On the 4th & 2 interception, Chad felt compelled to make something happen and so he tossed an easy interception. I didn't have a problem with the decision to go for it, but part of the reason you make that decision is you leave the other team backed up on their goal line. Schotty has been properly criticized for being conservative on the first 3 plays of that 1st and goal situation. But the pass option on the 4th down is the worst time to have tried that, because you take away the QB?s option of throwing it away. I mean there?s a reason why Chad has never thrown a pick in the end zone and that?s because he has rarely been locked into a no-win option. There are a few things Mangini was factoring into the decision; the chance of converting 7 points on a 4th and 2 is close to 50/50. In that sense, a 50% chance of 7 points is better than a 98% chance of 3 points. But you also consider what you do to the other team?s chance to score. You bury them on their own goal line. You also factor in the crowd noise from the end zone which is far louder than the middle of the field, hopefully leading to false starts, etc. Granted that Peyton Manning is probably not bothered by crowd noise, but his OL teammates might actually have blood, not ice in their veins. Having said that, if we were in a similar 4th and goal situation from the 1 or 2 yard line, I would go with Brad Smith at QB and a college football run option formation. Smith either runs it or pitches it (like he did earlier to Washington). Hopefully you get the TD, but worst case, you leave the other team bottled up. The worst thing you can do is throw an easy pick and give the opponent an out to the 20 yard line.
Yeah, and if he threw in an incompletion or worse, threw it out of the endzone, people would be screaming about that. You're right, he was in a no-win situation, but unfortunately, it's a no-win situation with the fans.
Catch-22: Unfortunately, we have a coach who is of the Madden-playing generation who will go for it on 4th and goals/ 4th and short, attempt onside kicks early and basically, just gamble with a game on the line. Fortunately, we have a coach who is of the Madden-playing generation who will go for it on 4th and goals/4th and short, attempt onside kicks and not gamble with a season on the line. I love this guy. We had no chance of being in yesterday's game as of Sunday morning but by Sunday afternoon...we were in the game with the clock expiring. Against, arguably, the best team in the NFL (at least the AFC Bears fans). The two best games of the season so far have been at home in front of roaring fans. And they were both losses! If you kick that field goal, then you don't go for it on the earlier 4th down...you don't kick the onside kick etc. That's the problem with the Catch-22. The glass is half full and half empty at the same time. The bottom line is that our defense needs to put us in a better position to finish a game that the offense/special teams hands them to win. Defense wins championships, which is why we play exciting and entertaining thus far, without a killer instinct. But Mangini is Rookie of the Year in all categories, this young season. It hurts to lose, but it's hurts worse to not have a chance to win which we've had, in every game so far. I expect nothing less next week in Jacksonville. I'm due for a Dear Dewayne/Bryan letter.
Best post I have seen all week. Mangini knows what he needs to do with this team, to give us a chance at that "W" every week. He is a smart coach, and he gives us every chance possible to win EVERY game that we play. That is all you can ask for. Expecially when you are going against the elite teams of the NFL. I have no doubt in my mind that this will be just a temporary fix however. I think that Mangini knows that we have to pull out extreme, unpredictable techniques in some of these bigger games to win, and only because he has to work around what he has with this club. He has to do more in other areas to make up for the flaws in our weaker areas. Once he gets the appropiate players to fit his invisioned schemes, he will not have to rely on so much unbalanced technique (IE Onside Kicks, 4th & 2, etc). He will have a much more balanced system, and talent, and that should make everyone excited. If he can get us playing this well with what little "play-makers" we have, and still have us going toe to toe with the NFL's best teams. Just imagine what he can do for us when he fills those much needed "holes" on both sides of the ball in the offseason. That gives us that balance on both sides of the ball that we'll need. *Note*- I realize we have playmakers already for this team, and that is not what I was referring too. We just dont have the talent as some of the more "elite" teams like the Colts, Bengals, Seahawks, Bears, etc...*Note*
Mangini did make a bad play call having chad pass. But chad made the RIGHT decision. He had to try something, or else he would've been sacked and blown the chance of a TD completely. If you think he should've thrown it away to give the colts crappier field position, it wouldn't of mattered. The rule says they would get the ball at the 20 had he thrown it away.
We had to kick the FG there. Not getting the TD there killed momentum. We needed points. However, the coaching staff figured if we did go and did not get it, they'd get the ball at the 2. Turns out Chad threw his first red zone pick. Deardorf kept saying "He had to throw it up, it was 4th down" However, the pick HURT, and got the Colts out of a hole.
I just want to point out one thing. If we had kicked the field goal there and everything else unfolded as it did that would only mean we would have gone into overtime. If the Colts won the toss, how many people out there think they would have driven down the field and scored? Until our D-line can stop the run and stop some unfortunate pass interferences we will lose games we should have won.
While you are right, technically, you may not be right in reality. Why? Football, unlike every other game, is played "to the score." By that, I mean if you are UP, you do 1 thing, if you are DOWN, you do another and if you're TIED, you may do a 3rd thing. Yes, the Colts went right down the field and got a FG. Very true. Momentum also changed big time. If we kick, and we're up 17-14 with 5 minutes to go in the 3rd, the crowd is going nuts, and you do not know what happens...
That is why I said "and things unfolded as they did". Our real woes yesterday were clearly on Defense and not stopping the run. Mix in a couple of costly penalties and that is the big difference maker. We are not yet good enough to overcome those kind of deficiencies. I am still having fun as a Jets right now though and that is feeling pretty darn good relative to last year.
It wasn't a momentum changing play. They drove down the field but we clamped down at the goal line and held them to a field goal and marched right back down the field and scored. This loss is on the defense's inability to keep Peyton slowed down, which is problem most defenses will have.
Yup, and if the on sides kick didn't work, there would be a thread whining about that too. If we got a TD there, everyone would find something else to whine about.... seriously.
I think you have your 4th down pass rule confused with the missed FG rule. If you miss a FG and the spot is inside the 20, the ball comes out to the 20. If you are stopped on 4th down, the other team gets the ball where the offense had it, unless the ball is turned over.
