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Strange call by BB


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IBBWT. Hopefully we'll get an answer in todays press conference.... if he even has one.
 
Setting a precident. If there is a possibility that he could punt on third down that is something other teams should account for. If other teams account for it, it also adds the possibility of a fake quick punt on third down.
 
He's had Brady do that before also. Clearly the idea was to pin them back near the goal line and force them to drive the entire legnth of the field and chew up the clock. They probably wouldn't have converted a 3rd and long and the Bill's would have their special teams ready to block or return the punt on the 4th.. Not a bad move by Belichick at all. He obviously knew what down it was.
 
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He's had Brady do that before also. Clearly the idea was to pin them back near the goal line and force them to drive the entire legnth of the field and chew up the clock. They probably wouldn't have converted a 3rd and long and the Bill's would have their special teams ready to block or return the punt on the 4th.. Not a bad move by Belichick at all. He obviously knew what down it was.
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/200906-strange-call-bb.html#post1228565
 
After listening to Cassels interview on EEI, I believe the punt was on 3rd down because long snapping into the wind was very risky. I think they just wanted a second attempt if the first snap got muffed by the wind.
 
Only thing could be that Bill was hedging against a possible bad snap on fourth down, like when teams try the game winning FG kick on third down. Either that or he didn't know what down it was.:eek:

It does give them another attempt in case of a bad snap. It's better to give up the extra 15 yards of field position than turn it over so close with only 67 seconds remaining.

definite head scratcher. I think as stated it was to hedge against bad snap. Or maybe the wind had just died down and they wanted to take advantage?

After listening to Cassels interview on EEI, I believe the punt was on 3rd down because long snapping into the wind was very risky. I think they just wanted a second attempt if the first snap got muffed by the wind.

Of course. Pure safety play - pure Belichick pragmatic game management.

Trade off of
possible bad snap or blocked punt which could have given the Jets a touchdown or field position near or in the Patriots red zone with 40 seconds or so left
versus
two chances to punt the ball with wind at the punters back and put the ball in the Jets end of the field with 1:10 or less to play and no time outs for Bills.

By the way, the ball WAS snapped a little high up at the top of or a little above Hansen's head - he had to go up on his toes to get the snap. Good call by Belichick.

Also, it wasn't a surprise to the Bills the way it played. They were in punt receiving mode.
 
Belichick said he did it because the Bills had rushed 10 men on the punter earlier in the game, and he did not want to risk a blocked kick.

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The only way buffalo was scoring twice in the little time that was remaining was if they got a turnover or PR TD for the first one, since they couldn't throw into the wind. Punting on 3rd down allowed them to catch the Bills off guard, making a block or return TD virtually impossible.
 
There's no reason to thinking punting on 3rd is any less likely to be blocked
Actually, there is. On third down, the defense must be aware of a fake punt, and take care to prevent it. That means not rushing in and letting the "punter" get outside and run for a first.

Remember, there is no risk in a fake punt on third down. If it is unsuccessful, you can still punt of fourth down.

Punting on third down made sure the Bills weren't in a block-the-punt mentality, and made sure to pin them deep.



The only way buffalo was scoring twice in the little time that was remaining was

If they had taken a knee on the play there is no risk. They would have been punting with about 37 second left and a two score lead. Even a blocked kick and you're still in business. It's a bizzare call.
Winning the game wasn't in question. Preserving the shutout was. This made sure the Bills were pinned and would be unlikely to score.

The players were disappointed about losing the shutout against the Cards, and BB did his part, once the game was won, to help insure a shutout.
 
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Winning the game wasn't in question. Preserving the shutout was. This made sure the Bills were pinned and would be unlikely to score.

I suspect BB would disagree with this statement. There are many instances of two scores happening in very tiny time intervals. Sure it's VERY unlikely, but it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. I think BB made the call to make that possiblity as minute as he could.
 
I assumed it was to catch the Bills off guard and ensure that the coverage team could take advantage of the wind as well and down it at the 1 yard line - thus ensuring that the Bills were pinned deep in their territory, with limited time left, needing to go against the wind.
 
I would surmise that if the snap from center were blown off course due to wind conditions, Hanson could fall on the ball with another opportunity to kick
 
BB's playing chess while the other ham and eggers are playing checkers.who knows while he did it.hanson was on tho.probably thought he'd bury them to run the game out.
 
Winning the game wasn't in question. Preserving the shutout was. This made sure the Bills were pinned and would be unlikely to score.

I suspect BB would disagree with this statement. There are many instances of two scores happening ....
Okay, Hotshot, I'll bite. Name a half dozen or so of these many instances of teams scoring two TDs in the last minute of play in a game to come from behind win the game.

I can't think of a single game in the last 50 years where a team was behind by 13 points with a minute to play and scored two TDs in the last minute to win the game. There may be one, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

Even in the Heidi Bowl, the Raiders were only down by 3 points with a minute to play. They did score two TDs, though, but that was 19friggin68.

