I actually do get why they haven’t been able to let it go, it would be better for them as people to let it go and move on, but it can be damn hard to do if 1) decisions were made that were out of your control & 2) you’ve never had a chance to get your closure.
The hangover was real though, 2015 was a missed opportunity, and I believe it cost the Seahawks a chance at claiming the decade as their dynasty. The defense felt put upon by the offense and one RW3, the coaching staff was being 2nd guessed, and even the offensive players became displeased.
It was by many accounts the best ending to a Super Bowl ever, to be on the losing side of that stings. To not be able to adequately air your grievances about why that loss and highlight will exist for all eternity also stings.
I put the blame on PC, and really think this is the first time the players can talk openly with RW wearing a top hat and twirling his mustache in Colorado. Some of what is coming out is how intensely disliked RW was by his teammates (I thought Golden Tate was an exception, not the rule) – to not be able to say something for so long.
I do agree, as a fan I don’t want to hear it, it isn’t really very interesting. It wasn’t to me at the time. I had assumed seeing the stacked box that an audible was made, a dubious throwing decision was made by a qb on blocked vision lane, and Butler made a phenomenal play against our WR4. The injuries on D decided that game IMO.
Palatypus
Well, Golden Tate shouldn’t have stole Percy Harvin’s Top Pot doughnuts.
AlaskaHawk
Agree on last sentence, two major injuries on defense during the game (Avril and Lane) affected the outcome. Also the big three defenders in secondary were all playing with injuries, ie. Thomas, Chancellor and Sherman. I would also argue not carrying an extra cornerback when your facing Tom Brady was a deciding factor after Lanes injury.
But let’s give Brady some credit because he knows how to win.
bmseattle
Leaving Tharold Simon on an island trying to cover Edelman was what ultimately killed us.
He was completely overmatched and Brady knew it.
I’ll never understand why we didn’t adjust to that.
Chris
Agreed.
There was nothing conceptually wrong with the play call, and as always occurs in these situations, everyone conveniently forgets about the other 59 minutes that created the situation in the first place.
I’m still far more angry about the Stealer SB travesty than that game.
100% agree Chris. I will NEVER stop being angry about the travesty that was XL*
Palatypus
But, as I said before, now that the NFL has female referees they can throw penalty flags for something that happened 18 years ago. Stealers fans believe this happens all the time.
In a way, for as much abuse as we get from that fanbase, they get 31 times the abuse. Even though, for the most part I think we have taken the high road.
The Ravens and Browns fans will give you no quarter.
All I want to think about SB49 is Lynch bulldozing people, RW battling through a not-great game, Chris Matthews doing a Timmy Smith, Lane’s clutch interception and an acrobatic catch by Kearse that rivals anything Lynn Swann did in the 70’s.
But since players cannot stop talking about it, all I can think of is how they showed their ugly side. Doug Baldwin miming pooping a football on the biggest stage in the world, the LOB guys losing their minds on the sideline after The Play, the unsportsmanlike way the defense took the field for the last 3 plays, and all the stuff after. And since.
I’ve always thought that every time a player comes out and talks about that game, it’s a sliver under PC’s fingernails. A prime motivator that keeps him going, convinced he has to overcome that fateful day.
Doug Baldwin miming pooping a football on the biggest stage in the world
That was such an embarrassing moment
I remember thinking at the time, ‘WTF are you doing?’
It was weird, not to mention a really stupid penalty
Thomas
Annie Duke, the author of “Thinking in Bets” contrasts the meltdown over the Seahawks losing on the Wilson interception with the Eagles winning with Nick Foles. She argues that the Wilson pass was the right call, but that no one has 100% odds. Meanwhile, the Eagles got the reward of a high-risk strategy while we forget about the risk.
Anyway, I defend the passing call. I think the only real way to argue against it is to say that they didn’t factor in Browner tipping the Pats off (extra sidebar – this is why I had to put down Michael Lombardi’s book. He attributed the Patriots intercepting the pass to some vague feeling in the coaching staff leading to a last second scheme change. Maybe it was in part, but he still got lucky and may have been tipped off.)
Simon McInnes
Agree with you. Pete’s past point that the clock dictated that they needed to plan for one passing play from those available is spot on.
Now whether they could have saved enough time to run it three times is another question, but the state of play was normal for Russell Wilson era Seahawks
AlaskaHawk
I wouldn’t defend it because Russell Wilson rarely threw a quick inside slant. It was more like a trick play for the Seahawks.
I sort of agree, definitely been some times I’ve felt like move on (looking at you Mr Sherman). However, didn’t listen to your video, but if you’re referring to the KJ Luke Willson pod, that was a fantastic conversation, and real, and there were things KJ never knew about the gameplan/play calls installed. So from that perspective, perhaps they should keep talking. I found that conversation rather cathartic as a Hawks fan, especially when it moved onto Jimmy Graham.
Kyle R
Yes I really enjoyed the conversation as well. Especially the Jimmy Graham stuff and how everyone saw what a misfit he was for the offensive they wanted to run and how they didn’t adapt or try to change it to fit the players they had then. Also really enjoyed the story of why he retired and how terrible the practice was and how 2021 team looked.
GoHawksDani
Is the KJ content on YouTube or somewhere to listen? 🙂
Richard
I think getting insight into the players’ perception of the game, how it unfolded, and the psychological impact of the play is actually super fascinating. So much so that I rewatched SB49 for the first time after Kearse was on KJ’s podcast. You could even see KJ learning new things from the Willson interview – they had designed a run play w/ Marshawn at FB for that situation – to the Kearse interview – the Hawks installed that play for the SB and hadn’t actually run that play all year so Butler saying he saw it on film and played it the way they practiced couldn’t have been true.
And I would challenge the idea that anyone, Browner included, actually knew what was coming. Kearse’s comment on the DBs not making shifts or even hand-signaling adjustments is backed up in my rewatch, so the pick on BB should have worked since BB would have been responsible for Lockette and butler was too far out of the play to cover Kearse at the goal line.
