2011 NFL Thread: The Final Four - Part 12

[KalMart]

Like I said earlier, if Flacco ran for the 1st down, the called a time out, he would have been able to at least have 1 shot to throw it in the end zone.

If he completed, they win. If it was incomplete, it would have stopped the clock and they could have kicked the field goal a yard closer, if that would have helped.

Well, that defender for the Pats had him lined up squarely after Flacco cleared the pocket, so he would have had to get by him to get to that one yard. So it was also a great play by that Pat who rushed him. But still...they had a timeout left and maybe should have seen that the kick had disaster written all over it. It's a split-second call....am I breaking his rhythm, or should I give him the time he needs to set up the tying kick?

And that's not icing his own kicker...icing is when you lengthen out the time needed after it's taken. This would have been at least giving your kicker a better chance. That falls on Harbaugh not calling a timeout. The run for the 1 didn't happen, but they still had a chance to secure that kick that they didn't take.

 

[Erzengel]

If I'm remembering correctly he was standing there with a second or 2 before he threw that incomplete pass. He could have easily ran for 1 yard or dove for it.

 

[Poeman]

If I'm remembering correctly he was standing there with a second or 2 before he threw that incomplete pass. He could have easily ran for 1 yard or dove for it.

It really is awareness...Its like questioning Brett Favre for his INT he threw to Terry Porter when he should have just run another 5 yards to position the kicker to get the game winning kick.

Some QB's need to just play it safe instead of going for the "big play"

A mistake Kyle Williams did yesterday

 

[KalMart]

If I'm remembering correctly he was standing there with a second or 2 before he threw that incomplete pass. He could have easily ran for 1 yard or dove for it.

The way I saw it is he was standing then he moved to the right out of a collapsing pocket, at which point a Pat defender sprinted right at him...the guy who got him to the ground as he tried to get that pass off that was knocked down. So it's not like Flacco had the yard just sitting there waiting for him with no one in sight.

 

[Erzengel]

The way I saw it is he was standing then he moved to the right out of a collapsing pocket, at which point a Pat defender sprinted right at him...the guy who got him to the ground as he tried to get that pass off that was knocked down. So it's not like Flacco had the yard just sitting there waiting for him with no one in sight.

Well we are talking 1 yard and not 5 yards, even with the defender near by, he could have gone 1 yard.

 

[KalMart]

Well we are talking 1 yard and not 5 yards, even with the defender near by, he could have gone 1 yard.

Yes, I know that...but Flacco wasn't on the line of scrimmage, he was at least two yards away when he broke the pocket from the dropback. Take a look at it. As soon as he starts to break the pocket, that's when the defender runs up from behind the line and gets in his face which made Flacco keep rolling right still about 1.5-2 yards away from the line of scrimmage, then try that pass as he was tackled. I'm not saying he couldn't have still tried....but it wasn't a complete gimme that he'd get that first down right under his nose.

 

[Erzengel]

Cam Newton replaces Eli and Peppers replaces JPP at the Pro Bowl next week.

 

[kane9321]

I pray they make it count.

we will...a top notch wrt:

 

[Erzengel]

Yes, I know that...but Flacco wasn't on the line of scrimmage, he was at least two yards away when he broke the pocket from the dropback. Take a look at it. As soon as he starts to break the pocket, that's when the defender runs up from behind the line and gets in his face which made Flacco keep rolling right still about 1.5-2 yards away from the line of scrimmage, then try that pass as he was tackled. I'm not saying he couldn't have still tried....but it wasn't a complete gimme that he'd get that first down right under his nose.

I couldn't find any video. I just remembering watching it, just saying RUN!

 

[Erzengel]

we will...a top notch wrt:

2 different mock drafts have WRs Alshon Jeffery of SC or Mohamed Sanu from Rutgers going to SF.

 

[KalMart]

I couldn't find any video. I just remembering watching it, just saying RUN!

Yeah, they skip it in the online highlights, but I saw the specific play a few more times on TV here on the local sports network, and it becomes much more evident. A lot of credit should go to that Pats defender who came up at Flacco and forced him to keep running sideways. To me, if that defender had ran up a split second later it would have given Flacco some steps in front to run towards the first down....but the timing was just right.

