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View Full Version : My Assessment of the Field Goal Attempt: Was Tomlin Right?



Craic
10-12-2012, 04:40 PM
The field goal attempt:

Let's back up to discuss what happened as they cross the half way point. 1st-10 Ten 39. Ben passes short right to Miller for 4 yards. That's a good, clock eating, play. A sack is worse than an incomplete pass here, so eat up 4 yards, 2 and 6. Batch up the middle, stuffed for -1 yards. For everyone that yells and screams at this play, I reminded you that this was EXACTLY what many were mad at Arians for NOT doing. Haley got this call right. Run the ball and eat up time off the clock. Make the other team take a time out. Batch was getting between a yard and 10 yards a run up the middle. So at worst, it's 3rd and 5. However, he got stuffed for minus a yard. However, Tennessee was forced to take a timeout. If we had made three or four yards, that'd have been an excellent call. as it was, it's a wash. We're at 3rd and 7 with Tennessee burning a timeout. 3rd and 7 is an incomplete pass. Many of you might say that should have been a run in order to force another Tennessee timeout. The problem is, without hindsight, that assures we give the ball back to Tennessee with one timeout left and about a minute on the clock. Now I ask you, with veteran QB that has been in these situations before, and with a defense that's swiss cheese in the fourth quarter, would YOU want the offense to have the ball and a timeout with a minute left on the clock? I wouldn't.

That leaves us with the fourth down decision. Three options are bandied about: (a) Put it in Ben's hands; (b) Punt; (c) Field goal. Let's take a further in depth look, WITHOUT resorting to hindsight:




(a) Put the ball in Ben's hands. We have made 3 out of 5 first downs on fourth down. While that may look good, don't forget we were 4th and 7, not 4th and short. Secondly, in order to get our players 7-10 yards out on their routes, Ben would have had to hold the ball for 2 to 3 seconds, assuming the DB's would have come up and jammed our WR's. We had a backup center, A rookie at RT, and a lineman playing injured. If we make the first down, we still have to drive for go ahead score. If we miss it, the Titans get the ball on the 36 yard line.




(b) Punt. Again, the ball is at the 36 yard line. Let's say he puts the ball on the 15. That's a 30 yard field difference (from where the Titans would get the ball if a field goal was tried), with a defense that gives that up in two plays (heck, one play often enough in this situation). Furthermore, how many 10 or 15 yard penalties have we taken on punts? I seem to remember about 3? maybe 4? Let's go with three, since it's the lower number. Out of 18 punts, there's been 3 penalties, that's 1/6th of all punts up to that point, which means (rounding off) there's also a 20 percent chance that the ball would come out to the 25 or even the 30 yard line. That lowers the change of field to 25 or 20 yards. I haven't even included the possibility of touch back because Butler hasn't hit a touch back yet. But even so, there's a chance that he does get one. I also have assumed that there's no run back. But that's not a good assumption either.



So, at best, there's probably a 30 yard difference of field position. With a touch back (let's give it a 5 percent chance at this point), it would have been a 25 yard difference. With any kind of run back that would have shortened, maybe considerably (it's not inconceivable to assume 10 run backs for every 100 punts from that position, so let's give this a 10 percent chance). With a penalty, (20 percent chance) it would have been a 15 or 20 yard difference of field position. Hence, there's a 65 percent chance of a thirty yard change of field position, and a 35 percent chance that the change would be less than that.


(c) Field goal. Squeezeme's hit 11/11 field goals. so far this year. Every one of them has been right down the middle. His leg is dead on. He's had 3 attempts from over 40 yards, and is 100% in those. He's just hit a 52 yard field goal, splitting the uprights with about 5 to 6 yards to spare. If you miss the field goal, your in almost the same position you're in if Ben doesn't get the first down. If you make the field goal, your up by three, forcing the other team to make a touchdown to win, and you're kicking off, with a team average of allowing 28 yards a return IF they run it out (don't forget, usually that starts a couple yards or more in the endzone this year), which puts the ball anywhere between the 20 and the 30 yard line, with three points up. So, at worst, your in almost the same position as if Ben doesn't make the first down. At best, your three points up and ALSO 5 to 10 yards away from the same position as if we punted the ball.


