Kicking the 56 yard FG vs going for it on 4th and 3

[Hammer of Thor]

Plenty of distance, about a 1/4 of the way up… let’s argue about it though.

You need to get your eyes checked. It struck about 3-4 feet above the crossbar, where the entire upright is 35 feet.

Plenty of distance was essentially just enough distance. If it was completely straight, it would have been good from about 58 feet and no more.

 

[Wozzy]

In the least surprising take of the day, you’re okay with the decision. It was a terrible decision. Even if Folk bailed him out, it still would have been a terrible decision. And that’s without even considering the fact that you’re giving Brady the ball back with plenty of time and two timeouts. Your QB just completed 19 in a row against a badly depleted secondary. Put the game in his hands and trust him to move you closer to ice the game.

Arians was asked if he was surprised to see Folk out there attempting the kick, he said he saw him drill a 60 yarder through the same goal in warmups pregame. Again, if he makes it the decision is smart, if not Bill sucks at his job. In the least surprising take of the day Bill always sucks at his job according to you… so yesterday was no different.

 

[yukon cornelius]

56 seconds with 2 timeouts is a lot of time. With one of the all time greatest 2 minute drill QBs. He gets them down the field. No question about it.mo

the same guy who sailed multiple passes all night every time the rain picked up? that guy?

no guarantees on anything happening.......no guarantees on the FG, no guarantees on picking up 4th down when they were 2 of 9 on conversions all night, no guarantees the bucs march down the field in that weather.....

honestly i was ok with the FG call, i would have been ok with going for it......the odds of either happening were not great, and the effort that was made was solid.......**** happens, there were a lot more instances earlier in the game where plays were left on the field to lose sleep over this one

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Not to go off topic but I have to say

Mac may have gone "toe to toe" with brady, but that throw brady made to Antonio Brown in the endzone from 40 yards out which Brown dropped (Which would have sealed the win)...was by far the best throw of the night. It's also a difficulty level throw I've never seen Mac Jones even come close to attempting.

Agree, but 1) Jones has never had the time Brady had on that particular play, and 2) Jones doesn’t have a burner like Brown, Agholor is the closest and not in Brown’s class. One thing I realized last night was that Brown really does still have the speed and quickness despite the wasted year and a half in his prime.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Actually 4th and 2 in Indy isn't the right comparison. I think 4th and 13 in the Super Bowl is. Not trusting your rookie to get it done (in that case, your rookie kicker) like they're too fragile emotionally to deal with failure if they don't make it.

The message he sent was he'd rather give the GOAT one last crack at it then see his rookie QB deal with pressure and potential failure. I don't get that logic.

Great Post. Small correction, Ghost was a 2nd year player. Not Rookie. But point still stands. BB needs to take these training wheels off and play to win, not play to tie

 

[Wozzy]

You need to get your eyes checked. It struck about 3-4 feet above the crossbar, where the entire upright is 35 feet.

Plenty of distance was essentially just enough distance. If it was completely straight, it would have been good from about 58 feet and no more.

So he hit it… so distance wasn’t the issue… one inch to the right and he’s the hero. They didn’t play well enough to win on offense, they need to play better so games don’t come down to impossible decisions.

 

[sb1]

Great Post. Small correction, Ghost was a 2nd year player. Not Rookie. But point still stands. BB needs to take these training wheels off and play to win, not play to tie

My bad you're right. Second year player. Got the season of Adam's departure mixed up.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Agree, but 1) Jones has never had the time Brady had on that particular play, and 2) Jones doesn’t have a burner like Brown, Agholor is the closest and not in Brown’s class. One thing I realized last night was that Brown really does still have the speed and quickness despite the wasted year and a half in his prime.

"Not in Brown's class"

Agreed. Just curious tho, how much is Antonio Brown getting paid this year? Agolor is getting paid 13 million this year. Think he's worth that kind of money? I haven't seen any game changing plays from him yet. Bad Contract so far.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

So he hit it… so distance wasn’t the issue… one inch to the right and he’s the hero. They didn’t play well enough to win on offense, they need to play better so games don’t come down to impossible decisions.

He's the hero? Even when Brady marches downfield for the game winning kick on the next series?

 

[NG Pats Fan]

My bad you're right. Second year player. Got the season of Adam's departure mixed up.

