I have watched football for about 15 years, and of course poor coaching is bound to happen, but is this a new trend? Or just something that I wasn't paying enough attention to? Pete Carroll in the Super Bowl, Dan Quinn in the Super Bowl, Sean Payton yesterday....It makes you wonder why this is happening, and how coaches can make these poor decisions by getting to aggressive when they have the game in their pocket.
Apparently pounding the rock isn't sexy enough. HCs aren't gonna be annointed as the next genius by running out the clock. Nah need plays like the Philly Special so that media people can say what a genius the HC is.
If the Philly special was run at the end of the game with a minute left it would have been a heck of a play... Agreed though, run the damn ball.
IMO overall the coaching in the NFL nowadays is subpar. Another reason why the league hasn't been able to figure out the Patriots.
If the Saints had run 3 times for no gain and the Rams kicked the field goal anyway, everyone would be saying Payton was too conservative. Coaches can't win when the Internet and media give armchair coaches a platform to criticize every move in hindsight.
Some things are elementary. It's just a game after all not rocket science. In that situation you run the ball to eat the clock or to make the other team use their timeouts and if you still get beat you didn't deserve to win anyway. Same with Andy Reid deferring to open the game. Overcomplicating the simple things.
How did that work out for Payton & Reid on Sunday? They'll be home watching the Super Bowl just like us.
It's not hindsight. I was DISGUSTED with Reid for deferring when it happened. Payton was wrong when it happened. Some things are elementary.
I believe you were disgusted. And this time events played out like you thought they would. But the odds at the time were that they were right and you were wrong (which is what usually happens when you post your takes here). So for the last time, this is not elementary, and they had good reasons for doing what they did even though it didn't work out in the end.
In the 4th Q, after the big gain from the pass interference, Reid should have run the ball to chip away some clock and give the defense some rest. That was a huge mistake IMO
How was Andy Reid right? The Chiefs were hosting their first AFC Championship game in forever, he had this (supposedly) all-world offense with a star QB having one of the best seasons ever. He had the #31 ranked defense in the regular season. You play to your strength in the Chiefs case that was their offense, you let the home fans see their star QB to start the game you don't give the team of the century led by the legendary QB the opportunity to put you in a 7-0 hole right away. COMMON SENSE MAN!! And in Peyton's case you can't throw out decades of NFL history. Teams have done it that way forever. Payton was wrong.
Here's the thing. If they ran it three times, it is certain that more time would be taken and the Rams would have to call their last timeout before getting the ball back. By throwing it twice, the Saints risked two incompletions and giving the Rams more time with a timeout on their next drive. IMO, that wasn't the time to throw it because there's no guarantee the passes are caught and the goal at that point should've been to milk as much of the clock as possible.
If you defer to start the game, you get the ball to start the second half. The Pats scored to open the game, but the Chiefs scored to open the second half. That and the Chiefs eventually taking the lead in the second half means it was a wash. As for Payton, he trusted his HOF QB, with the highest completion percentage of all time, to complete one of those two passes for a first down, which would have guaranteed them a win. That was worth more than taking time off the clock. Especially because even if the Saints ran out the clock, the Rams would have still had as much time as the Chiefs did (albeit without a timeout) to tie the game. And the Chiefs had no problem doing just that.
See my post below. In short, Brees is the best ever at completing passes. The Saints were very unlucky not to pick up that first down. The odds of ending the game then and there were worth more than making the Rams use their timeouts. Especially because even if the Saints ran the ball, the Rams still would have had enough time to tie the game.
... and apparently you didn't watch the interviews where Payton said he called a run that Brees checked out of due to the shown blitz ... but continue to impress us with your vast knowledge of all things football and how easy it all is.
