haven't seen this talked about, but

[eball]

at the time, i completely agreed w/ mularkey's decision to attempt the short FG. it was a "safe" coaching move and was the "right" call to make. it's a chip shot FG and if good, you force pitt's backups to score a TD against your "premiere" defense and a hostile crowd.

 

realizing that hindsight is 20/20, now i'm not so sure. an aggressive, we're-playing-to-win-this-thing-here-and-now mentality would have said go for 4th and 1 and give the ball to your stud. i mean, c'mon -- if you can't get a yard against backups when you're fighting for your playoff lives, do you really deserve to be there?

 

i know starting this thread isn't very productive, because i do believe if lindell makes the FG the bills win. but i think it goes to show how fine the line is between winning and losing, and that blame for this loss can be spread throughout the entire organization, including coaches. no one player should shoulder the entire load.

 

that said, i'm hoping lindell finds a new home next season and losman proves himself worthy of a 1st-round selection.

[nick in* england]

Totally agree - inside the Maroon Zone with the season on the line at home we absolutely should not have tried to kick there. We should have lined up heavy and pounded the fricken ball behing Big Mike Williams and Damion Shelton...

[gmac17]

up by one with a chip shot field goal which would put you up by four against a 3rd string qb. it was the right call.

[RuntheDamnBall]

up by one with a chip shot field goal which would put you up by four against a 3rd string qb. it was the right call.

190217[/snapback]

A right call without balls on home turf. If there were a momentum-meter, it would have swung all the way in the Steelers' direction with that call. We should have gone for it. We will in that situation next year.

 

Edit: the only way that proves to really be the right call is that it proved what Lindell is (not) made of, and secures his release.

[BuckeyeBill]

I said on 2nd down, and definitely 3rd down... if they don't get it... you go for the fieldgoal.

 

But with Lindell... and how he is the opposite of a clutch kicker. Maybe it wasn't the good choice.

 

If we put ANYONE in there to kick the fieldgoal (besides Cryin' Lindell) we win the game, if we go for it on 4th down, we make it and win the game.

 

100% of the blame falls on Mr. Lindell.

 

Please get rid of him TD.

[gantrules]

The key is that the Pitt D was the 2nd & 3rd string D. This O that has been putting up an average of 33 points per game should be able to eek out one yard, No?

 

 

At the same time Lindell should have been able to hit that FG.

[RkFast]

If that idiot Lindell makes the kick, it puts the Bills up by 4. It was a perfectly acceptable move to make, unless of course youre playing Madden 05. Which it seems a lot of folks here are. See, when youre dealing in REALITY...making the correct "safe" move usually trumps the need to pull your dick out and go "balls out" to satisfy some silly ego thing.

[gantrules]

If that idiot Lindell makes the kick, it puts the Bills up by 4. It was a perfectly acceptable move to make, unless of course youre playing Madden 05. Which it seems a lot of folks here are. See, when youre dealing in REALITY...making the correct "safe" move usually trumps the need to pull your dick out and go "balls out" to satisfy some silly ego thing.

190312[/snapback]

 

 

I agree with you. But, at the same time we should be able to get one yard against a 2nd string D.

 

That's all.

[ganesh]

Totally agree - inside the Maroon Zone with the season on the line at home we absolutely should not have tried to kick there. We should have lined up heavy and pounded the fricken ball behing Big Mike Williams and Damion Shelton...

190112[/snapback]

What is disappointing is this guy (Lindell) talked about getting a chance to

shine for the bills, when the game is on the line, just a few days before the

game and the guy choked...

[RuntheDamnBall]

If that idiot Lindell makes the kick, it puts the Bills up by 4. It was a perfectly acceptable move to make, unless of course youre playing Madden 05. Which it seems a lot of folks here are. See, when youre dealing in REALITY...making the correct "safe" move usually trumps the need to pull your dick out and go "balls out" to satisfy some silly ego thing.

