Week 7 Other Games

[pbmax]

I want to know why Ariens has the ball on the one yard line and attempts a FG on third down.

Third down is just in case something goes wrong (bad snap, hold). You can fall on it and attempt another FG.

[Patler]

Third down is just in case something goes wrong (bad snap, hold). You can fall on it and attempt another FG.

Back in the '60s and '70s, it was not uncommon to see 3rd down FG attempts for just that reason. Teams didn't have long snappers, it was generally a job for one of the starting OL, and it wasn't always pretty, especially with muddy fields. Since the starting QB was often the holder, fake FG attempts on 3rd down were something to be watched for.

[Maxie the Taxi]

The point is his FG team had been a disaster all night long. He knows this. The announcers know this. He's one yard from a sure victory. A David Johnson run carries little risk, and even if he doesn't make it, the FG remains an option. It seems to me sometimes that NFL coaches are afraid of their own shadows.

[KYPack]

Lawd, what a stinky mess this game was.

Thanks God I missed the ending.

This game answered the ? in the other thread.

Why is NFL viewership down?

BC of shit games like this one.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Lawd, what a stinky mess this game was.

Thanks God I missed the ending.

This game answered the ? in the other thread.

Why is NFL viewership down?

BC of shit games like this one.

Ain't that the truth. There was so much yellow on the field I thought for a second I was watching the Packers. I think the NFL is going through a penalty crisis. IMO if you call something a penalty on one play, you ought to be consistent and call it on every play. What the hell is holding nowadays? Or pass interference? They make a rule to protect the long snapper and then you've got guys like Wagner leaping over the snapper. Like Collingsworth the Great said: "What exactly is incidental contact?"

And I swear there is no such thing as a pancake block anymore. Once the D-lineman hits the ground, it's automatically holding on the O-lineman who put him there.

[Rastak]

Back in the '60s and '70s, it was not uncommon to see 3rd down FG attempts for just that reason. Teams didn't have long snappers, it was generally a job for one of the starting OL, and it wasn't always pretty, especially with muddy fields. Since the starting QB was often the holder, fake FG attempts on 3rd down were something to be watched for.

Yea Patler, I recall that. Alot of game winning FG's were kicked on 3rd down for the reasons you stated. Don't recall as many fakes but the thought was you botch the snap you got one more try.

[hoosier]

Lawd, what a stinky mess this game was.

Thanks God I missed the ending.

This game answered the ? in the other thread.

Why is NFL viewership down?

BC of shit games like this one.

It seems to me that over the past few years defenses have been getting the upper hand over offenses. Maybe that is just the way the pendulum swings. But five or so years ago the NFL was QB-centered, and if you had a guy like Rodgers, Brady, Manning or Brees you had the ability to turn games into Arena league shows. Not so much anymore. Discounting the Patriots, the great teams in the last five years have been great because of defense: San Fran, Seattle, Denver. I haven't checked real numbers but my impression is that the ultra-high scoring games have more or less vanished, and that we're seeing more and more defensive struggles with the expected ugly scores that go with them. If my intuition is accurate, I wonder how much that is affecting decline in viewership.

[Fritz]

Back in the '60s and '70s, it was not uncommon to see 3rd down FG attempts for just that reason. Teams didn't have long snappers, it was generally a job for one of the starting OL, and it wasn't always pretty, especially with muddy fields. Since the starting QB was often the holder, fake FG attempts on 3rd down were something to be watched for.

I'm not sure why teams don't use the backup QB as the holder. Is it because they think the backup QB's change so often there's no continuity? Maybe. I guess you'd have to look to see if teams change punters often these days. If so, there's no reason I can think of not to have your backup QB doing it - it gives you an option you otherwise probably didn't have.

I'd like to see Mikey Mike do this. make Hundley the holder, and at the exact moment in the playoffs, you pull off the fake and have Hundley roll out and throw the TD pass, or at least run for a first down.

Why not?

[hoosier]

Coaches don't use backup QBs as holders for one strategic reason: it is infinitely more demoralizing if you have Jon Ryan throwing for the TD.

[Maxie the Taxi]

I'm not sure why teams don't use the backup QB as the holder. Is it because they think the backup QB's change so often there's no continuity? Maybe. I guess you'd have to look to see if teams change punters often these days. If so, there's no reason I can think of not to have your backup QB doing it - it gives you an option you otherwise probably didn't have.

I'd like to see Mikey Mike do this. make Hundley the holder, and at the exact moment in the playoffs, you pull off the fake and have Hundley roll out and throw the TD pass, or at least run for a first down.

Why not?

One good reason I can think of is the new rule that points after TD are kicked from the 15 yd line making successful fakes less likely.

I think another reason for having the punter be the holder is efficiency in practice. The punter and kicker can go off in a corner and do their thing without disrupting practice of the QB's and the offense.

[vince]

As holder, the punter receives all the long snaps which makes them all the more reliable receiving the snap and positioning the ball to be kicked/punted. Remember Romo's disaster in that playoff game not getting the ball down? And Favre's come-out game against the Bengals in '92 "holding" for what, in spite of his failure, was the game winning extra point?

[pbmax]

Also the backup QB practices with the offense. The punter is with the kicker almost all day.