OTOH what we’ve seen from the rest of Butler’s career – arguing with coaches, struggling/not making reads he’s supposed to – is consistent with a guy who went with his instincts and happened to make the play.
So between the Willson and Kearse interviews we learned that there were two plays previously unused/unseen by the rest of the league for that exact situation, and Bevell called the play that would give them the best chance to run the other play should the first one fail.
Those specifics aside, other general insights that I think are interesting to collect when watching the catharsis:
1 – The hubris of the LOB really does seem to have been the downfall of the team. Multiple members of that era’s D have said there was “no question” they’d win a 3rd SB if they had won the 2nd Super Bowl. Nevermind the injuries, struggles to find a RCB, the scheme getting exposed to TEs/inside receivers in SB49 by Gronk->KJ, and the scheme’s rules being shared with the league and capitalized on by smart OCs like Shanahan. Living with a “what might have been” mentality is a sure fire way to fail in the present.
2 – The O on the other hand seems to have rebounded better. Willson was obviously still scarred by it but doesn’t show the same hubris as the defensive players. I loved Kearse’s comment that the worst thing about SB49 is that they can’t savor the SB48 win.
3 – There’s a lot more to learn about the coaching staff + front office that hasn’t yet been said. All the players love Pete, the offensive players like Bevell, but they also rue the play call and Willson specifically called out what we all believed as fans about the strange use of Jimmy Graham and the 2021 team not having a winning approach/mentality.
Personally I can’t wait to watch the next episode in KJ’s expose where we might actually learn which coaches and players they actually did lose faith in, and how Richard and Bevell’s tenure ended. I’ve always speculated it was because they rested players in a meaningless final game of the regular season, showing misalignment with PC’s always compete approach but nobody knows for sure.
Peter
Loved the video.
The travesty to me was highlighted by contrasting the chiefs. Getting whacked in the superbowl is often the beginning of the end for a team but Reid seemingly is a better builder of culture as the chiefs regrouped and remain in their dynasty window.
I have enjoyed all the revisionist history and story telling. Good for Russ for being an all time cheese ball and frankly a better person than me.
It’s just a lot of noise from the following:
Kj wright…..essentially the transmission. Something you need to work right every day but you don’t think about unless it’s broken. Vital cog while here but ya know….kind of more important in the eyes of superfans who know all the names than say regular fans and the general nfl fandom.
Baldwin…..fun player. Lots of moxy. Ultimately a guy who was good not great like a ton of WR’s if you play fantasy football.
Luke Wilson…..literally an actual body. Greatest contribution? Flowing locks if I had to really think about it.
Sherman….poor beleaguered Sherman. A guy who could almost go on to have a bigger media career than his NFL career. Which is saying something since he’s a maybe not quite HOF’er but alas I think the odds he goes on to bigger things are about the same as him doing podcasts in his house to a limited audience for forever. About 50/50.
Better or equal to stats of Revis but far less career hype. Like Revis sort of short career bouncing around at the end.
Case against. The majority of corners in the HOF had fairly longer at high levels careers than Sherman. The time he was great maybe the best in the league was pretty short.
It’ll be interesting as well as Revis marks the beginning of a new era of corners. As the league rules changed to a passing game many more CB’s are going to have big stat lines.
Do I think his resume gets him in? Yeah.
Do I think there’s going to be a run of stat heavy corners that might log jam that selection like the WR’s have been experiencing? Yeah I do.
Frank
I don’t mind the nostalgia at this time of year, but it is beating a dead horse since it’s been covered at nausium. I’d be far more engaged to hear more about the Robbery against the Steelers. That team was absolutely stacked on offense, and we never hear anything from those guys. If you’re going to cover Seahawks history, then take advantage of the fact the team still has legends alive to hear their perspective. Honestly if it wasn’t for the NFL deciding the Steelers had to win that game, guys like Hasslebeck and Alexander would get the respect they deserve as superbowl champs. I’m sorry but for my money I’d have taken Hasslebeck over Wilson as the best QB the Seahawks have ever had.
509 Chris
That older generation didnt all retire and immediately start their own or frequent other players podcasts. For better or worse thats what people do now. It really outlines the differences in generations of players I suppose. I agree though that it would be cool to listen to some of those guys. I love listening to Hass and his brother both.
Olyhawksfan
Absolutely spot on Rob. NOBODY talks about SB 48. Or that season, or the NFC champ game. All were a master stroke. Domination plus an amazing champ game at home against a bitter rival. Compare that to 2014… kind of crap season until they turned it around, miracle NFC champ win, lost the super bowl. Move on.
Seems like players wanna talk about it to stay relevant and media folks want to talk about it to get clicks. Pretty gross.
geoff u
Amen. The destruction of the Broncos was the greatest moment in Seahawks history. Yeah it sucked losing the second one, but the suckiest part was how it dogged the team till the end of Wilson’s career in Seattle and they never recovered. A slow drain on talent and motivation. That’s all on them.
But it’s long over. All these players but Wagz are gone. Time for Geno to write back and for this new batch go get themselves their own rings.
AlaskaHawk
Maybe it was the utter domination of the Broncos that is the reason no one talks about the game. No competition makes for a poor game.
vbullen65
Also, let’s give a little credit to the Broncos. After getting absolutely waxed by the Seahawks, they came back and won a super bowl just 2 years later. Extremely resilient team.
DC1234
Based on what we know now about how the players felt about Russ, do you think if a different QB threw that interception, it wouldnt of split the team up?
If Lamar Jackson or Pat Maholmes threw that pick on SB 49, would the defense blamed themselves instead of that final play call? Would they rally around the QB and offer him support?
There were lots of things that cause the Seahawks to lose. Like how the defense giving up 10 points in the 4th quarter. Or Kearse missing a 3rd down catch off his finger tips in the 4th quarter that would of put the seahawks in FG range. Jeremy Lane decided to run back after the pick in the endzone, which then he broke his arm. Cliff Avril left the game with a concussion.
