U Kan Koach in the NFL (.com)!
Saturday, January 24, 2009 16:31
This may shock you.
I think most NFL coaches deserve to be fired.
This may sound like a Monday morning quarterback rant on steroids, but week in and week out I am amazed by some of the mistakes they make.
I have no problem with a coach who has a losing record. That is not grounds for firing. And I appreciate that NFL coaches have a monumental job keeping a group of athletes focused, motivated to destroy their bodies, and on occasion out of jail.
I simply cannot believe they can make such blunders with clock management.
You get paid millions of dollars to win a football game. Quite often this comes down to running out the clock, or getting a field goal team on for a kick. It seems like every week I watch a coach blow this. (And I don’t even watch a lot of games)
Just last week, we saw the Steelers miss an opportunity to get a field goal before the end of the first half. I’m not sure who made that call to throw to the middle of the field, but if Baltimore didn’t get that stupid penalty on their last punt return (starting them at the 15 instead of the 40) and avoid that game breaking interception, that game could easily have ended 17-16 Ravens. Mike Tomlin would have had a long off season thinking about not getting that field goal.
What about Ken Whisenhunt trying to run out the clock at the end of their victory against the Eagles? He runs three plays. On the first one, Warner nearly trips and fumbles on the hand off. They don’t get the first down and end up punting with a few seconds left.
I believe it wasn’t even necessary.
Instead, have Warner go back and just wait a few seconds before kneeling down. Hell, have him run backwards ten yards three times. It would have successfully run out the clock without them ever needing to punt. That is a lot less risk than a long snap, a punt, and the possibility of a penalty on a Hail Mary.
Okay, one more.
The week before, the coach of the Titans (vs. the Ravens) didn’t use one of his timeouts early enough. He could have saved 40 seconds by calling the time out while the Ravens had the ball, instead of saving maybe 10 seconds calling it while he had the ball on his last series. Would those 30 seconds have gotten them down the field? Who knows, but you’ve had your team busting their butts all game, and as a coach you deserve to give them every chance to win. I’m amazed how often coaches don’t.
I realize it might be a little easier for me sitting back on my sofa to make these assessments. The coach is trying to get a lot of things done. It’s tough. Sometimes you have a wide receiver screaming in your ear about something or other. Maybe you’re thinking about how you’re going to dodge the Gatorade shower (haven’t we had enough of these?). This does make it difficult to multiply the number of downs by 40 seconds (plus the number of seconds you can spend per play).
So, rather than complain further, I’ve decided it’s time to do something about this. I’m going to market a little device coaches can attach to their wrists. You enter the amount of time left, the number of timeouts your opponents have, and your field position, and it will tell you the best way to run out the clock. It even takes into account the 2 minute warning! (We consulted a rocket scientist for this one.)
You can order one now for $19.95 at http://www.ukankoachinthenfl.com . Act now and we’ll throw in free the “Challenge Flag Cost Benefit analysis software.”
Not a bad investment to save your million dollar a year coaching job in my opinion.
ukankoachinthenfl.com gear is copyright/trademark Allan Gross 2009. All rights reserved.
P.S. If you went to the website, then you really can be a coach in the NFL.
3 Responses to “U Kan Koach in the NFL (.com)!”
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Nate Barlow
says:
January 24th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Ha! It is amazing how many bonehead decisions the supposedly good coaches make, let alone the bad.
Buy that URL while you still can!
Gairzo
says:
January 25th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Let me advocate the devil in the details…
On Tomlin not getting the field goal at the end of the 1st half: The call was sound. 2nd and ten from the 21. The plan was to try and get Moore in the middle in open space. If it wasn't there he was to immediately go down so Ben would have time to spike it on third down.
Moore made a bonehead decision–even though he was trying to make a play.
