Wathing Low's Video on MSU got me to thinking..

[57stratdawg]

What if we woudln't have gotten that 4th down in the 4th quarter on OUR OWN 40 yard line. We were up 10-6 and that call could have very easily cost us the game.

Everyone is okay with that call? I get hindsight is 20/20..

 

[rugbdawg]

decisions than scared, playing not to lose decisions. Ballsy call, it paid off.

 

[TXDawg.sixpack]

As Mullen said after the game (paraphrasing): "I can't preach to the team about making plays to win the game, then not make the call to win the game".<div>
</div><div>Mullen made the call to win the game. We should know by now that he doesn't play to "not lose". Personally, I love the attitude.</div>

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

I was ok with the call either way.

Tampon sponsor? what the hell's goin' on here?

 

[rugbdawg]

for Relf to make adjustments at the line. There wasn't a timeout called. It was a smooth and quick 4th down call that was executed perfectly.

 

[windcrysmary]

up 10-6 in the 4th.. did mullen see something that looked like a sure shot? manny's 2nd half adjustments were indeed working... he prolly didn't like the call and I don't blame him..

here's to hoping mullen saw something that told him it was a very high percentage play and by the way it looked, our OL was not going to be denied.. and had it failed, it definitely would have fired UGA up but we were shutting them down pretty well the entire 2nd half...

had we not made it, you definitely can not say we would have lost, but when we did, it is obvious that UGA was toast...

good point/post though..

 

[gravedigger]

1. Orgeron's team is on the road.
2. MSU's offense hasnt moved the ball the ENTIRE game up to that point.
3. Orgeron had no dual threat. He had Green who was great. He had a poor passing qb who might be fast, but was incapable of a 'tough yard'.

Really, the only option Orgeron had was the ability to get the yard2 ways: Blow us off the line or be innovative enough to pass. on 4th and short.

Mullen had:

1. The game on his home field
2. MSU's offense that had moved the ball. just failed to punch it in.
3. MSU had FAR more running and throwing options than Orgeron.

No, the situations were not the same percentage gamble.

Now the jumbled up mess of a play call with Perkins trying to throw to Relf....you could make the argument THAT decision ranked close to the 4th down call of Orgeron.
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[karlchilders.sixpack]

we had the ball over 19 min. in the second half. We were controlling the ball.
We don't go to prevent D, and Ga. does not likely score again.

 

[jbulldog]

I luv Mullen's style. He is not afraid to do things out of the box. He is quite unpredictable.

 

[Dawgzilla]

I thought it was a mistake, but it worked out. The risk:reward ratio is too great for me; if you don't make it you may very well lose the game, but if you do make it all you do is keep a drive alive.

But, hearing Mullens' explanation later I am satisfied his decision was sound. Sure, it is easy to say that since they made it, but it makes sense. It was less than a yard to go, the offensive line was really starting to dominate UGA's defense, and Ballard made the first down by a lot.

Still not a gamble I would have taken, but they don't pay me to sit and watch the game.

 

[Todd4State]

We needed to make a statement, and I didn't feel like Georgia could stop us on 4th and inches. Plus, you could look in the players eyes and tell that they wanted to go for it. That, and we made a play call that gave us a high percentage of making the play, instead of a double reverse flea flicker when all we needed was Relf to go on a QB sneak.

I guess that's what upset me so much about LSU a year ago- we called plays that had a lot less of a chance of working when all we had to do was run the ball with AD. And the same thing with LSU this year on the third and one where we threw the ball and Peterson picked it off. Just run it.

I don't mind trick plays, but just like anything else, there is a time and place and situation to call them, and there are also players that are better suited to carry trick plays out to. For example, having Chad Bumphis throw to Relf as opposed to LaDarius Perkins. I think the halfback pass would have been better called with us up 14-3 as opposed to 7-3. Or at the very least have Chris Relf in to run a triple option play on the goal line as opposed to Tyson Lee.

 

[57stratdawg]

It seems like there was too much risk for the reward.

Lets say you were betting on the game live. If Georiga stopped us on that play, then i bet the odds of them winning would have been greater than ours. If we get the 1st down, I doubt it really increases our odds of winning very much.
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[o_Hot Rock]

I had extreme doubts about the decision as it was happeing. But I was hoping and expected that my coach (who gets paid quite a lot more than me) knows his team and does not use some chart to make decisions. As a Head coach it has to be more than just down and distance. It has to be about what you feel this team can accomplish and what is needed. Not only that, it has to be executed without hesitation.

The no hesitation part was what I liked. You make these decisions prior to the play happening. You aren't taken aback by a tough call. You must already know what to do before you have to decide. It is apparent that Mullen is capable of deciding quickly and decisively. Was it a chancy decision that could have gone wrong? Yes. Did it go wrong. NO! Ultimately, he was right. Let's hope he is right a few more times.

 

[RougeDawg]

won the 2007 National Championship? He went for it numerous times on 4th down in their own territory that year, and what did it get them?

For a program like ours, we have to go out on limbs, more than other programs, to make statements. It's very obvious that our coach has the utmost confidence in his players, and the same as our players have confidence in our coaches. I have not seen this since the late 90's when Jackie and Joe Lee would roll the dice and pound the 17 out of supposedly bigger and more powerful programs. I'd rather our coach have a pair as big as the water tower by the Hump than insert tampons like Sylvester and puss around every 17ing game and hope the other team 17ed up. If you play scared you might as well forfeit. I'm behind him all the way, and I wasn't really that pissed about the cute pass that got picked off. Because I had confidence in our Defense and the character of this team. They are finally believing that they can beat the big boys.

 

[smootness]

You are exactly right, Hot Rock. This is why the NFL is lame and there's not a huge difference there between a very good coach and a bad one. Every coach in the league has laminated charts telling them in what situations it's good to go for it on 4th down, go for 2, etc. It's uber-conservative; the only reason it works at times is because the other guy is uber-conservative, too.<div>
</div><div>A good coach doesn't look at a team's position on the field, the down and distance and nothing else when making a decision like that. That's a coach who is trying not to get fired. You look at your team and decide if they're going to be able to get that yard, then you make your decision. Mullen felt our guys were going to be able to get that yard, and he was right. Will he be wrong at times? Sure, but again, a good coach is ok with taking criticism when things don't go well. If you just punt every 4th down, what's to criticize? Not much, but you just might lose in the process. We have a winner.</div>

 

[Todd4State]

It seems like there was too much risk for the reward.

Lets say you were betting on the game live. If Georiga stopped us on that play, then i bet the odds of them winning would have been greater than ours. If we get the 1st down, I doubt it really increases our odds of winning very much.
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I would bet Chris Relf running the ball would get at least one yard every and any time from anywhere on the field. And I'm talking about a straight up run or an option play, not a pass play where he gets sacked.

And honestly, I would bet the same with Vick Ballard as well.

I disagree about that play increasing our odds to win. Statistically, it may not. But that was the turning point in the game. We had only scored ten points, and it was 10-6 at that point. Getting that first down fired our offense up. And you could see the dejection on Georgia's face. Then we go down and get a TD pass and ran time off of the clock, and put us up by two scores, which caused Georgia to panic and call what I think is a little bit more controversial 4th and 10 play near their 30 which they didn't get and we got another TD out of that. Then it was garbage time. Dan knew that if we got another TD, Georgia was done.

 

[RyanB]

Without question it was the right call. As someone stated our offensive line was pushing hard against the Georgia D at that point. I verbally stated "we are gonna make this first down", and everyone sitting around me was in agreement. Good call, and it broke the game from a squeaker into a blowout.