After the clock struck zero, Tafoya made like a gunner tracking down a punt returner when she ran down Butler on the field. She asked something typical like, "What was going through your mind on that play?" (which sounds a little better than "how did you do that awesome thing", but still...), and this is what Butler said:
"I just had a vision that I was gonna make a big play and it came true."
Butler was understandably overcome by emotion at the time so that's about all he was good for, but I thought it was interesting. My first instinct was that he misspoke, and what he really meant was that he visualized making a big play and then did it. This is a little different from him having a prescient dream of picking off Russell Wilson at the end of the game. If you look at some of the things he said after the emotion had died down & he was able to speak more coherently on the subject, they support "visualization" over "vision".
Visualization is something that you often hear about in sports, like when you hear an athlete talking about going over a game or a play in his or her mind, mentally playing out different scenarios. Now take a look at a couple quotes from Butler, both mentioning his preparation for this particular play:
"Goal line, preparation, the formation they were in with the two-receiver stack, I just knew they were throwing a pick route," he said. "It was on the line, we needed it, and I just beat him to the route and made the play."
"I knew the route," Butler said, "and I just beat it."He mentioned in a radio interview on Mike & Mike that he had seen that particular play in practice and had been scored on. When Brandon Browner signalled to him in the game what play was coming, I think in that moment he thought about how he had been beaten before, pictured how to make the play, and then did it. That's pretty cool.
The second thing about this Super Bowl that I wanted to mention was the inundation of legacy-oriented storylines following the game. These were all entirely fabricated by writers desperate to write something impactful that would "echo through time" or some such drivel. There were 2 legacies at stake in this Super Bowl - the Brady/Belichick as The Best Ever, and the Seahawks' D as The Best Ever. Somehow both of these legacies were etched in stone by a play during which none of the involved parties were on the field.
Obviously Belichick is never on the field during plays, but Brady was sitting on the bench when the play that would supposedly determine his legacy went down (well, he was momentarily sitting on the bench, and then he was jumping around like a crazy person). Look, there is no shame in Brady's game. If Russell Wilson or Marshawn Lynch had run it in and Seattle had won, Brady still would have finished the game with REALLY good numbers. Belichick still would've done a GREAT job coaching this team (all controversies aside).
The Brady/Belichick duo were 2 fluky catches away from having 5 Super Bowl rings going into this game, and another fluky catch nearly cost them this one as well (I'd say the Manningham catch wasn't fluky except he doesn't possess the greatest set of hands). But for a couple bounces of the ball, Brady & Belichick could have 6 championship rings, more than any coach or any QB in the history of the NFL. Legacy is something that should come up at the end of a career or of an era.
By the same token, Richard Sherman & the Seattle defense also watched the play that determined the outcome of the game from the bench. Why should they be disregarded because of a bad playcall and bad offensive execution? Yes, Tom Brady gashed them in the 4th quarter, but they were really banged up, and their offense hadn't given them much rest. Sherman had injured his elbow in the NFC Championship game and will need Tommy John surgery. Safety Earl Thomas may need shoulder surgery from an injury also incurred vs. Green Bay, Kam Chancellor banged his knee in practice and may need surgery as well. During the game, nickle corner Jeremy Lane suffered a vicious break of his arm as he was returning an interception, which will also need surgery, and Cliff Avril left the game in the 3rd quarter with a concussion, never to return. As banged up as this defense was, is it any surprise that Brady was able to pick it apart late in the game?
I heard Mike Greenberg say on the radio yesterday that comparing the Seahawks' D with the '85 Bears, concluding "you wouldn't see the '85 Bears give up a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter." Maybe not, but I would argue that the 2013 version of the Seahawks were like the '85 Bears, and the 2014 Seahawks were more like the '86 Bears. Still the #1 defense in football, but no longer as dominant as they were before. The '86 Bears finished the season with an average of 11.7 points allowed per game (which is an INSANE number), and then got burned by Washington for 27 points in their one playoff game, including 13 in the 4th*.
*The similarities don't end there - the '86 Chicago defense suffered from having an offense that struggled to move the ball, and the disparity in offensive plays and time of possession between Washington & Chicago (71 & 55, 33:44 & 26:16) is nearly identical to the Pats & Seahawks (72 & 53, 33:46 & 26:14)This defense is young enough that they could get healthy in the offseason and rip off another 2 or 3 seasons as the #1 defense in football. They shouldn't be dismissed for falling off in a game where they were banged up and in need of oxygen, and when their offense couldn't sustain a drive.
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The Pistons have signed John Lucas III to a 10-day contract to fill in the void at PG. Lucas is more of a scoring PG, and is basically a band-aid until SVG can work out something better (although Lucas has been tearing up the Chinese league). I'm betting that Van Gundy is still looking to trade for Jameer Nelson, who's been all over the place this year.
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Sad news for old-timey(ish) Tigers fans. Dave Bergman, 1st baseman on the Tigers from 1984 to the end of his career in 1992, passed away due to cancer yesterday at the age of 61. Bergman wasn't a big hitter, never knocking more than 7 HR in a season or hitting .300, but he was one of the better gloves at 1B and key to the title run in 1984.
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The Wings are listed as "buyers" heading into the trade deadline. No real surprise there, although they may stand pat. They're pretty flush with forwards & centers, so they'll probably look to add a defenseman, maybe in exchange for one of the backup goalies (either Gustavsson or Mrazek). The Wings have the 5th best record in hockey right now, so it's not like they're dying to make a move.
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