kearly
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First things first, for me, this was the biggest, most amazing win in Seahawks history. Not only that, but I think you could argue this was among the wildest, most memorable conference championship games in recent memory. The storyline being what it was, this game was about much more than just one season, it was about the future. And not just the future of the NFC West, but the future of the NFC as a whole. And after Manning/Brady retire, the NFL as a whole.
There were bad calls and tough breaks that went against both teams, not to mention of host of unforced errors at critical moments but also some amazing big plays at times you least expected them. When Kaepernick was 25 yards away from a monumental last minute victory, you knew that whoever lost this game would probably take years to get over it completely. Every mistake, every woulda-shoulda, every fumble that wasn't recovered, every bad call, every big play, it just magnified the meaning of this game. By the end, it was either going to be the biggest win ever or one of the most painful defeats ever.
When Sherman tipped that ball to Smith I'm pretty sure I entered bullet time because that ball felt like it was in the air off the deflection for an eternity. When Smith caught it, wow, what a feeling that was. Like Beastquake bottled up into one little moment.
Earlier in the game Kaepernick threw a deep TD pass, somewhat improbably, on a perfect pass that beat perfect coverage. Earl actually got his hand on it, but the ball was still caught. The game sealing interception was the same deal. It was a perfect pass on perfect coverage. Watching the replay, you can see just how difficult a play this was for Sherman, who's head was looking for the ball while his body was still out of position. He kind of just swiped at the ball and got it, but if he misses (and he could have missed very easily), it's going right into Crabtree's hands for a game winning TD that ends our amazing 2013 season. It was the perfect ending, a game of inches play in a game full of those moments.
This game started wild. Seattle started on offense, and their very first play was a bizarre Wilson fumble, which he somehow lost to Aldon Smith who was flat on his back but recovered to the ball before Wilson did.
Then you had the Kaepernick runs, abusing KJ Wright and a host of much faster Seahawks defenders.
The 4th down plunge for a TD felt like it was the game to me. It was only 10-0 but approaching the half Lynch had 2 yards a carry and Wilson was struggling early too. Wilson was sacked four times in the first half, and when Pete was interviewed at half time one of the very first comments he made was about getting the ball out sooner. Wilson took a massive grounding penalty after that comment, but he would not be sacked again, and in fact it seemed like Seattle did exceptionally well on quick throws in the second half, much better than we've seen them do in weeks.
Talking about the offense, it basically deserves it's own post as I'd need to go into great detail, but it seemed like whatever has ailed Seattle's offense over the past 2 months vanished in that second half. Wilson was finding receivers. Lynch was in top form. Big plays were being made. Seattle would have put up thirty easily in the 2nd half without a deluge of errors. Even with those huge mistakes, they still scored twenty. In a half, against an elite defense that's had our number most of this season.
I feel like I could write a book on this game and still forget major details.
Twice SF fumbled and by some miracle recovered despite the body count around the ball favoring Seattle. A 3rd time Frank Gore nearly fumbled but trapped the ball, just barely, against his thigh before losing six. One of those miracle fumble recoveries immediately proceeded the aforementioned improbable 49ers touchdown pass.
I'm a big proponent of going for it on 4th down, especially inside the 2 yard line. But I HATED the decision to go for it after being gifted the officiating error on the 3rd down fumble the play before. Poor Bowman. Not only a brutal injury, but blatantly robbed of a fumble recovery on the play and SF couldn't even challenge. Though I hated the decision to go for it, I suppose there is justice in the fact that it actually worked out massively in SF's favor.
One thing's for sure, right or wrong, good or bad, Big Balls Pete is back with a vengeance.
Lynch wasn't scoring a TD on that play, he was going to be dropped for a loss of two or three, but his incompetent looking fumble on one of the biggest plays of the season was kind of amazing in a bad way. You could clearly read Pete's lips after that play. "WOW." Though I'd like to give Lynch my personal fan game-ball after breaking 100 yards with a huge momentum igniting TD earlier in the game, that awful fumble is what holds me back.
Lynch did have a great game though. After missing a few reads in the first quarter or so he was on it in the second half posting close to 100 second half rushing yards. When Lynch runs THAT well, Seattle's offense is going to look like it's old self, and that's pretty much what happened, with a ton of unforced errors thrown in to keep the game from being a huge blowout win.
The phantom hold on Giacomini that forced a punt early in the game after the team had momentarily reached FG range, that sucked. That and the Bowman fumble decision were atrocious calls, but for the most part I thought the officiating did a respectable job in this game. Very rarely does a ref crew bat a thousand, and neither team seemed to hold much of an officiating advantage.
At one point Kaepernick was on pace to rush for 300 yards, and the way the 49ers were calling plays, he very well might have if Seattle didn't do something to stop him. I'm not an X's and O's guy so I don't know what they did, but their adjustment worked, and the 49ers offense was never really much of a threat after their first TD drive. They did add an improbable TD later and nearly won the game on a last minute drive, but the only time it really felt like the defense didn't have things under control was during those early drives when Kaepernick ran at will.
Maxwell is the master of fringe pass interference, also known as perfect pass defense. Perfect with most officiating crews, anyway. A guy like that is so nice to have in the postseason where penalty judgements are notoriously forgiving.
