Not so fast on Seahawks three-peat had Seattle won Super Bowl XLIX

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll recently made an intriguing appearance on Richard Sherman's podcast. This was a significant occurrence, as it represented another player soothing things over/making amends with their former head coach. (Just don't count on Earl Thomas being next.) They discussed a variety of topics during an absorbing conversation, including 'that' play in Super Bowl XLIX. It seemed to prove somewhat cathartic for Sherman, who claimed he was more hurt than angry by what happened.

Carroll provided some insight into his thinking at the time, explaining the rationale for calling a pass when they did. In particular, looking to maximize the number of possible plays and the Patriots' goal-line setup. In truth, the 71-year-old's approach made a lot of sense. The issue was the execution – or lack thereof – on the play.

In this respect, two aspects stand out in how they impacted the disastrous outcome of the second down pass. The first was the route run by Jermaine Kearse. It has often been said that Kearse did not execute his route with enough conviction. If he had done so, i.e. done a better job of getting inside, he would have impeded Malcolm Butler's path to the ball.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson throwing blind

The second aspect is more telling of why the pass play turned out how it did. Consider a recent appearance by regular 93.3 KJR FM guest Hugh Millen, on Softy & Dick. The former quarterback referred to a piece of audio following the interception by Butler, where a confused Russell Wilson discussed what happened.

Wilson admitted he didn't know if the Patriots' defensive back went over the top or underneath, to snag the pick. In other words – as Millen said – the nine-time Pro Bowler couldn't see, despite having a clean pocket. As such, he should have just thrown the ball away and lived to fight another day (down).

With all this said, arguably the most compelling comment made by Carroll – which Sherman agreed with -- was that the Seahawks would have three-peated if they'd beaten the Patriots. Just think about this for a minute. No one has ever won three championships in a row during the Super Bowl era.