Video: Maybe the dumbest football decision ever
posted at 10:55 am on November 16, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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How dumb was the decision by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to go for a fourth down on his own 28 … while leading by six points and with just two minutes on the clock? His defense had kept the Indianapolis Colts bottled up for most of the game, although they had tired a bit in the fourth quarter. A punt would have forced Peyton Manning to drive 70 yards in two minutes with one timeout, and Manning had thrown two interceptions and probably should have had another two passes picked in the game. Instead, Belichick — normally one of the brightest men in the sport — decided to roll the dice, and even Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth couldn’t believe he was serious until they saw the ball snapped:
The Boston Globe raises the specter of another BB — Bill Buckner (via Tom Maguire):
This was as bad as anything the Red Sox ever did. Had it been a playoff game, it would be right up there with Bucky Dent, Bill Buckner, Aaron Boone, and History Derailed in Glendale, Ariz.
And Bill Belichick played the part of Grady Little.
The Patriots lost to the undefeated Colts in unbelievable fashion last night. Leading, 31-14 in the fourth quarter, and 34-21 with 2:30 remaining, the Patriots took the choke and lost to their hated rivals, 35-34.
So the conference is gone, the playoff bye is probably bye-bye, and the (6-3) Patriots are saddled with a loss that will haunt them for the rest of the season.
And Belichick gets the blame. Too smart for his own good this time. The sin of hubris.
I almost turned this game off in the fourth quarter. When the Pats lead by two TDs at that stage of the game, they don’t lose, or at least they didn’t until last night. Hubris is exactly right; Belichick thought that his offense couldn’t be stopped, even though Tom Brady had almost thrown a pick on the previous play, another quick out to the flat.
Unbelievable.
Update: Collinsworth, not Cunningham. Need … more … coffee, especially after staying up too late watching the end of that game.
Update II: You never know with these threads. They either get a dozen comments, or 300. Meanwhile, King Banaian crunches the numbers in the Green Room to defend Belichick.
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As I have said several times in this thread, I watched the final minutes of the Saints game at St. Louis earlier on Sunday-the Saints were 8-0 and were favored by 20+ points going in. At the end of the game Marc Bulger (no Peyton Manning for sure) marched his team right down the field with NO timeouts left, and they almost scored the winning TD on the final play of the game.
Del Dolemonte on November 17, 2009 at 8:52 AM
And the fact that you seem to know exactly how much I post here says nothing? Checkmate.
Del Dolemonte on November 17, 2009 at 9:17 AM
The stupidest decision in football history was actually made by the NY Giants against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles had no time outs left and all the NY QB had to do was take a knee to run out the remaining 10 or 15 seconds. Instead a running play was called and. oops, fumble! caught in mid-air by a Philly LB and run in for the winning TD. The defensive coordinator was fired that very same day.
MaiDee on November 17, 2009 at 9:19 AM
Here are some examples of the charitable off-the-field activities by this Horrible Human Being.
http://www.allthingsbillbelichick.com/offthefield.htm
excerpts
Pure evil, that bunch!
Yeah, what a bastard that Bill is!
Yep, Bill is Pure Evil!
Del Dolemonte on November 17, 2009 at 9:23 AM
In the Giants loss to Eagles-I meant to say OFFENSIVE coordinator was fired, not defensive coordinator. Duh.
MaiDee on November 17, 2009 at 9:28 AM
400 posts about football (God preserve it) on a forum for right-wing politics wonks. Are there really still people out there who think that us wild-eyed Southern boys tend to vote Republican due to racism?
Knott Buyinit on November 17, 2009 at 9:30 AM
400 posts about football (God preserve it) on a forum for right-wing politics wonks. Are there really still people out there who think that us wild-eyed Southern boys tend to vote Republican due to racism?
Knott Buyinit on November 17, 2009 at 9:30 AM
_________________________________________________________
Good point / post, Knott.
Dopenstrange on November 17, 2009 at 9:54 AM
I’m going to be one of those rare people to say that Bellichick did exactly the right thing in going for it. I say these things even though I am a rabid Indy fan and hardly one of Bellichick’s fans. I think Bellichick should be applauded for his, uh, intestinal and testicular fortitude in making such a call.
Peyton Manning, after snoozing for two quarters, had just burned the Patriots for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. They had come in perfect Manning fashion… roughly two football minutes each to dash across most of the field. Perhaps a couple of those passes could have been picked had they been thrown in the first quarter, but, in the fourth quarter, advantages clearly go to offenses.
