1st down w/45 seconds to go, why didn't we try to get closer?

[Froob]

Don't think it's strange at all, I was worried about throwing a pick. Woody scored the winner and then when it got taken back Ghost had a prime opportunity to win it.

 

[hodgey]

I didn't see a thread on this, but did anyone else find it odd that we had 40 something seconds left in the game and like 1st or 2nd down at the ~35 yard line and we didn't try getting closer? I was thinking that a 45ish yard fg is no gimme and would have liked for us to try to get closer. Just seems weird that with that much time left we wouldn't try to make it an easier fg.

Oh well not like it mattered considering I had figured a loss prior to the fumble.

This was actually discussed at length in the game thread and after thread. You are absolutely correct on your assessment. Problem is for some reason our coaching staff plays everything extremely close to the vest or like "chicken littles". Blitzes were almost none existent for most of the game even though most everyone considers Kolb susceptible to them. It was also like we had no clue what to do after AH went down. We were totally out coached in this game.

 

[The_Riddler]

BB has to coach better....

I agree 100%, plenty of time on the clock, get as close as you can and leave as little time as possible on the clock, basic football sense and logic at that juncture of the game and most coaches I believe would have done just that. I have no idea what BB was thinking, none. Not to mention, TB was hot at that point, red hot.

#AnotherBBHeadScratcher

 

[unoriginal]

Memories of Sean Payton and Garret Hartley.

The rule on offense should always be, make the defense stop you.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

This is the first game I can remember where it seemed like the coaching staff tried to throw it. I say that in jest, but I don't think they could have coached any worse from a strategic point of view.

-Hernandez goes down on the first drive. Okay, Welker time. Okay, Gronkowski time. We have two all-pros. Josh McD uses every conceivable way to throw the ball to Lloyd and Edelman. Finally, we use Welker just before halftime- you would have thought it was like RUDY running onto the field. The commentator: "That's Wes Welker!" This isn't some washed up has been who is now the team cheerleader. The guy has over 1500 yards last year. What was going on here???

-Playcalling was atrocious throughout the game, not just then. It's a game of momentum... I realize we want more balance, but there are times when the O-line is having it's way and a time when they're being pushed around. We decided to kill four second half drives with second and third down runs for momentum-killing losses when our passing game was heating up. This includes the infamous Woodhead draw (face palm.) Every time they handed it off in the second half, you knew it was a terrible idea, yet they stubbornly continued to do it.

-Ridley is not the best blocker, but we all sensed the two-point conversion would fail when they came out with Woodhead, out of shotgun. Ridley has played every bit as well as any feature RB this year. Now, could you Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson on the bench on a game deciding 2-pt. conversion? Didn't think so. Ridley is a powerful goal line runner, but we gave away our hand. Knew we'd target Gronk, and so did the Cardinals. Gutless play. Should have at least had Ridley as a threat in the backfield.

-BB's challenge. Has there ever been a stronger correlation between losing and a variable more than BB desperately tossing a challenge flag on an obvious play? Not even close, and for what, seven yards? The TO actually did not come back to kills us, but it should have. Bad omen either way.

-The last drive. As already discussed (and I started a thread similar to this one), the old playing not to lose bit never gets old, and it never gets more predictable in leading to a loss. Arizona would have let the Patriots score a TD at that point to get the ball back. Brady was slicing through them like a knife through hot butter, yet we pulled back and set Gostokswki up for his choke job. You're telling me he would have shanked a 25-30 yard FG? I don't think so; you can say that the kick was way off, which it was, but that extra distance makes a big difference in a kicker's mentality. Pats had the game in their hands and gave it back. Very uncharacteristic.

 

[Rob0729]

This was actually discussed at length in the game thread and after thread. You are absolutely correct on your assessment. Problem is for some reason our coaching staff plays everything extremely close to the vest or like "chicken littles". Blitzes were almost none existent for most of the game even though most everyone considers Kolb susceptible to them. It was also like we had no clue what to do after AH went down. We were totally out coached in this game.

Kinda hard to blitz when you are playing a team with a stud like Larry Fitzgerald. He demaded extra coverage in the secondary leaving the Pats with less opportunities for for blitzes.

I don't know how you can question the Pats' game plan on defense. Here is strong evidence why it was a good gameplan on defense:

• They held Fitzgerald to one catch for four yards
• If you take away the 2 yard TD drive that even the most elite defenses usually fail on, the defense gave up 13 points.
• The Cardinals only had one real TD drive of any length.
• They went 3 and out 4 times and turned over the ball twice.
• They completed 4 of 14 third downs (28.6%).
• They had 245 total yards with Kolb passing for only 140 yards.
• They scored 10 of their 20 points from turnovers deep in Patriots territory (on the Pats' 25 off the Brady pick for a field goal and the two yard TD drive off the block punt).