I agree the ex players needs to get over it. They had their chance the following year, but they blew it against the Panthers.
Group Captain Mandrake
You are wondering if the defense would blame themselves for giving up a 10 point lead, but why would they? As you mentioned, Lane and Avril both got injured which had a huge effect. Not to mention that they had a better nickel back than Tharold Simon but chose to leave him inactive. Plus, the rest of the LOB were playing with injuries. I don’t see any reason for them to blame themselves.
I don’t even blame the offense as much as the poor play call on the goal line. I am ok with a pass, but that was a play they NEVER run. I still think they should have bootlegged RW and run, pass or throw it away and still have a chance to run it in.
LouCityHawk
I do think that a diff QB may have a different impact on team morale. Feel like a Burrow type or even latter year Geno would have the team rally.
Given the venom (although more understandable based on what we know) that PCJS have for RW, it makes me curious about what exactly made him a villain to his own teammates back then.
I’m sorry but I have to say it because nobody will. That loss is on RW, he made bad decisions that cost us that game. One, ahead 24-14 and driving we had a 3rd and 3. RW rolled to his left on 3rd down. With the 1st down marker right in front of him and nobody within 10 yards he could have easily picked up the 1st down. However, he threw deep down the left sideline for Kearse. The pass was off the mark and the pass was batted away. Had he thrown the ball between Kearse and the sideline it would have been a catch or pass interference but he threw it right of Kearse and right at the DB. Picking up the first down and keeping the drive alive and the ball out of Brady’s hands was the priority. Instead we punted and they scored and momentum swung to N.E. Two, the throw at the goal line, he was only supposed to throw that if the receiver was wide open, if he wasn’t he was supposed to throw it away. Again a bad decision, bad throw “high” and we know the rest.
But because this fan base has gotten weird as crap over the last few years when the team WAS ahead…..arch villain russel wilson I guess plays defense as well.
Or maybe in another 10 years it’ll come out that he was the reason defensive players got injured.
Old but Slow
Yes, yes, yes. I am so tired of that game. Why hold onto an unchangeable past? Why, didn’t I hit on that blonde with the….
samprassultanofswat
Rob: Agree 100percent. Seattle may have had a dynasty but instead they decided to relish in self-pity. There is no question that particular play had an impact on the following season(s). Just last year K.J. Wright admitted that he NEVER even thought that the Seahawks threw the ball because New England had the run defense stacked against the Seahawks. Think about it. On the one yard New England had 8 players in the box. Seattle had six blockers. Someone please explain to me how 6 men are going to move 8 men.
I am sure no one remembers this. But the following year (the very first game of the season) Seattle was in the same situation against the Rams. They had a 4th and one in overtime against the Rams. This time they gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch. The Rams were ready and this time Lynch was STUFFED. Game over. So, if Lynch got stuffed against the Rams. What makes anyone think that giving the ball to Lynch on the one-yard line in the Super Bowl was going to make any difference.
BK26
Me. I’d have bet a large amount of money that in 2 plays, he was getting in.
No matter what, here is the point: the players keep talking about it and we keep humoring them. I’m just tired of it. It sucks still and always will, I don’t want to have to relive it. As a player, I wouldn’t either, but that’s just me. That’s their thing to get over, however. They were on the cusp of something that could have been generational.
It’s probably the single most disputable instance in franchise history. What happened/should have happened, who is to blame. At this point, what does it do for the team TODAY? Nothing. Those players are not involved. Yet fans will still talk about it too. It’s fueled both ways (see me commenting about it in spite of arguing how no one can get over it).
From the end of last season until this upcoming season starts, this offseason and been AGONIZINGLY long….
Palatypus
Dee Eskridge is no Maynard James Keenan , but he drew a pretty good circle.
I like that we are finally hearing the tidbits. The fact they had a new formation with a new play that was designed for a 1 yard or less that was supose to be an automitc play call. This info just boggles the mind.
It’s something we didn’t know. I think it’s interesting. I found it more interesting that there was a designed play that was suppose to happen for a certain situation and we went away from it.
It doesn’t effect me in anyway except I like this kind of stuff as a fan.
I also found it interesting how compartmentalized the team is. Like how KJ didn’t even know about it this play.
I have to disagree with the over analysis comment. This is the kind of info that fans expect to leak after a while. I thought we all thought as time went by this type of info would eventually make its way out.
Yeah, let’s talk about the game against the Broncos. Let’s remember the team of winners. When the players focus on the other SB, they turn themselves into losers instead of the great champions they are.
43-8!!!! They were leading from literally the first snap of the game. 12 seconds!!! into the game they had the lead and never gave it up. Peyton’s face while the ball went by is so classic. Kam’s hit on Demarius (RIP) made it clear the Seahawks came to win. Percy’s return to seal the game and just give us that much more time to enjoy it. Plus, it was the last game I got to watch with my dad.
What do you all remember about that win almost 10 years later?
I just remembered I own a copy of that game and am going to watch it now. Thanks for the reminder!
geoff u
1) The first snap sailing over Mannings head, and we score 12 seconds in (in honor of the twelves).
2) Harvin’s return to start the second half, which took 12 seconds (in honor of the twelves).
3) Kam blowing up Demaryius Thomas early in the game, setting the tone.
4) Manning’s duck that got picked off and returned for a TD by Malcolm Smith.
5) Wilson being clutch on third down.
6) Me constantly thinking I was dreaming the hole game and afraid I was going to wake up at any moment.
I like him. This is a good BPA style pick. They need defensemen but if a goal scoring winger is the best player there, let’s surround Beniers and Wright with talented wings.
BK26
I would love to be able to get into hockey. Just don’t have the sports hot bed or outlet here in Kansas City. And I am learning from ground zero.
Seattle is all or nothing: full enjoyment or full stress. Diamondbacks are a complete joy right now, but I am a pessimist. Waiting for the shoe to drop (even though they are hitting an actual, long-term window to compete). The Bucks have been…what Seattle was in 2013. The epitome of sports enjoyment.
