2 opportunities to kick a field goal to cut it to five.. 3 timeouts and the 2 minute warning... I can understand the 2nd time deciding to go for it but the first one where there was 4ish minutes left seemed like a no Brainer to me... havnt heard anyone mention it on any of the post game analysis
Why no belichick criticism?
- Thread starter PhattyJ4UK_rivals309166
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Not talking about the last possession. . They had the ball 3 times with under 5 minutes left in the red zone.
Yes they would have needed a touchdown to WIN THE game instead of needing a touchdown plus 2 to TIE
I'm happy he lost. No criticism here.
I was listening to Westwood one on the radio during the last few minutes. The announcers were questioning why Belichik did not kick the field goal. They mentioned it several times in the last few minutes.
That idiot Phil Simms said they had to go for the TD then, too. That just confirmed to me that they should've kicked the FG. 4th quarters are completely different than rest of the game, anything and crazy things can and do happen. That would've cut it to 5, and then their next possession another cuts it to 2, then on last possession a FG wins it.
Phil didn't say another word about it.
Phil didn't say another word about it.
You're right...they would have still needed a touchdown to win....which they got. They would not have needed the two point conversion which is what lost it for them.
How can you make an argument of second guessing a coach who has had the success he has had with the talent he has been dealt!
You know now that they got it 3 time with under 5 minutes...you didn't know at the time that you were going to get the ball back at all.
I thought Kubiak's playcalling was more bizarre down the stretch. Two times with less than 5 minutes left all they had to do was run clock to end the game ... and there they are throwing deep balls with a noodle-armed geriatric at QB. Resulted in two quick three and outs that gave the Patriots two opportunities to tie the game.
Crazy.
Crazy.
because he's the greatest coach of all time no matter how many people hate him and Brady. True story. I support him and the Pats.
I think so many people are secretly happy the Pats lost their not going to be critical of a great coach. The Patriots are widely hated at this point, in part because of all their success. Really though, Denver's defense this year is amazing. It's our best and only hope at winning the Super Bowl. At least this time around I feel they won't embarrass us like they did two years ago when we had an awful D. And at least we're there. It's been a great, if somewhat tumultuous year. Manning isn't what he was, but with that D I still think we can win despite the odds. If you need a rooting interest remember Danny Trevathan, one of our own is the leading tackler for that awesome defense, and we welcome all who will pull for us. We need all the help we can get! I really am a huge Bronco fan, 2nd only to our Cat's, and not that far behind, and it's even better to have an ex-Cat among us. Then there's the pulling for Manning angle. It's likely his last shot. Cam has plenty of years left in him.
Actually I was wrong.. the first possession was around 6.5 minutes left.. they absolutely 100% knew they would get the ball back at least once.. how many 6.5 minute drives did new England's defense give up... not to mention 3 time outs and a 2 minute warning
But he still royally screwed the pooch on this one.. no matter how great he is, very poor game management and had it been any coach not named belichick, it is all that would be discussed
I understand the point you are making had there been maybe 2 minutes eft (Ala Bruce Arians ) but 5 minutes left with the opponent having all timeouts is an eternity in the nfl
Easily..it was the wrong decision. I don't dislike the Patriots and / or Brady or belichick. . But at least on the first 4th down with 6ish minutes left , the field goal is 100% the right choice, and more than likely we would be discussing Brady vs Newton and manning retirement right now.
Nobody is above discussion.. not belichick, not saban, not calipari...
..are they all geniuses at there trade and forget in one day more than I know? Absolutely.. but I still contest it was a poor decision at that stage in the game
Thank you.. I was beginning to wonder if any UK fans had any logical football strategy. A lot don't I have learned over the years.
Belichick has earned the right to make any decision he wants and the entire organization won't question him. They trust him.
Now saying that, kicking the field goal would probably be the safest bet in that situation. The Patriots are known for going for it in that situation, it wasn't an abnormal call for him. Secondly, they didn't lose the game sole on that call. The Broncos are the best defense in the league and a damn good team. Had Belichick made some majorly out of the ordinary call and they lost to an obviously inferior team, I think you would see more criticism. In this situation, they could have kicked the field goal and still lost the game. They just got beat.
Now saying that, kicking the field goal would probably be the safest bet in that situation. The Patriots are known for going for it in that situation, it wasn't an abnormal call for him. Secondly, they didn't lose the game sole on that call. The Broncos are the best defense in the league and a damn good team. Had Belichick made some majorly out of the ordinary call and they lost to an obviously inferior team, I think you would see more criticism. In this situation, they could have kicked the field goal and still lost the game. They just got beat.
That was one of the first topics on ESPN after the game - Merrill Hodge in particular made the point that it was a bad call. It was more than one bad call - Bill Barnwell makes a fairly convincing argument that Wade Phillips out-coached over the course of the game.
I started a thread a couple of weeks ago saying Belichick may be the best coach ever, in any sport. But that doesn't mean he never makes a bad call or gets out coached.......
I started a thread a couple of weeks ago saying Belichick may be the best coach ever, in any sport. But that doesn't mean he never makes a bad call or gets out coached.......
