Tag: Super Bowl XLIX

Danny Amendola reveals the genius behind Bill Belichick’s Super Bowl XLIX preparation

Danny Amendola recalled Bill Belichick’s genius Super Bowl XLIX preparation.

February’s Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles was met with criticism for its playing surface.

State Farm Stadium in Arizona has had a reputation for having poor traction on the turf, and the New England Patriots had to deal with it firsthand when they faced the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 for Super Bowl XLIX.

Former Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola recalled preparations for the 2014 Super Bowl. Bill Belichick instructed his players to wear detachable, more commonly known as seven-stud, cleats. Molded cleats are often lighter, which made the adjustment for that year’s Super Bowl disappointing for some.

Amendola explained the reasoning behind it during an episode of Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Zack Cox.

“When you play a night game in AZ, for some reason the grass always gets a little dewy at night, and it’s so slick,” said Amendola. “I’ve worn seven-studs (cleats) on that field numerous times. One Super Bowl we played in, Bill made it a mandatory seven-stud game. We were all bitching and moaning, but we didn’t have too many slips.

“…We watched the film after we played Seattle in that stadium for the Super Bowl, and they had guys on the ground all night. And the fact that we (all had seven-stud cleats), I felt better, and I kind of switched my routes up knowing that they were going to slip. I switched my releases up a little bit and have them kind of get on skates a little bit more, and I felt very comfortable that game with seven-studs.”

Amendola would finish with five catches for 48 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown in the game. The score closed Seattle’s lead to 24-21 at the time and ultimately helped lead to a Patriots victory.

Unfortunately for the Chiefs and Eagles, they probably could have used this advice prior to the Super Bowl. Nevertheless, it serves as a reminder that Bill Belichick is one of the best at game day preparation. The Super Bowl win against the Seahawks holds significance as well, as it was the start of another trio of championships for the Patriots.

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Seahawks vs. Patriots 2015 Super Bowl still most-viewed TV show ever

Despite impressive viewership numbers for Super Bowl LVII, the SB XLIX between the Seahawks and Patriots still holds the all-time record.

Super Bowl LVII pitting the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday was definitely a fun watch to end the season but the big game didn’t draw enough viewership to break the all-time record.

According to FOXSports, relying on numbers from Nielsen Media Research Fast National data and Adobe Analytics, the matchup garnered the best Super Bowl audience in six years and ranks as the most-watched Super Bowl since 2017 and the third-most watched television show ever with 113M average viewers.

While those numbers are impressive, they don’t hold a candle to the 2015 Super Bowl featuring the Seahawks and Patriots on NBC, which drew the biggest numbers ever recorded for a TV show at 114,442,000 viewers. The No. 2 slot also features New England – Super Bowl 51 in 2017.

The final Nielsen data from Sunday is expected to be released on Tuesday.

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Super Bowl is in Arizona for first time since Seahawks lost XLIX

My advice to either team at the goal line: hand the ball off. 

I’m warning you now, 12s: Brace yourselves for a flood of bad memories in the forms of highlights that are guaranteed to be prominent on Sunday.

Super Bowl LVII is in Glendale, Arizona, marking the return of the big game to the Valley of the Sun. Unfortunately for Seattle Seahawks fans, it marks the first time it’s been hosted in Arizona since the infamous Super Bowl XLIX.

There’s no need to reminisce about the single worst moment in franchise history, where triumph turned into instant despair. I only write to help prepare everyone for the fact the Fox broadcast will surely show highlights of the events that took place at the end of the big game eight years ago.

Interestingly, the NFC’s representative for Super Bowl LVII is another bird-mascot team with green as a primary color, defined by a running game and bruising defense. Just like eight years ago, the AFC’s representative is led by the best quarterback in the NFL, one who is also on a bit of a championship drought.

My advice to either team at the goal line: Hand the ball off.

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Richard Sherman had a fiery response to a Russell Wilson pick on a slant in the end zone

“I wish I had Marshawn up here.”

Given some of the past potential tension in their relationship, many thought that Richard Sherman would have even more to say about Russell Wilson on Thursday night. With Sherman working as a studio analyst for Amazon Prime’s broadcast of Wilson’s Broncos (-3.5) and their matchup with the Colts, the potential for Sherman to say something controversial about his former Seahawks teammate seemed high.

But, for the most part, amidst a football game of particularly awful proportions, we didn’t hear much from Sherman — at least in regards to Wilson’s play. That is until Wilson threw a late fourth-quarter pick, on a slant near the goal line, to Indianapolis’ Stephon Gilmore:

Hmm, while the stakes are certainly much lower, the general dynamic and set-up of that play — a Wilson interception on a late fourth-quarter slant — seems very familiar? (Note: The Colts would go on to win this game 12-9 in overtime.)