 

[Immortalfire]

Newton got in the pro bowl ahead of Stafford? Wtf...

 

[Venom'sDad]

^ Some Georgia hate, maybe.

 

[Holiday]

Well, if Elway was as great as everyone says his teams wouldnt have gotten blown out twice in the big game. I don't see any other legendary QB losing a Super Bowl 55-10.

His teams were over matched, look at the teams and coaches Elway and Denver faced in the Super Bowl; Bill Walsh's 49ers, Bill Parcell's Giants, Joe Gibb's Redskins. Teams full of Hall of Fame players with Hall of Fame coaches. Elway had the conservative Dan Reeves and not any real elite talent around him.


Just curious, but do you say Ben Roethlisberger "Won the Superbowl" against Seattle even though he played horribly and even he knows it?

 

[Erzengel]

From TMZ

Billy Cundiff -- the Baltimore Ravens' kicker who botched the kick that could have kept the team's Super Bowl dream alive -- was distracted before his field goal attempt ... to the point that coaches were yelling at him.

Two players on the team have spoken with TMZ -- one of whom says he witnessed the confrontation and another who did not witness it but says it is being widely discussed among Ravens players.

Our sources say ... immediately before Cundiff attempted the game-tying FG, he was doing what he was supposed to do -- practicing kicking on the sidelines. But as the Ravens marched down the field, Cundiff was unaware that his time to kick was looming.

It's S.O.P. for kickers to walk toward the field when the time approaches for them to kick -- ready to run into the game.

According to our sources, coaches repeatedly called for Cundiff -- at least 6 times -- to no avail -- he wasn't responding. We're told the coaches became "furious" because Cundiff wasn't ready to go.

Our sources say players and coaches are saying Cundiff was distracted ... not paying attention and not ready to immediately execute a kick.

As for how the team reacted to the botched attempt, we're told players were gracious. As one player put it, "We didn't give him a hard time because he looked like he was ready to kill himself."

 

[KalMart]

Like I mentioned...it looked like a big confused scramble to get to the kick for whatever reasons. They should have called a time out to calm everything down...and it's not like the remaining time out had any other use at that point.

 

[terry78]

Yeah, it's a lot of pressure when it comes to any sport where your deciding goal is the winner. Still don't wanna be in his shoes though.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

Bigger GOAT?

Lee Evans

or

Billy Cundiff

or

Kyle Williams

http://deadspin.com/5878471/why-we-scapegoat

 

[CConn]

No, Billy Cundiff lost the game.

 

[KalMart]

Billy Cundiff stopped 12 of their 13 third downs from being converted....except for the meaningless one at the end of regulation.

 

[CConn]

I'm sorry, but as an NFL kicker, you should be expected to make a 32 yard FG 99% of the time. It's like expecting a quarterback to be able to complete a 5 yard pass. I wouldn't say the loss is totally on him (as the Pats could've always won it in OT), but he definitely deprived his team of the chance to win it in OT.

 

[KalMart]

I'm sorry, but as an NFL kicker, you should be expected to make a 32 yard FG 99% of the time. It's like expecting a quarterback to be able to complete a 5 yard pass. I wouldn't say the loss is totally on him (as the Pats could've always won it in OT), but he definitely deprived his team of the chance to win it in OT.

It looks like he just lost track of the time flow getting to the end...and maybe was expecting a timeout call as a cue or something. It is certainly up to him to be ready....but the coaches definitely had a chance to help with that timeout and just got nervous in those very few seconds that it would hurt.

It's still mind-boggling...considering they knew the whole time that they were 3 down, so the whole approach/drive is pretty-much designed with a FG as a major option. How he lost track of the time left is a true WTF.

 

[Matt]

From TMZ

Then why not use the timeout?

 

[Venom'sDad]

So which Harbaugh had the biggest heartbreak?

 

[KalMart]

Then why not use the timeout?

It was probably a decision made in haste not to use it out of fear of disrupting the kicker even more....but an erroneous one since it's a distinctly different case than icing a kicker. Icing is mean to shake the nerves of a kicker in his routine, whereas in this case, he didn't get a chance to get his nerve to begin with...which the timeout could have helped for. Coaches were probably flustered that he wasn't 'ready'...running out of time...etc.