Obviously.
It was the right call in my opinion. I feel they should’ve tried to draw the Cowboys offsides, called timeout and come up with a better play. I’ve said it a million times, Conner is most effective going forward...anything east and west is majorly questionable.
Originally Posted by Dwinsgames
Enthroned Into The Good Old Boys Club - 2024
I didn’t have a problem with going for it, I just didn’t like the play call
Me neither. Should've gone for the QB sneak, IMO.
That may have been out of the playbook with Ben’s knee, but would much rather have seen something straight ahead.
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I get the apprehension but it was extra point length plus a few. Larry bird doesn’t stop shooting after airball or rejection. I would have been nervous but wanted FG. This isnt ncaa football. I was shocked they ran a play. But hey Im on my couch with zero accountability. Tough call.
So Tomlin was living in his fears when he made that call.
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Here is the issue, if they block it, they get the ball there, if they make it they lead by 8, pretty much game over. If they go for it and make it game over if they go for it and don’t make it, we we saw what happened. Kicking it gives better options IMO.
Dumb call, kick the field goal. It would have been an easy kick, Cowboys were stuffing our run game all day so why run it on 4th down...dumb. Just glad it didn't screw us.
They block the kick, scoop and score, what's the message board narrative then? Cowboys could/should've blocked at least 2.
So we never kick FGs again because of the worst case scenario that almost never happens? How is that a formula for winning?
What’s going to happen between now and next game that changes this fear? We have one of the best kickers in the NFL. So he had some bad kicks. Big Ben had some bad 3 and outs. Do we stop trying to throw on third down when that gives us the best chance to win or do we trust in the odds based on what we know he can do.
Now we’ve been stopped on a running play with 1 to go to close out a game two weeks in row. Do we abandon that too because it doesn’t always work?
We should go with the best percentage play for victory. And when a short FG will put us up by 8 with less than a minute to go, you do that.
It’s a higher percentage play than the one we called, that’s for sure
That scenario is typically the case, but the FGs and PATs I watched against Dallas featured unblocked rushers right over the center more than once. Leading to one block on a PAT. That's a deadball. They didn't block that guy who jumped the C/G gap on all the previous kicks. Why assume they would on another kick?
Then why assume they’ll ever succeed again? Or are the Cowboys just so awesome at blocking kicks that no one succeeds against them?
If there is an adjustment that needs to be made then make it. If we can’t then how do we ever justify trying to kick short FGs in the future if we’re incapable of blocking for them?
We seemed just as incapable of run blocking. So why did we not give up on that option?
The Cowboys saw something on film/with our alignment that they were taking advantage of. They blocked on PAT, and their pressure nearly got there on every kick/PAT... resulting in a second missed PAT and a missed FG (although, the second attempt at that FG was good). Additionally, the special teams had given up two other long returns. So, this unit was primed & ready for a blocked FG to occur.
Trusting Danny Smith to fix it “during the game” is ludicrous. Danny Smith probably wouldn’t be able to fix this (on his own) with an entire week to prepare.
That said... it was still odd.
Going back two plays, Chase Claypool slides. Afterwards, he admits that he should have tried to get the first down FIRST and stopping the clock/staying in bound should have been his SECOND priority. Going out of bounds does indeed force the Cowboys to burn a time out, but a first down essentially seals the game. I’m assuming that on the series before (when he went out of bounds) people got in his ear about taking time off of the clock. So, in all honesty, he was doing what he was told.
Back to the fourth-down play.Why run outside? Why not pass? Ben was hitting those sideline passes... and the clock stops after fourth down anyway; so, an “incomplete-pass stopping the clock” isn’t an issue. I get that a pick-six is an legitimate concern in that situation (they might be looking for the quick pass), but it’s a higher percentage than they had had running all game.
Were I in charge, I would have lined up with my heavies, audibled the heck out of them, moved Claypool across the field, and called a timeout with 1 second left. Then, I switch to five wide, have Claypool come in motion and either pitch it forward to him (essentially a run) or throw a quick pass to whomever quickly comes open. That formation had worked against the Cowboys all game long, because they never knew which one of the five receivers was the intended target.
SUMMATION:
Running sideways with Conner wouldn’t have ever have been my choice.
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Chuck Noll had the greatest defense of all time though. Bobby Walden was a 150 year old punter and probably related to Mitch Berger or Paul Ernster.
Nonsense! Call a timeout, go over ALL your blocking assignments, make sure #98 on the Cowboys gets cut at the legs and kick the FG to make it an 8 point lead. Or even move the spot of the kick back 3 yards and have them snap it longer since it was a chip shot distance anyhow.
Right. So they didn't go over the blocking assignments the first 3 times the guy waltzed into the backfield during a kick? Whatever was taking place, it was clearly NOT something that an in game adjustment was going to fix. There is direct visual evidence that it already had not fixed it. But, the argument here is that suddenly it would? How does that make sense?
If there’s no adjustment that can possibly be made to prevent this, then we’re done with FGs I guess. All teams can just do what the Cowboys did. I guess that’s a bummer.
If there IS an adjustment that can be made, then it 100% can be made in game, unless it involves a personnel change.
