The Final Minute Against Atlanta (1 Viewer)

[Winter]

Dennis Allen has a .343 record as a head coach. Third-worst among active head coaches with at least one full season.

He has way more seasons and experience than the two guys who are worse (Eberflus and Gannon).

Poor decision making? "You are what your record says you are." -Bill Parcells

I said it when we were riding high at 2-0. This season will come down to how well DA plays the late game chess match. After week 2 everything seemed in place and going right. But we hadn't been challenged yet. If you look back at last year, it was the same result in games like these. We come out on the wrong side. We were 2-0 last year when we started hitting games like this. A very different 2-0, but still a promising start. But we had all the excuses in the world last year with a defunct OC, and a new QB. DA doesn't have that anymore to fall on. Its all on him now to manage these situations in a way that has us coming out on top. So far, its the same result. To be fair, players have to execute and I know DA didn't call for a 30 yard penalty on the final drive, but you got bested by a rookie HC and a team with a new QB (the same excuse we had last year).

 

[Will Survive]

I just read the OP for the 3rd time and I still don’t see anything in it about Taysom Hill stats and/or 9 quarters or anything along those lines.

As I have re-read it again, & I too don't see the stat... I am guessing it was in a different long thread post by the OP, but I still was unable to find it...

Best I recall was that in the 9.5 quarters that Taysom has played, the offense has only had to punt once.

Sorry, thought I directed you to the correct quote/post... but, hell if I can find it now

 

[Artifactual]

As I have re-read it again, & I too don't see the stat... I am guessing it was in a different long thread post by the OP, but I still was unable to find it...

Best I recall was that in the 9.5 quarters that Taysom has played, the offense has only had to punt once.

Sorry, thought I directed you to the correct quote/post... but, hell if I can find it now

You got it right.

Some of my posts are like manuscripts. Easy to get buried. In fact, I'm not sure what thread I posted it in. lol

 

[DSnfla]

I also question, why score on 3rd down, why not push the pile one more time and run another 40 seconds off before sending AK in for the score on 4th down. Yeah, you take a chance that you may not score on 4th down. But whats more likely, you don't score on 4th down from the 1 inch line or your D that sucks in final drives gives up a FG anyway?

NO HC anywhere would do that thinking " let me make it so we have ONE shot to win the game because I'll bet we get a DPI to set up a 58yrd winning FG"

 

[DSnfla]

I respectfully disagree with your reply, stating that the kickoff was inconsequential, for the following reasons.

Other results from placing the kickoff in play were possible that you didn't mention. The returner could have muffed the kickoff, then picked it up and been stopped around the 10 yard line. A holding penalty on the return could have placed the ball anywhere between the 10 and 15 yard line. Those scenarios would have had ATL starting 15-20 yards further back instead of on the 30 yard line. That could have made the pass interference penalty inconsequential.

He could have fumbled and lost the ball while giving second effort trying to create a long return. In that case, game over.

Koo made the 58 Yard FG Attempt, with plenty of distance that may have been good from 65 yards out as you stated. However, his previously career long make was from 54 Yards. What makes you so sure the coach would have thought their best chance to win would be to try a 65 yard FG?

The more likely call would have been to heave a Hail Mary deep, into the endzone if possible, hoping for a miracle catch or another pass interference penalty. I don't think Raheem Morris would have elected to have Koo attempt a 65 yard FG, one that would be 11 yards further out than any other he had ever made in his career and also one that would have been just one yard shy of the all-time NFL record. I seriously doubt it. And just because he had plenty of distance on the game winning 58 yarder doesn't mean that he would have made a 65 yarder. That's a whole different kick with a completely different mind set approaching the ball. Much more likely to overcompensate to get the distance and miss wide than to kick it cleanly. The percentage of made FGs over 60 yards is not good.

For some reference, here's some fodder to check out:

Longest Missed FG Attempts In NFL History (Includes Younghoe Koo miss from 63 yards)

Longest missed field goals

As far as I can tell, there are no league-wide official records kept for length of missed field goals. The following list should be complete, however. Note that a fair number of the kicks took plac…

www.quirkyresearch.com

Longest Made FG Attempts In NFL History

17 longest field goals in NFL history, including Super Bowls

There have been several 60-plus-yard kicks in football. But what's the longest field goal in NFL history? Discover the top 16.

sportsnaut.com

If as you suggest, the game was already over because Koo is a sure fire make, then why did they bother taking any chances and not just send him out on 1st down to attempt a career long 58 yarder?