Manning’s upcoming drive, had NE punted, would have been a carbon copy of those, and, had he run into trouble, he still had all three timeouts. For Manning, that equals all day; which 29 yard line was the starting line really wouldn’t have mattered much. Voluntarily giving him the ball would have played into his strengths. If anything, throwing clock-draining into the equation from the closer start made Manning’s job more difficult; it limited what plays he could call and made a scramble to a last second field goal not out of the question if he didn’t play it perfectly.
Put yourself in Bellichick’s shoes… if you punt, do you believe that Manning will put in the touchdown? My answer is yes. If you believe that, and you believe that you should be able to convert the fourth down, what else can you do? They had already shredded the Colts’ defense for 476 yards and 35 minutes of clock. Really… what were two more measly yards when keeping the ball out of Manning’s hands was the path to victory?
I don’t believe for a minute that Bellichick was dissing his defense with this decision. Rather, he was being a realist. Sure, they’re great, but they had just lost two Manning track meets and still had to be tired and winded from them. I know that statistics say that you never risk a 4th down conversion on your own 28. When you’re lining up opposite a legend like Peyton Manning, though (or, to be fair, a Tom Brady as well), statistical guidance rightly gets thrown out the window.
flutejpl on November 17, 2009 at 9:56 AM
You were already PWND as usual. When did I say I knew EXACTLY how much you post here? Making up stuff I see.
The simple fact that you mark your calendar is friggin hilarious. You do know you are just a little little man right? No wonder my chickdar thought you were a woman.
BTW when do you work? Do you get paid for posting? When I am at work ….I work.
CWforFreedom on November 17, 2009 at 9:57 AM
Oh and another point…you were the one who told me I needed to get a life based on my posts here.
So who is the one monitoring whose posts?
You’re hilarious ….even on the third day.
CWforFreedom on November 17, 2009 at 10:02 AM
I hate Belichick and the Patsies (E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!), but he chose the statistically better option.
Professional sports coaching has become a matter of playing by the book. In baseball, a manager may know best who is hot or what pitcher is pitching well at the moment… but in a “save situation” he is obligated to use his “closer”. Win or lose, he’s better off because at least he played by the book.
In 2003, Jack Mckeon with nothing to lose at age 72, pitches Josh Beckett on three days rest… he is skewered by the talking heads who know nothing but what’s in “the book”… and he comes out the genius. If Belichick, playing the odds, gets that first down, there is no second-guessing.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to see the cheater get embarrassed, but his decision was hardly the worst in history… in fact, it was a fairly good decision.
mankai on November 17, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Mankai…. I heard today that a statistician ran the numbers for the entire NFL. A team is slightly better off going for the 4th and short than punting if they want to win.
CWforFreedom on November 17, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Good dissection of the brouhaha here. Be sure to read the entire thing.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AotFrhGL.8E0xeTvk_tc419DubYF?slug=dw-belichickpats111609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Del Dolemonte on November 17, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Yeah, and the Pats are better than the NFL average on 4th and 2. And there is also the % of touchdowns scored with one timeout on the 28 to be factored in.
The worst thing to watch in the NFL is a team punt and go into the “prevent D” which essentially gives up huge chunks of yardage in the middle of the field anyway.
But in the end, going for it was certainly not the dumbest strategy.
mankai on November 17, 2009 at 10:48 AM
OK, so just because you are jealous of the Patriots and therefore hate BB, it’s no excuse to spew ignorance on the 4th wuarter. That was a smart call by BB. The Pats were down to the 3rd and 4th string of defensive linemen because so many players were injured. It didn’t matter if Indy had to go 28, 29, 30, or 95 yards. Without being able to put pressure on Manning there is no way to stop the COlts offense. Didn’t you even watch the game? Going for it on 4th down was the ONLY chance to win this game. And guess what, it worked. Faulk had one foot on the 30.5 and one foot on the 29.5, the correct spot would be the 30 yeard line. In other words 1st down. The ref who called it a juggle couldn’t even see the ball. Rediculous call by the ref, genius call by BB.
shanimal on November 17, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Just got an e-mail from my friend in the Boston Herald sports department…he heard from one of the radio sports reporters in Boston that what happened was this-it was Tom Brady who convinced Bill Belichick to go for the first down. Brady was heard on the sidelines imploring his boss that they could make the first and preserve the lead.