Cowher, Tomlin, Arians, have all begged Ben to take a sack or throw the ball away when a play breaks down. His escapeability and creativity are what make Ben Big. These are gifted people with egos to match. Does a smart coach want to take the gambler out of Rothlisberger, or the sel-confidence of a half back who believes he can break a game open?
Tomlin’s strategy was valid. Players didn’t execute properly.
On Whisenhut…
“Instead, have Warner go back and just wait a few seconds before kneeling down. Hell, have him run backwards ten yards three times. It would have successfully run out the clock without them ever needing to punt. That is a lot less risk than a long snap, a punt, and the possibility of a penalty on a Hail Mary.”
And if that’s on film your going to see a frustrated or even a very quick linebacker destroy your quarterback and take the fine. Or worse, you’ll see a Brian Dawkins jump the snap count and meet Warner while he runs backwards three times, and maybe cause a fumble.
I think those two strategies might work exactly once, then you put your quarterback—and whatever lead you might have—in danger.
Whisenhut’s strategy factored in a seven-point lead. Meaning, even in the worse case scenario, he’s looking at a tie game and overtime. If it were a three point lead, his response would have been different. Also, let’s say he employed your tactics and it backfired even a little bit, a penalty, a sack. What message does that send to your defense?.
A coach has to show his palayers he believes they can accomplish a rushed punt, and/or stop a 70 yard drive with 35 seconds left when your opponent has no timeouts.
Your hypothetical strategy probably would have worked, but so did Whis’. He went with the percentages and won the game.
On Fisher not calling “one of his timeouts early enough. He could have saved 40 seconds by calling the time out while the Ravens had the ball, instead of saving maybe 10 seconds calling it while he had the ball on his last series.”
This debate has been raging for decades..
It boils down to the difference between having a :45 to 1:15 with one time-out left versus having 1:15 to 1:45 on the clock with no time outs.
In the 1st scenario you save one spike that could waste a potentially pivotal third down. (Now it’s third and 8 with :50 left, you call time-out, call two plays on the sideline and go from there.)
In the second scenario it’s third and eight with 1:20 an you have to rush your people to the line, call the play and go from there. A competent and well-coached offense should be able to handle either task.
Fisher’s decision was based on his faith in Collin’s ability to manage the end game and that game’s circumstances—he wanted to have the time-out in hand for the pass over the middle with say :08 left that would set Baronis up for a long field goal (he has great range.)
If in that situation, if you’ve got a rifle armed Jay Cutler or a mobile McNabb—or a weak-leggged kicker like Stover–maybe you say screw the time-outs and stick to the sideline routes.
When your throwin’ the ball with Ray Lewis in your grill and Ed Reed waiting to pick you off, either strategy is iffy.
Bottom line: a lot of these game management problems are the direct result of poor player execution or stem from mistakes or poor play much earlier in the game. Tennessee turned the ball over five times deep in Baltimore territory. If they would have scored just two field goals, the game would have been theirs..
Philadelphia stages the greatest comeback in NFC Championship history, then lets Arizona drive 90 yards for the win.
Coaches can only tell players what to do, in the end they have to make plays.
Allan
says:
January 26th, 2009 at 2:00 am
I will partially agree. You can't always control the players. God knows coaches must pull their hair out when they can't snap the ball in time to aovid a penalty! (McNair was atrocious) But this year I was pleasantly surprised when Flacco dropped back, waited a few seconds before kneeling down and effectively killed the clock rather than necessitating a punt. No one smashed him. No problem. And after watching Billick make boneheaded moves for years I was happy. But I don't think it's a question of worrying about the egos of the defense. I do think you're right that "well coached" offenses should be able to handle the situation. I also think that too many times they spike the ball when it isn't necessary (like to set up a kick). You'd think if they were better coached they could call a play. I realize there are other factors that they may be considering (changing personnel, not wanting to get a penalty), but many times they regret losing that down. You'd think they could have a play called as they run up there. Or at least once in a while pull the old fake spike play perhaps? I believe Marino scored a TD on that once, right?