Before we finish our assessment, let's take into account our defense. There's just over a minute left on the clock, and the Titans have two time outs, which is about the equivalent of two minutes with no timeouts, or even better, since they can call any play and then call a timeout to stop the clock. Thus, they don't really have to limit their playbook as much as if they had no timeouts, or even one. Now, what has our defense done in the past?



Exhibit A. Oakland. Ball starts on the Oakland 25 yard line with 1:43 to play and two timeouts. They drive 50 yards, and in the end, actually have enough time left for Palmer to kneel down in order to kill time off the clock.

Exhibit B. Oakland. D. McFadden. 64 yard run for TD.

Exhibit C. Manning to Thomas, 71 yard Pass for TD.

Exhibit D. Jets have the ball with 1:07 left in the game at their 18 yard line. They drive to the Pittsburgh 30 yard line. If they needed a FG for the win, it's a 48 yard attempt. Transfer that to the Titans, and you have one of the better FG kickers in the game kicking for the win.



What does this add up to? The two teams that were down at the end of the game against us, BOTH were able to drive from deep within their own territory, to field goal range and seal the game. Both teams did it by utilizing about the same amount of time the Titans had (Don't forget, the Raiders ran the clock down). That means that so far this year, our defense has not, in ANY case, been able to stop a team from driving in their two minute offense in the fourth quarter (We can throw Peyton Manning's entire second half in this too). Beyond that, our defense has the proclivity to giving up big plays.

So how do we conclude this?

A. If we give Ben the ball, we have a little over a 60/40 shot of making a first down, and that doesn't include the fact that he has to depend on two backup lineman (one a rookie) and a third injured lineman to protect him so they players can get out seven yards. If he doesn't make it, according to the stats, we lose the game because of our defense. If he makes it, we still need to kick a field goal to break the tie. It may take more time of the clock, but with two time outs, the Titans can limit that.

B. If we punt, we lose the game. This years stats prove that. Unless the other team's kicker misses (50/50 from 40 yards or more). At BEST, we are in overtime.

C. If we kick a field goal, We force the other team to freeze the kicker, leaving them with 1 timeout left. That's a lot better than 2 time outs left and nine more yards to drive if we fail to convert fourth down. Our kicker is perfect so far this season, and has just hit a FG that shows he has the distance.

So taking into account 3 positions on the line that are degraded a fair degree from the start of the game, the fact that it was 4th and 7, the fact that it was pretty much a given that the other team would score three points (and with a second TO, even more so), and the fact that our kicker has given every indication that he should make that kick in that situation, I think the field goal was the right call in this situation.


_________________________

Mods: I made a new thread because I wanted to discuss this situation only, and not in the "We lost the season" mentality. Hopefully it can stay separate, but I understand if it's merged.

BlastFurnace
10-12-2012, 04:45 PM
Nice assessment Preacher, but you don't potentially give the opposing team at their own 45 with 2 TO's for a game winning drive against a swiss cheese defense.

No way can Tomlin be defended on this one.

Count Steeler
10-12-2012, 04:51 PM
Could have lined up for the field goal, make them take the TO and then punt. Not that the outcome would be any different. They probably would have blocked the punt or got a 50 yard return.

Actually, Tomlin finally got burned for only dressing 7 O Linemen. Even Mayock kind of took him to task, because most NFL teams dress 8 O Linemen. Not that the 8th guy would have made much of a difference, but when it looked like Foster may have been hurt, the possibilities were frightening.

The way I see it, we were in a no win situation once we did not convert the 3rd down play. Our D needs some work.

