Seahawks
Blog
“The Pick”
I’m really only writing this because I promised in an
earlier writing that I would. It still brings back an inordinate amount of pain
when I watch it. The worst part is that I can’t explain why. There really
wasn’t much fault, or blame to be had, just a play that had nearly every
Seahawk fan, and every football fan wondering “what was that?”
I’ll set it up, in case some of you were unconscious at the
time, or on the moon. Second and goal for the Seahawks. Just outside the Pats
one yard line. The Seahawks had gotten down there thanks to an amazing circus
catch by Jermaine Kearse at the five, then a run by Marshawn Lynch on first and
goal. Twenty six seconds on the game clock, the score was 28-24 in favor of the
Patriots. So here we are….
The play is a quick slant over the middle. The Seahawks had
run it three times previously this season, each time completed to Ricardo
Lockette. Most people had the initial response ‘why throw it with Beast Mode in
the backfield?’ The Patriots had come out in their short yardage, goal line
defense, so I have to believe the pass was a better option, just my opinion.
Wide receiver Doug Baldwin had lined up to the left side,
with Kearse to the right, and Lockette in the outside slot position, off the
line. To help matters, future HOF defender Darrelle Revis had went out with
Baldwin. Brandon Browner, one year removed from being a Seahawk, lined up
across from Kearse, though in this defensive set, Lockette is actually his
responsibility. Rookie DB Malcolm Butler is responsible for Kearse. Due to
Browner’s familiarity with the Seahawk set, he pretty much told Butler what to
expect. At the snap of the ball Lockette is to slant to the middle, while Kearse
runs a bit of a pick, leaving Ricardo open.
This is where it starts to hurt. Browner, as a former
Seahawk, knew the Seahawks liked to run this in short yardage. So he had let
Butler know to watch for the slant. Now don’t get me wrong, Butler made an
amazing play. The yardage he covers in two seconds is very impressive. What’s
not so impressive is the play of Browner. He is lined up one yard off of Kearse
at the snap. As the video I’ll link to shows, his (Browner) first move is with
his left hand. Before Jermaine Kearse gets a yard out, Browner grabs the back
of his shoulder pads. This effectively takes the pick out of the play. With
Brandon holding Kearse up from doing his job, Butler has a clear shot at
Lockette. Interception. Ballgame. You can see, after the play is blown dead,
Kearse motioning to the officials for a call. Obviously that didn’t happen. The
more I watch the video the more I dislike Browner. Looking at about the: 35
second mark, from the back of the end zone, it looks as if he grabs Kearse’s
facemask with his right hand. Now, I’m not sure of this, but Jermaine’s head
sure does get shaken. Browner might have the front of Kearse’s shoulder pads;
it’s just too hard to make out in the video
Now, because I don’t want to sound too much like a whiny
Seahawk fan, I’ll say right here that I don’t like the officials having the
power to decide the outcome of a game, especially the Super Bowl. I firmly
believe that if QB Russell Wilson had thrown the ball six or eight inches to
the right, we have a touchdown. Being such a bang bang play, it’s awful hard to
fault Wilson, considering it had worked so well previously.
All right, game over, two years ago, quit your crying right?
Yeah, I agree. I just get tired of all the experts (?) saying it was the worst
play call ever; Pete Carroll should be fired etc. Like the saying goes,
hindsight is always 100%. I’m sure if the Seahawks had it to do over; they
would have run a different play. I’m also fairly certain that Russell could
have pulled the ball back, and run to the right pylon, as the Patriot defenders
were all moving the other direction.
Another quick point I’ll make. This play shouldn’t even
matter. I’m really not sure what happened to our defense in the fourth quarter.
We had a ten point lead entering the final 15:00. I question our defense more
than I give credit to Tom (I’m) Terrific. Even today, I don’t believe he’s as
good a quarterback as Manning or Montana. I just believe the Pats put better
pieces around him. Again, that is just my opinion.
So there you have it. It’s over and done and I’m fine.
Personally, it doesn’t hurt as bad as the entire game that was Super Bowl 40.
The officiating in that one was atrocious. The league has even admitted it,
albeit, after the fact.
I’m also added another video, a little longer, of the Patriots, and how
they came to expect this play. This video, I believe, throws even more of the
credit to Brandon Browner. With him coaching the rookie Butler on the play, the
kid just had to listen. So Brandon, you’ve cost us one Super Bowl. I expect one
in return this year
That’s it!!....Until
next time……GO HAWKS!!
*FYI-The videos are both from the NFL network, so I can't actually post the video, just a link to..
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