If a ST coach should absolutely see what’s happening and make the adjustment or he should be fired on the spot. What’s he gonna do to fix it during the week? Google it? Ask a real ST coach?
And how do we line up do kick FGs so differently than any other team does it? Or have the Cowboys discovered something incredible that will take away all teams’ ability to kick FGs?
You can keep repeating the same things over and over. I get it. It seems unreasonable that the Steelers couldn't get this corrected. But every single previous kick indicates that they hadn't and wouldn't. There is a post going around the internets today that Lawrence was holding Dotson down and the other 1-2 defenders were jumping/slipping into the C/G gap that created. It is super obvious to see. I am certain that Dotson and the entire Steelers sideline was able to diagnose what was going on. And they were unable to develop a response. Now we can debate all day long about why not. I don't know. But there is unequivocal evidence that they didn't get it fixed.
Why would anyone sign up for doing the same thing again? I don't like the play they did end up calling on 4th and 1 but I certainly liked that better than lining up to have a FG blocked.
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Judging it by Tomlin's reaction, I don't think that was his favorite playcall either.The Cowboys saw something on film/with our alignment that they were taking advantage of. They blocked on PAT, and their pressure nearly got there on every kick/PAT... resulting in a second missed PAT and a missed FG (although, the second attempt at that FG was good). Additionally, the special teams had given up two other long returns. So, this unit was primed & ready for a blocked FG to occur.
Trusting Danny Smith to fix it “during the game” is ludicrous. Danny Smith probably wouldn’t be able to fix this (on his own) with an entire week to prepare.
That said... it was still odd.
Going back two plays, Chase Claypool slides. Afterwards, he admits that he should have tried to get the first down FIRST and stopping the clock/staying in bound should have been his SECOND priority. Going out of bounds does indeed force the Cowboys to burn a time out, but a first down essentially seals the game. I’m assuming that on the series before (when he went out of bounds) people got in his ear about taking time off of the clock. So, in all honesty, he was doing what he was told.
Back to the fourth-down play.
Were I in charge, I would have lined up with my heavies, audibled the heck out of them, moved Claypool across the field, and called a timeout with 1 second left. Then, I switch to five wide, have Claypool come in motion and either pitch it forward to him (essentially a run) or throw a quick pass to whomever quickly comes open. That formation had worked against the Cowboys all game long, because they never knew which one of the five receivers was the intended target.
SUMMATION:
Running sideways with Conner wouldn’t have ever have been my choice.
Looking at this version of the video (starts at around 13:40 or so) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrFL4gDa9KU
65 (Hawkins?) just gets his ass kicked on the play. If he holds his block, Conner has DeCastro, McDonald, and Claypool on the edge as blockers. It also doesn't look great that Pouncey got pushed into the backfield allowing #98 for Dallas to be aggressive backside pursuit in the play -- such that even in Hawkins blocks his man, #98 for Dallas might have something to say about the play still. I also suspect that someone was supposed to finish one block and then help to account for 54 the Dallas LB shooting into the play.
It looked like a group that didn't really practice all week. Shocking.
If you want to take that play out of the rotation, then you are taking out one of the Steelers bread and butter running plays. This pulling guard with the TE coming across as well is one of their like 3 "go to" we are running the football now, try and stop us plays.
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So, your argument to not kicking the FG was that Dallas was going to block it, and instead it was good to run it because Dallas was probably going to stop it? Because Dallas stopped the run the entire game. The logic in that argument makes no sense, either way Dallas was going to stop whatever we did because they have been doing it all game.
The steelers had the chance to win the game if they had the first down on the fourth down call......The game would not been over with a FG...I have no problem with this decision since the steelers have missed 2 extra points in this game...But I agree that the playcalling in fourth down was awful.
I am saying that your kick blocking unit got its ass kicked all day. If it happened again, there is chance the play results in a 80+ yard TD for the Cowboys that wins the game. The kicking team has almost no one in a position to recover the ball, much less chase down an opposing player.
So with 1 yard to go, to win the game, the Steelers went with their "best" running play. One that we have seen multiple times this season alone be part of a game winning script in the "4 minute offense". They pulled their best run blocking G and their best blocking TE around to help lead their best RB over the left side of the line. Unfortunately, their OT eligible that had to hold the edge got beat badly and his man blew the play up.
Just because a play did not go the way you wanted it to, does not mean it is not the best strategic decision. The Steelers call that play 10 more times in that same situation with the same two teams on the field and I would bet money they get it 7/10 times.
How many times out of 10 does boz make the FG and how many blocked in your opinion. Your logic makes sense, the idea of nfl team scared to take chip shit is mind boggling though . Hard to believe linemen and coaches couldn’t adapt. If they covert on run its a moot point, I think people would be applauding tomlin for gutsy call.
I figure there's a better than 50% chance the kick gets blocked. More like 2/3.
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The call was correct. You couldn't trust the field goal team. Also, 4th and 1 against Dallas' shitty defense inside their territory is a no-brainer. It should have worked easily and would have worked easily if it wasn't for the cro-magnon playcall
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