GBMelBlount
10-12-2012, 04:57 PM
Preacher;321799]

The field goal attempt:

So taking into account:

3 positions on the line that are degraded a fair degree from the start of the game
it was 4th and 7
the fact that it was pretty much a given that the other team would score three points (and with a second TO, even more so)
and the fact that our kicker has given every indication that he should make that kick in that situation

I think the field goal was the right call in this situation.

I agree Preach....

However, I do not think I would have had a problem with any of the three options.

...and there is a negative in that a missed field goal would likely give them the best field position of the three options.

GoSlash27
10-12-2012, 05:27 PM
Preacher,
I'm with Mel on this one. While I wouldn't have punted, betting the game on a career-longest field goal was a much lower probability call than betting it on a 4th and 7. Honestly, I was surprised it wasn't blocked at that range.
Although I do see your point...

oneforthetoe
10-12-2012, 05:47 PM
Great job Padre. I agree with you. Of course, I think we would have lost even if we make the field goal. I''m not telling anyone anything that they don't already know. Our defense has been very giving at the end of games recently

tube517
10-12-2012, 06:14 PM
Our best chance at this moment to win is Ben. The defense can't be counted on at all. Even if we make that FG, I don't like our defense's chances in ANY situation.

ALLD
10-12-2012, 07:13 PM
Obviously it was the wrong call, he missed it. There may not have been a right call, but the best call IMO would have been to dump it off on a quick slant to the scat back from FL.

Godfather
10-12-2012, 07:17 PM
The decision ended up being a bad one in terms of results, but there were no better options.

zulater
10-12-2012, 07:51 PM
Here's why it was the wrong decision. Your kickers career long field goal was 52 yards! How many seasons has he been in the league? So you're asking a kicker who's never kicked a field goal a yard over 52 to exceeed his career high by two yards with the game on the line? It's a lot different situation that the earliar 52 yarder, because Sushi had a comfort level with that kick knowing that the game wasn't lost if he missed.

Now I may be wrong, but I do believe Ben has converted 4th downs of 7 yards or longer in his career before. I'll wager there's even been a time or two when he's done so with the game's outcome in the balance.

So essentially if you break it down to it's basic form it comes down to this. You either ask a somewhat marginal starter ( as compared to the rest of the league) to do something he's never done so much as once in his career, with the game's outcome on the line. Or you ask your most talented and elite player on the roster to do something he's already done successfully dozens of times before in his career.

Seems like a pretty simple answer to me.

GBMelBlount
10-12-2012, 07:57 PM
Here's why it was the wrong decision. Your kickers career long field goal was 52 yards! How many seasons has he been in the league? So you're asking a kicker who's never kicked a field goal a yard over 52 to exceeed his career high by two yards with the game on the line? It's a lot different situation that the earliar 52 yarder, because Sushi had a comfort level with that kick knowing that the game wasn't lost if he missed.

Now I may be wrong, but I do believe Ben has converted 4th downs of 7 yards or longer in his career before. I'll wager there's even been a time or two when he's done so with the game's outcome in the balance.

So essentially if you break it down to it's basic form it comes down to this. You either ask a somewhat marginal starter ( as compared to the rest of the league) to do something he's never done so much as once in his career, with the very game on the line. Or you ask your most talented and elite player on the roster to do something he's already done successfully dozens of times.

Seems like a pretty simple answer to me.

Let's make it simpler. Suisham was 8 for 8 and cleared 52 with room to spare earlier in the game.

Therefore, it is not unreasonable to think that there was a 50% to 60% chance he would make it....and he almost did.

Similarly, Ben's chances were perhaps 50% to 60% as well imo....and I was not feeling overly confident with our offense at that moment quite honestly.



On a side note, there were two secondary advantages to going for it. First if they made the first they would be closer and could wind down the clock. Second, if they did not make it, it is likely the opposition would have had another 7 or more yards to get in scoring range.

