- What was the point of wasting a timeout at the end of regulation time, when the clock was already stopped.
- Why did he go for a blocked punt formation and not keep a punt returner? It's hard to block a punt when the blockers already know it. With a good return and a timeout we could have atleast tried a 50 yard FG with the best kicker in the game.
- Why did he chose to kick the ball in OT? His answer is "It's best for the team". WTF does that mean? It clearly isn't. The Pats couldn't stop the Jets for most of the game and he suddenly realized he could stop them? You get the ball and try to score. The defense then knows what it needs to do.
- Why was there no urgency at the end of the half when we had over a minute left? I understand that we were banged up, but with this banged up team we wouldn't have scored at the start of the 2nd half either. What's the point of playing if you are not confident in your team. Just take out Brady, Gronk and all the starters and put in the 2nd stringers.
I find it irritating that Bill never (or atleast I've never heard him say) says "I made a mistake with that call". It's always "What's best for the team", when clearly it's not the case in some situations. I'm no coach and I'm criticizing a 6 time SB champion coach, but just because he has won 6 superbowls doesn't mean that every decision he makes is the right one.
\end rant
1. Because timeouts are not only used to stop the clock. I don't know why people always forget that. It could be to fix a mistake before it happens, or make a substitution, or change a play based on what they see on the field. So what if the clock is stopped? If you see something wrong and want to take another timeout, so be it.
Taking a timeout on a dead ball is not automatically a poor coaching decision. Only Madden players think like that.
2. To get into that range, we'd probably need a 40+ yard return. There have only been about 20 of them so far this season combined. True, that is more than the 10 punt blocks, but remember, the majority of punts are set up for returns, not punt blocks. The actual success of punt blocks is something that is elusive to find in numbers, but it's not by chance BB went for it there.
3. I didn't like the call either. But FWIW, if they don't call PI on Butler on 3rd down, we get the ball back around our 30 with a chance to win the game with a FG. The stats support getting the ball first. The receiving team wins 54% of the time in some mathematical models. For those of you who don't believe in that ****, it's also worth noting that since 2012, the receiving team has won 33 games, the kicking team has won 32 games (excluding ties).
Then again, if you're upset about BB kicking off, I am sure I can find another thread from you complaining about the same thing when he did the exact same thing against Denver two years ago. Except we won.
4. I actually share this frustration. But the answer is pretty obvious. BB does not trust this offense. He's been pretty consistent throughout the season as injuries have mounted. Same thing happened in Denver with 2 minutes to go and all 3 timeouts. We can go back and forth as to whether he should be more aggressive in this situation or not, but the answer is clear that there's a lack of trust in the O right now, and my guess would be in the OL holding up and not causing a free rusher to get a sack fumble.
As for BB and whether he says it's a mistake or not, who gives a ****?
BB always blames himself at the end of every loss regardless. It wasn't good enough, not the players, not the coaches, not anyone.
Whether he singles himself out or any individual decision is fodder for fans and the media to masturbate over while assigning blame. What if Slater ****ed up? What good does it do the team to point that out? What if BB regrets a call? What good does that do to the team to tell the media?
It does absolutely nothing good for the team to talk specifics. That's what the fans and media want to hear, but there's no real benefit to the team, so he doesn't do it. If you don't like it, too bad. I prefer he do what is best for the team, even if it leaves me to question a lot of stuff. They will ignore the noise, as they should.
