OT: Matty IceMelt throws Shanahan under the bus for superbowl loss

[Ravenswintitle]

I'm not a "pile on" kind of guy and NEP annoys me to no end, but...

OK what the holy hell is going on with the person in front?

[Captain Offense]

OK what the holy hell is going on with the person in front?

Marty Feldman in drag.

[The Excellector]

Bill Belichick has thrown the ball in that situation countless times. New England has long been lauded for going against the grain of what principal says should be done in game situations. When you have a top 3 Offensive line, a top pass catching corps, a 20+ lead and Kyle Shanahan calling plays for you, you seal that deal. To only score 21 points with that supporting cast is inexcusable. The team put the vast majority of their resources into the offense for that reason, for the offense to lead the way. Thus, you'd better lead the way. The defense held New England down for a half and scored 7 points themselves. That defense is filled with young draft picks still looking to gel. I'm shocked they only gave up 28 points honestly.

There's 'Whose fault it is in a vacuum' (Defense first), and there's whose fault it is in context (Offense first).

Furthermore, Matt Ryan's going to get away with throwing Shanahan under the bus, even though he wouldn't have even made it there without Shanahan in the first place. Much like Peyton Manning got away with throwing his entire offensive line under the bus after a bad playoff loss in Indianapolis. Some QBs are privileged nationally and some are not.

[BlackBeak]

I actually feel that Shanahan should be thrown under the bus. They were well within field goal range. Run the ball, kick the field goal, and the game is over. This was such a horrible display of coaching and he needs to be called out on it.

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There is some truth to many posts here - a lot of bad things contributed to the loss. but this post is spot the hell on.

[HotInHere]

A whole thread blaming the offense.

Falcons defense lost that SuperBowl. They gave up 19 points in the last ~17 mins of regulation. They went vanilla on defense, called off the dogs, rushed three several times – and got chewed up.

I agree that the Falcons should have run a couple times in key situations in the 4th, taken the FG and gone home. But when the defense evaporates like that, the offense shouldn't go down in history as the unit that's on the hook.

I don't think anyone is excusing the Falcons defense. But to act like they blew it all by themselves is incorrect too. It takes a full team effort to collapse like that. The offense collapsed every bit as much as the defense did, from Shanny to Matty to the o-line to the running game.

The offense gets more focus, IMO, because that team was built on offense. It is somewhat understandable for the 27th-ranked defense to get steam-rolled by Tom Brady. But when the Falcons have the #1 offense in the NFL, and they can't contribute a first down when needed, or a freaking field goal, or simply NOT fumble or NOT take a sack, that's a pretty big collapse. That's why they are bearing the brunt of the criticism. You look to your strength.

If the 2000 Ravens D had let the Raiders put together back-to-back 80-yard TD drives in the last four minutes, and we had lost the AFCC 17-16, would people talk about our offense blowing it? They only scored 16 points, but that's all they were ever expected to do. The game was in the defense's hands, and they were supposed to be the best in the league, maybe the greatest of all time. If they choked away that lead at the end, it would have been a huge collapse by the defense, and that's what people would be talking about.

[The Excellector]

I don't think anyone is excusing the Falcons defense. But to act like they blew it all by themselves is incorrect too. It takes a full team effort to collapse like that. The offense collapsed every bit as much as the defense did, from Shanny to Matty to the o-line to the running game.

The offense gets more focus, IMO, because that team was built on offense. It is somewhat understandable for the 27th-ranked defense to get steam-rolled by Tom Brady. But when the Falcons have the #1 offense in the NFL, and they can't contribute a first down when needed, or a freaking field goal, or simply NOT fumble or NOT take a sack, that's a pretty big collapse. That's why they are bearing the brunt of the criticism. You look to your strength.

If the 2000 Ravens D had let the Raiders put together back-to-back 80-yard TD drives in the last four minutes, and we had lost the AFCC 17-16, would people talk about our offense blowing it? They only scored 16 points, but that's all they were ever expected to do. The game was in the defense's hands, and they were supposed to be the best in the league, maybe the greatest of all time. If they choked away that lead at the end, it would have been a huge collapse by the defense, and that's what people would be talking about.

Exactly. They held the Patriots to under 30 points in regulation (Shock), picked Brady off (Shock), actually moved him off of his spot for most of the first half (Shock), made him look like he needed to retire at one point (Shock) and scored 7 points (Shock). With the firepower Atlanta has, that should have been enough.

[Goode05]

Exactly. They held the Patriots to under 30 points in regulation (Shock), picked Brady off (Shock), actually moved him off of his spot for most of the first half (Shock), made him look like he needed to retire at one point (Shock) and scored 7 points (Shock). With the firepower Atlanta has, that should have been enough.

The defense held New England to -4 points in the first half they should have been buried but Matt Ryan does What Matt Ryan does........


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[HbgPARavenfan]

The article does appear to show a little under-the-bus tossing, but that's not to say Ryan is completely wrong. The Falcons were badly out-coached in the second half. As I've said before, blame for that Super Bowl collapse is shared. Ryan, Shanahan, the guy who committed the bad holding penalty when they were in field goal range, their whole defensive unit in the 4th quarter, etc. They all played their parts.

I realize there's a segment of Ravens fandom who feel the need to validate their view of Joe Flacco by trashing Matt Ryan at every opportunity. I just don't get it. I believe the attributes of both quarterbacks can be appreciated without the need to denigrate one or the other.

Flacco is Elite, Ryan is not. I'll stop when the masses acknowledge this simple fact.

fWo 4 life

[trailhiker85]

Flacco is Elite, Ryan is not. I'll stop when the masses acknowledge this simple fact.

fWo 4 life

I personally couldn't care less what "the masses" think. But since it obviously bothers you so much, by all means carry on.

[bt12483]

I guess Shanahan was to blame when they collapsed against SF too...

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[bt12483]

A whole thread blaming the offense.

Falcons defense lost that SuperBowl. They gave up 19 points in the last ~17 mins of regulation. They went vanilla on defense, called off the dogs, rushed three several times – and got chewed up.

I agree that the Falcons should have run a couple times in key situations in the 4th, taken the FG and gone home. But when the defense evaporates like that, the offense shouldn't go down in history as the unit that's on the hook.

The falcons offense in the second half of playoffs games has a tendency to fall apart.

This isn't the first time they've struggled to hold a lead, and part of it is because the offense stalls.

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[Ravenalytics]

Lots of teams seem to blow it/collapse against the Patriots in the second half. I think there's a lot of stuff going on with regards to schemes and adjustments that we're not seeing as casual fans without an all-22 view and the detailed breakdowns that they get on the sidelines.