Post by spiderfan on Dec 6, 2021 22:37:54 GMT -8
Happy December SCtoC! It is I, Spiderfan the official NFL Analyst of this great forum and today I bring you yet another Web of Football column with my thoughts and ramblings and opinions and observations on the National Football League specifically Week 12. Without further ado, let us begin!
Never Go For The Win
I know that this will be probably be an unpopular opinion and that is fine. I personally think that you should never go for the win. To be specific, I am irritated when coaches at the NFL and college level decide after scoring a late touchdown to go for a two point conversion instead of kicking the extra point to send the game into overtime. I understand that when the decision is made there are usually outstanding circumstances such as a team sucks and is facing a much better team or a kicker sucks and there is arguably a better chance of a two point conversion than an extra point. In the case of the Ravens-Steelers, the Ravens had defensive injuries that made HC John Harbaugh unconformable with the idea of playing overtime and thus he decided to go for the win.
Setting aside the fact that Ravens TE Mark Andrews dropped what would have been the game winning pass (It wasn't a great throw by Lamar Jackson, but Andrews made a horribly low effort play on the ball), I will give a rebuttal to the decision that always pops into my mind when situations like these arise and ESPECIALLY when the Ravens went for it.
It was a low scoring defensive slugfest, so even with injuries, I would personally be skeptical that the Steelers would score again if they won the coin toss in OT. On the same token, if I won the coin toss I would much rather have an offensive series than one short yardage play that could easily go wrong. If you didn't score after winning the toss or keep the Steelers from scoring a TD after they won the toss, the game would enter sudden death and you would only need a FG to win.
Obviously John Harbaugh didn't agree with me and the Ravens lost the game. The Ravens losing did cost them the lead in the AFC playoff picture, and they are now tied at 8-4 with the Bills, Chiefs, and Titans.
That Doesn't Mean You Shouldn't Go For Two
The play that decided the Patriots-Bills MNF game was a two point conversion, however unlike the Ravens-Steelers game it was an early 2 point conversion as opposed to a late one. See, it was crazy windy at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York and because of said crazy wind the kicking game was hit or miss. Patriots HC Bill Belichick realized this and after scoring the first TD of the game decided to go for two instead of kicking an extra point. The two point conversion was made and the Patriots went up 8-0. When the Bills scored their TD they decided to kick an extra point instead of going for two to try to the game. The extra point was good, but the Bills had to play catch up the whole game. Not only did they have to play catch up but late in the game after a couple FGs by the Patriots and a FG by the Bills the game was 14-10 instead of 13-10. The Bills had multiple red zone possessions in the 4th quarter where they scored no points, one on a missed FG and the other on a miserable pass by Bills QB Josh Allen.
By trying and successfully converting the early two point conversion, the Patriots put themselves in a great position to ultimately win the game. So while I don't like "going for the win", I don't disagree with going for two entirely. Especially, when the wind is really bad.
Joe Brady Fired
After being a low level assistant with the Saints, Joe Brady became the passing game coordinator the LSU Tigers. In his single season as passing game coordinator, LSU won the national championship. Riding that wave he took the job as the OC of the Carolina Panthers under then new HC Matt Rhule in what was a sign of relatively new Panthers owner David Tepper's commitment to winning. While national championship winning HC Ed Orgeron lasted 22 games and then was let go (which as a total side note I think he deserved more of a leash and a chance to fully rebuild the team), the guy who was given a good chunk of the credit for that national title win (which he shouldn't have gotten because his co-OC Steve Esminger was underrated) only lasted 28 games at the NFL level.
It is a reminder that successful coaching staffs are also a team effort, not just the personnel on the field. The right HC when combined with the right offensive play caller combined with the right defensive coordinator along with the other assistants on the staff put the players in the best position to succeed. If you have a bad combination, failure will enviably ensue.
Oh, and as for the defensive coordinator of that LSU team Dave Aranda? Yeah, his Baylor Bears of which he currently HC of won a Big 12 title and are going to the Sugar Bowl.
Other thoughts:
-Congrats to the Detroit Lions on their first win of the season and to Jared Goff for his first win without Sean McVay!
-The Eagles won twice on Sunday, not only did Gardner Minshew's mustache lead the Eagles to win against the Jets, but the Colts won with Carson Wentz at QB the whole game which means the Eagles get a first round pick because Wentz didn't get hurt for 2/3rds of the season.
-The Saints need a QB to replace Drew Brees. None of the guys they have are up to the task IMO.
-It would appear that after the now infamous non-trade of Deshaun Watson, the Dolphins morale went up massively and they are now firmly in the playoff hunt. Good for you Dolphins fans!
-Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are still awesome.
-The Bears went from bad team to good team to bad team again fast. We'll see if after a regime change they get to be good again.
-Don't be sad with Jaguars because I can with confidence that I do think you would beat Alabama unlike in previous years.
-Taylor Heinicke is going to end up leading the Artists Formerly Known as Redskins into the playoffs and then some crazy upset isn't he? If so, I'm ready for it.
-It doesn't matter what the records are, the Seahawks still find a way to beat the 49ers. I like it.
-And just like the Raiders collapsing after a Chiefs blow out has become an annual tradition so has the Chiefs blowout flex game win against the Broncos late in the season on SNF.
Well, that is all for this week folks. As always I hope ya enjoyed and I hope to see ya again next week. This is spiderfan out.