Andy Benoit :Final Super Bowl XLIX film study

[PP2]

Not sure why so many keep writing that sea had to throw on one of the downs because there were only 26 seconds left. The only reason there were only 26 seconds left is because they wasted 24 seconds after the lynch run.

This further confirms my suspicions that Carroll doesn't have his players practice specific scenarios or gametime situations, and a major reason as to why BB did not call timeout.

 

[shmessy]

That's a tough 20-20 hindsight call. If you look at it from Harmon's point of view, he see's that the pass was successfully broken up. If he plows into the falling Kearse, he opens himself up to an unnecessary roughness penalty. In perfect hindsight with the ball taking about 3 perfect bounces, does his decision to avoid contact look like a mistake

He should have gone for the ball.

 

[DarrylS]

This further confirms my suspicions that Carroll doesn't have his players practice specific scenarios or gametime situations, and a major reason as to why BB did not call timeout.

We call that situational football... a hallmark of this team.

 

[patfanken]

He should have gone for the ball.

No question, that will be the coaching point, but I doubt there will be any recriminations, like a missed block, or tackle. Rather they will point out that he had another course of action that NEXT time might be a better course of action.

 

[Bruins29]

Those 6 consecutive plays at the end of the half were without question the WORST 6 consecutive plays this defense played all season. If they had executed successfully on any ONE of them, Seattle wouldn't have scored a TD. If Arringington simply hadn't grabbed the face mask, they would have had to go for the FG and a potential TD score at the end of the game would have only meant a tie

Clearly the Pats didn't play a perfect game on either side of the ball, but those 6 plays, IMHO, were the most egregious errors of the game. And if they had lost, I would have pointed to that as the main reason. It is virtually unforgiveable to allpw a team to succeed at an 80 yd scoring drive in 29 seconds. That's like a pick 6.

Yes. What bothered me the most is the last play. Yeah, the whole drive was terrible for us. But if your opponent is in field goal range with 6 sec left at the end of the half you dont give up a TD. When the ball goes in the air you tackle any receiver that looks like he is near a catch. There would be no TD and the clock would have expired. But since the half cant end on a D penalty they would still get a play and get the field goal. So what! They were in Field goal range anyway. So why give up a TD when its easily preventable. This was brought up by several posters as well.

 

[dhamz]

He should have gone for the ball.

It is the Goodell/Polianization of defensive football in live HDTV on the biggest stage. When Butler knocks the ball away Harmon's focus changed to avoiding hitting a defenseless WR and getting 15 yards which is what he might have gotten if he hit Kearse. In the regular season he def would have but the Super Bowl was officiated like an actual football game so they may not have flagged it.

The fact that the defenseless WR caught the ball speaks volumes to the ridiculousness of the rules.

 

[sambam94]

if he hit Kearse and broke uop the play, he might have been flagged even though ball was live...because I doubt the refs knew it was live, and penalties not reviewable. However, a 15 yard penalty from the line of scimmage would certainly been better than a reception.

 

[Seacoast Fan]

....or at least knocked away.

Is anyone else irked that Harmon decided to pirouette over Kearse instead of knocking him into August?

Initially, yes I agreed but after looking at the replay, not so sure.
If Harmon dives into Kearse he risks a penalty because Kearse was flat on his back and the ref may have assumes the play was over (even tho he was still bobbling the ball)....and once Harmon says to himself, avoid contact, he has to jump over and it becomes a difficult catch for him.
So I give him a pass....no pun intended.
I am willing to admit, I could be wrong as I have only seen the replay from five differnt angles, each a million times. A little more film study on this might help clarify it.

 

[captain stone]

Duhron Harmon should've dove for the ball, not for Kearse, and should've had his arms extended.
That ball was waiting to be intercepted.

If the Pats had lost, Butler would've felt like he had let his teammates down, and that would've been
a DAMN SHAME, because he was completely blameless. What Harmon did was inexcusable, and had
we lost, unforgivable.

 

[ausbacker]

Duhron Harmon should've dove for the ball, not for Kearse, and should've had his arms extended.
That ball was waiting to be intercepted.

If the Pats had lost, Butler would've felt like he had let his teammates down, and that would've been
a DAMN SHAME, because he was completely blameless. What Harmon did was inexcusable, and had
we lost, unforgivable.

You go make that play at game speed, in the biggest game of the season with the potential for a penalty hanging over your head.

It pisses me off how easy the keyboard makes in game situations.

 

[ausbacker]

He should have gone for the ball.

How do you propose he obtained the ball? Keep in mind, this is at game speed.

