4th and 2 from your own 28, you're up by 6 and there's less than 2 minutes to go...

[DSpydr84]

I thought it was a great call. It was the ultimate "play to win, don't play not to lose" scenario.

It was a touchdown game so it's not like Indy was guaranteed the win at the 30 anyway. You guys say "make him drive the entire field", and Belichick says "don't let him get the ball at all". The previous drive Manning went 72 yards in 1:52 without using a timeout, so it's not like he wasn't capable of doing it again with a timeout in his pocket. Why not try to get the two yards (which he got if he didn't bobble the ball) and end it right there?

People are saying Belichick didn't trust his defense, I think he just has a tremendous trust in his offense... and I think with a guy like Tom Brady, he has good reason. If you get the two yards, the game is over. If you don't, you can still stop the Colts on the 30 yard line because again, they needed a touchdown. It wasn't like they were in field goal range and only needed 2 points.

Loved the risk/reward. I wish we had a coach that had the balls to make a call like that.

 

[killgod]

The logic is simple and the decision made plenty of sense. Despite the loss it was probably the correct one.

The Pats Defence was exhausted and getting run all over.

Why give Manning 70 yards, 2 minutes and 1 timeout with a TD to win? Surely if they punted, they probably would have lost the game as well.........BB has enough respect for Manning to be aware of this.

So go for 2 measly yards and if you don't get it.......cough up the TD (thanks Wilhite!) and put Brady in possession, with 1 minute and change to go and a FG away from victory.


They erred by wasting timeouts so they couldn't challenge the wretchedly poor spot on 4th down. Not saying it was a 1st, just saying the spot was very poor. Then the defence wasn't fully aware of their job, as on the first Addai rush everyone seemed to open up for him to score.....only to be stopped on the one by that idiot. Then Indy caught on and did the same thing back, by allowing the line through to stuff Addai on the next rush......killing out the clock and spoiling his plan.

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

LOL @ anyone defending the move. Sure.. if he converts it looks pretty 'genius'.. but its pretty damn clear it WASNT worth the risk.

 

[Archer]

How many possessions did the Colts have and how many TD did they score?

Clearly NE did stop and could stop the Colts. Your own 28 is not 4 down territory under last night's circumstances. Beli is still a great [SOB] coach and I respect his balls i must say.

Seven punts and two turnovers

 

[Bear Pand]

I love BB, but hes a maniac. I agree with Len. I dont know why you don't run the ball on 3rd down if your going to go for it on 4th. If you get stopped you have an easier time punting unless you want to go for it on 4th and 5. Anyways I am a Pats fan and I am pretty disgusted today.

I agree, I don't know how they didn't run the ball on third down. Between that and the needlessly blowing timeouts it makes me lean towards thinking the Patriots just panicked instead of thinking the Pats had some plan to go for it all along.

Also ESPN showed a stat that said New England was like 63% in converting 4th and 1s in their last 55 attempts. So for this play to be smart it means Belichick decided that Manning was gonna scored more than 63% of the time had they punted.

 

[DSpydr84]

LOL @ anyone defending the move. Sure.. if he converts it looks pretty 'genius'.. but its pretty damn clear it WASNT worth the risk.

Sure it was. If you convert, you WIN. If you don't, Manning has a shorter field but still has to score a touchdown.

Anybody thinking the clock was a factor is moronic, considering Manning just went 72 yards in 1:52 the drive prior to that without using a timeout (and if they punted, he would've had about 2:05 with a timeout)... so the only reason you punt the ball is to make Manning go an additional 40 yards. Is that really worth it when you can win the game right there on a 2 yard play?

I'm not gonna play the "Manning hasn't been stopped all day" card, because I do believe in trusting your players and letting them go win the game on defense. And I'm not naive enough to think there isn't a difference in 30 yards and 70 yards. I just thought it was smart to be aggressive in a makeable situation with a chance to win the football game. If you strip everything away and just look at it for what it was - two yards and you win the game - it doesn't seem that foolish of a call.

 

[FedEx227]

Seven punts and two turnovers

Love the sig. BB and his bald friend also took down a cameraman like 30 seconds later but they cut before you could see the guy go down.

I was hoping someone would have a sig of it. Fuckin' tools.

 

[TDAUG]

I'll take him as a coach.

 

[Bear Pand]

Love the sig. BB and his bald friend also took down a cameraman like 30 seconds later but they cut before you could see the guy go down.

I was hoping someone would have a sig of it. Fuckin' tools.

lol I thought the Pats loved using cameras though?

I'll take him as a coach.

I agree he's a complete jackass but he could coach the Colts if he wanted.

 

[jms493]

Yeah manning just threw a horrible int like 5 mins before. Just punt it and play Defense to win.

I think if they punt they win in my opinion.

BTW I think Belicheck is a bit overrated sometimes....How did he do in Cleveland???

