Einstein

That would have been extremely risky on Houston’s part (to run a play and spike). And it would have to be a 10 yard play (to make all else equal). That would take some balls. I’m not sure they try that.

Circus catch? Come on… I get it - you’re one of the posters who thinks players shouldn’t be expected to catch a pass unless it drills them between the numbers of their jersey. I am the complete opposite. This is the NFL. If a ball hits your hands, you catch it. Period. No if’s, ands, or butts. There are players all over the league making *actual* circus catches. The fact that our fans consider a routine over the shoulder pass that hits the receiver in both, a “circus catch” is laughable. And pathetic. Just catch the damn ball!

No, I don’t think so. Im also in the minority that thinks Josh played fine today. Yes, his stats will show a poor performance, but that is without context. 1) He was pressured on nearly 80% of his drop backs in the first half. That is absurd. It’s mind boggling. It’s insane. 2) We had 4 receiver drops in the first half, including a dropped TD. 3) None of his receiving options were getting separation. 4) Brady was awful. Enough with the WR screens. It’s our only hot route and teams have figured it out. Any QB is going to start to press when his line is a sieve, his receivers aren’t catching, no-one is getting separation, and his coach sers him up for failure. Allen didn’t fail the team today - the team failed him. And that’s not the same thing as saying he didn’t play below average. What it means is that he played below average due to circumstances beyond his shoulder pads.

This is true. They would have had 1 play and a kick regardless. But with these caveats: 1) That one play would have been without a timeout, meaning that they wouldn’t have been able to use the middle of the field. No team is risking a spike with 11 seconds left. The game clock could easily run out. They would have had to play the sideline game, which NFL defenses defend in that situation. 2) That one play would have been from 5 or so yards deeper, meaning they would have had to gain 10 or so yards to kick the same length field goal. Yeah… The whole team knows it was the wrong decision. McD knows too. The only folks who don’t know are a few posters on this forum that are holding on to a bad decision.

The point of the sneak isn’t to remove time. Thats irrelevant. It’s to give you breathing room to run plays without being in your endzone. And it burns a defensive timeout. McDermott knows he screwed up. He’ll learn from it.

Oh I agree with you. Sucky situation all around.

Typically you QB sneak on first down. That gets you a yard or two, which gives you breathing room.

This is a legitimate alternative to run 3 times. Run twice, burn two timeouts, then let Josh either pass to an open guy, or scramble for the first. Passing all 3 times removes any chance of a 3rd down scramble because of the angle of pressure in the endzone. If its 3rd and 5 or 6 though? Different story.

It’s also hard to stop him from blocking when the line is a sieve.

I would be shocked if they did this. 11 seconds is about the cut-off for running a play and getting a spike off. And they would have needed to get 10 yards on that play to make things equal. Thankfully, McDermott all but just admitted at the press conference that it was a mistake so I don’t think we see it again.

For all those defending this decision, I hope you enjoy it - because I don’t think you’ll ever see it done again. I think McDermott knows he made a mistake and I don’t think he would ever do it again.

He is on pace for 10 total receptions this year. Thoughts on his usage in Brady’s system of small ball?

Preach! so.. many… people … they just don’t understand this concept. This thread is essentially an IQ test of the members of this forum.

I don’t think you understand how defenses play in this situation. They guard the sidelines. They force you to throw the ball to the middle of the field, where time runs out.

By this logic, any decision that results in a loss, was the right decision. If Josh took the ball and purposefully ran out of the back of the endzone, creating a safety and losing the game, that’s the “right” decision just because the outcome is the same (a loss)? No.

A lot of people are missing this. Passing brings with it so much risk. Bingo.

Actually it does. Getting a first down guarantees overtime, but comes with considerable risk if you don’t get the first down. Running gives you the best chance of getting to OT without the risk of throwing to get a first down. Yes it was. Actually throwing deep was the only thing that gave us a fighting chance. The deeper passes is what took an extra second or two off the clock (which is Gunner’s point). Short passes are essentially a run.

An excellent point that I hadn’t considered yet. From every angle, it was a terrible decision.

I have the actual time stamps (from the frame rate). They were as I said. But you’re going off the game clock - not the timestamps - which makes sense. Regardless, the point is still the same. Our run plays were taking between 4-6 seconds on average. Which is exactly what our passes took on that drive. The extra 2-3 seconds they may have received still would not have been enough time, with no timeouts, to get into field goal range.

First pass play: 4 seconds Third pass play: 4.5 seconds It was just the one pass that took longer than normal. I just went back to our previous drive. Our average rush plays, from snap to whistle, were between 4 and 6 seconds. Even if they have 3 or 4 more seconds, it’s not enough time. They would have to snap the ball, run a play, rush to the line, spike the ball, in 11 seconds. And it would have to be a 10+ yard completion to equalize what they got from what we did. And I have no problem going for a first down. But you HAVE to run twice on first and second down, make them take the timeouts, then on third down you pass, but only if someone is wide open, otherwise tell Josh to uncork it deep. If was absolutely brutal coaching.

Bingo! Even if you’re going to pass, run the first two downs and set up a 3rd and short. Then you can even run a play action and perhaps open up a big play.

Maybe it would have. We honestly don’t know - because angles change the further back you kick. Bur even if it was good from 63, then you tip your hat and say good kick. At least you made it harder on him. You don’t defend stupid coaching just because making it harder on them, may or may not have mattered.

I actually like McD. We can do a lot worse. But let’s call a spade a spade… regardless of his security with the team.

If we assume Cook just gets 1.5 yards per carry. Thats 5 yards. Plus they wouldn’t have had the 5 yards they got on the last second play. So you’re 10 yards back. They need 10 yards, with no timeouts, and not enough time to run a play and spike the ball. There only chance would be to throw a 10+ yard out. And that only works if the coaches are stupid enough to not defend the sidelines. There is no defending this. It was stupid.

Well, duh? You don’t make coaching decisions based on no detail or foresight. You make decisions based on the math and probability of what could happen. Then you’re as wrong as the coaches. It’s that simple. You mean when he got hit as he was throwing it?