The Road to Glendale: NFL Playoffs discussion

[Tonus]

See, I think there is much less risk in pounding the ball into the endzone as soon as possible and then worrying about your defense stopping Brady for fifteen seconds worth of game-time. I'd much rather rely on my solid defense to make a stop than Russel Wilson to make a one yard pass.

I think it was Bill Barnwell (Grantland.com) who mentioned this; that perhaps Carroll was thinking about the 2012 Atlanta game or the previous game, where leaving the opposing QB a small amount of time proved either disastrous (2012) or nearly so (NFC Championship this year). He may have been too worried about working the clock down as low as possible.

The numbers indicated that NE was not very good at stopping short-yardage power runs this year, while Seattle was among the best at those runs. And Belichick admitted that if they'd run on second down and come up short, he was going to call a time-out. That would have allowed the Seahawks to run every time if they so wished, but Seattle couldn't have known that. Still, it's possible that Carroll allowed recent playoff memories to affect his approach.

As for getting over it, I turned off the TV and went to bed and got a decent night's sleep. The 1986 California Angels blowing a 3-1 lead against the Red Sox in the ALCS? That was tough to get over (though probably not as tough as what the Sox did to their fans in the WS that year).