@Ragman,
I don't think it was a bad decision. If it had worked, Carroll would now be lauded for his courageous and creative decision. Think about this...
- The situation call for a run and everyone expected a run.
- The patriots had the players on the field to stop the run.
- Lynch has had problems at the goal line earlier in the year.
- Passing the ball stops the clock if it fails.
- Running gives the Patriots a chance to make a goal line stand.
You make your decisions and you live with them. Had Pete Carroll run the ball three times, and had Lynch failed to deliver and time had run out, we would be having the same discussion.
It didn't work, but I don't think it was a bad call.