ALL things considered might it have been better to go for it? Sure.

If we ran everything through a super computer might it point to ben, absolutely.

But on the fly, given the circumstances, I just didn't have a problem with the decision.

It is just a crying it even got to that point :drink:

zulater
10-12-2012, 08:06 PM
Let me put it this way. If Tomlin goes for it and it doesn't work out is there a person in their right mind who suggests he should have asked his marginally talented kicker to do something he's never once done before in his career?

You're Tomlin, all you say is, Ben is our best player. I thought the kick was just outside our kickers reasonable comfort range. So I thought our best chance was to put the ball in the hands of our best player and see if he could make a play.

Who the hell is going to fault you no matter how things work out?

GBMelBlount
10-12-2012, 08:09 PM
Let me put it this way. If Tomlin goes for it and it doesn't work out is there a person in their right mind who suggests he should have asked his marginally talented kicker to do something he's never once done before in his career?

You're Tomlin, all you say is, Ben is our best player. I thought the kick was just outside our kickers reasonable comfort range. So I thought our best chance was to put the ball in the hands of our best player and see if he could make a play.

Who the hell is going to fault you no matter how things work out?

I get it and that is a good point. I guess given his performance this year and earlier in the game I felt he could....and I certainly have no ill will towards suisham of course. It was valiant effort under considerable duress.

86WARD
10-12-2012, 08:11 PM
I said punt then, I say punt now and make them go 60 or so.

Mamaduck43
10-12-2012, 08:28 PM
I felt so bad for Suisham after the failed kick... I know that there are folks on this board who cringe every time he gets ready to kick, but up until that attempt, he has been golden this year.... He will be carrying that memory of failure around with him for a long time, and I just hope that it doesn't affect his future performance.... It was good that the coach had enough faith in him to give him the chance, but with all things considered, I hope that this doesn't come back and bite us in the ass in the future... He looked so defeated on the sidelines and it didn't help that the cameras kept popping up in front of him.....

zulater
10-12-2012, 08:46 PM
I get it and that is a good point. I guess given his performance this year and earlier in the game I felt he could....and I certainly have no ill will towards suisham of course. It was valiant effort under considerable duress.

I don't sense that anyone holds it against Suisham that he missed.

zulater
10-12-2012, 08:58 PM
I said punt then, I say punt now and make them go 60 or so.

A successfull punt ( anything inside the 20) most likely gets the game to OT. But once in OT it's a coin flip proposition.

zulater
10-12-2012, 09:03 PM
Ben was 4-6 converting 3rd and longs in the 2nd half. If they convert the 4th they have about a 90% chance of winning in regulation.

Devilsdancefloor
10-12-2012, 09:05 PM
i just wish ben would have tried to gain a few yards instead of running around like his hair ws on fire, but i guess you take good with the bad :lol: plus he almost got it to sanders

BlastFurnace
10-12-2012, 09:29 PM
I don't sense that anyone holds it against Suisham that he missed.

Agreed. I haven't heard anyone blame Suisham either on any board or on the radio today. Most of the complaints are with the defense and Tomlin.

Mamaduck43
10-12-2012, 09:43 PM
I don't sense that anyone holds it against Suisham that he missed.


I believe that the only one who blames Suisham, is Suisham... And that could be a problem.... I don't want him to have self-doubt....

GBMelBlount
10-12-2012, 10:52 PM
I believe that the only one who blames Suisham, is Suisham... And that could be a problem.... I don't want him to have self-doubt....

I agree but hope that is not the case. I year ago the thought of even trying a 54 yarder with Suisham was probably unthinkable.

A good coach pushes his players to be their best. I feel he challenged Suisham because he felt he was up to the challenge...and I think that the kick was as much an affirmation of how much Suisham has improved as anything else. At least that is how I see it.

He came darn close to making it.