Doug Baldwin broke 100 yards, just the second time he's ever done that. I know, I was surprised by that stat too. His huge kick return was a needed momentum shift as well.
Jermaine Kearse had that horrible fumble at the 1 yard line, but he certainly built up some equity with the play of the season, a 35 yard TD pass on 4th and 7, right after Seattle called a bizarre timeout with Hauschka on the field. Hauschka was ready to kick with about 10-15 seconds on the play clock, and they just watched the clock go down to zero. I kinda suspect this was a fake FG call, and something either went wrong or they didn't like something they saw on the defense. Such a strange timeout in a close game, and the low percentage bomb for a TD on 4th and 7 was an incredibly dubious decision given that Hauschka can be trusted from 53 yards out. But it worked, despite great coverage. A hell of a throw by Wilson, and a great catch by Kearse.
The huge run by Lynch to tie the game was pretty big too. Before then, there were signs that despair was starting to creep into that stadium. 3rd quarter. Just 3 points.
Most of the defense played a great game, Avril, Bennett, and Chancellor in particular. Great game for the D-line, Frank Gore got trucked just about every time they had him tote the rock.
For me, the player of the game just has to be Russell Wilson. He finished with 8.6 YPA and almost a 105 rating against a very difficult defense that knows him very well. He held the ball too long in the first half, he had that fumble on the first play, he had some big mistakes, but he also had some key plays on 3rd and 4th downs and a few critical passes that had to be perfect throws. All in the biggest game he's ever played in, a 2nd year NFL QB without some of his biggest weapons on offense.
I LOVED the timeouts at the end of the game by SF. It just shows how competitive Harbaugh is, that he will not accept conceding victory until you pry it from his cold dead fingers. That plus it just seemed like such a dick move with Seattle in mid-celebration. But I'm glad he did it. Why not? Just another bizzare trait in a wild football game. A rivalry game for the ages.
Sherman's reaction post game, doing his best angry black man, was the cherry on top. Dude's getting paaaaaaaid.
Maybe the most amazing thing for me, is that this didn't even really feel like a win that sent us to a SB. It just felt like we survived another week. Seattle has had so many heart wrenching high stakes games the past couple years that they are starting to all feel the same, and I genuinely believe this plays to Seattle's advantage, and it's why they usually come out on top in wild games like these. They are used to it. Today, Seattle really did play like this was just another game. There were some nerves evident at times, but you can't say Seattle didn't play Seahawks football tonight.
Loved hearing the 12th man get serious love during the post game ceremonies. Never in my life have I seen so much (well deserved) pandering to a fanbase.
And now we get to enjoy being center stage in what will likely be the most hyped Super Bowl in quite some time.
There were bad calls and tough breaks that went against both teams, not to mention of host of unforced errors at critical moments but also some amazing big plays at times you least expected them. When Kaepernick was 25 yards away from a monumental last minute victory, you knew that whoever lost this game would probably take years to get over it completely. Every mistake, every woulda-shoulda, every fumble that wasn't recovered, every bad call, every big play, it just magnified the meaning of this game. By the end, it was either going to be the biggest win ever or one of the most painful defeats ever.
When Sherman tipped that ball to Smith I'm pretty sure I entered bullet time because that ball felt like it was in the air off the deflection for an eternity. When Smith caught it, wow, what a feeling that was. Like Beastquake bottled up into one little moment.
Earlier in the game Kaepernick threw a deep TD pass, somewhat improbably, on a perfect pass that beat perfect coverage. Earl actually got his hand on it, but the ball was still caught. The game sealing interception was the same deal. It was a perfect pass on perfect coverage. Watching the replay, you can see just how difficult a play this was for Sherman, who's head was looking for the ball while his body was still out of position. He kind of just swiped at the ball and got it, but if he misses (and he could have missed very easily), it's going right into Crabtree's hands for a game winning TD that ends our amazing 2013 season. It was the perfect ending, a game of inches play in a game full of those moments.
This game started wild. Seattle started on offense, and their very first play was a bizarre Wilson fumble, which he somehow lost to Aldon Smith who was flat on his back but recovered to the ball before Wilson did.
Then you had the Kaepernick runs, abusing KJ Wright and a host of much faster Seahawks defenders.
The 4th down plunge for a TD felt like it was the game to me. It was only 10-0 but approaching the half Lynch had 2 yards a carry and Wilson was struggling early too. Wilson was sacked four times in the first half, and when Pete was interviewed at half time one of the very first comments he made was about getting the ball out sooner. Wilson took a massive grounding penalty after that comment, but he would not be sacked again, and in fact it seemed like Seattle did exceptionally well on quick throws in the second half, much better than we've seen them do in weeks.
Talking about the offense, it basically deserves it's own post as I'd need to go into great detail, but it seemed like whatever has ailed Seattle's offense over the past 2 months vanished in that second half. Wilson was finding receivers. Lynch was in top form. Big plays were being made. Seattle would have put up thirty easily in the 2nd half without a deluge of errors. Even with those huge mistakes, they still scored twenty. In a half, against an elite defense that's had our number most of this season.
