I think he goes for it in this situation when the game is not on the line. Like you said, the kicking game has been shaky and that presents a 42 or 43 yard attempt. Certainly no gimme. With an athlete like DK at QB, a big RB like Terrence Williams who is hard to bring down, I like an outside RPO in this situation.
FWIW, I was fine with the call to go for it on 4th and 3 right before the half. At that point our defense couldn’t stop TT at all and we were always one missed tackle away from giving up another long TD. When we turned it over on downs, there was 1:57 left (according to the play by play on ESPN, but not sure how accurate this is) and Tech started their drive with 1:53 on the clock. Even if we punt it and pin them at the 1 yard line, they start that drive with 1:45 or so, which is an eternity with their offense. If we can go into the half with a 3 - 7 point lead, and assuming we get the same TD to start the 2nd half, now we have a 10 or 14 point lead which is exactly the kind of cushion our defense needed. I think at the time CMA decided to go for it on 4th and 3, he knew our only chance to win this game was to just outscore Tech. We couldn’t rely on our defense at that point, and I fully agreed. Sadly it didn’t work out.
You make some really good points!!
My thought process was this…if we punt them back to 10 or so and are able to play solid on 1st down and 2nd down…which we did at times…and put them in 3rd and medium to long, then KK might run some clock before 3rd down play because would benefit UH if went quick. CMA would have to hold off calling TO because if TT converted he would help them. Just thinking how do I get defense into locker room to hydrate and cool off.
The drive eventually came down to 2nd and 10 at UH 12…IJ pass interference in EZ. I see your side as well.
Regarding the FG to kick or not…I don’t think its any different if ball is on 20 or 18…I think we are gonna go for 7 or bust…and may regret not taking couple 3’s while had chance.
are you counting delayed blitzs as 3? (line up as 3 but brought pressure, with lbs) no way there was 21…
i missed a few in last drive in the 1st half, we started that drive in prevent but switched back to pressure…i noticed almost all brought 3 plays were prevent on long yardage, or limited time on the clock drives…we did not have 21 plays like that
And in this game, the delayed blitz had 0 effect. It was useless. The blitz didn’t change one thing in terms of protection, hurries (0 in the game), sacks, anything. Why our DC chose to keep employing this “strategy” is beyond me.
Tech was 11/15 passing against the 3 man rush. They gained 9 first downs, had 2 touchdowns and threw for 168 yards. And that’s just what I saw - I didn’t watch the entire game, either.
Which means they had 32/44 passing against all other rushes/blitzes - 27 first downs, 7 touchdowns, and threw for 437 yards the rest of the game.
Looks like nothing we threw at them worked.
Could it possibly be that this kid Bowman is just one hell of a quarterback regardless of his age? The kid has been on point since coming in. Not saying we couldn’t have done more; we should have done more, but let’s give credit where it is due.
He hasn’t thrown a pick yet, he threw for nearly 300 yards and a TD against Ole Miss after being put in the game for the injured starter. He got a game to get his arm moving with Lamar. The kid is obviously good, and we know Kingsbury can coach. He coached Keenum, and look at him now. Mahomes seems to be doing alright…
Yes, I’m pissed, but I am not ready to throw the season out yet.
Totally agree 1000% although I think it’s worse. Let’s say you bring 2 on an ineffective delayed blitz. You actually take 2 players out of the defense. They aren’t covering anybody and they aren’t making a difference in the pass rush because the QB gets the ball out of his hands by the time the rushers actually reach the line of scrimmage. It’s like Tech was playing 11 on 9.
Not going to high-jack the work you did or the thread but I don’t think it’s a reach to say Major and other’s counting 3 men rushes, were counting plays when no one blitzed.
okay i justed checked a few of these and you are definitely counting delayed blitzs,
you are probably right that it wasnt effective but i think most people still count that as bringing pressure
i already noted in the OP i missed ,a few (mostly in the last drive of the 2nd quarter) when we went into prevent to stop them. i think it its probably in the 8 to 10 range where we actuially only brought 3
why??
delayed blitz is bringing pressure, by every technical definition there is…
he is counting delayed blitz as not bringing pressure…
you can argue that is was ineffective or useless…but by every definition it classifies as bringing pressure
I don’t remember the delay blitz accomplishing anything other than putting us in a position of playing 10 vs 11. We are basically taking one player out of the mix. Not in pass coverage and too late to create pressure on the quarterback.
This goes both ways for the CMD sympathizers. They’d rather suggest he is doing his best by presenting anything contrary to how others feel. I have yet to see those people present an argument that suggests he has flaws.
I don’t think the sympathizers are saying he is doing a good job. They are just trying to show that what some people say he is being accused of is inaccurate.