Craic
10-13-2012, 12:30 AM
I felt so bad for Suisham after the failed kick... I know that there are folks on this board who cringe every time he gets ready to kick, but up until that attempt, he has been golden this year.... He will be carrying that memory of failure around with him for a long time, and I just hope that it doesn't affect his future performance.... It was good that the coach had enough faith in him to give him the chance, but with all things considered, I hope that this doesn't come back and bite us in the ass in the future... He looked so defeated on the sidelines and it didn't help that the cameras kept popping up in front of him.....

Hey, that's me! I fully admit I still cringe when he gets up to kick. However, I also fully admit the next stat. The fact is, he HAS been golden this year, and still it.


As for the rest, the long and short of it for me, no matter WHAT Tomlin did, he was looking at bad odds, so he went with the hottest hand he had at that moment, and that was Squeezeme, who hadn't missed, and had just booted a field goal before that which would have made it from that distance.

ANd no, Zu, From the 15 yard line, we still lose the game. This defense, as I showed in my OP, does not stop teams driving at the end of the game. There is absolutely NO "Depending on the defense" here.

zulater
10-13-2012, 02:27 AM
Hey, that's me! I fully admit I still cringe when he gets up to kick. However, I also fully admit the next stat. The fact is, he HAS been golden this year, and still it.


As for the rest, the long and short of it for me, no matter WHAT Tomlin did, he was looking at bad odds, so he went with the hottest hand he had at that moment, and that was Squeezeme, who hadn't missed, and had just booted a field goal before that which would have made it from that distance.

ANd no, Zu, From the 15 yard line, we still lose the game. This defense, as I showed in my OP, does not stop teams driving at the end of the game. There is absolutely NO "Depending on the defense" here.

Two things. The dynamics of kicking a field goal with a 4 point lead and what was it, 8 or 9 minutes on the clock?/ and kicking a career long field goal by two yards in a tie'd game with under a minute on the clock are entirely different things.

Being asked to kick two yards over your career longest there is absurd! Oh what's two yards? you say. Well for a kicker, a lot. That would be like slapping an extra 20 pounds on the bar for a power lifter, who had never lifted that weight before.

And yes the defense most likely would have held them if a good punt had been executed and the Titans would have started their possession inside their own 20. Why? It's nothing to do with our defense, and everything to do with the difference on how a team approaches a drive that starts at their own 45 as opposed to their own 15 or so. In a tied game with a diminshing clock the Titans would have been very conservative with their play calling if they started deep in their own territory. A good chance they would have just played to run out the remaining time and get the game to OT.

Once you cross the 3o then you can play with aggression.

Craic
10-13-2012, 02:20 PM
Two things. The dynamics of kicking a field goal with a 4 point lead and what was it, 8 or 9 minutes on the clock?/ and kicking a career long field goal by two yards in a tie'd game with under a minute on the clock are entirely different things.

Being asked to kick two yards over your career longest there is absurd! Oh what's two yards? you say. Well for a kicker, a lot. That would be like slapping an extra 20 pounds on the bar for a power lifter, who had never lifted that weight before.

And yes the defense most likely would have held them if a good punt had been executed and the Titans would have started their possession inside their own 20. Why? It's nothing to do with our defense, and everything to do with the difference on how a team approaches a drive that starts at their own 45 as opposed to their own 15 or so. In a tied game with a diminshing clock the Titans would have been very conservative with their play calling if they started deep in their own territory. A good chance they would have just played to run out the remaining time and get the game to OT.

Once you cross the 3o then you can play with aggression.

I agree that those two field goals are different things, but on the other hand, he just hit what amounted to a 54 yard field goal, so he already broke through that mental barrier. It's easy to dismiss as a coach to a player, "Hey, you've already done this. You're last kick would have been good from here, or maybe even another yard. So don't worry about it, and go do what you've already done." Mental barrier over. As far as it being game winning, that's a different story and I'll grant you that.

