silly me I thought the TWO makeable kicks our kicker missed cost us the game. We had a QB w/ a torn rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder and were w/in 1 of 2 makeables kicks to reach the title game against a 15-1 team. THAT'S great coaching but we didn't execute.
Any stadium. If it's a 44 yarder, and you can dive ahead for 2,3 yards making it a 41,42 yarder, that's very makeable. Losing 3 yards on purpose to make it a 47 yarder? A 47 yarder is a crapshoot. I don't EXPECT any 47 yarder to be good when they are lining up. It's just too long for it to stay straight the whole way. To lose those yards on purpose is absurd.
I disagree w/ taking the knee there too BUT the bottom line is it was a 43 yd FG- very makeable especially considering he missed by inches moments earlier on a 47 yarder.
Which brings me back to my original point that it was a coaching blunder. Thank you for conceeding this argument.
This is one moment I will always remember. It was like the cork was pulled from the team bottle after this. 2006 misery followed.
It was still a makeable kick, if it's 2 yards closer he still shanks it left. The CS put us in position to win but we didn't execute. in reality we had no business even being in the game against a 15-1 tam on the road w/ a QB who had a torn rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder but that gets lost b/c our Kicker missed TWO makeable kicks.
beating the packers 35-7 in week 17 and the colts 41-0 in the first round in 02. i was a bigtime herm supporter. lets not enshrine mangini the hall of fame just yet. i cant wait to see the reaction of all you herm haters if this mangini thing turns out to be a complete disaster. lets remember, this guy has NEVER coached a game....and in his press conferences he seems like a real genius. im not saying he WILL be bad, but i refuse to say he WILL be great. lets wait and see.
Who said anything about Mangini? This thread was about Herm, and how we are going to remember his tenure here. In reality, there was probably an equal amount of bad as there was good while he was here. This is evidenced by his 39-41 record. Almost right down the middle. For every Colts game, there's a Chiefs game. For every John Hall game winner, there's a Doug Brien 0-for-2. You can lash out at those who are bashing him, but your unconditional praise is really no different.
It goes back to "I thought you play to win the game?" Trying to gain yards in that spot is playing to win the game. Taking a knee is trying not to lose yardage...not trying to win the game. The ultimate Herm hypocrisy!
We had an O that couldn't move the ball all game and now all of a sudden we wre going to surge forward? Just imagine what you guys would say if we handed it off and fumbled or if Pitt shot the gap and we lost 5 yards.
Again on the subject of the knee, Brien told Herm that he wanted the ball lined up between the hashmarks to make the kick more makeable for him. So it became a choice of running the ball to get there and risk a big hit on Martin or a fumble (it's rare for Curtis, but it happens--just look at Bettis vs. the Colts) or taking a knee and losing 2 yards in exchange for setting up the game winning kick. I think that he made the right choice, and I still don't see what most of you people who complain about it would have had him do. What moment sticks out the most in my mind? You play to win the game. What moment personifies Herm/Bradway: trading up for Dewayne Robertson. Those guys always had to make a big splash, even if it most definately wasn't in the best interest of the team.
Martin has one of the lowest fumble rates of all-time. In fact, he may have the best number for backs with 1500 or more carries. (He's got the lowest number I've seen.) I feel he should have been given a carry there. The Jets also could have kicked the field goal instead of taking a knee. Field goals can be kicked on any down. In no way do you purposely go backwards, especially at Heinz Field, which is the worst field in the league for kicking field goals successfully.
Still, you never risk putting the ball on the ground in a situation like that if you don't have to. Realistically what difference would 2 yards make (Martin wouldn't have gained much more because he had to be very conscious of going down between the hash marks)? Kicking the field goal would've given Pittsburgh the chance to return a kick, which would be a very, very bad idea.
Pennington taking a knee in Pittsburgh to set up the Brien FG. No excuse for Herm/Hackett calling that play, it was stupid and ineffective... which sums up Herm's tenure.
