Many of the instances where fans complain about McDermott NOT going for it are when the analytics say not to go for it. Fans don't have those numbers in front of them, so they don't know. There are plenty of times where the analytics say to kick the field goal or to punt it. Analytics don't say to go for it on 4th down ALL the time. Even when it is 4th and short. Fans need to remember that. Sometimes the correct thing to do, analytically, is the conservative choice.