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anon_013cn8yrfncx2
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Glad the pats lost. No wrong decision IMO. NE couldn't move the ball all day. Got a fortunate punt return to start last td drive and still had to make 2 4th down conversions including the ball thrown up for grabs that resulted in the Gronk catch.
Glad we don't have to hear all the hype about Brady and the patriots these two weeks. They really weren't that good this year. Played in the AFC east and played the nfc east and AFC south this year. I'm sure that the combined records of their opponents was well below .500.
Glad we don't have to hear all the hype about Brady and the patriots these two weeks. They really weren't that good this year. Played in the AFC east and played the nfc east and AFC south this year. I'm sure that the combined records of their opponents was well below .500.
There is an inaccuracy running through this thread I haven't seen anyone correct. The first time Belichick opted not to kick the FG on 4th down was not with 4 something on the clock or under 5 minutes as has been stated a few times. It was with 6:03 on the clock. 6 minutes left down 8 with all your timeouts left and the two minute warning also...have to kick the FG there, especially considering the Broncos only had three points in the second half and Pats D was playing well in that half. If it was a shootout game where they weren't able to stop the Broncos or if Belichick didn't have any timeouts I could understand going for it, but not under the conditions I mentioned.
I also don't understand why Belichick went against his norm of deferring to the second half. His offensive line has been banged up all year, he lost his running game after his top two backs went down (Brady had a phenomenal year considering all those injuries)...so with an offense that struggled down the stretch, I don't understand why they won the toss and took the ball...on the road against a very tough defense. But it wasn't a good year for Bill, same guy that didn't take the ball when he won the toss in overtime a few weeks back. Great coaches like great players sometimes have a bad game or a bad year, Belichick had a rough last few weeks.
Pats ultimately didn't deserve it, win one of the final two games of the season and that Denver game would have been at New England, even in his prime Peyton was awful in bad conditions. He is a dome/fair weather QB, Pats win by 10 or more at home. But Pats weren't beating Carolina with no running game and that OL...Pats didn't muster 50 yards rushing in either playoff game. Keep hearing what an amazing job Wade Phillips did, but the job of DC is a lot easier when you know every down is a passing down for your opponent and even if the Pats decide to run it isn't getting much. Carolina will have to play bad for Denver to beat them. A healthy Pats vs Carolina would have been a great game. But Peyton at this point in his career is a manage the game QB, that isn't going to cut it unless the Broncos D has an amazing game.
I also don't understand why Belichick went against his norm of deferring to the second half. His offensive line has been banged up all year, he lost his running game after his top two backs went down (Brady had a phenomenal year considering all those injuries)...so with an offense that struggled down the stretch, I don't understand why they won the toss and took the ball...on the road against a very tough defense. But it wasn't a good year for Bill, same guy that didn't take the ball when he won the toss in overtime a few weeks back. Great coaches like great players sometimes have a bad game or a bad year, Belichick had a rough last few weeks.
Pats ultimately didn't deserve it, win one of the final two games of the season and that Denver game would have been at New England, even in his prime Peyton was awful in bad conditions. He is a dome/fair weather QB, Pats win by 10 or more at home. But Pats weren't beating Carolina with no running game and that OL...Pats didn't muster 50 yards rushing in either playoff game. Keep hearing what an amazing job Wade Phillips did, but the job of DC is a lot easier when you know every down is a passing down for your opponent and even if the Pats decide to run it isn't getting much. Carolina will have to play bad for Denver to beat them. A healthy Pats vs Carolina would have been a great game. But Peyton at this point in his career is a manage the game QB, that isn't going to cut it unless the Broncos D has an amazing game.
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Brady got the **** knocked out of him all game long. The reason why the Pats lost is that they didn't have the magical front office moves.
Honestly, their entire backfield of RBs are castoffs or turds, their wideouts are injury-prone, white dudes and LaFell who drops more passes this side of Reuben Randle. They have Brady and Gronk and a box of rocks. (See '86 Giants parallel actually - but GMen had killer D and Joe Morriss).
Without a running game or receivers who can get separation, Brady and offense is doomed.
$10 says Calvin Johnson brokers a deal to the Pats...
Honestly, their entire backfield of RBs are castoffs or turds, their wideouts are injury-prone, white dudes and LaFell who drops more passes this side of Reuben Randle. They have Brady and Gronk and a box of rocks. (See '86 Giants parallel actually - but GMen had killer D and Joe Morriss).
Without a running game or receivers who can get separation, Brady and offense is doomed.
$10 says Calvin Johnson brokers a deal to the Pats...
Thanks for getting the right sequence down in 1 post.. I went back and corrected one thing at a time in numerous different posts and by thst time everyone had already determined poops gold ice cream.
Imo, this loss had a LOT to do with coaching devisions.
When he had the ball with a chance to kick an fg with 5 minutes left. He definitely should've done so. Hell if he played it right and if he could predict the future he seriously could have kicked 3 fgs to win in less than 5 minutes. That would be crazy