On February 1st, 2015 people all around the world witnessed “the worst call in American football history” in Seattle’s final offensive play of Super Bowl XLIX where undrafted rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted a pass from Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson on the goal line – and simultaneously stole victory from the jaws of defeat.
What is more impressive to me is the non-call made by New England Patriot’s coach Bill Belichick who did NOT call a time-out with under a minute to go in the game and Seattle threatening to score the go-ahead (and potential game-winning) touchdown.
The score of Super Bowl XLIX with just under a minute to go was 28 to 24 in favor of New England. If Seattle scored a touchdown in the final minute, they would likely be ahead 31 to 28 after the score, and the Patriots would desperately need as much time on the clock as possible to have any chance to come back and tie, or win the game.
A belief or fear that Seattle would score a touchdown in the mind of the Patriots in those final moments would warrant calling a time-out before Seattle could run their now famous “worst call in history” to save time on the clock for after Seattle’s score.
But the New England Patriots did not call a time-out… As the clock wound down from just under a minute to around 30 seconds, precious seconds were being wasted for the Patriots’ possible comeback if Seattle scored a touchdown and took the lead.
But no time-out was called and pressure was on… This is exactly why the Seahawks made the much riskier and ill-fated decision to pass the ball – leading to an interception.
If Patriot’s coach Bill Belichick had called a time-out with just under a minute to go, he would be sending a signal to his own team, and the Seahawks that he expected Seattle to score the go-ahead touchdown, and the Patriots would need extra time.
In so doing, every Patriot player would have visualized this potentiality and the likelihood of a Seahawks touchdown in the final minute would have increased multi-fold as the mindset of the entire New England Patriots team considered this possibility.
But Belichick did not put his team in that position. Instead, by not calling a time-out in critical final minute of the game, he put the pressure squarely on the Seahawks to make the right call quickly; and he strengthened his own team’s resolve and belief in themselves that they could make the big play necessary to win the game – and they did.
New England’s best non-call in American football history did not give the Seahawks the time to think through their options more carefully. If a time-out was called by the Patriots, surely Seattle would have come out and handed the ball off to Marshawn Lynch repeatedly – and likely for the game-winning touchdown of Super Bowl XLIX.
But this was not to be because Patriot’s coach Bill Belicheck acted like the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés who arrived in the New World with six hundred men and, upon arrival, made history by destroying his ships. This sent a clear message to his men: There is no turning back. This led to his successful conquest of the Aztec empire.
By not calling a time-out in the final minute of the game, Bill Belicheck told his team that there was no other option. They would win the game NOW, or never.
Patriot’s cornerback Malcolm Butler got the message loud and clear, and responded with the focus and determination that only the wisdom of a great leader could have inspired.
Worst call in football history? I think not. It was the best non-call in football history, and it’s the reason the New England Patriots are the Champions of Super Bowl XLIX.
~ This Commentary is © Copyright to Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy who has learned that to be successful in a home business, you must cultivate the same determined attitude that Bill Belicheck and Hernán Cortés instilled in their men. If you don’t have a burning desire to succeed, and a mindset which has elminated the possibility of failure, you will not have the necessary energy to overcome every obstacle and do what ever it takes to achieve your goals. To learn more about Stone Evans, check out the Plug-In Profit Site on this page, or contact the person who shared this with you.
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