Wetzel’s column that I linked to this morning has a lengthy discussion about this-the ref was looking the other way, but made the call anyway.
Del Dolemonte on November 17, 2009 at 12:20 PM
Great link Del. But according to GOD, (Fed-up45), we are all wrong.
Remember a little Monday night game between Montana (then with KC) and Elway. Elway had just marched the Broncos for a go-ahead score. As Elway’s walking towards the sidelines, he looks up at the clock and says “F**K”. That’s right, with 1:26 left on the clock Montanta took KC 90 yards and ran in his own winning TD with seconds left on the clock. I’m guessing had Shanahan been in Belichick’s shoes (under the same circumstances), he may have done the same thing to keep Montana off the field. My hats off to a great comeback for the Colts. They were getting their butts kicked for three quarters, yet pulled it off in the fourth. In this case the game’s not over until the refs say it’s over.
Rovin on November 17, 2009 at 12:49 PM
I can understand why they went for it… Peyton Manning is the best QB in the game today, no one would want to give hime the ball with 2:00 remaining needing 1 touchdown. Not even from the Colts 1 yard line. If anyone can march the ball down the feild and win the game while running out the clock its Manning.
TonyR on November 17, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Just remember this: Going into the game the Pats starting DE’s Warren & Green were scratched due to injury. The 3rd DE Banta-Cain got injured in 1st half. Two plays later his backup Ninkovich got injured. This left ZERO DE’s. For the rest of the game we had LB’s playing out of position at DE. Not surprisingly this is when the Colts started moving down the field easily. Without being able to put any pressure on Manning who is arguably the best QB in the NFL you stand no chance of stopping the Colts. This is exactly how the 2nd half especially 4th quarter played out. If the Pats and Colts meet again and the Pats are still relying on 4th and 5th DE’s the Colts will win again.
shanimal on November 17, 2009 at 1:40 PM
LOL, more than one GOD in this thread. After all, there are some here who insinuate that it’s OK for other teams to run up the score, but when the Pats do it they are “bad”. And the team is automatically guilty of cheating in numerous games, despite absolutely no evidence to confirm that took place.
Exactly. Their D was gassed. Mainly because they were so young.
Del Dolemonte on November 17, 2009 at 3:16 PM
Thanks for acknowledging my superior knowledge of football to yours. And now you take the word of some guy either sitting 50 yards away in the press box, or watching it on TV like the rest of us that that the ref couldn’t see the play? He doesn’t have the ref’s eyes. Therefore his opinions are worth about as much as yours and mine. And it’s clear this doofus also doesn’t know the rules well enough to offer an informed opinion.
I’ve watched this video 6 ways to Sunday. Blown it up, slowed it down, and even viewed other angles. No matter how you look at it, the ball comes up short. The doofus’s premises in the article is flawed. It’s not where Faulk’s FEET are when he catches the ball; it’s where the BALL is when he catches it. So, even if one concedes he got “both feet down”, he didn’t get them down simultaneously. So possession would be ruled at the spot he got his second foot down (I don’t see him getting his first foot down beyond the 30).
And if one concedes that he got both feet down and straddled the 30 (as the doofus in the article suggests), the BALL at that point looks to be short of the line-to-gain, even conceding the most generous spot. Granted it would have been much closer, but looks to have come up short. But, we will never know, because Bellichek managed the clock so poorly he didn’t have any time outs left to challenge. So, shame on him for not being able to challenge the spot.
Again, I know what you WANT to see. But it’s not reality. Read a rule book! You have to get the concept of “possession” through your head in order for you to talk intelligently about this play.
Fed45 on November 17, 2009 at 7:26 PM
Ok. So we’ll admit you’re blind. I know the rules dipshit…I’ve officiated the game for years…..your just simply wrong….it was a first down.
Rovin on November 17, 2009 at 7:57 PM
Belichek, another middle aged man who gave up his wife for the trophy model. That never pays off, he’s been downhill since.
tessa on November 17, 2009 at 8:30 PM
I guess they didn’t have tape on the defensive response to his play called. BB is a cheater and brady is a cyborg crybaby sorelooser.
workingforpigs on November 17, 2009 at 11:55 PM
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/extra-points/2009/further-thoughts-fourth-and-2
July 10 on November 18, 2009 at 2:13 AM
I would have to say this is the second dumbest football decision. The dumbest would have to be the “Walker Trade.”
TQM38a on November 18, 2009 at 9:35 AM
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