. It would be ironic to win the NFC championship in OT and lose the same way the next week.

I will always watch a video of the final play. It allows me as a fan to heal. This is a video I watched in the last week that I never saw before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeNYQaS3rZI

Grant it, it is easy for New England to say these things after the fact. But, I believe their rationale. It was said the Pats knew the play was coming. Well, they did know it was coming. This video shed light on that play for me. Butler was beaten over and over again. Lockette never made a legit football move and ran a pattern like a high school receiver. The scout team ran it better than he did.

Another poster said we ran the same play out of that formation and it had no chance of fooling them. I agree 100% with this comment. Bevell ran a simple route tree. That could be by design. However, that makes Bevell a mediocre play caller too and he should have been shown the door after that game.