Oh, right, I remember this kind of famous Wilson play for the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX … that also involved the Patriots’ Malcolm Butler:

Ah, but see, that’s just a happy coincidence that a similar play happened for the Wilson Broncos.

Well, it didn’t be to such a happy coincidence for Sherman, who shared his thoughts on the play quite succinctly:

Sherman even recalled his initial heartbreaking reaction to that famous Super Bowl play:

On the post-game, Sherman would say he was “triggered” and seemed upset when he didn’t appreciate that Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett didn’t do a very specific thing with the football:

Uh, moving on. Sherman would follow this emotional sequence with a reference to the Denver defense playing well and that to win a Super Bowl this year, they would need to be “historic.”

Oh wait, is Sherman referring to the Butler play and Seattle and … oh that makes so much sense.

If Sherman has more things to say about Wilson, specifically, I don’t know that this necessarily means displeasure with his former quarterback. It could simply be that Sherman is still just really, really, really heartbroken over that loss. Though, I don’t think anyone outside of this pair’s thought process will take Sherman’s reaction that way. Not even close.

CBS Sports ranks Super Bowl XLIX as 1 of best playoff games ever

CBS Sports ranks Super Bowl XLIX featuring the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots as one of the best playoff games ever.

There is no arguing that Sunday’s AFC divisional matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills was one of the most exciting playoff games of all times, but CBS Sports has two contests ranked even higher, including the Seattle Seahawks loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.

“Ranked as the greatest Super Bowl of all-time by CBS Sports senior writer Will Brinson, the Patriots overcame a 10-point deficit on two Tom Brady touchdown passes. Seattle appeared to be on their way to a second straight title when Russell Wilson hit Jermaine Kearse on an incredible 33-yard completion,” writes Bryan DeArdo. “One yard away from the game-winning score, Seattle attempt a pass instead of giving ball to Marshawn Lynch. The decision backfired, as Wilson’s pass was picked off by Malcolm Butler, an undrafted rookie who had been on the receiving end of Kearse’s crazy catch two plays earlier.”

The only game CBS Sports ranked as a greater playoff game of all time is the 1981 NFC championship featuring the 49ers over the Cowboys.

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Malcolm Butler reminisces on game-winning interception in Super Bowl XLIX

“I thought they were going to run the ball, too.”

Malcolm Butler became a household name very quickly after Super Bowl XLIX.

The former New England Patriots cornerback sealed the team’s fourth Super Bowl win in dramatic fashion against the Seattle Seahawks. NBC Sports re-aired the game on Tuesday night and Butler joined the broadcast to relive the life-changing moment.

Like everyone else, he thought the Seahawks would’ve ran the ball.

“I thought they were going to run the ball, too,” Butler said, transcribed by NESN. “I learned a long time ago, if the quarterback is throwing the ball, I guess he’s going to favor the receiver or look at him or see what’s going on in the area and I just felt like (Russell) Wilson was just looking a little bit too much. And I think I just caught a little whiff of what he was going to do.

“So I just stared at my receiver and said if my receiver plants on the outside, I’m just going to go and just hope the ball is there. And when he planted, I took off. I just see the ball and the ball was coming so fast I didn’t know how to catch it. … It was just a great play. A good reaction. And it was just a great play, man.”

Not only was that one of New England’s most iconic plays — it’ll go down as one of the greatest Super Bowl moments ever. It also helped an undrafted cornerback earn a five-year, $61 million contract with the Tennessee Titans.

Butler will go down in Patriots history for that one.

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Pete Carroll reflects on the emotional toll from Super Bowl XLIX

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll recently reflected on the emotional impact the outcome of Super Bowl XLIX had on the team.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll recently reflected on the team’s crushing Super Bowl XLIX loss to the New England Patriots.

Carroll said that staying strong in the wake of that loss was a tremendous challenge, but that he had to keep the team competitive somehow.

“It was such an emotional way to lose for everybody, and we had to rebuild everybody’s brain,” Carroll told NFL.com’s Mike Silver in April. “We just bludgeoned our way through that. I tried to just make sure that I was unwavering. So, that was the challenge: to allow for the grieving and all of that, and then see what the issues were, and then put it back together.”

Carroll admitted that some former and current Seahawks players may never put that devastating loss past them.

“Yeah, that was hard,” Carroll continued. “It was a hard challenge. It was really hard on some players. And some of us will never get over it.”

Nearly every player who played for Seattle in that Super Bowl is elsewhere now, so the Seahawks must look ahead to the 2020 season.

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Watch iconic Seahawks games for free on NFL Game Pass

The NFL opened up Game Pass for free to fans, and there are tons of great Seattle Seahawks games and content available for fans to watch.