Given the need to score two TDs in a minute where the Bills had been unable to score in 59 minutes, even the 30 minutes when the weren't going into the wind, I don't see how you can say the outcome of the game was in question.

Seriously, dude. The game was over. BB knew it, the players knew it, even the Bills knew it. They had the ball back with 1:04, tossed a short incompletion and ran the clock out with a pair of runs, not calling time out. Didn't even try a Hail Mary. 'Cause the game was over.

When the Pats punted the second time, all that was left was preserving the shutout.

Which BB ensured by punting on third down.
 
I suspect BB would disagree with this statement. There are many instances of two scores happening in very tiny time intervals. Sure it's VERY unlikely, but it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. I think BB made the call to make that possiblity as minute as he could.

As I recall the Patrots actually lost a game that way, a few years ago.
 
Okay, Hotshot, I'll bite. Name a half dozen or so of these many instances of teams scoring two TDs in the last minute of play in a game to come from behind win the game.

I can't think of a single game in the last 50 years where a team was behind by 13 points with a minute to play and scored two TDs in the last minute to win the game. There may be one, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

Even in the Heidi Bowl, the Raiders were only down by 3 points with a minute to play. They did score two TDs, though, but that was 19friggin68.

Given the need to score two TDs in a minute where the Bills had been unable to score in 59 minutes, even the 30 minutes when the weren't going into the wind, I don't see how you can say the outcome of the game was in question.

Seriously, dude. The game was over. BB knew it, the players knew it, even the Bills knew it. They had the ball back with 1:04, tossed a short incompletion and ran the clock out with a pair of runs, not calling time out. Didn't even try a Hail Mary. 'Cause the game was over.

When the Pats punted the second time, all that was left was preserving the shutout.

Which BB ensured by punting on third down.

Couple things. Generally, I don't respond to people using your tone, but I really hate being quoted out of context. If you quote someone, you should always include all relevant information... unless your part of the media. "There are many instances of two scores happening in very tiny time intervals." I don't see anything here that's talking about a final minute.

If you are unable to find examples yourself of two scores in under a minute and 40 seconds time, I suppose I can try to help you. I also prefer to teach people to fish than just feed them for a day, so I'll tell you how I found them. I first went to NFL.com, and looked at the specific games that I remember from this year that had two quick scores. Also, go to Google and typde words and/or phrases into the search bar. It should come up with several links containing the words/phrases you used in said search bar.

I'll start with a couple of weeks ago. vs. Oakland, the Pats scored 2 touchdowns in 20 seconds. "(13:19) Cassel to Welker. and Hobbs scores on a return at 12:59.

Another one I remember from this year was Vikings vs. Jags. Viks scored TD's at 14:55 and 13:25, exactly a minute and a half.

Heck, just in week 14, Pittsburg scored two TD's in 24 seconds in the fourth quarter at 2:10 and at 1:51.

Not too bad, 3 from this season off the top of my head. The other from the top of my head is the 2006 Cardinals vs. Bears, the imfamous "they are who we thought they were" game. Two TD's in 42 seconds. ESPN - Green's 42-second meltdown has made him a commercial icon - Columnist

NFL 2008–Week 16 Recap | THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS "They gave up 2 touchdowns in the final 75 seconds "

Mark these words Records set by Cowboys and Bills tell the game story | Article from The Boston Globe | HighBeam Research "Quickest two touchdowns, game, one team -- 15 seconds, Dallas."

Jeez, 4 off the top of my head, and two from google in mere seconds.

I wish I could remember which press conference BB was asked about why he went for it on fourth when the game seemed out of reach. His response was angry and he basically said something like "Do you know how fast teams can score points in this league. Hopefully someone else can link that, cuz I've dedicated enough time on this. Either way, if you think that BB will let up if the is even the tiniest possible chance that a team could catch up... no matter how unlikely, you're insane.
 
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Bills left twisting in the wind by Pats : Sports : The Buffalo News

Belichick worked the field position to his advantage in the fourth quarter by having quarterback Matt Cassel make a quick-kick punt on third down. It went for 57 yards to pin the Bills back at their own 2.

Belichick said he did it because the Bills had rushed 10 men on the punter earlier in the game, and he did not want to risk a blocked kick.
 
I wish I could remember which press conference BB was asked about why he went for it on fourth when the game seemed out of reach. His response was angry and he basically said something like "Do you know how fast teams can score points in this league. Hopefully someone else can link that, cuz I've dedicated enough time on this. Either way, if you think that BB will let up if the is even the tiniest possible chance that a team could catch up... no matter how unlikely, you're insane.

after the miami game last year where Cassel threw the pick 6 and Brady went back in"
 
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Actually, there is. On third down, the defense must be aware of a fake punt, and take care to prevent it. That means not rushing in and letting the "punter" get outside and run for a first.

Remember, there is no risk in a fake punt on third down. If it is unsuccessful, you can still punt of fourth down.

Punting on third down made sure the Bills weren't in a block-the-punt mentality, and made sure to pin them deep.
That's a good point.
 
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