That looks like the Pats' defensive game plan was a resounding success. If the offense and special teams didn't put the defense in a deep hole on two drives, the Pats defense might have only given up 10-16 points.

You can argue that the offensive game plan was flawed and they got outcoached on offense, but I don't know how you can say that on defense.

 

[Observer]

Perhaps because we were going backward on each play and would have gone out of fg range at that rate. Heaven forbid if that had happened or we had turned the ball over, this would become another 4th and 2 type decision.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Good coverage on the sequence from Bedard. They were OK after the TD was called back. Welker bailed them out. Ball was on the 18, 36 yarder. Then Gronk had the false start on the first sideways QB sneak to center the ball. The problem arose when they ran the same play again after being pushed back 5 yards. That moved the kick back to 42, which is what you do if you have to but should never be something you opt to do.

Luck turns to ire on Patriots' final drive - Extra Points - Boston.com

The two point conversion call was crappy playcalling too. Couldn't have been more predictable and on a day when Gronk seemingly had cement feet.

An OC's job is to put his players in position to win. Josh struggled with that all day. Almost as if he was intent on putting them where he wanted them regardless. Lack of situational awareness.

I think Bill did a great job with the defense this off season, both selecting and integrating a number of youngsters into the mix. Maybe he fell a little too hard for some of his fringe players. On offense, however, I fear he focused solely on his TE vision and gave Josh free reign on assembling the rest of the complimentary offense around it. And assembly isn't Josh's strong suit. And now absent half of his all world duo, we are feeling the effect. Hopefully rather than push the issue Josh can adapt and reconfigure the offense so it can function more efficiently over the next 8-10 weeks - if not longer.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

They had to try and get closer. Was pissed when i found out what they actually did

 

[Reckedtrek]

1st down w/45 seconds to go, why didn't we try to get closer?

Risk/reward.

Their choice didn't pay off this time, obviously.

 

[The_Riddler]

Perhaps because we were going backward on each play and would have gone out of fg range at that rate. Heaven forbid if that had happened or we had turned the ball over, this would become another 4th and 2 type decision.

Again, if that were the thinking, that's what was talked about above. "Playing scared", "Playing Not To Lose" instead of "Playing to Win". A much shorter field goad makes for a much more comfortable Gostkowski.

Lesson Learned, let's hope BB doesn't pull this again.

 

[letekro]

Good coverage on the sequence from Bedard. They were OK after the TD was called back. Welker bailed them out. Ball was on the 18, 36 yarder. Then Gronk had the false start on the first sideways QB sneak to center the ball. The problem arose when they ran the same play again after being pushed back 5 yards. That moved the kick back to 42, which is what you do if you have to but should never be something you opt to do.

Luck turns to ire on Patriots' final drive - Extra Points - Boston.com

The two point conversion call was crappy playcalling too. Couldn't have been more predictable and on a day when Gronk seemingly had cement feet.

An OC's job is to put his players in position to win. Josh struggled with that all day. Almost as if he was intent on putting them where he wanted them regardless. Lack of situational awareness.

I think Bill did a great job with the defense this off season, both selecting and integrating a number of youngsters into the mix. Maybe he fell a little too hard for some of his fringe players. On offense, however, I fear he focused solely on his TE vision and gave Josh free reign on assembling the rest of the complimentary offense around it. And assembly isn't Josh's strong suit. And now absent half of his all world duo, we are feeling the effect. Hopefully rather than push the issue Josh can adapt and reconfigure the offense so it can function more efficiently over the next 8-10 weeks - if not longer.

Gronk's lack of explosion this year does not bode well for Hernandez, which looked like a carbon copy injury.

 

[Deus Irae]

Good coverage on the sequence from Bedard. They were OK after the TD was called back. Welker bailed them out. Ball was on the 18, 36 yarder. Then Gronk had the false start on the first sideways QB sneak to center the ball. The problem arose when they ran the same play again after being pushed back 5 yards. That moved the kick back to 42, which is what you do if you have to but should never be something you opt to do.

Luck turns to ire on Patriots' final drive - Extra Points - Boston.com

The two point conversion call was crappy playcalling too. Couldn't have been more predictable and on a day when Gronk seemingly had cement feet.

An OC's job is to put his players in position to win. Josh struggled with that all day. Almost as if he was intent on putting them where he wanted them regardless. Lack of situational awareness.

