Why Pete, why?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s about 12 hours later and I am still at a loss for words. Well, there is one word I can utter, and have been uttering over and over since the end of Super Bowl XLIX. You probably have been as well. It’s “why?” Read on.

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• And really, there is no good answer, except ones filled with expletives. When asked the question after the Hawks threw on second-and-goal from the Pats’ 1 with about 20 seconds left, Pete Carroll gave a somewhat incoherent answer which included the words ” to kind of waste that play .” Really? You are down 28-24 , the clock is ticking, you have a time out left, Marshawn Lynch just covered four yards on first down and you want ” to kind of waste that play ” by throwing a pick-play slant? Really? If you want to waste a play to stop the clock, why not get Russell Wilson, the most elusive quarterback in the game, outside the pocket and tell him to toss it away if nothing develops? Why not … oh heck, there are so many better options it would take all morning to type them up. But the best option was standing in the backfield with Wilson. It’s Lynch, the premier short-yardage running back in the NFL right now. He’s the guy you are negotiating with on a multi-million dollar extension because you realize he’s the engine of your offense. He’s already pounded out 102 yards. He’s money in situations like this. He rarely fumbles. He finds a way to get to the end zone. But, heck maybe the personnel wasn’t right to run – even though your players say you’ve done it in the same situation before. He gets stuffed. Time out. Now you have two plays left, though it does get dicey without a way to stop the clock other than an incomplete pass or an out-of-bounds run. I get that. So we go back to the thought process before the second-down play. If the personnel was inappropriate for a running play against the Pats’ defenders, which Carroll pointed out, why was it on the field in the first place? Oh, I understand. Send out the three wide-out package and make the Patriots counter with more defensive backs. Except they didn’t. Trying to fool the opposition backfired. Instead of staying with a power package and pounding New England, finesse was employed. Wait, that’s not the Hawks we know and love, is it? Well, yes, at times it is. Too often maybe, which is why a lot of folks were no longer enamored with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell even before the Super Bowl. Today that number has grown exponentially. Sometimes the simplest play is the best. Our best player against your defense. Look, everyone understands play-calling is an inexact science. Execution is always – always – more important. If the Hawks had executed the called play to perfection, it may have worked. Touchdown. What a call . But some plays are harder than others to execute perfectly. The percentages favored giving the ball to Lynch. The pass? It was a gamble. A big gamble with little chance for a reward. It didn’t pay off. And when gambles don’t pay off, heads usually roll. If it doesn’t happen this time, many Hawk fans might be asking one simple question. Why not?

• I hate to say it, but in a lot of ways the game played out like I thought. There were more points scored then I expected, but … well, here’s what I wrote yesterday:

Yes, the Hawks may win, they may slow the Pats offense but I don’t believe they’ll keep Brady down the entire game. He just is too much of a competitor – and a competitor who channels failure the right way – to fail for 60 minutes. So the big question is, can the Seattle offense put the game away before New England figures out how to move the ball? My gut tells me no. I’m thinking Bill Belichick will come up with an entirely new way to defend Russell Wilson and what he does well, whether that’s bringing a safety up as a linebacker and daring the Hawks receivers to beat New England’s corners over the top, or rushing just a couple of guys and playing a nine-man zone behind them. Something odd may be in the offing. Including the final score. I expect it to be lower than most people think. On Friday, I made a prediction on the radio, saying I had New England winning 27-16. That’s seems a bit high as I sit here this morning. So let’s go with the Pats, 20-10, coming back from a 10-6 deficit late.

Ya, I thought the New England offense would be tough to stop in the fourth quarter, despite how well the Seahawks have played in that quarter recently. That’s part of Brady’s brilliance. He seems to get better as games go on. He did yesterday. And it still wouldn’t have been enough if the Hawks had scored. Instead, people are debating whether Tom Brady is the best quarterback of all time .

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• WSU: Though most of the links we have today are Super Bowl-related, we can’t forget our other sports around here. Jacob Thorpe has a morning post with links to keep Cougar fans happy.

• Gonzaga: And Jim Meehan had a day-after post yesterday looking at the win over Memphis to satisfy Zag fans.

• Seahawks: Both those groups are probably pretty well populated with Seahawk fans as well, so happy and satisfied are relative terms today. Mainly because of the way the game ended , right? John Blanchette has no problem labeling the play call as the most “ill-considered” ever in the Super Bowl. … He’s not alone , with just about every columnist I could find out there weighing in on the Seahawks’ final offensive play labeling it somewhere between really dumb and outright idiotic . The words worst-ever were used as well I believe. So it was pretty much unanimous . … Even some of the Hawk players weighed in negatively, though not Lynch, who acted more professional than ever. … Just think, if the Seahawks had punched it in , held on and won, Jermaine Kearse’s catch (pictured) would go down in history as one of the best ever, rivaling other ones that’s made Brady a three-time Super Bowl runner-up. And Chris Matthews would have been a household name . As a football player , not a talk-show host. … Wilson is still a class act, taking the blame for the pick. Yes, the pass could have been better. But I’m not sure even perfection would have worked . … Wilson and Carroll talked after the game. … Funny thing about that last odd play call. The Pats and Malcolm Butler were ready for it. … Las Vegas has installed the Hawks as a favorite to win next year’s Super Bowl. That seems a long way off . … Rob Gronkowski had his way with K.J. Wright and the Hawks’ secondary . … We can’t leave the Super Bowl discussion without a quick look at all the commercials . They were as depressing as the game’s ending.

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• I return to the radio today with Dennis Patchin and Rick Lukens, starting at 3 p.m. I hope I am a little more coherent then than now. It would be pretty boring if all I can utter for nearly three hours is “why?” You can listen here . Until then …