The Canucks….haven’t made it easy to jump into NHL hahaha. Losing the Cup and rioting and then what the last 13 years has been a great motivator to putting what little free time that I do have into it.
Hockey is best enjoyed live. It’s one of the worst sports to televise.
But if you don’t have any minor league or college teams near you, you should know the NHL Network usually makes the first couple weeks/month of the season free as a carrot to entice viewers to subscribe. The coverage is typically way better than ESPN’s.
GoHawks5151
Uggh… I have never re watched the game. I have re watched the play ad nauseam. People saying that pass was the right call is whatever. Just not to your 4th WR. Especially since Doug was toasting Revis and Matthews was having the game of his life. Iso either of them. I will go to the grave thinking the should have run the read option with Russ. It was killer all year and the year before. They opened up the year vs GB with a read option pass to Ricardo. They could have ended it for n the same vein. For everyone’s health I get moving on. As an obsessive person and a competitive person I get it though
Hockey is best enjoyed live. It’s one of the worst sports to televise.
This is exactly how I’ve always felt. Agree 100% cha.
LouCityHawk
This video and thread made me revisit SB49 in my mind, I had never watched the telecast, so did that, and talked to the folks who were there with me.
The biggest single deciding factor in that game was the injury to Cliff Avril. But for that injury, the Patriots never have a chance. The second he went down I became sullen, felt like a game that was a clear W, was now a toss up. I’d made a lot of money betting against Brady and having a Cliff Avril on your team was a key component.
I didn’t really get into it above, but Avril’s injury leveling the field is what makes ‘the play’ so hard to get over for former players. It is easier to seize on ‘the play’ than look at a key injury. Similarly, the Holmgren Super Bowl had a lot of contributors (notably Jerramy Stevens), but is more comfortable to blame the officiating. Looking into the mirror is the hardest part of losing.
Despite Stevens sucking and despite all the other horrible calls, if the refs don’t call holding on Sean Locklear the Seahawks still win XL*. I know it like I know the back of my hand. Can I prove it? Nope, but I simply KNOW. However, they carried out the pregame script that the league and commissioner Dan Rooney decided was going to happen and thus Seattle went from being the Seahawks to the Sacrificial Lambs.
Feel free to say I can’t predict the future and so forth. I don’t care. I will always KNOW.
Oh and I might add, the holding call that even John Madden said on the broadcast at the time was not a hold.
Thomas Wells
They called Matt Hasselbeck for a block below the waist FOR MAKING A TACKLE WHEN HE WAS PLAYING DEFENSE. Literally not possible to blow a call worse than that
LouCityHawk
Oh, the officiating was shit, and that one call probably would have turned the game, the same way “the play” turned the game – cure there was to have RW throw a pass that he was good at, to a player he could see, and ideally one of our better ones.
Jerramy Stevens had two key drops in that Super Bowl that were so bad, so momentum shifting, that I was 100% convinced that he was gambling, on the take, or something…. Today it is less than 100%.
509 Chris
The worst thing is Stevens ran his mouth more than anyone the week before the game. I agree with everyone on the officiating but in my heart I’ve always held Stevens the most responsible.
Matthew Martin Johnson
All i’d like to say about 49 is this. I maintain a pass call was the right play call, the issue for me was they called a pass play on a timing route in traffic to the 5th WR. i honestly didn’t understand not having a play go to baldwin or lynch, in fact they put those guys out wide and went to the backups. The idea was right not the execution. I’m ready to move on.
I’m still way more angry over XL, it was a horribly officiated game, the Holding call on Locklear was awful and literally every big call went against us, i think if it’s officiated differently then seattle wins. Honestly, looking back we just gloss over 48, and truthfully speaking, when you consider all factors it was probably the most impressive superbowl win in history. I also think there’s zero argument on who the greatest defense of all time is because of it. Seattle beat the #1 Offense in THE HISTORY OF THE NFL like a drum. Not the best offense of the year, or decade, or 20 years. OF ALL TIME. That ends the debate for me on greatest defense ever.
100% agree with everything you said. Just wish the ’13 Hawks D would be talked about like the ’85 Bears and ’00 Ravens. They deserve to be.
BK26
Absolutely agree. I can’t remember a more sound overall defense. The others had more individuals who were generational. But Seattle was just sound: nothing deep because of Earl, Sherman blanketed one side of the field, Byron could hit you and make you second guess the rest of the game. Cliff, Chris, and Michael Bennett off of the edge? Then the DT depth? They would run you to exhaustion. KJ and Bobby were the best duo that I’ve seen, Bruce got after it, and Malcolm was the Super Bowl MVP. And then Kam…he could change the whole offense’s mindset. Literally scared them.
They were a machine. What they did to the best offense ever was surgical and as inevitable as I ever remember seeing in a game.
No matter what, the last 13 years have blessed us with as much team history as we could have ever hoped for. Here’s to some serious addition coming this year.
I was just thinking do you think Atlanta Falcons fans revisit Superbowl in 2017 you know the falcons had a 19 point lead in the 4 quarter .had Dan Quinn head coach and defense genius and There offense coordinator was hmm oh yeah offense genius Kyle Shanahan .I don’t have a lot of friends who are falcons fans in fact I don’t have any but I wonder if there fan base still brings that game up.
I actually do get why they haven’t been able to let it go, it would be better for them as people to let it go and move on, but it can be damn hard to do if 1) decisions were made that were out of your control & 2) you’ve never had a chance to get your closure.
The hangover was real though, 2015 was a missed opportunity, and I believe it cost the Seahawks a chance at claiming the decade as their dynasty. The defense felt put upon by the offense and one RW3, the coaching staff was being 2nd guessed, and even the offensive players became displeased.
It was by many accounts the best ending to a Super Bowl ever, to be on the losing side of that stings. To not be able to adequately air your grievances about why that loss and highlight will exist for all eternity also stings.
