Overtime Decision to kick off and take wind, rather than receive and go on offense

juxtapoz15 said:

I thought the more controversial decision was when BB chose to accept the penalty in OT to make it 3rd and 14 versus 4th and 1. He would have taken plenty of heat if Peyton would have converted on 3rd down.

Click to expand...

Given the way Moreno was running and also considering the wind, I thought it was easier to defend the 3rd and 14 than the 4th and 1.

I was there is was WINDY. I think electing to receive and take benefit of the wind is a big part of why we won, Prater was doing practice kicks into the wind and they were stalling and almost stopping completely mid-air

The Scrizz said:

I was calling for taking the wind. You're talking about a minimum 10 yard swing in FG distance giving the Pats much more field position flexibility.

Plus Peyton was throwing ducks.

Click to expand...

Before the OT kickoff Prater went out and was kicking from 40, barely reaching and 2 of 3 sailed wide right.
Thats when I felt the decision was sound.

NYCPatsFan said:

Given the way Moreno was running and also considering the wind, I thought it was easier to defend the 3rd and 14 than the 4th and 1.

Click to expand...

Not really because they were definitely going for it.

Another factor here, that I think merits consideration is if you take the kickoff and score 3, you put the other team in 4 down mode. It is much harder to stop a team in 4 down mode.

Uncle Rico said:

Apparently Marty Mornhinweg made the same call in 2007 (I believe to the day/same date). Totally backfired and he was vilified for it.

This site ranks it as the worst coaching decision in Lions history. And that's saying something.



We'll never know if BB would have made the same decision under the old OT rules.

Click to expand...

As you point out, Mornhinweg made the decision under the old rules. No way would have Belichick made that decision with true sudden death overtime. I think Belichick was willing to risk a field goal to give Brady the wind at his back. I don't think he would have done that if a field goal ended the game though.

I personally didn't like the call, but I see where Belichick was coming from on it. He said that he didn't feel Manning could get into the end zone and the wind gave the Pats their best chance to score. He was right about the first part.

I questioned the decision at the time. In fact, I was losing my mind a bit. However, BB's press conference really shed light on it. When asked about the decision, and without hesitation, BB emphasized with a pretty noticeable inflection that the wind was really bad out there. His decision was made ONLY with that in mind. There were no other strategic elements to it (or at least none that he will ever discuss publicly). Had that decision not paid off, man o man . . .

With that said, once again can we please acknowledge the greatness of Tom Brady?! The guy was incredible going into the wind. In fact, he put up better numbers going into the wind than he did with the wind at his back. He is the G.O.A.T. I don't care what anybody has to say about that.

I was a bit suprised by the decision, but I agreed with it right away. The Broncos were done, the wind was playing havoc on the game. It was a great move. I'm sure the defensive players loved it.

Too bad socalbong, just didn't wait long enough for our bet. Talked about this already a bit:
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...-didn-t-know-bb-genuis-page6.html#post3657053

By the way,this decision was a clear FU to Peyton Manning.
We could get the ball, but we are better off with you having it.

AndyJohnson said:

By the way,this decision was a clear FU to Peyton Manning.
We could get the ball, but we are better off with you having it.

Click to expand...

I love this perspective because the historical perspective of the 2009 "FOURTH AND TWO" game always gets tagged as "Belichick was SOOOO afraid of Peyton Manning that it made him make a completely unorthodox, foolish decision" instead of "Belichick made a calculated, gutsy decision that others are too afraid to make that just didn't work out".

BB is hands down the best. Did anyone recognize any different facial expressions from BB when the Pats were down 24-0 or to take the wind after winning the flip? What's freakin' funny was the commentary right before the toss. Collinsworth and Michaels were discussing if the Broncos coach would ever not take the ball due to the wind. Then the Pats won the flip. Quite honestly, it was a Madden moment.

Rob0729 said:

As you point out, Mornhinweg made the decision under the old rules. No way would have Belichick made that decision with true sudden death overtime. I think Belichick was willing to risk a field goal to give Brady the wind at his back. I don't think he would have done that if a field goal ended the game though.

I personally didn't like the call, but I see where Belichick was coming from on it. He said that he didn't feel Manning could get into the end zone and the wind gave the Pats their best chance to score. He was right about the first part.

Click to expand...

with the wind the Pats were punting more than 10 yards further than Denver, that's a 20 yard swing in field position.

juxtapoz15 said:

I thought the more controversial decision was when BB chose to accept the penalty in OT to make it 3rd and 14 versus 4th and 1. He would have taken plenty of heat if Peyton would have converted on 3rd down.

Click to expand...

Totally disagree. BB was brilliant for taking the penalty.

Had he not, the odds of Denver going for it on 4th and 1 were pretty darn high, and the odds of them MAKING it were just as high given how the D wasn't precisely a brick wall vs the run.

Taking the penalty was the right call, and probably won them the game.

AndyJohnson said:

By the way,this decision was a clear FU to Peyton Manning.
We could get the ball, but we are better off with you having it.

Click to expand...

brdmaverick said:

I love this perspective because the historical perspective of the 2009 "FOURTH AND TWO" game always gets tagged as "Belichick was SOOOO afraid of Peyton Manning that it made him make a completely unorthodox, foolish decision" instead of "Belichick made a calculated, gutsy decision that others are too afraid to make that just didn't work out".

Click to expand...

That historical perspective is interesting in two ways: First, as you both point out, this was a big message to Manning; IMO, Belichick's biggest snub of a QB since he traded Bledsoe to a team in his own division.

But also: I think the show of confidence is noteworthy. I remember Bruschi being livid about the 4th and 2 in '09, and how it told the D "I don't trust you." Also, didn't BB apologize to the team for that decision? I think it was in the "A Football Life."

Last night was the total opposite of '09 4th and 2. It was both "i'm not afarid of you Manning," and "I trust you defense."

IMO..way too much talk from the media today about BB being in Manning's head, BB dissing Manning, ect. IMO, the decision was all about the conditions and the odds are gaining a huge edge in field position because of the wind.
IF Denver gets a FG, Pats have have 4 downs instead of 3 to move the ball down the field..that's also a huge advantage.

SalemPats said:

I was a bit suprised by the decision, but I agreed with it right away. The Broncos were done, the wind was playing havoc on the game. It was a great move. I'm sure the defensive players loved it.

Click to expand...

Deep down, I think Manning was probably hoping that BB doesn't make that call. He wouldn't say it, but he knew he couldn't complete a pass downfield against that wind.

Props to the owners for finally changing the rules. I'd rather you couldn't win on a first possession touchdown but, I can live with it. This has made OT so much better. Hated seeing teams get a big play on first possession and kicking on 2nd down. I'm waiting for the day that somebody goes for it on 4th and goal.

Snarf said:

Totally disagree. BB was brilliant for taking the penalty.

Had he not, the odds of Denver going for it on 4th and 1 were pretty darn high, and the odds of them MAKING it were just as high given how the D wasn't precisely a brick wall vs the run.

Taking the penalty was the right call, and probably won them the game.

Click to expand...

Agreed, that one was a no brainer. There's no chance they stop Moreno on 4th and 1.

AndyJohnson said:

Another factor here, that I think merits consideration is if you take the kickoff and score 3, you put the other team in 4 down mode. It is much harder to stop a team in 4 down mode.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't be too sure of that. John Fox might still punt it