San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who was the Falcons’ offensive coordinator in this year’s Super Bowl, has had some time to reflect on his play-calling.
He has re-watched the game, which New England won 34-28 in overtime, and has second-guessed his every move, including not running the ball with an eight-point lead after the team reached the 22-yard line with 4:40 minutes to play.
“Mainly with the second half to watch through it so I could … when you see things live, you want to make sure watching the tape you confirm what you saw,” Shanahan said at the scouting combine Wednesday. “It went pretty much how I thought. I haven’t gotten back to the first half yet. Other things have been more important right now.
“But, no, the Super Bowl was a great experience. I know it didn’t work out the way we wanted. Every time it ends that way, you’re going to second-guess everything that you did. I’m proud of what we did, why we did the things we did. One thing I learned from it is I hope that opportunity comes again, because it’s a fun thing to be a part of. It makes you realize how special it is to get a win there.”
Shanahan, who had a 28-3 lead, was asked if he regretted not running the football more in the second half.
“Yeah, I second-guess just like all you guys do,” Shanahan said. “Any time a play doesn’t work, you say, ‘Damn, I wish I called one that works.’ But the reasons for calling those, and why we did that and what we were thinking, I don’t second-guess that at all.”
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