I put the blame on PC, and really think this is the first time the players can talk openly with RW wearing a top hat and twirling his mustache in Colorado. Some of what is coming out is how intensely disliked RW was by his teammates (I thought Golden Tate was an exception, not the rule) – to not be able to say something for so long.
I do agree, as a fan I don’t want to hear it, it isn’t really very interesting. It wasn’t to me at the time. I had assumed seeing the stacked box that an audible was made, a dubious throwing decision was made by a qb on blocked vision lane, and Butler made a phenomenal play against our WR4. The injuries on D decided that game IMO.
Well, Golden Tate shouldn’t have stole Percy Harvin’s Top Pot doughnuts.
Agree on last sentence, two major injuries on defense during the game (Avril and Lane) affected the outcome. Also the big three defenders in secondary were all playing with injuries, ie. Thomas, Chancellor and Sherman. I would also argue not carrying an extra cornerback when your facing Tom Brady was a deciding factor after Lanes injury.
But let’s give Brady some credit because he knows how to win.
Leaving Tharold Simon on an island trying to cover Edelman was what ultimately killed us.
He was completely overmatched and Brady knew it.
I’ll never understand why we didn’t adjust to that.
Agreed.
There was nothing conceptually wrong with the play call, and as always occurs in these situations, everyone conveniently forgets about the other 59 minutes that created the situation in the first place.
I’m still far more angry about the Stealer SB travesty than that game.
100% agree Chris. I will NEVER stop being angry about the travesty that was XL*
But, as I said before, now that the NFL has female referees they can throw penalty flags for something that happened 18 years ago. Stealers fans believe this happens all the time.
In a way, for as much abuse as we get from that fanbase, they get 31 times the abuse. Even though, for the most part I think we have taken the high road.
The Ravens and Browns fans will give you no quarter.
I literally LOL’d man. Awesome
I know you want me to just get over it. But consider the investment.
1) Night vision goggles
2) tactical body armor
3) Barrett .450 sniper rifle
4) 100 rounds of ammunition
5) tungsten scissors
6) pick axe and shovel
7) 53 body bags
8) fake passport & air fare
How am I supposed to let that all go?
That’s really not funny. Threatening the lives of an entire team because you’re unhappy with the way a game ended? Be better.
“Satire.” Look it up.
Just let those last two go. Best hang on to the rest.
All I want to think about SB49 is Lynch bulldozing people, RW battling through a not-great game, Chris Matthews doing a Timmy Smith, Lane’s clutch interception and an acrobatic catch by Kearse that rivals anything Lynn Swann did in the 70’s.
But since players cannot stop talking about it, all I can think of is how they showed their ugly side. Doug Baldwin miming pooping a football on the biggest stage in the world, the LOB guys losing their minds on the sideline after The Play, the unsportsmanlike way the defense took the field for the last 3 plays, and all the stuff after. And since.
I’ve always thought that every time a player comes out and talks about that game, it’s a sliver under PC’s fingernails. A prime motivator that keeps him going, convinced he has to overcome that fateful day.
That was such an embarrassing moment
I remember thinking at the time, ‘WTF are you doing?’
It was weird, not to mention a really stupid penalty
Annie Duke, the author of “Thinking in Bets” contrasts the meltdown over the Seahawks losing on the Wilson interception with the Eagles winning with Nick Foles. She argues that the Wilson pass was the right call, but that no one has 100% odds. Meanwhile, the Eagles got the reward of a high-risk strategy while we forget about the risk.
Anyway, I defend the passing call. I think the only real way to argue against it is to say that they didn’t factor in Browner tipping the Pats off (extra sidebar – this is why I had to put down Michael Lombardi’s book. He attributed the Patriots intercepting the pass to some vague feeling in the coaching staff leading to a last second scheme change. Maybe it was in part, but he still got lucky and may have been tipped off.)
Agree with you. Pete’s past point that the clock dictated that they needed to plan for one passing play from those available is spot on.
Now whether they could have saved enough time to run it three times is another question, but the state of play was normal for Russell Wilson era Seahawks
I wouldn’t defend it because Russell Wilson rarely threw a quick inside slant. It was more like a trick play for the Seahawks.
I sort of agree, definitely been some times I’ve felt like move on (looking at you Mr Sherman). However, didn’t listen to your video, but if you’re referring to the KJ Luke Willson pod, that was a fantastic conversation, and real, and there were things KJ never knew about the gameplan/play calls installed. So from that perspective, perhaps they should keep talking. I found that conversation rather cathartic as a Hawks fan, especially when it moved onto Jimmy Graham.
Yes I really enjoyed the conversation as well. Especially the Jimmy Graham stuff and how everyone saw what a misfit he was for the offensive they wanted to run and how they didn’t adapt or try to change it to fit the players they had then. Also really enjoyed the story of why he retired and how terrible the practice was and how 2021 team looked.
Is the KJ content on YouTube or somewhere to listen? 🙂
I think getting insight into the players’ perception of the game, how it unfolded, and the psychological impact of the play is actually super fascinating. So much so that I rewatched SB49 for the first time after Kearse was on KJ’s podcast. You could even see KJ learning new things from the Willson interview – they had designed a run play w/ Marshawn at FB for that situation – to the Kearse interview – the Hawks installed that play for the SB and hadn’t actually run that play all year so Butler saying he saw it on film and played it the way they practiced couldn’t have been true.
And I would challenge the idea that anyone, Browner included, actually knew what was coming. Kearse’s comment on the DBs not making shifts or even hand-signaling adjustments is backed up in my rewatch, so the pick on BB should have worked since BB would have been responsible for Lockette and butler was too far out of the play to cover Kearse at the goal line.
OTOH what we’ve seen from the rest of Butler’s career – arguing with coaches, struggling/not making reads he’s supposed to – is consistent with a guy who went with his instincts and happened to make the play.
So between the Willson and Kearse interviews we learned that there were two plays previously unused/unseen by the rest of the league for that exact situation, and Bevell called the play that would give them the best chance to run the other play should the first one fail.