I disagree about the punt for two reasons. 1. There is absolutely no guarantee that it would have started inside the twenty. Second, it's already a shortened field, because they only have to drive to the 30 yard line. Don't forget they would also have had two time outs left, and know that our defense cannot hold up in a no-huddle offense. On top of that, the Steelers would still have had all three timeouts (did haven't to call one for a kicking formation). The Titans COULDN'T just run the clock down, because we could have forced them to kick the ball back with 25-30 seconds left on the clock. That means we'd have the ball say, at midfield. Two good sideline passes, and we're kicking for the win. No, there's no way the Titans just run the clock out. They have to drive - and once again, against this defense, this year, according to statistics, that equals a fieldgoal or TD.

bayz101
10-13-2012, 02:33 PM
Nice level-headed assessment, Preach. I'm glad to read something that isn't completely blown out of proportion. Major props to you.

suitanim
10-13-2012, 04:01 PM
The REAL issue here is not ever having to be placed in this position to begin with. 4th and 7 against a far inferior team down 3 with just a couple minutes left is unacceptable. In fact, in may ways, you've already lost the game. So second guessing all this is an interesting intellectual exercise, it really only illustrates larger problems with this team.

Craic
10-13-2012, 06:27 PM
The REAL issue here is not ever having to be placed in this position to begin with. 4th and 7 against a far inferior team down 3 with just a couple minutes left is unacceptable. In fact, in may ways, you've already lost the game. So second guessing all this is an interesting intellectual exercise, it really only illustrates larger problems with this team.

The point of the thread was discussing Tomlin's specific decision here. But over all, of course your right. It's time to do something about our defense, and it's time to do something about the injuries on our offense. I wonder if it has anything to do with zone blocking verses straight ahead blocking? Or if it's more of a conditioning issue? Whatever it is, these two things needed to be addressed. A number of other issues as well, but these two in particular.

steel striker
10-13-2012, 07:20 PM
I still would have like to see Tomlin put the ball in Ben's hands to determine the out come. I know Shaun has been great this year but, 54 yards outside not in a dome. I know our defense has been swiss cheese for most of this year. We have enough playmakers on this offense and, I really think the steelers would have won that game if Tomlin would have went for it on 4th down.

zulater
10-13-2012, 07:25 PM
I still would have like to see Tomlin put the ball in Ben's hands to determine the out come. I know Shaun has been great this year but, 54 yards outside not in a dome. I know our defense has been swiss cheese for most of this year. We have enough playmakers on this offense and, I really think the steelers would have won that game if Tomlin would have went for it on 4th down.

At the very least it would have been a less bitter pill to swallow if he had tried to go for it with Ben and it had failed. Honestly who in their right mind could have questioned putting the ball in the hands of your best player with the game on the line?

X-Terminator
10-13-2012, 07:53 PM
At the very least it would have been a less bitter pill to swallow if he had tried to go for it with Ben and it had failed. Honestly who in their right mind could have questioned putting the ball in the hands of your best player with the game on the line?

You clearly underestimate the fickle nature of many Steelers fans. I guarantee you there would have been a LOT of fans questioning that decision if it failed.

zulater
10-13-2012, 07:55 PM
You clearly underestimate the fickle nature of many Steelers fans. I guarantee you there would have been a LOT of fans questioning that decision if it failed.

Remember I qualified it with a "who in their right mind"! :chuckle:

JayC
10-13-2012, 08:02 PM
tomlin has a lot of fault for this team's poor performances but i can't really fault tomlin's decision here. 11 for 11 and within NFL kicker range barely. the problem isn't that call it's not getting any more yards on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down. the last 2 weeks i wondered what the hell they were doing when they got into field goal range. last time running to many plays for me and this time too conservative when you aren't close enough.

i think i punt though if it's me. i'd rather take a change to pin them deep when you know sushi sucks at long distance from past seasons but i can't fault the call.