The only conceivable play Harmon had on the ball was to try and swat it and break up the play.

 

[SVN]

Those 6 consecutive plays at the end of the half were without question the WORST 6 consecutive plays this defense played all season. If they had executed successfully on any ONE of them, Seattle wouldn't have scored a TD. If Arringington simply hadn't grabbed the face mask, they would have had to go for the FG and a potential TD score at the end of the game would have only meant a tie

Clearly the Pats didn't play a perfect game on either side of the ball, but those 6 plays, IMHO, were the most egregious errors of the game. And if they had lost, I would have pointed to that as the main reason. It is virtually unforgiveable to allpw a team to succeed at an 80 yd scoring drive in 29 seconds. That's like a pick 6.

And they did something similar in the miami game. Strange they repeated same end of the half mistakes.

 

[RayClay]

Run that play over a few times. Harmon would have needed to be superman, or have thrusters in his hands and feet to have positioned himself to reverse his momentum and flip backward in mid air to play that ball without landing all over the receiver and getting an obvious penalty.

Even then, he would have needed to know where and how high that last bounce would be.

 

[DarrylS]

The Hawks were 1st and 10 from the Pats 38, 1:14 on the clock... if Harmon could have made a change in his action, which I doubt, and picked up the penalty the ball would be on the Pats 23 w/1:06 left to go..

IMO it is a 50-50 decision, and not sure if Harmon could have done anything differently.. not sure the penalty would have been a "good" one.. I think Harmon thought the pass was incomplete..

 

[shmessy]

How do you propose he obtained the ball? Keep in mind, this is at game speed.

The only conceivable play Harmon had on the ball was to try and swat it and break up the play.

Your second sentence was the correct one. That was his job.

 

[shmessy]

Run that play over a few times. Harmon would have needed to be superman, or have thrusters in his hands and feet to have positioned himself to reverse his momentum and flip backward in mid air to play that ball without landing all over the receiver and getting an obvious penalty.

Even then, he would have needed to know where and how high that last bounce would be.

He could have tried to swat the ball instead of making like a hurdler.

He leaped over Kearse because he thought the play was OVER.

That was a mental assumption he should not have made. You NEVER give up on a play - - especially one that crucial. DB's consistently are taught to swat at footballs until they hear the whistle. While he leaped, he actually raised his arms. That's because he assumed the play was over. That was a mental error that will most definitely (if it hasn't already) be addressed by Belichick and Flores.

I love Duron Harmon and believe he is a possible future starter for this team, but that was not his best moment. It is ironic that Butler (who had great coverage on the play and, I believe, actually tipped the ball near its high point) has been publicly blaming himself for that.

 

[Galeb]

Not sure why so many keep writing that sea had to throw on one of the downs because there were only 26 seconds left. The only reason there were only 26 seconds left is because they wasted 24 seconds after the lynch run.

A disciplined team like the Pats can run 3 times in 26 seconds. Seattle takes a long time to get lined up. Look how long it took after the Lynch run on 1st.

 

[1960Pats]

He played it safe. I am still bothered by the last 6 seconds of the half. Might be the worst play of BBs career from a coaching standpoint. No excuse to give up a touchdown there and no reason to. They handed Seattle 4 points.

It was interesting to hear Ed Reed talk about that on Inside the NFL. He was pretty adamant that the Ravens players would have committed a penalty with 6 seconds left to force a FG from the 1. For some reason, Boomer was surprised when Reed stated that the coaches teach that to the Ravens.

 

[patsfanincleveland]

Duhron Harmon should've dove for the ball, not for Kearse, and should've had his arms extended.
That ball was waiting to be intercepted.

If the Pats had lost, Butler would've felt like he had let his teammates down, and that would've been
a DAMN SHAME, because he was completely blameless. What Harmon did was inexcusable, and had
we lost, unforgivable.

Your posting is unforgiveable.

The reality is the very short time period makes difficult to place any blame anywhere.

It's certain that had he hit him.....it would have been a penalty and patsfans.com would be out with pitchforks. Maybe it's time for league clarification.

What this game did show is absent some "never been on tape Chris Matthews", the defense was ready for what Seattle had to offer.

If these two teams meet next year, Pete better have some new plays never seen on film.

 

[ausbacker]

Your second sentence was the correct one. That was his job.

Great. Jump outside, play catch with some kids and reenact the play at full speed. It seems fairly simple to do from the benefit of comfort and with no pressure attached to the situation.

Sure, we all would like players to do this or to do that but **** me, do some of you have unrealistic expectations for the moment.

It's a split second decision being made at speed. It is not a simple task, no matter how well coached.