Atlanta Falcons lost Super Bowl LI that way: “Shanahan blows Super Bowl by going into a conservative shell, allowing the great Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to come back. What was he thinking?”" class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm" data-type="text" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; color: rgb(38, 40, 42); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Here’s the headline if Kyle Shanahan goes with a run-heavy plan in the fourth quarter and the Atlanta Falcons lost Super Bowl LI that way: “Shanahan blows Super Bowl by going into a conservative shell, allowing the great Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to come back. What was he thinking?”
Devonta Freeman blocks Dont’a Hightower even a little on that third-and-1, Matt Ryan throws a long, win-sealing pass instead of getting strip-sacked. And we never hear about Shanahan being too aggressive. But this is life for an NFL play-caller. Nobody will talk about the great plan Shanahan had going into the game (which he did)." class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm" data-type="text" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; color: rgb(38, 40, 42); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Shanahan made some mistakes, clearly. Though, some of the criticism is clearly results-based. We’ve seen the coaches film by now; if Devonta Freeman blocks Dont’a Hightower even a little on that third-and-1, Matt Ryan throws a long, win-sealing pass instead of getting strip-sacked. And we never hear about Shanahan being too aggressive. But this is life for an NFL play-caller. Nobody will talk about the great plan Shanahan had going into the game (which he did).
Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell with Super Bowl XLIX, and Shanahan with Super Bowl LI." class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm" data-type="text" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; color: rgb(38, 40, 42); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">When the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead and lost the Super Bowl to the New England Patriots, everything rightfully examined after the fact. And the easiest second-guess is Shanahan calling pass plays when, in hindsight, the Falcons just needed to run to win. We’ll associate Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell with Super Bowl XLIX, and Shanahan with Super Bowl LI.