Lessons from a Super Bowl interception

It's been nearly a week since the Patriots squeaked out a Super Bowl win over the Seahawks.  In most years, once the Super Bowl is done, I give no thought of that big event until the preseason heats up near the end of summer.  The commercials that debuted during the game are the only lingering memories of an annual football pageant that, so far, has not included my favorite team - the Detroit Lions.  We Lions fans learn to look ahead right away because looking back is fruitless - and painful.

This year has been different for me.  The amazing goal-line interception by Malcolm Butler has struck a chord for the ages, in my opinion.  Even though I missed it (having figured the Seahawks were locks to score that touchdown), I have seen enough replays and heard enough discussion about the play that, in a few years, I won't even remember having been out of the room.  It was amazing.

The number one lesson to be learned from this play was given to an international television audience just moments after the end of the game.  In the chaos of celebrating Pats, the NBC on-field reporter ran after Butler and interviewed him about his center-stage performance in the last minute of the game.  She asked him how it came to pass, and Butler replied, "Preparation."  Okay, that's a severe paraphrase, but he did use that word, and for him to bring that up so willingly in the heat of the moment, I believe that he unknowingly was giving future athletes everywhere a great tip as to how games and contests are won.  The message was clear:  "Prepare yourself so that you can act without hesitation when the need arises."

Over the last few days, more information about that preparation has been divulged by the Patriots.  Apparently, on Wednesday in practice, the scout team ran that exact play against the defensive starters.  In the same formation, with Butler in the same position, the lead receiver got off the line of scrimmage and picked Butler off so that he could not get to the receiver in time.  Easy touchdown.  Loud whistle!  Coach Belichick ran in and instructed Butler on what went wrong and how he had to react to the formation and to that play should he see it in the Super Bowl.  Can you imagine that attention to detail?  The word is that they ran it only once in practice, yet that turned out to be enough.  Watch a replay, and you will see how Butler streaked to the right spot almost as soon as the ball was snapped.  If that had been his first exposure to the formation and slant pass, there is no way that Malcolm Butler would have kept the Seahawks from scoring.

The other lesson that has resulted from this play is the absurdity of rushing to condemn a person without knowing all the facts.  Now, I am no fan of Pete Carroll (I've been heard to use harsh language to describe him during the heat of football games), but he faced a firestorm of criticism for his decision to pass instead of handing the ball to his big, bruising runner, Marshawn Lynch.  I joined in the nearly universal condemnation during the first news cycle (although I was rooting for the Patriots, so I was happy about his decision).  However, as time goes on, the judgment on whether he was justified in trying that play has become more balanced.  For one thing, Lynch had actually scored on only one out of five such attempts this season, so running the ball was not such a sure thing after all.  For another, how perfectly did Malcolm Butler have to perform to get that interception?  One little hesitation, and it was almost certainly a Seahawks touchdown.  With these and other facts coming to light, Coach Carroll does not seem as lame-brained as he did on Monday morning. 

In the end, either way that the final drive went, we could say that "the right team won".  With a contest that close, with each side benefiting from amazing plays, with no one backing down at all, these two teams showed what we were all missing during that long stretch of crummy Super Bowls during the 80's and 90's.  Next year's 50th game will most likely not even approach this one in drama, but there's always hope.  That's why they play the game!  Oh wait, maybe money has something to do with it, too.