5 Seahawks takeaways from Super Bowl 51
By Keith Myers
The Seattle Seahawks may not have played in Super Bowl 51, but that doesn’t mean there lessons to be learning from watching the Falcons and Patriots.
Super Bowl 51 was highly entertaining, as long as you weren’t a fan of the Atlanta Falcons. For the Seattle Seahawks the game was yet another reminder that they came up short this season. It was also a chance for reflection on ways the team could improve before next season.
Here are five takeaways for the Seahawks from Super Bowl 51:
1. You have to play four quarters
Perhaps the most annoying Pete Carroll cliche is “It is not how you start. It is how you finish.” Sure, there is some truth there. Leading in the first quarter doesn’t matter if you lose the game, just ask the Falcons.
At the same time, it wasn’t the early lead that led to the Falcons’ downfall. It was the fact that they didn’t put together four quarters of good football. They only played about two and a half, which simply wasn’t enough.
Slow starts have been a major problem for Seattle. When the Seahawks have lost games over the last few seasons, it has mostly be a case of the comeback attempt coming up short. That wouldn’t have been an issue if they hadn’t dug a hole in the first half.
Other times the Seahawks have failed to close out an opponent, much like the Falcons yesterday. Seattle dominated Atlanta for 3 out of 4 quarters when they played early this season, but fell asleep defensively in the third quarter and it almost cost them the game.