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A 4th down throw into the EZ is not a suitable substitute for a punt


AKC

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We’ve now heard it said many times that a 4th down play with a throw and pick in the end zone is “just like a punt”. This contradicts every coach who has taught his DBs to situationally knock the ball to the ground on 4th if there’s no clear lane to return past the 20. Just this past Sunday Allen throws a 4th down pick to DaShon Elliot in the EZ. For sake of example I’d use another division team- if Elliot had cost a Belichick team 15 yards with a blunder like that he’d probably be sitting for the rest of the game. The reality is you can’t count on the other side to be stupid. A punt in the same situation could easily yield an inside the 10 yard line starting point versus the 20 the Fish got on this play- a play they could have had the ball at the 35 if Elliot played it right.    

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So the DB is supposed to look and see waht running lanes he has before he catches it?? Sounds reasonable

 

This was better than a punt in my opinion. Atleast it was a scoring opportunity. There is a huge risk of the interception being brought out though. 

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1 minute ago, AKC said:

We’ve now heard it said many times that a 4th down play with a throw and pick in the end zone is “just like a punt”. This contradicts every coach who has taught his DBs to situationally knock the ball to the ground on 4th if there’s no clear lane to return past the 20. Just this past Sunday Allen throws a 4th down pick to DaShon Elliot in the EZ. For sake of example I’d use another division team- if Elliot had cost a Belichick team 15 yards with a blunder like that he’d probably be sitting for the rest of the game. The reality is you can’t count on the other side to be stupid. A punt in the same situation could easily yield an inside the 10 yard line starting point versus the 20 the Fish got on this play- a play they could have had the ball at the 35 if Elliot played it right.    

 

Should have kicked the 52-yard FG.  But since they went for it, if Elliot had played it right and knocked the ball down...it's just an incomplete pass and no one is spazzing about Josh throwing 2 INTs.

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Ehhh I mean you could make an argument that a missed field goal in that spot. But that tacks on an extra 8 yards... God forbid! It's not like Josh does this once a game. I remember two... the Jets opener and the Dolphins game. Maybe one more I'm forgetting. 

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11 minutes ago, AKC said:

We’ve now heard it said many times that a 4th down play with a throw and pick in the end zone is “just like a punt”. This contradicts every coach who has taught his DBs to situationally knock the ball to the ground on 4th if there’s no clear lane to return past the 20. Just this past Sunday Allen throws a 4th down pick to DaShon Elliot in the EZ. For sake of example I’d use another division team- if Elliot had cost a Belichick team 15 yards with a blunder like that he’d probably be sitting for the rest of the game. The reality is you can’t count on the other side to be stupid. A punt in the same situation could easily yield an inside the 10 yard line starting point versus the 20 the Fish got on this play- a play they could have had the ball at the 35 if Elliot played it right.    


Counter: a throw in the end zone has a much higher odds of a touchdown or pass interference than a punt does

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23 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

When you've already snapped the ball you can't go back in time and punt.


THIS.  Really don’t see the point of the OP here.  Once it’s snapped it’s always better to heave the ball down field if you don’t have a way to convert and hope our guys downfield make a play or if not, maybe they DB will be dumb enough to intercept it.  
 

 

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Everyone was covered. Maybe if he rushes he gets it but he took half a second too long. Throws it up and Gabe falls. 

 

You know what's worse than a 4th down interception? A 4th down sack, or run that doesn't get the yardage. You have to try something there. Josh made mistakes in the game but this isn't one of those mistakes

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49 minutes ago, AKC said:

We’ve now heard it said many times that a 4th down play with a throw and pick in the end zone is “just like a punt”. This contradicts every coach who has taught his DBs to situationally knock the ball to the ground on 4th if there’s no clear lane to return past the 20. Just this past Sunday Allen throws a 4th down pick to DaShon Elliot in the EZ. For sake of example I’d use another division team- if Elliot had cost a Belichick team 15 yards with a blunder like that he’d probably be sitting for the rest of the game. The reality is you can’t count on the other side to be stupid. A punt in the same situation could easily yield an inside the 10 yard line starting point versus the 20 the Fish got on this play- a play they could have had the ball at the 35 if Elliot played it right.    

 

Almost no player will bat a ball down on a 4th down play unless it's a Hail Mary. Benford intercepted Dak Prescott on 4th down and cost the Bills like 10 yards of field position.

 

You act as if the Bills could go for it with Allen then halfway thru the play decide nothing is open and call timeout and punt the ball.

 

They can't. Allen throwing it up hoping someone can make a play or getting it intercepted is far better than him taking a sack, throwing an incompletion or running and being tackled short of a first down.

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21 minutes ago, dma0034 said:

Everyone was covered. Maybe if he rushes he gets it but he took half a second too long. Throws it up and Gabe falls

 

You know what's worse than a 4th down interception? A 4th down sack, or run that doesn't get the yardage. You have to try something there. Josh made mistakes in the game but this isn't one of those mistakes

 

It's probably a good thing Davis tripped otherwise he might have fought for the ball and made it an incompletion. 

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1 hour ago, AKC said:

We’ve now heard it said many times that a 4th down play with a throw and pick in the end zone is “just like a punt”. This contradicts every coach who has taught his DBs to situationally knock the ball to the ground on 4th if there’s no clear lane to return past the 20. Just this past Sunday Allen throws a 4th down pick to DaShon Elliot in the EZ. For sake of example I’d use another division team- if Elliot had cost a Belichick team 15 yards with a blunder like that he’d probably be sitting for the rest of the game. The reality is you can’t count on the other side to be stupid. A punt in the same situation could easily yield an inside the 10 yard line starting point versus the 20 the Fish got on this play- a play they could have had the ball at the 35 if Elliot played it right.    

 

Yes but these guys aren't brain surgeons. As also was pointed out, some have contract incentives for Int's plus most NFL players have big egos so they will catch it and if given the chance attempt to run it out too rather than take the touchback.  Add to that they maybe have about a tenth of a second to process all that, not the amount of time you took to write this post.

 

So yes what you're saying is true, but if the same thing happens 10 times, 9 of those will likely have the same results as what happened here.

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I think an interception like that on 3rd down is more considered an arm punt because an incompletion would result in a punt on the next play. Guys shouldn’t be intercepting deep 4th down passes 

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