Poor execution the other half of Seahawks’ final play of Super Bowl

PHOENIX – Forget for a moment the decisions that Seattle made at the end of Super Bowl XLIX, first opting for a passing play from the 1-yard line and then dialing up a quick slant to Ricardo Lockette.

The other half of the game’s decisive moment was the execution. While that’s largely been overlooked amid all the second-guessing of Seattle’s final play, it’s something that coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell both mentioned afterward.

Bevell gave credit to cornerback Malcolm Butler for jumping the route and picking it off as he collided with Lockette. He also mentioned – twice – that Lockette could have been more aggressive.

“He could’ve done a better job of staying strong through the ball,” Bevell said. “But the kid from New England made a great play.”

Bevell added: “He made a great play. He really did. Our guy’s got to go hard to the ball as well. He drove hard. He made a great play.”

Lockette was lined up behind Kearse, whose objective on the play is create enough traffic near the line of scrimmage to impede Butler from making a play on the ball. But cornerback Brandon Browner’s jam on Kearse gave Butler just enough space to jump the route.

That’s what Carroll pointed to when asked whether Lockette could have done more on the play.

“The way that play works is often that DB gets brushed and doesn’t get to get in position to make that play, but he did,” Carroll said. “I do know that Browner jammed Jermaine – he’s the front guy on that route – and probably kept him from getting off as cleanly as we would normally hope for.”