No worries dawg. You showed your impressive football knowledge by remembering that play. A lot of posters here wouldn't have remembered that sequence. Still drives me crazy

 

[condon84]

I thought we would go for it. I hated the idea of Folk going for his personal best in such a condition.

I did hear that Folk was kicking 60 yard FGs pre-game so maybe Belichick thought that was better odds. He certainly had the leg for that distance.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

I thought we would go for it. I hated the idea of Folk going for his personal best in such a condition.

I did hear that Folk was kicking 60 yard FGs pre-game so maybe Belichick thought that was better odds. He certainly had the leg for that distance.

"Pre game" light drizzle of rain

"The moment": Heavy rain, near torrential downpour

 

[Kontradiction]

Arians was asked if he was surprised to see Folk out there attempting the kick, he said he saw him drill a 60 yarder through the same goal in warmups pregame. Again, if he makes it the decision is smart, if not Bill sucks at his job. In the least surprising take of the day Bill always sucks at his job according to you… so yesterday was no different.

What’s funny is I was complimentary of the coaching and the game planning all throughout the game day thread. In the X’s and O’s thread which you, shockingly (sarcasm here), didn’t participate in, a lot of us correctly called some of the looks we’d throw at Brady. I was complimentary there as well. Maybe if you were to dislodge your head from between Bill’s ample ass cheeks from time to time, you’d have seen that.

The call was a terrible one. It would have been a terrible call even if Folk had bailed him out. It would have been a terrible call even if Folk bailed him out and the Bucs somehow didn’t get into FG range with two timeouts like we’ve seen Brady do a million times. Your QB just tied a franchise record for consecutive completions while playing a defense without its top rusher and a massively depleted secondary. Put the ball in his hands, get closer, force them to use timeouts, and get your gimpy kicker within range to ice the game. I know you enjoy being a fart sniffer and nothing does it for you more than taking a big, ol’ whiff of one, but Bill has made some bad in-game decisions from time to time. This was one of them because it was based purely on analytics instead of the feel of the game and the situation.

 

[ensoul]

damned if you do, damned if you don't

If Bill had gone for it on 4th down and not made it, all the Monday morning QB's that are criticizing his decision to try the field goal today would be criticizing his decision to not try a field goal.

I'm just not seeing that. I think people would understand why BB didn't want to try and kick a 56 yard field goal in bad weather, with a kicker who's injured and was never noted for having a big leg.

 

[Kontradiction]

I thought we would go for it. I hated the idea of Folk going for his personal best in such a condition.

I did hear that Folk was kicking 60 yard FGs pre-game so maybe Belichick thought that was better odds. He certainly had the leg for that distance.

The issue with the warm-up argument is that you’re not facing a block unit on the other side in warm-ups. You were right to hate it.

 

[Wozzy]

He's the hero? Even when Brady marches downfield for the game winning kick on the next series?

That wasn’t a given considering the time on the clock, rain and the way the defense was playing.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

I remember in 2009 Dallas vs Buffalo, Folk made a 55 yarder but they iced him a split second before. He had to kick it again, and he made it. That was his career long, and that was over a decade ago when he wasn't older, injured (plant foot), and kicking in a very heavy rain

Mac is being protected. He completed 19 in a row! Let him go for it

 

[NG Pats Fan]

That wasn’t a given considering the time on the clock, rain and the way the defense was playing.

Plenty of time on the clock.

"Rain" which makes kicking a long field goal that much tougher

"the way the defense was playing" Brady drove them downfield effortlessly on halftime 2 min drill. Would have been the same deal. Tom is the most clutch athlete in sports history

 

[ensoul]

The issue with the warm-up argument is that you’re not facing a block unit on the other side in warm-ups. You were right to hate it.

Couldn't agree more. 60 yd is impressive anyway you look at it so I shouldn't be downplaying it that much but the reality is there's no defense and zero pressure in warmups.

I guess it's like missing a bunch of shots in a basketball game then someone turning around and saying well when he was shooting around before the game he hit 10 shots in a row.

 

[Wozzy]

Plenty of time on the clock.

"Rain" which makes kicking a long field goal that much tougher

"the way the defense was playing" Brady drove them downfield effortlessly on halftime 2 min drill. Would have been the same deal. Tom is the most clutch athlete in sports history

Less than a minute, or what they had on the clock in the Super Bowl back in 2011 when Tom failed to make it to midfield in a dome… yeah, it was a given. #fanboys