Those specifics aside, other general insights that I think are interesting to collect when watching the catharsis:
1 – The hubris of the LOB really does seem to have been the downfall of the team. Multiple members of that era’s D have said there was “no question” they’d win a 3rd SB if they had won the 2nd Super Bowl. Nevermind the injuries, struggles to find a RCB, the scheme getting exposed to TEs/inside receivers in SB49 by Gronk->KJ, and the scheme’s rules being shared with the league and capitalized on by smart OCs like Shanahan. Living with a “what might have been” mentality is a sure fire way to fail in the present.
2 – The O on the other hand seems to have rebounded better. Willson was obviously still scarred by it but doesn’t show the same hubris as the defensive players. I loved Kearse’s comment that the worst thing about SB49 is that they can’t savor the SB48 win.
3 – There’s a lot more to learn about the coaching staff + front office that hasn’t yet been said. All the players love Pete, the offensive players like Bevell, but they also rue the play call and Willson specifically called out what we all believed as fans about the strange use of Jimmy Graham and the 2021 team not having a winning approach/mentality.
Personally I can’t wait to watch the next episode in KJ’s expose where we might actually learn which coaches and players they actually did lose faith in, and how Richard and Bevell’s tenure ended. I’ve always speculated it was because they rested players in a meaningless final game of the regular season, showing misalignment with PC’s always compete approach but nobody knows for sure.
Loved the video.
The travesty to me was highlighted by contrasting the chiefs. Getting whacked in the superbowl is often the beginning of the end for a team but Reid seemingly is a better builder of culture as the chiefs regrouped and remain in their dynasty window.
I have enjoyed all the revisionist history and story telling. Good for Russ for being an all time cheese ball and frankly a better person than me.
It’s just a lot of noise from the following:
Kj wright…..essentially the transmission. Something you need to work right every day but you don’t think about unless it’s broken. Vital cog while here but ya know….kind of more important in the eyes of superfans who know all the names than say regular fans and the general nfl fandom.
Baldwin…..fun player. Lots of moxy. Ultimately a guy who was good not great like a ton of WR’s if you play fantasy football.
Luke Wilson…..literally an actual body. Greatest contribution? Flowing locks if I had to really think about it.
Sherman….poor beleaguered Sherman. A guy who could almost go on to have a bigger media career than his NFL career. Which is saying something since he’s a maybe not quite HOF’er but alas I think the odds he goes on to bigger things are about the same as him doing podcasts in his house to a limited audience for forever. About 50/50.
Disagree about Sherm my friend. Think he gets in and fairly quickly too. We shall see.
Better or equal to stats of Revis but far less career hype. Like Revis sort of short career bouncing around at the end.
Case against. The majority of corners in the HOF had fairly longer at high levels careers than Sherman. The time he was great maybe the best in the league was pretty short.
It’ll be interesting as well as Revis marks the beginning of a new era of corners. As the league rules changed to a passing game many more CB’s are going to have big stat lines.
Do I think his resume gets him in? Yeah.
Do I think there’s going to be a run of stat heavy corners that might log jam that selection like the WR’s have been experiencing? Yeah I do.
I don’t mind the nostalgia at this time of year, but it is beating a dead horse since it’s been covered at nausium. I’d be far more engaged to hear more about the Robbery against the Steelers. That team was absolutely stacked on offense, and we never hear anything from those guys. If you’re going to cover Seahawks history, then take advantage of the fact the team still has legends alive to hear their perspective. Honestly if it wasn’t for the NFL deciding the Steelers had to win that game, guys like Hasslebeck and Alexander would get the respect they deserve as superbowl champs. I’m sorry but for my money I’d have taken Hasslebeck over Wilson as the best QB the Seahawks have ever had.
That older generation didnt all retire and immediately start their own or frequent other players podcasts. For better or worse thats what people do now. It really outlines the differences in generations of players I suppose. I agree though that it would be cool to listen to some of those guys. I love listening to Hass and his brother both.
Absolutely spot on Rob. NOBODY talks about SB 48. Or that season, or the NFC champ game. All were a master stroke. Domination plus an amazing champ game at home against a bitter rival. Compare that to 2014… kind of crap season until they turned it around, miracle NFC champ win, lost the super bowl. Move on.
Seems like players wanna talk about it to stay relevant and media folks want to talk about it to get clicks. Pretty gross.
Amen. The destruction of the Broncos was the greatest moment in Seahawks history. Yeah it sucked losing the second one, but the suckiest part was how it dogged the team till the end of Wilson’s career in Seattle and they never recovered. A slow drain on talent and motivation. That’s all on them.
But it’s long over. All these players but Wagz are gone. Time for Geno to write back and for this new batch go get themselves their own rings.
Maybe it was the utter domination of the Broncos that is the reason no one talks about the game. No competition makes for a poor game.
Also, let’s give a little credit to the Broncos. After getting absolutely waxed by the Seahawks, they came back and won a super bowl just 2 years later. Extremely resilient team.
Based on what we know now about how the players felt about Russ, do you think if a different QB threw that interception, it wouldnt of split the team up?
If Lamar Jackson or Pat Maholmes threw that pick on SB 49, would the defense blamed themselves instead of that final play call? Would they rally around the QB and offer him support?
There were lots of things that cause the Seahawks to lose. Like how the defense giving up 10 points in the 4th quarter. Or Kearse missing a 3rd down catch off his finger tips in the 4th quarter that would of put the seahawks in FG range. Jeremy Lane decided to run back after the pick in the endzone, which then he broke his arm. Cliff Avril left the game with a concussion.
I agree the ex players needs to get over it. They had their chance the following year, but they blew it against the Panthers.
You are wondering if the defense would blame themselves for giving up a 10 point lead, but why would they? As you mentioned, Lane and Avril both got injured which had a huge effect. Not to mention that they had a better nickel back than Tharold Simon but chose to leave him inactive. Plus, the rest of the LOB were playing with injuries. I don’t see any reason for them to blame themselves.