I feel like I could write a book on this game and still forget major details.
Twice SF fumbled and by some miracle recovered despite the body count around the ball favoring Seattle. A 3rd time Frank Gore nearly fumbled but trapped the ball, just barely, against his thigh before losing six. One of those miracle fumble recoveries immediately proceeded the aforementioned improbable 49ers touchdown pass.
I'm a big proponent of going for it on 4th down, especially inside the 2 yard line. But I HATED the decision to go for it after being gifted the officiating error on the 3rd down fumble the play before. Poor Bowman. Not only a brutal injury, but blatantly robbed of a fumble recovery on the play and SF couldn't even challenge. Though I hated the decision to go for it, I suppose there is justice in the fact that it actually worked out massively in SF's favor.
One thing's for sure, right or wrong, good or bad, Big Balls Pete is back with a vengeance.
Lynch wasn't scoring a TD on that play, he was going to be dropped for a loss of two or three, but his incompetent looking fumble on one of the biggest plays of the season was kind of amazing in a bad way. You could clearly read Pete's lips after that play. "WOW." Though I'd like to give Lynch my personal fan game-ball after breaking 100 yards with a huge momentum igniting TD earlier in the game, that awful fumble is what holds me back.
Lynch did have a great game though. After missing a few reads in the first quarter or so he was on it in the second half posting close to 100 second half rushing yards. When Lynch runs THAT well, Seattle's offense is going to look like it's old self, and that's pretty much what happened, with a ton of unforced errors thrown in to keep the game from being a huge blowout win.
The phantom hold on Giacomini that forced a punt early in the game after the team had momentarily reached FG range, that sucked. That and the Bowman fumble decision were atrocious calls, but for the most part I thought the officiating did a respectable job in this game. Very rarely does a ref crew bat a thousand, and neither team seemed to hold much of an officiating advantage.
At one point Kaepernick was on pace to rush for 300 yards, and the way the 49ers were calling plays, he very well might have if Seattle didn't do something to stop him. I'm not an X's and O's guy so I don't know what they did, but their adjustment worked, and the 49ers offense was never really much of a threat after their first TD drive. They did add an improbable TD later and nearly won the game on a last minute drive, but the only time it really felt like the defense didn't have things under control was during those early drives when Kaepernick ran at will.
Maxwell is the master of fringe pass interference, also known as perfect pass defense. Perfect with most officiating crews, anyway. A guy like that is so nice to have in the postseason where penalty judgements are notoriously forgiving.
Doug Baldwin broke 100 yards, just the second time he's ever done that. I know, I was surprised by that stat too. His huge kick return was a needed momentum shift as well.
Jermaine Kearse had that horrible fumble at the 1 yard line, but he certainly built up some equity with the play of the season, a 35 yard TD pass on 4th and 7, right after Seattle called a bizarre timeout with Hauschka on the field. Hauschka was ready to kick with about 10-15 seconds on the play clock, and they just watched the clock go down to zero. I kinda suspect this was a fake FG call, and something either went wrong or they didn't like something they saw on the defense. Such a strange timeout in a close game, and the low percentage bomb for a TD on 4th and 7 was an incredibly dubious decision given that Hauschka can be trusted from 53 yards out. But it worked, despite great coverage. A hell of a throw by Wilson, and a great catch by Kearse.
The huge run by Lynch to tie the game was pretty big too. Before then, there were signs that despair was starting to creep into that stadium. 3rd quarter. Just 3 points.
Most of the defense played a great game, Avril, Bennett, and Chancellor in particular. Great game for the D-line, Frank Gore got trucked just about every time they had him tote the rock.
For me, the player of the game just has to be Russell Wilson. He finished with 8.6 YPA and almost a 105 rating against a very difficult defense that knows him very well. He held the ball too long in the first half, he had that fumble on the first play, he had some big mistakes, but he also had some key plays on 3rd and 4th downs and a few critical passes that had to be perfect throws. All in the biggest game he's ever played in, a 2nd year NFL QB without some of his biggest weapons on offense.
I LOVED the timeouts at the end of the game by SF. It just shows how competitive Harbaugh is, that he will not accept conceding victory until you pry it from his cold dead fingers. That plus it just seemed like such a dick move with Seattle in mid-celebration. But I'm glad he did it. Why not? Just another bizzare trait in a wild football game. A rivalry game for the ages.
Sherman's reaction post game, doing his best angry black man, was the cherry on top. Dude's getting paaaaaaaid.
Maybe the most amazing thing for me, is that this didn't even really feel like a win that sent us to a SB. It just felt like we survived another week. Seattle has had so many heart wrenching high stakes games the past couple years that they are starting to all feel the same, and I genuinely believe this plays to Seattle's advantage, and it's why they usually come out on top in wild games like these. They are used to it. Today, Seattle really did play like this was just another game. There were some nerves evident at times, but you can't say Seattle didn't play Seahawks football tonight.
Loved hearing the 12th man get serious love during the post game ceremonies. Never in my life have I seen so much (well deserved) pandering to a fanbase.
And now we get to enjoy being center stage in what will likely be the most hyped Super Bowl in quite some time.
