BillsNYC Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 Why did we run down the clock on 3rd down before halftime instead of taking a shot at the end zone?
Guest BillsRebound Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 Because we had short yardage personnel on the field, plus a QB whose lack of mobility is legendary and a penchant for throwing red zone Int's. It was the right call given the circumstances. But we probably shouldn't have been in those circumstances (we should have thrown 3 times after burning our last timeout).
Alaska Darin Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 The key to the whole series was not getting out of the huddle and having to burn our last timeout. I miss the days when the BILLS were able to leave their base offensive package on the field no matter what the down and distance. We certainly don't have that luxury now.
BuffaloWings Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 The key to the whole series was not getting out of the huddle and having to burn our last timeout. 109912[/snapback] The coaching staff's reasoning was that they thought the play clock should have been reset after Shelton's catch and run to the 2-yard line. A flag was thrown on the field at the end of that play, but the officials picked it up and announced there was no penalty. The play clock kept running down from 45 seconds, and IMO, it should have been reset after the refs made the mistake. That's why they called a timeout on 1st down. However, what I question is why they called timeouts with over a minute left in the half (twice). They were at the Jets' 26 with 2:00 left, so there was plenty of time to take shots at the end zone or run whatever plays they wanted. No need to save time there.
Rubes Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 Right before the play that got them down to the 2, there was a play on the near sidelines. The player who caught the ball (forgot who it was) had a chance to go out of bounds, but didn't. The Bills ended up using a timeout then. If he had gotten out of bounds and saved the TO, we would have had an extra one to use for that 3rd down play, and we could have taken a shot at the end zone. That was another bungle that has been left out of the discussion.
BuffaloWings Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 Right before the play that got them down to the 2, there was a play on the near sidelines. The player who caught the ball (forgot who it was) had a chance to go out of bounds, but didn't. The Bills ended up using a timeout then. If he had gotten out of bounds and saved the TO, we would have had an extra one to use for that 3rd down play, and we could have taken a shot at the end zone. 110081[/snapback] OK - that was the swing pass to Burns. Yes, he should have gone OB (he had the first down, too), but there was still about 1:20 left on the clock and they were inside the Jets' 15. Again, plenty of time to do no-huddle and get a play in from the sideline. The coaches need to have a play ready in case someone does not get OB in that situation. It's almost as if they were playing for the FG, which is what the announcers were implying - doubt it, though. Just pure clock mismanagement. I've seen this many times, so I'll chalk it up to rookie coaching at this point. I guess it's easier to second-guess, but I still wouldn't have called those TOs. Mularkey says it was a lesson learned....I certainly hope so.
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