The big game is over and the Pats won. It was a good game and lived up to
the hype. Did Seattle blow it? I’ll cover that below. However, I was on the edge of my seat the whole 4th quarter.
As I stated, I did not intend to watch the game live. The game started at 3:30 PT; that is when I turned off the TV, tablet, and laptop and put my phone away in the bedroom. I instead went to do my Super Bowl shopping. The supermarket was nice and empty for me.
After forwarding through ALL commercials and the half time show, I caught up to the game with 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Boy they milk this thing! At $4.5m per 30 seconds, it’s worth it for them.
I’m kind of glad I watched almost the whole 4th quarter live. Boy that was an exciting finish! Down 10 against the best D in football, I really thought the Pats were going to lose another Super Bowl. Even after Tom Brady threw the go ahead score to Julian Edelman, I still thought they were cooked; there was way too much time left for Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch! But nope, that errant toss from the one yard line that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler sunk Seattle and New England got the win.
So the question now comes up, did Pistol Pete blow it? 99.9% of fans and headlines tell you he did. But there are a few that defend the decision to pass. I kind of agree. Here are a few:
- FIVETHIRTYEIGHTSPORTS – some good points here. Here is my recap of the article:
- There were 26 seconds left and the Seahawks had blown 2 timeouts. They could not run the ball 3 times – there wasn’t enough time! Therefore, they had to pass at least once or risk running out of time.
- LYNCH would have scored! Would he have? Maybe. However, he was 1 for 5 from the 1 yard line all season. So, considering this and point 1 above, at least 1 play had to be a pass. Seattle could have only run Lynch twice with the time that was left.
- GAME THEORY! This was my favorite article from the NY Times defending the decision to pass. Follow the link for the whole article, but the main point goes like this:
- Mix it up! Don’t be so predictable because that drops your odds of scoring significantly. Even Lynch, arguable the best back in the game vs. the worst goal line D in the game, nothing is guaranteed. You give yourself the best chance by being somewhat random, or what the article calls “mixed strategy.”
I think the main error with the decision was to pass inside instead of taking the ball outside, where a receiver could have isolated a defender better.
So, although I was rooting for New England to win, I couldn’t help but feel bad for Seattle. I really do like Wilson, Lynch and Sherman. But they’re a young team and I’m sure they’ll be back.
There are some who say a team doesn’t recover from a loss like this (Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers), but New England did! So, I don’t buy it. I think we’ll be seeing them again. And to prove this, look who is favored to win the big game next year… Yup, it’s Seattle, not New England.
What did you think of the game?
Then there’s this:
World Chump
