Surrender Punt

gtg970g

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End of second quarter we stopped them and they were about to punt but we just let them off the field like we didn’t even want them ball
This is the call I didn't like. I wish we called TO with 15 seconds left to force a punt. Maybe we block it or get a big return. If neither of those happens take a knee and go into halftime down 10.
 

BackstreetBuzz

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End of second quarter we stopped them and they were about to punt but we just let them off the field like we didn’t even want them ball
You do realize that if we had stopped the clock with 5 seconds to play, Pittsburg would have thrown a Hail Mary into the end zone rather than punting, don’t you.
 

mattmc10

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You do realize that if we had stopped the clock with 5 seconds to play, Pittsburg would have thrown a Hail Mary into the end zone rather than punting, don’t you.
Yeah, so call a timeout with 20 seconds left. I hated watching this as well. Send the whole team at the them and try and get a block. It was far enough on their side of field if you block you can kick a FG.
 

JJacket

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This is the call I didn't like. I wish we called TO with 15 seconds left to force a punt. Maybe we block it or get a big return. If neither of those happens take a knee and go into halftime down 10.
Yep. Cover anyone in case of a fake, but don't even have a return man back. Go for the block.
 

JJacket

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Yeah, so call a timeout with 20 seconds left. I hated watching this as well. Send the whole team at the them and try and get a block. It was far enough on their side of field if you block you can kick a FG.
Chance to run it back. Chance to take a couple of shots at the endzone. Chance to at least miss another FG. Should have called the TO. No return man. If we don't block the kick, we take a knee after Pitt downs the ball. MOST coaches in a similar situation would do exactly that
 

GoGATech

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I said the same thing. Pitt was also stupid not to call timeout with 3 seconds and throw a hail mary. Very highly unlikely that its picked off and run back 100 yards. I dont understanding teams not taking chances.
 

JJacket

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I said the same thing. Pitt was also stupid not to call timeout with 3 seconds and throw a hail mary. Very highly unlikely that its picked off and run back 100 yards. I dont understanding teams not taking chances.
Agreed. Pitt could get a PI and set up a monster 57 yard FG try. Their kicker had the leg. He was booming kicks in pregame.

Our kicker's kicks, both of them, look like pop flys.
 

18in32

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Or, if you throw an INT and they run it back then you're in a big hole and the other team has all the momentum.
That doesn't make sense to me. It's not like we've got a grind-it-out offense. Our scores this year have come on big plays. We should've thrown it long. An interception on 3d down at the 50 is not much worse than a punt on 4th down to the 40, and it has an actual upside.
 

GTCrew4b

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Pretty sure our best chance to score is for our defense to take the ball and score.
 

Techbert

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I think, and this is mine, that

...before the half, shenanigans like forcing punts at the last second result in more injuries and freak bad things (see below) than good things happening. And when you are a thin team with the cavalry not showing up until next fall, you don't risk injuries for low reward machinations.

...with 5 minutes to play, we had a higher probability of winning with a muffed punt than any other scenario, other than mind controlling Pitt so they forget that Ahmarean Brown exists.
 

smokey_wasp

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Unpopular opinion: Going for it on 4th deep in our own territory in the past was mostly just an indictment of our horrible defense and it looked embarassing most of the time.
 

Ed Sawyer

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Unpopular opinion: Going for it on 4th deep in our own territory in the past was mostly just an indictment of our horrible defense and it looked embarassing most of the time.
Not nearly as embarrassing as punting on fourth-and-short on the opponents' side of the 50. For a staff that's supposedly all about data, punting in those situations is about as ignorant as you can get.
 

gtfan1147

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Related to some other posts, I think our calls are less about taking risky options to increase chance of win/blowout and more about decent plays that won't wreck morale. That's probably the more complicated way of thinking about it, simpler answer is we rather put the game on the shoulders of our best unit and the unit that already forced 3 turnovers.
A 10 point loss is good for morale but a 17 to 20 point loss if you go for 4th down in desperation cripples morale?
 

smokey_wasp

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Not nearly as embarrassing as punting on fourth-and-short on the opponents' side of the 50. For a staff that's supposedly all about data, punting in those situations is about as ignorant as you can get.
Mostly right, but I dont think its as cut and dry with a good punter and a defense with a pulse. And we did have the fake punt vs Miami. I would prefer we pick our spots.
 

daBuzz

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IMHO that doesn't have much to do with it
It does if you give up a sack fumble inside your own 20. And Graham was getting hit when he planted his foot on a five step drop, so a sack and a potential fumble was not incredibly unlikely.
 

Vespidie

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Good lord. What a pussy way to play. We aren't Alabama that can just go to the locker room knowing we can shove the ball down the other team's throat to start the second half. We are a team that needs to kick and scratch and dig and fight for every single point
Well....one thing is very obvious. Any ideas we may have regarding any form of place kicking and generally positive results would be a scary proposition at best. That performance against Pitt was less than stellar, even with the Pitt return guy providing us with the gift step out of bounds
 
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