Running out the clock was the last thing being considered after the DPI play. ATL still needed to score and felt they needed to get in better FG range.

They could have had a false start penalty, or a holding penalty that would have backed them up out of FG range. Giving up a sack would have been a disaster.

And just to remind you, Koo, although a very good kicker, had made just 25 of 33 (76%) of his FG Attempts beyond 50 yards in his Career prior to this kick.

His career long FG Attempt came against the Saints in the opening game of 2022, when he attempted a 63 yarder on the final play of the game that was blocked.

Cousins attempted 3 passes after the DPI play. All from the 40-yard line. All from the shotgun with straight drop back throws.

The 1st pass attempt was purposely overthrown towards a double covered Drake London with no chance for him or either of the two Saints defenders to make a play on the ball.

The 2nd was a deep shot down field with Mooney as the targeted receiver who had a few steps on Adebo. However, the Saints had help over the top with Howden. This pass was not a throwaway. It was a homerun attempt. Thrown accurately it's a touchdown. Howden was the closest player to catching the ball with it just off of his fingertips. In this case, had he come down with the interception, game over.

The 3rd pass was thrown into tight coverage by Adebo on Mooney with Adebo and Mooney going to the ground about 3 yards away from the sideline around the 21-yard line. Adebo got a hand in between the ball and Mooney to break up the pass. Oddly enough, had Mooney made the catch he would have been down by contact in bounds with 8 seconds remaining on a running clock. There is no way the ATL would have gotten their FG unit out in time to attempt a FG. Game over.

So, I disagree with your premise that everything was a foregone conclusion and ATL was merely running out the clock while looking for an easy completion just to pick up a few more yards. They could have tried a short 5 to 10 sideline out route on any of the 3 pass attempts, but they didn't.


Player errors for sure. Maybe a different result in different coverage. In both games a soft zone prevent defense allowing short shallow routes would have favored the Saints defense in those game situations. Allow dink and dunk catches, make tackles, run clock. Don't give up big chunk game changing plays.

In the Philly game the Eagles had to score a TD to win. The 3 Stooges play would not have occurred. Against ATL Adebo would have been playing underneath with help directly over the top. He would have been playing off the receiver five yards or more while facing the receiver, not trailing. He wouldn't have been isolated one on one chasing at that distance. This shouldn't be that hard to understand. See results.

LOL I promise to respond to your War and Peace response to my post as soon as I can get a couple of days off. LOL . But it's a good response

 

[Saint KayBee]

I figured since the team was playing the time game on offense, they’d do the same thing on kick team and force the Falcons to return the kickoff. That’s just me though - it’s never easy to determine where a game like this is won or lost but I found the decision to preserve time and give them free yards while trailing was a curious one.

 

[DaveXA]

I figured since the team was playing the time game on offense, they’d do the same thing on kick team and force the Falcons to return the kickoff. That’s just me though - it’s never easy to determine where a game like this is won or lost but I found the decision to preserve time and give them free yards while trailing was a curious one.

I've come around on this and think running some clock on the kickoff was worth the risk.

 

[dtc]

I'm sure all that's been cleaned up by now, and we'll get them next time. I'm more concerned about getting some of our injuries back, which is what I blame the loss on. If we could have run the ball, and slowed down the run, the game would have been a lot different.

Holy hell, I detect reason.

 

[dvdman]

Pass interference lost it for us. I don’t believe Atlanta wins without that call.
Just my opinion.

 

[Artifactual]

LOL I promise to respond to your War and Peace response to my post as soon as I can get a couple of days off. LOL . But it's a good response

Broken Promises?

You're either grinding hard at work or spending all of your free time in the Davante Adams thread.

Since I don't know where you work or the hours you keep, I'm going with the Adams thread, where you've been living the past few days.

It's OK. No need for rebuttal. I think I made a strong case in my OP and in my response to your post.

Moving ON!