I don’t even blame the offense as much as the poor play call on the goal line. I am ok with a pass, but that was a play they NEVER run. I still think they should have bootlegged RW and run, pass or throw it away and still have a chance to run it in.
I do think that a diff QB may have a different impact on team morale. Feel like a Burrow type or even latter year Geno would have the team rally.
Given the venom (although more understandable based on what we know) that PCJS have for RW, it makes me curious about what exactly made him a villain to his own teammates back then.
I’m sorry but I have to say it because nobody will. That loss is on RW, he made bad decisions that cost us that game. One, ahead 24-14 and driving we had a 3rd and 3. RW rolled to his left on 3rd down. With the 1st down marker right in front of him and nobody within 10 yards he could have easily picked up the 1st down. However, he threw deep down the left sideline for Kearse. The pass was off the mark and the pass was batted away. Had he thrown the ball between Kearse and the sideline it would have been a catch or pass interference but he threw it right of Kearse and right at the DB. Picking up the first down and keeping the drive alive and the ball out of Brady’s hands was the priority. Instead we punted and they scored and momentum swung to N.E. Two, the throw at the goal line, he was only supposed to throw that if the receiver was wide open, if he wasn’t he was supposed to throw it away. Again a bad decision, bad throw “high” and we know the rest.
There are several reasons why we lost that game
No one person was to blame
This is why we need to let it go.
“One, ahead 24 -14,” ………
Read it again. Ahead. 24. To. 14.
But because this fan base has gotten weird as crap over the last few years when the team WAS ahead…..arch villain russel wilson I guess plays defense as well.
Or maybe in another 10 years it’ll come out that he was the reason defensive players got injured.
Yes, yes, yes. I am so tired of that game. Why hold onto an unchangeable past? Why, didn’t I hit on that blonde with the….
Rob: Agree 100percent. Seattle may have had a dynasty but instead they decided to relish in self-pity. There is no question that particular play had an impact on the following season(s). Just last year K.J. Wright admitted that he NEVER even thought that the Seahawks threw the ball because New England had the run defense stacked against the Seahawks. Think about it. On the one yard New England had 8 players in the box. Seattle had six blockers. Someone please explain to me how 6 men are going to move 8 men.
I am sure no one remembers this. But the following year (the very first game of the season) Seattle was in the same situation against the Rams. They had a 4th and one in overtime against the Rams. This time they gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch. The Rams were ready and this time Lynch was STUFFED. Game over. So, if Lynch got stuffed against the Rams. What makes anyone think that giving the ball to Lynch on the one-yard line in the Super Bowl was going to make any difference.
Me. I’d have bet a large amount of money that in 2 plays, he was getting in.
No matter what, here is the point: the players keep talking about it and we keep humoring them. I’m just tired of it. It sucks still and always will, I don’t want to have to relive it. As a player, I wouldn’t either, but that’s just me. That’s their thing to get over, however. They were on the cusp of something that could have been generational.
It’s probably the single most disputable instance in franchise history. What happened/should have happened, who is to blame. At this point, what does it do for the team TODAY? Nothing. Those players are not involved. Yet fans will still talk about it too. It’s fueled both ways (see me commenting about it in spite of arguing how no one can get over it).
From the end of last season until this upcoming season starts, this offseason and been AGONIZINGLY long….
Dee Eskridge is no Maynard James Keenan , but he drew a pretty good circle.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kBmWtDwBNMs
Now let’s work on that wheel route.
I like that we are finally hearing the tidbits. The fact they had a new formation with a new play that was designed for a 1 yard or less that was supose to be an automitc play call. This info just boggles the mind.
What do we gain from Luke Willson suddenly blurting that out though?
We lost. Who’s to say Lynch doesn’t fumble on that play like he did in the NFCCG in 2013 on the goal line?
And was that an automatic play if the defense lines up in a GL front?
We’re just endlessly over-analysing a situation that was a massive shame and disappointment but a turnover happened, we lost and shit happens.
It’s something we didn’t know. I think it’s interesting. I found it more interesting that there was a designed play that was suppose to happen for a certain situation and we went away from it.
It doesn’t effect me in anyway except I like this kind of stuff as a fan.
I also found it interesting how compartmentalized the team is. Like how KJ didn’t even know about it this play.
I have to disagree with the over analysis comment. This is the kind of info that fans expect to leak after a while. I thought we all thought as time went by this type of info would eventually make its way out.
Yeah, let’s talk about the game against the Broncos. Let’s remember the team of winners. When the players focus on the other SB, they turn themselves into losers instead of the great champions they are.
43-8!!!! They were leading from literally the first snap of the game. 12 seconds!!! into the game they had the lead and never gave it up. Peyton’s face while the ball went by is so classic. Kam’s hit on Demarius (RIP) made it clear the Seahawks came to win. Percy’s return to seal the game and just give us that much more time to enjoy it. Plus, it was the last game I got to watch with my dad.
What do you all remember about that win almost 10 years later?
I just remembered I own a copy of that game and am going to watch it now. Thanks for the reminder!
1) The first snap sailing over Mannings head, and we score 12 seconds in (in honor of the twelves).
2) Harvin’s return to start the second half, which took 12 seconds (in honor of the twelves).
3) Kam blowing up Demaryius Thomas early in the game, setting the tone.
4) Manning’s duck that got picked off and returned for a TD by Malcolm Smith.
5) Wilson being clutch on third down.
6) Me constantly thinking I was dreaming the hole game and afraid I was going to wake up at any moment.
Kraken pick Czech LW Eduard Sale at pick #20.
I like him. This is a good BPA style pick. They need defensemen but if a goal scoring winger is the best player there, let’s surround Beniers and Wright with talented wings.
I would love to be able to get into hockey. Just don’t have the sports hot bed or outlet here in Kansas City. And I am learning from ground zero.
Seattle is all or nothing: full enjoyment or full stress. Diamondbacks are a complete joy right now, but I am a pessimist. Waiting for the shoe to drop (even though they are hitting an actual, long-term window to compete). The Bucks have been…what Seattle was in 2013. The epitome of sports enjoyment.