In case you missed it, the NFL has opened Game Pass for free to fans, allowing them to watch 10 years of regular season and playoff games, as well as other football related programming like Hard Knocks and A Football Life.

For Seattle Seahawks fans, this invites an opportunity to watch tons of memorable team content, including their two most recent Super Bowl appearances as well as many other classic games and moments.

Outside of the Super Bowl win, here are 10 pieces of programming available for free that Seahawks fans should check out while self-quarantining at home during the COVID-19 outbreak.

  1. January 18, 2015: NFC Championship win over Packers
  2. January 19, 2014: NFC Championship win over 49ers (The Tip)
  3. January 8, 2011: Seahawks win over Saints (BeastQuake)
  4. A Football Life Season 5 Episode 6: Steve Largent
  5. A Football Life Season 8 Episode 8: Mike Holmgren
  6. October 29, 2017: Seahawks 41-38 win over Texans
  7. December 23, 2018: Seahawks 38-31 win over Chiefs
  8. NFL 360 Episode 201: Shaquem Griffin
  9. November 13, 2016: Seahawks 31-24 win over Patriots
  10. November 29, 2015: Seahawks 39-30 win over Steelers

Fans can enjoy all the free NFL programming they want by going to NFL.com/GamePass. Have fun and stay safe!

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Seahawks QB Russell Wilson talks Super Bowl interception during AMA

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson recently hosted a Bleacher Report “Ask me anything” and answered a number of questions for fans.

Super Bowl week is one of the biggest times of the year for the NFL. As hype builds for the game of the season, the country cannot get enough football content, not just from the participating teams, but from other players around the league.

The sports media site, Bleacher Report, which has had NFL stars – both past and present – host their own “Ask Me Anything” forums on their platform, recently welcomed Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson into the spotlight.

Wilson covered a wide range of topics, from who he thinks is the most underrated player (K.J. Wright and Duane Brown) to his favorite AFC team (none of them). Wilson even picked the Chiefs to win it all on Sunday.

One sore topic came up when someone asked if Wilson would rather “run or pass” if he was at the 2-yard line . . . of course, a reminder of Wilson’s brutal intercepted pass which cost Seattle a victory in Super Bowl XLIX. This play will always live in infamy in Seahawks’ lore.

However, Wilson’s response was rather on-brand for the eternally optimistic signal-caller.

While Patriots’ Malcolm Butler’s interception will likely always haunt Seahawks fans, it is certainly reassuring to know Wilson isn’t letting it hold him back or diminish his desire to always look forward.

It’s exactly that kind of thinking which gives the 12th Man hope they will be seeing their team prepare to play on Sunday this time next year.

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See where Russell Wilson’s 2 Super Bowl appearances rank all-time

Pro Football Focus ranked the best quarterback performances in every Super Bowl since 2006. Where did Russell Wilson end up?

With the Super Bowl nearly upon us, Pro Football Focus has taken the time to rank the performance of every quarterback in each of the last 13 Super Bowls, as well as from the 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons.

That’s 36 Super Bowl quarterbacks, including Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who is of course on there twice.

Since this does not count the 2005 season, it does not include Mass Hasselbeck.

Despite not gaining his reputation as an elite NFL quarterback until after Seattle’s back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, Wilson fared extremely well by PFF’s metrics, finishing with the fourth highest Super Bowl grade for a quarterback in Super Bowl XLVII against Denver, and 18th in Super Bowl XLIX against New England.

PFF credits Wilson with three big-time throws against the Patriots, where he also racked up 178 total passing yards and largely kept the team in the game. Of course, his grade suffered when he threw perhaps the most famous interception in Super Bowl history on the one-yard line with 20 seconds remaining, giving the victory to Tom Brady and the Patriots.

Brady posted a PFF grade of 84.2 in the fourth quarter of that contest, and ended up ranked 15th on this list.

None of Brady’s other Super Bowl appearances topped Wilson’s performance in Super Bowl XLVII however, as he placed fourth just behind Aaron Rodgers (XLV), Eli Manning (XLVI) and Nick Foles (LII).

Wilson posted a 92.4 grade from PFF, one of four quarterback to ever earn an elite grade in a Super Bowl. He completed 17 passes on 22 attempts for 199 yards, along with three big time throws.

Seattle’s win in that game was in large part thanks to Wilson’s heroics, but the Legion of Boom defense wasn’t too shabby either, as evidenced by Peyton Manning’s 61.4 grade and 0-6 completion rate on passes 20+ yards downfield.

The Seahawks may have to watch this Super Bowl from their couches, but they’ll do what they can to get Wilson back on this list next season.

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