You’re Killing Me Coach!

There was no shortage of excitement this weekend in the NFL! Week 10 had a handful of games ending within 7 points or less, and many were decided in the final seconds of regulation. There were definitely fans wondering why certain plays were called, making everyone a “Monday Morning Quarterback”. Sometimes a play called by the head coach can backfire through no fault of his own; sometimes the play called is so questionable, it can get the coach fired.

ARZ 29 SF 24
Last night the San Francisco 49er’s had a chance to take down their divisional rivals, the Arizona Cardinals, in a game filled with more flags and penalties than running plays. In the dying seconds, rookie head coach Mike Singletary called a running play up the gut on 3rd down with Michael Robinson. He got stuffed with 3 ticks left on the clock, and with all of their timeouts gone, the game was over. Leading up to this questionable play call, the 49er’s had wasted up to 30 seconds before calling their last timeout, after getting the first down on the 15 yard line. The idea was to not score too quickly by taking down the clock before burning their last timeout. The problem, as everyone who watched this game found out, was that running out of time before scoring is even worse than leaving too much time on the clock for a comeback. Maybe the ref’s shouldn’t have blown a Frank Gore running play that got into the endzone which caused all of this confusion.

MIN 28 GB 27
This was a game where both teams had all three elements of their team playing well and putting points on the board. There were of course offensive touchdowns, but it was the defense and special teams that made the difference in this game. Green Bay was struggling and looked doomed until Nick Collins took back a 59 yard INT followed by a Will Blackmon 65 yard punt return for a score to take the lead. This game went back and forth, but was decided by kicker Mason Crosby missing a 52 yard FG. The game may be put on the kicker’s shoulders, but what people are not looking at are the 4 points scored from 2 safeties the Vikings defense made. One safety is bad, but two is the difference between needing a FG to win a game and milking the clock for a win.

NYG 36 PHI 31
The city of brotherly love did not love the play calls that Andy Reid made on the final drive against the Super Bowl Champs. Statistically, the Eagles had no business winning this game in the fourth quarter, with the time of possession and total yards greatly in the Giants favor. However, stats aren’t everything; 14 points off turnovers had Donovan McNabb (who needs a least a quarter to warm up these days) and his Birds hot. They were moving the ball well, down by 5 points in the fourth quarter. For years, the knock on Andy Reid was that the Eagles threw the ball too much, but lately it’s been the running game that has cost Philadelphia wins. With no time outs left, and a commercial break to think it over at the two minute warning, the Eagles were stuffed on runs on 3rd and 3 and then 4th and 1. The crowd was horrified; in a post game press conference McNabb was asked what he thought of the play calls to run, and he answered by saying “I want the ball”….drama.

SD 20 KC19
This game was a heart breaker for Chiefs fans, as a missed extra point made the difference between a win or a tie after Tony Gonzalez caught a TD pass with 29 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Kicker Connor Barth for the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t feel bad about an earlier missed kick for too long, because coach Herm Edwards bailed him out with the terrible idea of going for two to win the game instead of playing for overtime.

IND 24 PIT 20
Where was the Steelers two minute offense that we’re used to seeing Ben Roethlisberger lead down the field? Being on their own 44 yard line and having two time outs left, fans seemed nervous but confident that their Steelers could get into scoring range. Each team exchanged penalties all game, but a crucial holding call on Matt Starks was the difference in this game; it killed a drive that wasn’t moving, resulting in a hail mary attempt to end the game. Ben Roethlisberger threw an INT leading up to the Steelers failed 2 minute drive that was intended to gain the first down on 3rd and 6. That play might have swung the momentum too far in the Colts favor to come back from, but it will sit with Steeler fans for days.  Why throw the ball with the lead when you have a great defense?

MIA 21 SEA 19
Short and sweet: coach Mike Holmgren knew he needed 8 points to tie the game, so he might want to have a play ready. Even with another drive that could have won the game for the Seahawks, the two-point conversion was the play of the game. If there’s ever a time to use a trick play or do your best “wildcat” impersonation, this would have been it.

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