I think Bill did a great job with the defense this off season, both selecting and integrating a number of youngsters into the mix. Maybe he fell a little too hard for some of his fringe players. On offense, however, I fear he focused solely on his TE vision and gave Josh free reign on assembling the rest of the complimentary offense around it. And assembly isn't Josh's strong suit. And now absent half of his all world duo, we are feeling the effect. Hopefully rather than push the issue Josh can adapt and reconfigure the offense so it can function more efficiently over the next 8-10 weeks - if not longer.

The decision to sit on the ball was BB's, not McDaniels. BB screwed the pooch. That's the sort of atrocious decisionmaking that gets coaches fired if it happens at the end of the year with playoffs on the line.

 

[hodgey]

Kinda hard to blitz when you are playing a team with a stud like Larry Fitzgerald. He demaded extra coverage in the secondary leaving the Pats with less opportunities for for blitzes.

I don't know how you can question the Pats' game plan on defense. Here is strong evidence why it was a good gameplan on defense:

• They held Fitzgerald to one catch for four yards
• If you take away the 2 yard TD drive that even the most elite defenses usually fail on, the defense gave up 13 points.
• The Cardinals only had one real TD drive of any length.
• They went 3 and out 4 times and turned over the ball twice.
• They completed 4 of 14 third downs (28.6%).
• They had 245 total yards with Kolb passing for only 140 yards.
• They scored 10 of their 20 points from turnovers deep in Patriots territory (on the Pats' 25 off the Brady pick for a field goal and the two yard TD drive off the block punt).

That looks like the Pats' defensive game plan was a resounding success. If the offense and special teams didn't put the defense in a deep hole on two drives, the Pats defense might have only given up 10-16 points.

You can argue that the offensive game plan was flawed and they got outcoached on offense, but I don't know how you can say that on defense.

My first thought to this post was so how did that work out for us. But your points are reasonable as laid out. The problem lies in emotion of what your doing. What I mean is when your team knows your playing ***** ball it takes away your fire. Watch the 49ers play and you see ferocious agressiveness. I think we have the horses to be much more than take away this guy or that guy but we just wont cut em loose. I think even the D could have made more game changing plays early if allowed to gamble a little.

 

[Observer]

Again, if that were the thinking, that's what was talked about above. "Playing scared", "Playing Not To Lose" instead of "Playing to Win". A much shorter field goad makes for a much more comfortable Gostkowski.

Lesson Learned, let's hope BB doesn't pull this again.

Don't have much confidence in the ghost eh ? You have to trust your kicker to make a 42 yarder when he has made a 50 yarder. It really should have been a safe call to wind the clock down and kick it in. Gostkowski missed it, it's as simple as that. Now we know that maybe we can't trust him kicking from that range if the game is on the line.

 

[Deus Irae]

Don't have much confidence in the ghost eh ? You have to trust your kicker to make a 42 yarder when he has made a 50 yarder. It really should have been a safe call to wind the clock down and kick it in. Gostkowski missed it, it's as simple as that. Now we know that maybe we can't trust him kicking from that range if the game is on the line.

It's not about faith in the kicker. It's about moving the ball forward instead of backwards or sideways when you're looking at a non-chip shot and you've got plenty of time and downs.

 

[hodgey]

Don't have much confidence in the ghost eh ? You have to trust your kicker to make a 42 yarder when he has made a 50 yarder. It really should have been a safe call to wind the clock down and kick it in. Gostkowski missed it, it's as simple as that. Now we know that maybe we can't trust him kicking from that range if the game is on the line.

problem is there was a better option. Keep your offense rolling and either get a td or a closer FG opportunity. Its not like we we're on the 10 yard line where its a relatively sure kick. It was a freaking 43 yard FG attempt with the game on the line.

 

[The_Riddler]

Don't have much confidence in the ghost eh ? You have to trust your kicker to make a 42 yarder when he has made a 50 yarder. It really should have been a safe call to wind the clock down and kick it in. Gostkowski missed it, it's as simple as that. Now we know that maybe we can't trust him kicking from that range if the game is on the line.

Ghost can make 60 yarders when it doesn't matter. It's the pressure kicks you worry about and for him you want to get the ball AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE, when the damn game is on the line. BB decided that he didn't want to do that and it was costly.

Again, let this be a lesson learned and we move forward and never make this same damn mistake again.

 

[condon84]

It just told us that they were not confident in our offense ability to gain positive yards vs negative yards or have a turnover at that point.

 

[juny]

i don't think i have ever seen a team "settle" for a 40+ yd FG. you see teams centering the ball for chip shots. mind boggling series.