Craic
10-13-2012, 11:26 PM
You clearly underestimate the fickle nature of many Steelers fans. I guarantee you there would have been a LOT of fans questioning that decision if it failed.

True, matter of fact, quite a few of them probably would have said, "We should have tried for a field goal, or punted." And if he punted, and we lost, it would have been, "We should have gone for it on fourth down, or at least tried for a field goal. After all, our kicker is 11 for 11 and just made a FG the same distance!"

Fickle indeed!

Craic
10-13-2012, 11:31 PM
At the very least it would have been a less bitter pill to swallow if he had tried to go for it with Ben and it had failed. Honestly who in their right mind could have questioned putting the ball in the hands of your best player with the game on the line?

But really, that's the question. For the position being played, this year, up to the point of the kick, is Ben a better player at his position, or Squeezeme a better player at his position? Remember, while Ben is putting up some unbelievable numbers, he did throw a pick in the game, and his WR's were also dropping the ball. Squeezeme was perfect to that point. So, to re-ask your question, ". . . the hands of your best player at his position."

I'll tip my hand here and say I am playing devil's advocate quite a bit in this thread (as I often do here). In truth, I think Tomlin's only bad decision here would have been to punt it. That would have assured OT or a loss, with NO possibility of a win in RT.

I also think that if it was 4th and 5, or less, that he probably would have gone for it.

Count Steeler
10-14-2012, 06:20 AM
Ben = Franchise
Swish = hot foot

The real problem is that we had to make that decision. Unfortunately, even a made field goal would not have secured the win. OT at the very least, possibly a loss in RT. No way was our defense going to make a difference.

This 4th quarter BS has to come to a stop.

suitanim
10-14-2012, 09:33 AM
This choice is a classic "Morton's Fork"...every outcome is probably not the desired one, and the only correct one is the one that would have retrospectively worked had IT been chosen.

In most Steelers fans minds, the only choice Tomlin was allowed to make was the one that worked. Otherwise, he's an idiot, and they know better, because (with perfect hindsight) they would have (fill in the blank with their opinion here) instead.

86WARD
10-14-2012, 09:44 AM
A successfull punt ( anything inside the 20) most likely gets the game to OT. But once in OT it's a coin flip proposition.

Which gives them a better chance of getting out of there with a win or at the very least, prolonging the loss, than a missed FG and giving the ball to the Titans where they did. Even if the punt is returned to the spot of the FG, it eats some time off the clock...

Attempting the FG, IMO, was the worst option with Suisham there. He's never hit from that far in his career...the probability of him missing it was much greater than him making it. Had they let Ben go for it, you at least have 7 yards in field position, pending a sack..which would be highly probable...lol.

zulater
10-14-2012, 10:37 AM
Ben = Franchise
Swish = hot foot

The real problem is that we had to make that decision. Unfortunately, even a made field goal would not have secured the win. OT at the very least, possibly a loss in RT. No way was our defense going to make a difference.

This 4th quarter BS has to come to a stop.

Excellent way to put it!

That's the thing, if we get the first down at worst we're going to overtime. If Ben gets the first, they either end up driving in for the 7, or they have a more makeable fg as the last play of regulation.

zulater
10-14-2012, 10:39 AM
This choice is a classic "Morton's Fork"...every outcome is probably not the desired one, and the only correct one is the one that would have retrospectively worked had IT been chosen.

In most Steelers fans minds, the only choice Tomlin was allowed to make was the one that worked. Otherwise, he's an idiot, and they know better, because (with perfect hindsight) they would have (fill in the blank with their opinion here) instead.

It doesn't make me right, but it can be verified in the game thread that I was strongly against the fg attempt before the snap of the ball was ever made o n that play.

In other words I was first guessing. :chuckle:

suitanim
10-15-2012, 08:43 AM
I did say "most Steelers fans". Bottom line, it was a tough call all the way around, and this time it didn't work out for us...