Perils of Vanity - When Coaches Refuse to Run out the Clock

[YoloinOhio]

Right! Because the Mike Shoop way is the only way! It's a shame he is such a fool.

his rant on Eichel today = all the fire emojis. I don't usually listen to his show but they are replaying it right now on the Nightcap show. Edited February 9, 2017 by YoloinOhio

[Fan in Chicago]

Vanity is the right word. It was Kyle Shanahan's ego. But when they got onto the Pats 22/23 yard line 1st and 10 knowing a FG all but seals it Dan Quinn should have been on the headset saying "Kyle, run it three times please and finish on Bryant's preferred hash."

 

That they so royally cocked it up is mindblowing.

KNowing their kicker's range, he should have absolutely minimized the risk and kneeled three times. Not even a chance of a fumble.

[LI_Bills]

KNowing their kicker's range, he should have absolutely minimized the risk and kneeled three times. Not even a chance of a fumble.

 

Gostkowski doinks a PAT, but the Falcons FG is a given?

 

I'm not saying I don't get the 3 run, burn the clock strategy, I just don't see it as the only way to win the game.

[klos63]

A fun read - I was on either side of the first two as a fan- The Comeback and that stupid OSU-Nebraska game. Then the SB happened. It's mind boggling what these OCs do.

 

Kyle Shanahan, Kevin Gilbride and Jim Bollman are calling plays with a 78-point lead.

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2017/02/79952/the-perils-of-vanity-super-bowl-li-atlanta-falcons-new-england-patriots

For all the criticism Shanahan has rec'd for his play calling, I'm still shocked that he's not getting more. This is the most blatant error in play calling I've ever seen. In any regular season game, you would have seen the blue line at the 35 yard line as the 'to go to' line for a FG attempt. All the strategy for that last drive would be to get in field goal range to make it an 11 point game. I'm still in utter shock over this. Falcons fans will never get over it.

[Thurman#1]

A fun read - I was on either side of the first two as a fan- The Comeback and that stupid OSU-Nebraska game. Then the SB happened. It's mind boggling what these OCs do.

 

Kyle Shanahan, Kevin Gilbride and Jim Bollman are calling plays with a 78-point lead.

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2017/02/79952/the-perils-of-vanity-super-bowl-li-atlanta-falcons-new-england-patriots

 

 

 

Good article.

 

The Falcons just gave that game away with bad clock management. The article said they only ran 5 more times in that game? Jeez, I knew it was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Thurman#1

[HardyBoy]

the Falcons D was on the field for over 40 minutes. Christ

Add to that the pats were playing quickly, and not getting huge chunks of yards. 10 more minutes on the field, but they played an extra game's worth of snaps compared to the Pats d (twice as many snaps)...that's insane.

[YoloinOhio]

 

 

 

Good article.

 

Remember that Buddy Ryan physically assaulted Kevin Gilbride, the OC who was calling all those pass plays, on the sidelines of that Buffalo-Houston game?

 

The Falcons just gave that game away with bad clock management. The article said they only ran 5 more times in that game? Jeez, I knew it was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad.

Mike Vrabel threw a coffee cup (one of those heavy stainless steel travel ones) at Jim Bollman in the meeting room after that Nebraska game. I'm surprised that type of thing doesn't happen more often

[klos63]

the Falcons D was on the field for over 40 minutes. Christ

Reminds me of the Super Bowl XXV. Bills defense on for 41.

[LI_Bills]

Reminds me of the Super Bowl XXV. Bills defense on for 41.

 

Same result in terms of TOP and outcome, but I never got the impression that the Pats were playing keep away to control the game.

[klos63]

 

Same result in terms of TOP and outcome, but I never got the impression that the Pats were playing keep away to control the game.

Agreed. They were down too far to use that strategy.

[KD in CA]

 

I think I'm one of the few people who had no problem with the play call. IMO opinion the problem was taking the sack. Everyone is taking for granted that they make the FG. If they miss the FG are all the second guessers going to say they should have been aggressive...hadn't they already over the ball from deep in their own territory?

 

No doubt Ryan blew it by not throwing the ball away, but Shanny should never have put him in that position.

 

They had run the ball very well all game.

They needed to run the clock.

Their defense was exhausted and essentially incapable of stopping Brady by that point in the game.

 

And worst of all, instead of calling a quick, safe, high % pass which might have been defensible, they had Ryan in full drop back looking downfield.....against a pass rush that had shown repeatedly they could get to him.

Edited February 9, 2017 by KD in CA

[bbb]

Reminds me of the Super Bowl XXV. Bills defense on for 41.

 

It reminds me so much of XXV. I was thinking - what the hell does BB do - jedi mind tricks to make the other team do stupid things - Kelly keeps throwing, Ryan keeps throwing, the Seahawks throw at the one yard line. Ugh!

 

I heard tonight that the Falcons ran the ball 4 times after it was 28-3. WTF?!?

 

 

[GunnerBill]

 

It reminds me so much of XXV. I was thinking - what the hell does BB do - jedi mind tricks to make the other team do stupid things - Kelly keeps throwing, Ryan keeps throwing, the Seahawks throw at the one yard line. Ugh!

