A few of my thoughts while watching the big game today -- in no particular order...
- Seahawk fans need to stop whining about the referees. Just look at the drive chart and play-by-play. If the 'Hawks had stopped the Steelers from converting on the 3rd and 28 in the first half, they'd have taken a 3-0 lead into halftime. No bad calls there; just missed plays. Likewise if they wouldn't have given up a 75-yard touchdown run with their 8 men in the box to start the second half, it would have been a different situation completely. That play in particular was horrible. It's not like they had guys in position and simply missed tackles. They barely had anyone lay a hand on him. Those two plays alone directly led to the 14-3 3rd quarter lead, and ultimately accounted for the final 11-point margin of victory. This is why coaches hammer on solid fundamentals and proper execution.
- It was a game of missed opportunities and underachievement on both sides of the ball -- but especially by the Seahawks.
- If the Seahawks represent the class of the NFC, than the AFC is even better than I originally thought.
- The Seahawks need to address their shallow, weak crop of receivers. It appears they've relapsed into their old habits of dropping too many perfectly catchable passes. Yet more missed opportunities.
- Surprisingly, the Seahawk defense was +1 in takeaways today. Too bad they didn't take better advantage.
- Despite posting 95 yards rushing, Shaun Alexander was nearly a non-factor. Disappointing. I think he's played his last game for the 'Hawks. Imagine that -- A league MVP not returning to the same team the next season -- I wonder if that's ever happened before?
- The Seahawks have far more holes to fill this off-season than the Steelers.
- Matt Hasselbeck impressed me. He's competitive, and he's a leader. He's clearly among the NFL's elite.
- I think every AFC team that made the playoffs this year would have beat the Seahawks today. In fact I'll include San Diego in that group as well.
- I think there's almost no chance either of these teams will be able to make it back to the Super Bowl next year. The strength of the AFC top-to-bottom makes for a difficult road not just for the Steelers, but for any AFC team -- not to mention everyone will be gunning for Pittsburgh too. As for the Seahawks, they will have some significant personnel changes in key positions next year. If they do a good job addressing them, they'd at least face less resistance.
- Good clock-management seems to be a lost art in the NFL these days.
- It was really cool having all the past Super Bowl MVPs introduced before kickoff. I'd never thought about it before, but there won't be too many more opportunities to see that group together again.
- Speaking of Super Bowl MVPs, Hines Ward was a deserving MVP winner this year. Not all of them are. I'd still like to see Larry Brown's award recalled. Was it just me, or did I actually hear the crowd actually boo him a little?
- It was cool seeing Bart Starr bring out the Lombardi trophy for the post-game ceremony.
- Seeing the Lombardi trophy handed back to the Steelers was actually nicer than I expected.
- I doubt we've heard the last of the over-played Jerome Bettis homecoming/retirement story. I'm betting that ESPN is already negotiating the rights to produce a TV movie about it.
- I need to have jambalaya for dinner more often. Yummy stuff.
- I suddenly feel kinda weird that I've posted three entries in less than a month mentioning Bart Starr.
Local wews report on Super Bowl MVP reunion
(includes snippets of Rypien and Starr)
(includes snippets of Rypien and Starr)
tags: super bowl, steelers, seahawks, nfl, football, bart starr