190312[/snapback]

It's not a "dick out, balls out" thing. It's about believing in your team's ability to do it, as gantrules has pointed out, against 2nd and 3rd stringers. It cuts both ways. I think it's pretty safe to say that Lindell's percentage in the clutch isn't much better than the offense on 4th down.

 

At home, with the momentum, you go for the kill, especially if your kicker is a liability you've been trying to mask all year. It has nothing to do with Madden.

[eSJayDee]

The thing you're failing to consider in your equation, is how likely is a better outcome than a chip shot FG attempt? This takes into consideration how likely our poor offense is against a great Dee. It's 4th & almost 2. What's your probablity of converting? For us, I'd say maybe 50-50. Let's say we do convert, there's probably only about a 50-50 chance we score a TD. So you have perhaps a 25% chance of improving your outcome (granted a failed attempt likely yields better field position than the resulting KO.) relative to better than 90% of getting the 'automatic' 3 pts. (If MM thinks it's less than 90%, Lindell should have already been replaced.)

Considering how much time was left, the 'certain' 3 was the more prudent decision.

[maddog]

The thing you're failing to consider in your equation, is how likely is a better outcome than a chip shot FG attempt?  This takes into consideration how likely our poor offense is against a great Dee.  It's 4th & almost 2.  What's your probablity of converting?  For us, I'd say maybe 50-50.  Let's say we do convert, there's probably only about a 50-50 chance we score a TD.  So you have perhaps a 25% chance of improving your outcome (granted a failed attempt likely yields better field position than the resulting KO.) relative to better than 90% of getting the 'automatic' 3 pts.  (If MM thinks it's less than 90%, Lindell should have already been replaced.)

Considering how much time was left, the 'certain' 3 was the more prudent decision.

190694[/snapback]

Right on. However, your thinking is waaaay too logical for most of the contributors to this board.

[Alaska Darin]

Totally agree - inside the Maroon Zone with the season on the line at home we absolutely should not have tried to kick there.

190112[/snapback]

[stevestojan]

Of course kicking it was the right decision.

 

you're up by one. You can go up by 4 with a GIMMEE field goal and then get to play their 8th string offense.

 

The problem? Lindell is a limp-ankled douche bag with no talent.

[rockpile]

i mean, c'mon -- if you can't get a yard against backups when you're fighting for your playoff lives, do you really deserve to be there?

190109[/snapback]

 

I feel your pain.

 

That said, if you cannot kick a chip shot FG and extend your lead against those same backups, do you really deserve to be there?

 

Realistically, I expected the Bills to lose, but not until NEXT week.

[Alaska Darin]

I can only imagine the reaction of this board if we had gone for it, not made it, and lost the game by 2. We'd have us a retard rebellion of epic proportions.

 

Unreal.

[maddog]

I can only imagine the reaction of this board if we had gone for it, not made it, and lost the game by 2.  We'd have us a retard rebellion of epic proportions.

 

Unreal.

190734[/snapback]

AD,

The board is getting out of control.

[rockpile]

I can only imagine the reaction of this board if we had gone for it, not made it, and lost the game by 2.  We'd have us a retard rebellion of epic proportions.

 

Unreal.

190734[/snapback]

 

At the same time, AFTER Lindell chokes, how can you not wish to turn back the clock and make that 4th and one a touchdown.

[Alaska Darin]

At the same time, AFTER Lindell chokes, how can you not wish to turn back the clock and make that 4th and one a touchdown. 

190767[/snapback]

IMMEDIATELY after the miss, the guy who has been sitting across from me says: "should have gone for it." He's a smart football guy but he got the same look you're getting now:

 

[LasBillz]

I didn't like the decision the minute they called for Lindell. Two and a half feet for a first down, against the second string D- c'mon. If I'm not mistaken, the Stillers were keeping in most of their starting OL, and they were starting to push us around before their last drive. So the decision was, our starting OL with momentum against their scrub D vs letting their starting OL back in the game.

 

Sure enough, they took it to us.

 

Next Bills drive, we move right down the field- to late.