 

I heard tonight that the Falcons ran the ball 4 times after it was 28-3. WTF?!?

 

 

 

 

Called 4 runs but ran it 5 times (Ryan scramble was the 5th).

[dhg]

Good article.

 

Remember that Buddy Ryan physically assaulted Kevin Gilbride, the OC who was calling all those pass plays, on the sidelines of that Buffalo-Houston game?

 

The Falcons just gave that game away with bad clock management. The article said they only ran 5 more times in that game? Jeez, I knew it was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad.

The Ryan - Gilbride thing happened during a Oilers - Jets game

[Webster Guy]

 

I think I'm one of the few people who had no problem with the play call. IMO opinion the problem was taking the sack. Everyone is taking for granted that they make the FG. If they miss the FG are all the second guessers going to say they should have been aggressive...hadn't they already over the ball from deep in their own territory?

The game was over. The Falc's had it won. Burn clock, set up the fg and go up two scores with 3 minutes left. No need to hold or risk penalties or sacks. It was over.

 

Shanahan and Quinn are both to blame. That's flat out poor coaching and bush league strategy.

We said it out loud as they did it "what are they doing with these calls?". Even Matt Ryan should have been a leader enough to audible down to a run.

[LI_Bills]

The game was over. The Falc's had it won. Burn clock, set up the fg and go up two scores with 3 minutes left. No need to hold or risk penalties or sacks. It was over.

 

Shanahan and Quinn are both to blame. That's flat out poor coaching and bush league strategy.

We said it out loud as they did it "what are they doing with these calls?". Even Matt Ryan should have been a leader enough to audible down to a run.

 

So the FG was a gimme. Just like Gostkowski's PAT.

[HT02]

A fun read - I was on either side of the first two as a fan- The Comeback and that stupid OSU-Nebraska game. Then the SB happened. It's mind boggling what these OCs do.

 

Kyle Shanahan, Kevin Gilbride and Jim Bollman are calling plays with a 78-point lead.

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2017/02/79952/the-perils-of-vanity-super-bowl-li-atlanta-falcons-new-england-patriots

I don't agree with the premise of this article at all, we have all screamed at the television when we've seen our team do the three runs and punt and allow the other team to climb back in tha game that way. Just look at the NFC Championship game, the Falcons never took their foot off the gas an finished burying the Packers instead of hoping that their defense (very clearly the weaker of their two units) would be able to hold off Aaron Rodgers (one of the best QB's in football) Why try to run the clock and HOPE that Brady doesn't get hot against the Patriots. It didn't work our for the Falcons but I like them putting the game on the offense instead of the defense. The only issue I had with them was deciding to pass once they got to the Patriot 20 after the Jones catch. From there they had the 3pts in hand and an 11 point lead with under 5 to play.

[Chuck Wagon]

I don't agree with the premise of this article at all, we have all screamed at the television when we've seen our team do the three runs and punt and allow the other team to climb back in tha game that way. Just look at the NFC Championship game, the Falcons never took their foot off the gas an finished burying the Packers instead of hoping that their defense (very clearly the weaker of their two units) would be able to hold off Aaron Rodgers (one of the best QB's in football) Why try to run the clock and HOPE that Brady doesn't get hot against the Patriots. It didn't work our for the Falcons but I like them putting the game on the offense instead of the defense. The only issue I had with them was deciding to pass once they got to the Patriot 20 after the Jones catch. From there they had the 3pts in hand and an 11 point lead with under 5 to play.

 

 

Agree with this completely. I've seen far too many offenses both at the NFL and college levels try to sit on 14 point leads in the middle of the 3rd quarter. It does seem like the second an offense that's rolling decides to play ball control their entire rhythm is shot and it's only a matter of time until the comeback is complete.

 

 

First off, it is important to note how many times the Falcons snapped the ball with 10-15 seconds left on the play clock in the 4th quarter, that is completely unacceptable regardless of what you are trying to accomplish. However, I also agree with you that the only time I have a real complaint with the Falcons scheme was after the Jones catch. That is a situation where you run it into the line 3 times, burn the timeouts / run the clock and create a 2 score ballgame. That's more Tevin Coleman's game than Devonta Freeman's game, so I do wonder if the Coleman injury played into the play calling. It is important to note the refs missed a critical facemask on Sanu that would have offset the Matthews hold that further sunk that series after Ryan's sack. It's amazing how many times both HC and OCs fail in end-game management situations, I do think that's the #1 difference between a 11 win NFL team and a 7 win NFL team.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Chuck Wagon

[RealityCheck]

Brady and Belicheat are inside every opponents head, not the other way around. The Pats receivers could not be covered one on one late in the game. The Falcons new this, and their fundamental lack of confidence in their ability to stop Brady. No lead is safe is what every coach thinks. It wasn't vanity, it was a lack of confidence in using what some call conventional wisdom against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Atlanta's execution has a lot to do with it. Besides, McDaniel called some awful series himself throughout the first 3 quarters. It was a great game.

[Thurman#1]

The Ryan - Gilbride thing happened during a Oilers - Jets game

 

Be damned. I coulda sworn.

 

Thanks, you're right.

 

I'm gonna edit my original post so I don't mislead anyone from my mistake.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Thurman#1