 

[Senser81]

I disagree with the call because in addition to giving Manning a short field, it also took away the "clock" element. The Colts needed the TD...they couldn't just dink-and-dunk their way to the Patriots 30 then kick a FG. A punt would have put Manning up against the Patriots defense and the clock. Manning would have to hurry his team downfield with little margin of error. By getting stopped on 4th down and giving Manning a short field, the Colts could just run their normal offense and be unconcerned with the time remaining. Belichick had an opportunity to put the pressure on Manning, and he didn't do it.

 

[PP]

I disagree with the call because in addition to giving Manning a short field, it also took away the "clock" element. The Colts needed the TD...they couldn't just dink-and-dunk their way to the Patriots 30 then kick a FG. A punt would have put Manning up against the Patriots defense and the clock. Manning would have to hurry his team downfield with little margin of error. By getting stopped on 4th down and giving Manning a short field, the Colts could just run their normal offense and be unconcerned with the time remaining. Belichick had an opportunity to put the pressure on Manning, and he didn't do it.

Thats the thing. So much can go wrong in two minute drill. Sure its Peyton but receivers have to get open and catch the ball and make plays. No matter what you make the other team make a play and give your defense a chance to stop them. I thought the Pats defense played very well all game and although a little tired near the end thats when you dig deep and see who your stud play makers are. These guys don't get paid millions for nothin. Put your defense in position to succeed. Its like when its 4th and 14 and a team throws a 7 yard out pattern.

 

[jms493]

I dont care what anyone says it was one of the worst calls by a coach in NFL history....just no reason to go for it there.......none.

 

[Senser81]

I dont care what anyone says it was one of the worst calls by a coach in NFL history....just no reason to go for it there.......none.

Marty Mohrningweg electing to kick-off in sudden death overtime takes the cake.

 

[padman59]

Here's the reasoning why I think it wasn't a bad call -- it might not be right but I do like to have my own opinions:

-You have a hall of fame QB and WR, and your offense has not been stopped at all for most of the game. You either have to put the game in the hands of your HOF duo, or put it in the hands of an awful secondary. More importantly, a first down wins you the game. You put the game in your hands, and not hope that you can somehow stop Manning on four downs.

-Either way the Colts were going to be at the 30 yard line. There's no ifs/ands/buts about it... Manning moved the ball across the entire field in under two minutes the drive before, and the Patriots would end up being in prevent until the Colts got into the Patriots territory anyway. By allowing the Colts to start at the 30 you (should) at least give your offense a chance to come back for the game winning FG. However, Wilhite was a complete fucking idiot and made a "game saving tackle" at the 1 yard line.

-I don't get the "you have to trust your defense" logic. Why do you have to trust your defense, yet you can't trust your outstanding offense? Everyone in the world knew if the Colts were getting the ball back they were winning the game, yet everyone lol's when the Patriots tried to prevent that scenario.

With all of that said... if you know you are going for it on 4th down why you don't do two power runs on 3rd and 4th down is beyond me. A high risk out pattern to Welker, and then a curl to Faulk (kudos to Colts defensive coordinator for a surprising blitz play) was not the way to go about it.

Either way, it's just a week 10 game and this is not the end of the season for the Patriots. Making this into a big deal (like it will be) is pointless, considering both of these teams will be in the playoffs barring a horrible choke job by New England.

I also want to kill Wilhite for finally making a play on Joey Addai at the dumbest time.

Terrible reasoning IMO. Sure Manning led the Colts down the field quickly before, but there's no guarantee that he can do it again within two minutes. The field position is a huge factor in this case. The probability of Manning leading a successful 70 yard TD drive withing two minutes is a hell of a lot less than a 30 yard TD drive in the same amount of time.

Also, didn't the Pats bring out their punt team before burning their last TO? IIRC, that doesn't seem to indicate the Pats were in four down mode.

 

[jms493]

Marty Mohrningweg electing to kick-off in sudden death overtime takes the cake.

huh? Please tell me this wasn't NFL!

 

[FedEx227]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbZHU-Oq39Y&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube- belichick[/ame]

 

[FedEx227]

huh? Please tell me this wasn't NFL!

Oh yes.

The most notable moment in Mornhinweg's history was his decision to kick after winning an overtime coin toss. Mornhinweg felt that having the wind in his favor was more important for his Lions to win the game against the Chicago Bears, despite having as his kicker Jason Hanson, who hit a then-NCAA record 62-yard field goal in his college days at Washington State University. He elected to kick and on the Bears opening drive, Chicago scored a field goal. Mornhinweg's Lions went on to become 3-13 after that game, and prompted fed-up Lions fans to refer to the coach as "Marty Moron-weg". This decision was the runner up for the Terry Award to Dwayne Rudd's premature helmet toss celebration that cost his Cleveland Browns a victory. During the sudden death overtime fiasco, Mornhinweg also refused a penalty that would have given the Lions the ball after a punt, and the Bears promptly made a first down, and soon the winning field goal kick.

:facepalm:

 

[jms493]

http://www.patriots.com/homepage/


something is wrong with BB.....god you would have thought Tom Brady died or something.

 

[DJ Fog]

Belichick is a cheeser!

I hope he isn't on the VSN approved Madden player list.