I'm paraphrasing but it went something like this: ESPN Reporter: "is this your most disappointing loss to date?" Pete: "um yes and Texas" Couldn't believe my ears! But of course, "we" get it!
Against Texas: Needing 2 yards to win the game, he opted to leave his All-American, Heisman trophy winning back on the bench and run his backup up the middle. Didn't fool anybody. Against New England: Needing 1 yard to win the game, he opted to not hand the ball to his All-Pro back and to throw instead. Didn't fool anybody.
Giving the ball to Lendale was a reasonable choice, but Reggie should have been in as a decoy. It was a significant error that may have turned the game. Last night's blunder was much more obvious, and was arguably the dumbest call in Super Bowl history. Second and goal at the one, Marshawn Lynch in the backfield, and you'd like to leave the Pats with no time, or at least make them use their timeouts. Just give the guy the ball and the odds are hugely in your favor. It reminded me of Bama's loss to the Ags. First and goal, and you have an elite running game. Don't get cute.
The funniest tweet I heard from last night: I'm Rob Lowe......and I'm "I forgot Marshawn Lynch was in my backfield" Rob Lowe.
I see your point about their bad decision on who should have been in the game. My point was it really didn't matter.
Thanks for the link. Although I grew up in Austin, I have lived in SoCal for 38 years. Over time I grew to like and respect Carroll, even though his approach was unconventional. While "The Call" will live in infamy, I feel for Pete. He's a good guy and what he has accomplished in Seattle is amazing.
Well, Lendale White had killed us that day. He was not a "backup." If anything, the way to look at it was that with everything on the line in the Rose Bowl, Pete Carroll decided to go strong and go obvious with the power back and what had worked over and over, even if it was more obvious, and it didn't work, costing him the game. Maybe that experience from his past led him in the Super Bowl not to trust that approach, or at least want to mix one pass in. I, like everyone, thought it made no sense, especially on 2nd down. The pass option is equally in play from the 2 or 3, even if you lose yards first on the run, but the run option is optimal at the 1, with Lynch in beast mode.
When it got to 4th and 2, all dozen of us in the room watching were like "I really hope USC chickens out and punts this because LenDale has been bulldozing up the middle all night long." If we're trying to equate Rose bowl with the Super Bowl, then LenDale up the middle is the equivalent of Marshawn up the middle.
yes Lendale in that situation is similar to using Marshawn Lynch to get the 2 yards you need. Lendale was killing us all night with that same play over and over. Everyone knew where he was going but nobody could stop him, until that last attempt. Reggie Bush probably should've been in as decoy, but there was really no reason to believe Bush could've done better in that situation if he had the ball.
I believe White should have gotten the ball, but I would have thought that the Heisman winner would have at least been a decoy. USC head coach Pete Carroll - [speaking about Vince Young] "That's the best single-game performance I've ever had against me."
dang-str8, where'd you get that video? The link no longer works and I need to send that to a friend....
While "perhaps" we were fortunate that Bush was not on the field on fourth down, USC was extremely fortunate on the previous play. Many don't recall that Aaron Ross' hit on White popped the ball out. It fell right into Steve Smith's arms as he was surrounded by Longhorns. The "stop" was meant to be.
I remember that mostly because I didn't see it until watching a replay later, and then looked in the box score and found out even the official scorers didn't notice it live either.
R Bush - In or out, gets the ball or no gets the ball, decoy or no decoy, I agree with I35 that we were destined to win that game. But I also agree that Carroll was foolish for not putting him in anyway, as he was foolish for not giving it to his all pro back on 2nd and goal at the 1. Hook Em!
What does Fox news have to do with it? Considering it's NBC news that has a sack of **** as their news anchor, who lied about being shot down in a helicopter to gravy train off actual heroes, shouldn't that be NBC fed posters? Don't know how I feel about Pete. Certainly a successful coach, at both the college and NFL level. Seems a decent guy, and gave full credit to Texas that year. But, he left one step ahead of the NCAA at USC, leaving them with terrible sanctions that crippled their program for years. He had to have know about large living by Bush and others, via agent money. Probably a decent guy, who did the "Don't ask, don't inquire" route as to why Bush was so rich as a student.