The Canucks….haven’t made it easy to jump into NHL hahaha. Losing the Cup and rioting and then what the last 13 years has been a great motivator to putting what little free time that I do have into it.
Hockey is best enjoyed live. It’s one of the worst sports to televise.
But if you don’t have any minor league or college teams near you, you should know the NHL Network usually makes the first couple weeks/month of the season free as a carrot to entice viewers to subscribe. The coverage is typically way better than ESPN’s.
Uggh… I have never re watched the game. I have re watched the play ad nauseam. People saying that pass was the right call is whatever. Just not to your 4th WR. Especially since Doug was toasting Revis and Matthews was having the game of his life. Iso either of them. I will go to the grave thinking the should have run the read option with Russ. It was killer all year and the year before. They opened up the year vs GB with a read option pass to Ricardo. They could have ended it for n the same vein. For everyone’s health I get moving on. As an obsessive person and a competitive person I get it though
Let It Go!
Seattle’s Dolchstoßlegende
I think we all need to focus on why Sherm got voted off Mars instead of Marshawn and why a F@#$/×g mens figure skater is still there.
Rob: Not to change the subject. But what do you think Seattle’s chances are to win the west?
This is exactly how I’ve always felt. Agree 100% cha.
This video and thread made me revisit SB49 in my mind, I had never watched the telecast, so did that, and talked to the folks who were there with me.
The biggest single deciding factor in that game was the injury to Cliff Avril. But for that injury, the Patriots never have a chance. The second he went down I became sullen, felt like a game that was a clear W, was now a toss up. I’d made a lot of money betting against Brady and having a Cliff Avril on your team was a key component.
I didn’t really get into it above, but Avril’s injury leveling the field is what makes ‘the play’ so hard to get over for former players. It is easier to seize on ‘the play’ than look at a key injury. Similarly, the Holmgren Super Bowl had a lot of contributors (notably Jerramy Stevens), but is more comfortable to blame the officiating. Looking into the mirror is the hardest part of losing.
Despite Stevens sucking and despite all the other horrible calls, if the refs don’t call holding on Sean Locklear the Seahawks still win XL*. I know it like I know the back of my hand. Can I prove it? Nope, but I simply KNOW. However, they carried out the pregame script that the league and commissioner Dan Rooney decided was going to happen and thus Seattle went from being the Seahawks to the Sacrificial Lambs.
Feel free to say I can’t predict the future and so forth. I don’t care. I will always KNOW.
Oh and I might add, the holding call that even John Madden said on the broadcast at the time was not a hold.
They called Matt Hasselbeck for a block below the waist FOR MAKING A TACKLE WHEN HE WAS PLAYING DEFENSE. Literally not possible to blow a call worse than that
Oh, the officiating was shit, and that one call probably would have turned the game, the same way “the play” turned the game – cure there was to have RW throw a pass that he was good at, to a player he could see, and ideally one of our better ones.
Jerramy Stevens had two key drops in that Super Bowl that were so bad, so momentum shifting, that I was 100% convinced that he was gambling, on the take, or something…. Today it is less than 100%.
The worst thing is Stevens ran his mouth more than anyone the week before the game. I agree with everyone on the officiating but in my heart I’ve always held Stevens the most responsible.
All i’d like to say about 49 is this. I maintain a pass call was the right play call, the issue for me was they called a pass play on a timing route in traffic to the 5th WR. i honestly didn’t understand not having a play go to baldwin or lynch, in fact they put those guys out wide and went to the backups. The idea was right not the execution. I’m ready to move on.
I’m still way more angry over XL, it was a horribly officiated game, the Holding call on Locklear was awful and literally every big call went against us, i think if it’s officiated differently then seattle wins. Honestly, looking back we just gloss over 48, and truthfully speaking, when you consider all factors it was probably the most impressive superbowl win in history. I also think there’s zero argument on who the greatest defense of all time is because of it. Seattle beat the #1 Offense in THE HISTORY OF THE NFL like a drum. Not the best offense of the year, or decade, or 20 years. OF ALL TIME. That ends the debate for me on greatest defense ever.
100% agree with everything you said. Just wish the ’13 Hawks D would be talked about like the ’85 Bears and ’00 Ravens. They deserve to be.
Absolutely agree. I can’t remember a more sound overall defense. The others had more individuals who were generational. But Seattle was just sound: nothing deep because of Earl, Sherman blanketed one side of the field, Byron could hit you and make you second guess the rest of the game. Cliff, Chris, and Michael Bennett off of the edge? Then the DT depth? They would run you to exhaustion. KJ and Bobby were the best duo that I’ve seen, Bruce got after it, and Malcolm was the Super Bowl MVP. And then Kam…he could change the whole offense’s mindset. Literally scared them.
They were a machine. What they did to the best offense ever was surgical and as inevitable as I ever remember seeing in a game.
No matter what, the last 13 years have blessed us with as much team history as we could have ever hoped for. Here’s to some serious addition coming this year.
Looks like ESPN gave Todd McShay the ole McGee.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-draft-analyst-todd-mcshay-is-out-at-espn
Terrible decision
I’d take McShay over Matt Miller every day of the week…bad bad call
I have a feeling these decisions were related to cost more than talent. Gotta think McShay lands on his feet with his talent and reputation
^This.
Hand of God said.
Yeah, they let Suzy Kolber go, too. I’ve have heard she is difficult to work with. Maybe Joe Namath can finally get that kiss?
I was just thinking do you think Atlanta Falcons fans revisit Superbowl in 2017 you know the falcons had a 19 point lead in the 4 quarter .had Dan Quinn head coach and defense genius and There offense coordinator was hmm oh yeah offense genius Kyle Shanahan .I don’t have a lot of friends who are falcons fans in fact I don’t have any but I wonder if there fan base still brings that game up.
Good point tho this begs the question: do they actually have a fanbase?