 

I think Cowher was offering Mularkey a way to win- it's a shame he didn't take it.

[YOOOOOO]

LoL....you guys are silly.....

 

saying it was a bad call...

 

The same people saying he should of gone for it...would be saying "hit the FG, thats what smart coaches do"...if we did go for it and got stuffed...

 

The FG was the right call....put us up by 4, with Pitt 3rd string QB in and a practice squad RB...against our D who has been allowing FG's all day...C'mon its a no brainer....

 

 

Lindell missed it....then Bledsoe fumbled the ball away in our zone...MM aint no prophet and doesnt have the luxury of being a monday morning QB...

 

He made the right call and it back fired....

 

BOTTOM LINE

[MRW]

If it were up to fans, would teams ever kick field goals? I mean, come on, if you don't kick it in that situation, when would you?

[BB2004]

at the time, i completely agreed w/ mularkey's decision to attempt the short FG.  it was a "safe" coaching move and was the "right" call to make.  it's a chip shot FG and if good, you force pitt's backups to score a TD against your "premiere" defense and a hostile crowd.

 

realizing that hindsight is 20/20, now i'm not so sure.  an aggressive, we're-playing-to-win-this-thing-here-and-now mentality would have said go for 4th and 1 and give the ball to your stud.  i mean, c'mon -- if you can't get a yard against backups when you're fighting for your playoff lives, do you really deserve to be there?

 

i know starting this thread isn't very productive, because i do believe if lindell makes the FG the bills win.  but i think it goes to show how fine the line is between winning and losing, and that blame for this loss can be spread throughout the entire organization, including coaches.  no one player should shoulder the entire load.

 

that said, i'm hoping lindell finds a new home next season and losman proves himself worthy of a 1st-round selection.

190109[/snapback]

 

It was a no brainer at the time. It was a chip shot, a 28 yard field goal. It made a huge difference at the time. That miss was unacceptable.

[Dan]

The decision to kick wasn't bad. It's the safe thing to do. However, I think that was the flaw in the entire gameplan. We won 6 in a row by not being safe - we took chances, threw a few long passes, blitzed like crazy, ran trick plays. Where was all that yesterday? In my opinion, the game plan was too vanilla, too safe from the start.

 

Am I wrong, but from my living room we looked flat and uninspired. It just didn't look like the sameteam that I had seen the last few weeks.

[Rico]

I think it was the right call.

Not only did I not see Lindell missing ,

but the way our D opened the 2nd half,

no way does the scrub RB rip off that huge run.

[KD in CA]

I can't believe people are actually arguing this point. There was no decision at all, it was obviously a kicking situation. And it's not about 'we should be able to get one yard', it's about playing smart to win the game. Lindell was 71 out of 78 from inside 30 yards in his career and has to be counted on to make the kick. Besides, It wasn't like McGahee and Co. were running roughshod over the Pittsburg D all game long. He was stuffed for no gain about half a dozen times during the game.

[Boatdrinks]

If that idiot Lindell makes the kick, it puts the Bills up by 4. It was a perfectly acceptable move to make, unless of course youre playing Madden 05. Which it seems a lot of folks here are. See, when youre dealing in REALITY...making the correct "safe" move usually trumps the need to pull your dick out and go "balls out" to satisfy some silly ego thing.

190312[/snapback]

This was not a sily "EGO" thing. Part of coaching is knowing your personel and feeling the "momentum" of the game. That drive was the first sign of life our O had since the opening drive and we had not been confident at that point. Even if we did not convert the 4th down, it still would have been a show of confidence and faith in the O and not nearly as deflating as a missed kick. Lindell had been good from that range, but don't you STILL get that quaesy feeling every time he lines up for a FG try? I do and this coaching staff MUST or they would try a long FG once in a while. Sometimes the safe play and percentages are NOT what your team needs. We needed to take a chance and finish that drive or throw the D back out there and say go get 'em. Our D looked like they were still contemplating that miss on Parkers 50 something yard jaunt.