THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

25 lessons learned from Super Bowl 49.

http://www.commdiginews.com/sports/super-bowl-xlix-lessons-learned-25-takeaways-34365/

eric

Super Bowl 49 Recap

After an entire NFL season and tons of pregame hype, Super Bowl (49) XLIX finally got underway. The Seahawks won the coin toss but elected to defer. From the start, the Patriots outplayed the Seahawks but had little to show for it. Tom Brady led a drive that consumed over 7 1/2 minutes off the clock but Brady was intercepted in the end zone for a scoreless opening quarter.

Seattle did very little on offense as the New England cornerbacks blanketed the Seattle receivers. In the second quarter Brady found Brandon LaFell for an 11 yard touchdown to make it 7-0 Patriots. Seattle kept playing smash mouth and finally got a drive going. On 3rd and 2 from the New England 3, Marshawn Lynch tied the game 7-7.

After a touchback New England only had 2:16 to work with. That was plenty of time for Brady. On 2nd and 5 from the Seattle 22, Brady went deep to Danny Amendola for the touchdown and a 14-7 Patriots lead. The drive was helped along when the Seahawks jumped offside on 3rd and 3. After a touchback, the the Seahawks had only 30 seconds left. With 11 seconds left from the New England 44, Wilson went deep to Lockette for 23 yards with a defensive facemark moving the ball to the 11 with 6 seconds left.

Pete Carroll has a new nickname: BOSS, which stands for Balls of Solid Steel. With fans pleading for a field goal try, he called a quick pass play. Wilson went to Chris Matthews for the touchdown. Brady was 20 of 27 for 177 yards two touchdowns and one interception by halftime. Russell Wilson was only 2 of 4 for 50 yards before the last drive of the half. Yet by halftime Wilson had 84 yards passing and a touchdown. Despite the Seahawks being outplayed, the Super Bowl was tied 14-14 at halftime.

The halftime show and commercials have nothing to do with football, concluding all discussion of the halftime show and the commercials. Seattle after a touchback moved down the field in the third quarter and soon faced 3rd and 1 from the New England 8. Lynch got the carry and got wrapped up tight. On 4th and 1, this time Pete Carroll opted for the field goal. Steve Hauschka hit from 27 to make it 17-14 Seahawks.

New England got it back and soon faced 3rd and 9 from their own 32. Brady fired over the middle and was intercepted by Bobby Wagner. Seattle took over at midfield. From the New England 38, Wilson ran for 15 and defensive holding tackled on 5 more. Lynch barreled for 14 yards down to the 4. Wilson found a wide open Doug Baldwin for a 3 yard touchdown for a 24-14 Seahawks lead with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. New England again could not move the ball and Seattle faced a critical 3rd and 2 at the Patriots 47. Wilson went deep and had Jermaine Kearse for a long gain, but Kearse dropped the ball. Seattle missed a chance to turn out the lights as the game went to the fourth quarter.

New England got the ball back but on 3rd and 1 saw a run up the middle knocked back by the entire Legion of Boom. New England got it back and soon faced 3rd and 14 from their own 28. Brady fired over the middle to Julian Edelman for a 21 yard gain. Unnecessary roughness on Seattle had the Patriots within striking distance. On 3rd and 8 from the Seattle 25, Brady found Edelman for 21 yards down to the 4. Brady found Amendola for the touchdown as the Patriots were within 24-21 midway through the fourth quarter.

Seattle quickly went 3 and out and the Patriots got it back at their own 36. Brady did what he does. With 2:52 to play on 1st and goal from the 5, a run gained 2 yards. For some reason Pete Carroll did not call a timeout. Brady hit Edelman on the next play for a 3 yard touchdown. The Patriots led by 4 and the Seahawks after a touchback had 2:02 left and all of their timeouts.

Wilson went deep to Lynch for a 31 yard gain just past midfield. After an incomplete pass, Seattle burned a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty.  From the New England 38, Wilson went deep to Jermaine Kearse. Kearse was well-covered, but he bobbled the ball and made a juggling catch that was every bit as ridiculous as the David Tyree miracle in this same stadium seven years ago. Tom Brady could only watch helplessly as the Seahawks had the ball at the New England 5 yard line with 1:06 to play.

Lynch got the carry and gained 4 yards down to the one, and now it was Bill Belichick who inexplicably refused to take a timeout. With 26 seconds to play, the entire world expected Beast Mode to get the carry. Instead from the shotgun, Wilson threw a slant pass over the middle that was intercepted in the end zone. A stunned Seattle defense and the entire 12th man looked in disbelief. Seahawks Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell may be burned in effigy. The entire fourth quarter saw terrible play calling and bad clock management by both coaches.

Seattle had every chance to put the game away but didn’t do it. Richard Sherman was only thrown at once the entire game. Wilson finished 12 of 21 for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the one interception at the end of the game that will haunt him forever. Tom Brady was the MVP, going 37 for 50 or 328 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Seattle missed out on becoming a dynasty. Meanwhile, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and big fat Vince Wilfork won their fourth Super Bowl in six tries over the last fourteen years. Super Bowl 49 is now in the books. In three months the NFL Draft will be held in Chicago. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now on the clock. For now, the New England Patriots are the best team of the 2014 NFL season. 28-24 Patriots