whaler11
Head Happy Hour Coach
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Messages
- 44,369
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Warning: There are some unpopular opinions included here.
Disclaimer: Bob has made great progress to date and almost every sign is positive - this is a very specific criticism and he clearly learned some things from last year but they need to coach better on Saturdays.
There really doesn't need to be much debate on the decision to try a third fake. The only worse decision would have been to punt. I want to talk about how they painted themselves into a corner which led to it.
Of course the 2 play by plays I can find don't have the clock attached - which is going to make this a bit messy.
Situation:
Down 3, 2 timeouts a little over two minutes left - UConn gets to the Missouri 31 on the pass to Lucas.
To coach this situation correctly you need to make some decisions:
Your kicking game is shaky - what is your chance to win in OT: This informs your decision making on playing for 3 or playing for 7
If you are willing to play for overtime - at what yard line are you confident your team can make a kick?
Based on what I saw, Diaco didn't answer those questions well enough:
Based on the fake field goal they seemed to understand playing for 7 was the proper decision: If that is the case, why did they show a complete lack of urgency? The offsides and false start ran about a minute off the clock. If your goal was to play for 7 and you are only at the 31 yard line - you either need time to take things underneath or you need to make calls that put you at a higher risk of sacks or interceptions.
By the time they used the timeout with :53 seconds left they had painted themselves into a corner. If they convert the 4th and 4 - with only one timeout you are very limited in what you can do play calling wise and one play in-bounds has pretty much forced you back into a field goal. You have to save the timeout to stop the clock to kick the field goal on a play inbounds or it's a total fire drill.
If they weren't comfortable kicking a FG from 42 yards..... then why in the world on third and 10 did they call a QB draw? It's safe to assume that play is going to leave you with 4th and something but now at a more reasonable FG range.
It was the lack of seeing how their decisions add up in the endgame that left them in a position to make a ridiculous decision. If you think you need 7 - then play like you need 7. If you are willing to take 3 and take your chances in OT - then play for 3.
What you can't do is play it halfway and try to decide in the heat of the battle when your lack of strategy has left you painted in a corner. You don't trust the FG team to get 3? Even if you convert the first down you probably still will need to trust the FG team at some point. You needed to show urgency relative to the clock during the penalty sequence when the clock evaporated and you panicked - otherwise your chances of getting the 7 plummet.
They need to understand what they are trying to accomplish in the context of the score and clock. If you aren't strategic about it - you coach yourself into a loss and miss a huge opportunity.
Disclaimer: Bob has made great progress to date and almost every sign is positive - this is a very specific criticism and he clearly learned some things from last year but they need to coach better on Saturdays.
There really doesn't need to be much debate on the decision to try a third fake. The only worse decision would have been to punt. I want to talk about how they painted themselves into a corner which led to it.
Of course the 2 play by plays I can find don't have the clock attached - which is going to make this a bit messy.
Situation:
Down 3, 2 timeouts a little over two minutes left - UConn gets to the Missouri 31 on the pass to Lucas.
To coach this situation correctly you need to make some decisions:
Your kicking game is shaky - what is your chance to win in OT: This informs your decision making on playing for 3 or playing for 7
If you are willing to play for overtime - at what yard line are you confident your team can make a kick?
Based on what I saw, Diaco didn't answer those questions well enough:
Based on the fake field goal they seemed to understand playing for 7 was the proper decision: If that is the case, why did they show a complete lack of urgency? The offsides and false start ran about a minute off the clock. If your goal was to play for 7 and you are only at the 31 yard line - you either need time to take things underneath or you need to make calls that put you at a higher risk of sacks or interceptions.
By the time they used the timeout with :53 seconds left they had painted themselves into a corner. If they convert the 4th and 4 - with only one timeout you are very limited in what you can do play calling wise and one play in-bounds has pretty much forced you back into a field goal. You have to save the timeout to stop the clock to kick the field goal on a play inbounds or it's a total fire drill.
If they weren't comfortable kicking a FG from 42 yards..... then why in the world on third and 10 did they call a QB draw? It's safe to assume that play is going to leave you with 4th and something but now at a more reasonable FG range.
It was the lack of seeing how their decisions add up in the endgame that left them in a position to make a ridiculous decision. If you think you need 7 - then play like you need 7. If you are willing to take 3 and take your chances in OT - then play for 3.
What you can't do is play it halfway and try to decide in the heat of the battle when your lack of strategy has left you painted in a corner. You don't trust the FG team to get 3? Even if you convert the first down you probably still will need to trust the FG team at some point. You needed to show urgency relative to the clock during the penalty sequence when the clock evaporated and you panicked - otherwise your chances of getting the 7 plummet.
They need to understand what they are trying to accomplish in the context of the score and clock. If you aren't strategic about it - you coach yourself into a loss and miss a huge opportunity.
