Could have been epic blunders

[LEWCWA]

Tramon thought he was down in the endzone. It's a mistake, but not a bad one.
Shields is a rookie going on instincts. His instincts were to take it to the house. A mistake, yes, but those are instincts I'll take all day long.
Raji showboating and not protecting the ball at the 10-yard line. Yeah that's a mistake that should be corrected hard.

I don't see a trend in this area that is upsetting. In fact, hopefully guys keep making game winning plays to "correct." Another showboating episode before the whistle and that could be a problem, but there's no concern at all with Williams or Shields IMO.

excellent post, IMO---I agree, Tramon thought he was down. I just wish he would have made sure by downing the ball...I view instincts and rookie as a weak excuse for Shields. Undoubtedly, he has been playing football for a long time and should understand the game. I guess that is my point, smart teams and players are more successful in the long run. If you start to ignore the little things, it won't be long before the little thing list gets longer and your the Bengals! I also think Raji saw QB coming and thought he would coast in. I positive that he was shocked the guy almost got there, and assume that won't happen again!

[Patler]

The bothersome thing about Raji's showboating jaunt into the endzone is that D-linemen aren't exactly accustomed to handling a football. Sticking it out like he did 10 yards out from the endzone could have ended in him simply dropping it, without contact from others. Or, on a somewhat slippery, less than perfect field he could have taken a misstep, loosened his grip and lost the ball in the process.

Further, if Raji "flipped" the ball because he knew he scored, as some of you have argued, it was an even dumber move. I just watched it again on TIVO, using pause and frame advance. The ball was out of his hand just before his first foot hit down in the endzone, not much over the goal line. By then, he was holding the ball more to the side than to the front. If Chicago had recovered and decided to challenge, the goal line angles would have been very interesting as to whether he still did have control as he crossed the goal line. I suspect he did, but not by much.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Dumb play by Raji. Same with Shields. Two young guys put in situations they aren't accustomed to. Hopefully, they learn from it.

[BobDobbs]

This is an interesting thread. All the sports shows are talking about twitter and we are talking about the nuances of football. That's why I come here.

I think this thread is getting at a very important question. As far as the specific game instances. I still think that Raji's play was less serious because he could see the QB coming. However, if he tucks that thing in his arm and sprints to the pylon he clearly raises his probability of cleanly scoring six.

Sam saying he just wanted to score, wow. Mr. Shields you just won the game, the only thing you have to do now is collect the Halas Trophy.

But that is the challenge of football. Shields is aggressive and Raji plays with swagger. Those qualities raise both their games, but the goal is to walk that tightrope between instinctive force and clear presence of mind.

I think there is a bigger question that is being raised. Is this a dumb team? Or a team prone to glaring mistakes? I thought so coming into the playoffs. I didn't trust that we wouldn't do something ridiculous to lose a game when there is no more margin for error.

Jones holding the ball in the wrong hand in the first bears game.
Allowing an o lineman to return a kickoff to the four.
Jennings tipping the ball to the Lion's defender.
Some questionable time management late in games.
Basically all the reasons we lost six close games.

And it hasn't stopped during the playoff run. We put the ball on the ground four times against Philly, had a TD drop, and I think that was the Underwood gets run into the ball moment. We allowed another kickoff return for a touchdown against Atlanta. Rodgers threw a terrible interception to Urlacher, Tramon fumbled two punts, Collins and Woodson spotted the Bears a touchdown, and we didn't even have the forsight to let Todd Collins complete a pass once in awhile to keep Hanie on the bench.

Ok,kidding about that last one. But I will say that if we had been playing crisper football all year We'd be 13-3 and rolling into the Super Bowl right now after three big blowouts.

Ah, but where is the fun in that?

[vince]

Perhaps there's a question of second-guessing fans' unrealistic expectations of perfection. It's one thing to second guess every call and play, but it's another to think anything less than perfection means inevitable loss and unacceptability.

This is an incredibly talented team and organization of imperfect human beings that are gaining valuable experience on the fly - while being better than the other teams and organizations at the same time. Enjoy the ride.

[mraynrand]

Jones holding the ball in the wrong hand in the first bears game.
Allowing an o lineman to return a kickoff to the four.
Jennings tipping the ball to the Lion's defender.
Some questionable time management late in games.
Basically all the reasons we lost six close games.

Those things contributed to a couple of losses. Packers lost 3-4 games because Rodgers had two concussions, Matthews had a bad hammy and because they had to reset from a rapid string of injuries all happening at the same time. They are solid. The little mistakes we're talking about here - if they all happen together, in the same game, at the same time - might screw things up. But it's more than likely going to come down to the best players making great plays at critical times and everyone else supporting that with solid play.

[Fritz]

It would've been much safer and more entertaining had Raji held the ball against his crotch and humped it while he jogged into the end zone.

[HarveyWallbangers]

It would've been much safer and more entertaining had Raji held the ball against his crotch and humped it while he jogged into the end zone.

Like Mendenhall did to Roethlisberger?