PatsFaninAZ
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Haven't seen this discussed yet; my apologies if it has been.
Caldwell made a huge mistake on the Patriot's final drive by stepping out of bounds on the first play. It was great to have the yardage there, but the reality is that 40 seconds is way more valuable there than the yardage. The Bears would have needed to use their second time out there or let 40 seconds go off the clock, which means that one more first down at that point would have effectively ended the game. In fact, if Reche just sits down, slides or takes a knee after the catch, Dillon probably is never even in position to make that fumble.
Anyway, he made it up for big time a few plays later with a good grab. Still, he's a five year vet. Over the past few years, the Patriots have won a lot of games with heads up plays. I notice that he didn't make the same mistake twice, and I guess that's the most you can ask for. Bottom line, though, is that with the parity in the NFL, that is exactly the kind of stuff during the regular season that often is overlooked but, it turns out, is the difference between winning and losing -- between making the playoffs and not or between getting a bye or home field advantage and not.
Otherwise, great game. Brady's drive was simply a championship drive and the reason this guy is great. The team had every reason to collapse after those penalties or the turnovers, but the hung in there and made the plays when they needed to against a great team.
What did people think of Lovey Smith's decision to go for three points with 4 minutes to play? I thought it was exactly the right call. It was a close call, but I think when you look at all the scenarios that could have played out, it was the decision at that time that gave his team the best chance to win the game, even though at first blush going for it on 4th down is the play that more coaches probably would have gone with. I think he and the Bears are going to be a force to be reckoned with over the next few years. The one weird thing about the play, though, was that if he was going to go for 3 points, he should have the field goal team ready to go before the play in case they didn't make it. The came a second away from taking a delay penalty on the kick, and lost many valuable seconds of the game clock getting the FG team on the field.
Caldwell made a huge mistake on the Patriot's final drive by stepping out of bounds on the first play. It was great to have the yardage there, but the reality is that 40 seconds is way more valuable there than the yardage. The Bears would have needed to use their second time out there or let 40 seconds go off the clock, which means that one more first down at that point would have effectively ended the game. In fact, if Reche just sits down, slides or takes a knee after the catch, Dillon probably is never even in position to make that fumble.
Anyway, he made it up for big time a few plays later with a good grab. Still, he's a five year vet. Over the past few years, the Patriots have won a lot of games with heads up plays. I notice that he didn't make the same mistake twice, and I guess that's the most you can ask for. Bottom line, though, is that with the parity in the NFL, that is exactly the kind of stuff during the regular season that often is overlooked but, it turns out, is the difference between winning and losing -- between making the playoffs and not or between getting a bye or home field advantage and not.
Otherwise, great game. Brady's drive was simply a championship drive and the reason this guy is great. The team had every reason to collapse after those penalties or the turnovers, but the hung in there and made the plays when they needed to against a great team.
What did people think of Lovey Smith's decision to go for three points with 4 minutes to play? I thought it was exactly the right call. It was a close call, but I think when you look at all the scenarios that could have played out, it was the decision at that time that gave his team the best chance to win the game, even though at first blush going for it on 4th down is the play that more coaches probably would have gone with. I think he and the Bears are going to be a force to be reckoned with over the next few years. The one weird thing about the play, though, was that if he was going to go for 3 points, he should have the field goal team ready to go before the play in case they didn't make it. The came a second away from taking a delay penalty on the kick, and lost many valuable seconds of the game clock getting the FG team on the field.