Auburn/Georgia

[2727Gopher]

That game was decided by pure selfishness. On 4th down, you bat the ball to the ground. Period. I get so annoyed when I see defenders 40 yards down the field intercept a ball on 4th down. Put the ego on hold for a minute and think of your team!

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

That game was decided by pure selfishness. On 4th down, you bat the ball to the ground. Period. I get so annoyed when I see defenders 40 yards down the field intercept a ball on 4th down. Put the ego on hold for a minute and think of your team!

I think both Georgia players had that idea. But they were so fixated on the ball to knock it down, they ran into each other. The ball went up instead of down, and the rest is history.

 

[killme]

I heard a prominent coach on TV this season, commenting on a similar botched Hail Mary defense, saying the players should intercept if they could instead of batting at the ball. I also recall a play where the defender jumped up and batted the ball down to a guy laying on the ground. I understand your point, though. Selfishness has no place in a team sport.

 

[maroonedinCA]

I heard a prominent coach on TV this season, commenting on a similar botched Hail Mary defense, saying the players should intercept if they could instead of batting at the ball. I also recall a play where the defender jumped up and batted the ball down to a guy laying on the ground. I understand your point, though. Selfishness has no place in a team sport.

It's happened a few times in the NFL too where there's a trailing receiver, the defenders bat it down right into the waiting arms of said receiver. I believe this occurred a few years ago in Jacksonville. I agree to a certain extent with both sides of this. The common wisdom that you hear all the time is 'knock it down' but in reality the only way to guarantee the other team doesn't receive it is to receive it yourself.

Ultimately the knock it down crowd is right a lot of times in that many of the balls are coming in so high as to make it nearly impossible to catch and because of the angle makes it increasing likely that it'll deflect up if you try to make the catch. In this instance, however, this was an easy catch for either defender if that other defender isn't there. Hell, if one of the defenders tried to knock it down it would seem just as likely to deflect off the other's helmet and jump up than what actually transpired.

Either way, a gut punch for those Georgia players and fans who seem to have been snake-bitten all year long. The improbability of it all reminds me distinctly of the botched punt in 2005. In this instance the 20/20 vision says knock it down. Back then it was turn around and kick the ball out of the back of the endzone and take the safety. It really just speaks to the speed of the game and the number of variables in play that make it tremendously difficult to make it through an entire season without some moments of ridiculousness. The fact that these two instances occured at the end of tight games just serves to maginify how unbelievable they were.

 

[killme]

Legacies are made by flukey plays. Eli Manning is crowned an elite NFL QB after throwing at least two slam-dunk interceptions into double coverage against SF, but the DBs bumped themselves off the ball and out of the play. Horrible throws! Awful decisions. Led to SB ring and elite crown for Eli. lol

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Legacies are made by flukey plays. Eli Manning is crowned an elite NFL QB after throwing at least two slam-dunk interceptions into double coverage against SF, but the DBs bumped themselves off the ball and out of the play. Horrible throws! Awful decisions. Led to SB ring and elite crown for Eli. lol

Do you think Christian Ponder will be able to fluke himself into two Super Bowl rings?

 

[2727Gopher]

Either way, a gut punch for those Georgia players and fans who seem to have been snake-bitten all year long. The improbability of it all reminds me distinctly of the botched punt in 2005. In this instance the 20/20 vision says knock it down. Back then it was turn around and kick the ball out of the back of the endzone and take the safety. It really just speaks to the speed of the game and the number of variables in play that make it tremendously difficult to make it through an entire season without some moments of ridiculousness. The fact that these two instances occured at the end of tight games just serves to maginify how unbelievable they were.

Yes, it's certainly easier to say that kind of thing after the event, but it's absolutely something that should have been obvious to everyone before the play. I remember the famous blocked punt of 2005, and I was talking with my friend about it before the kick - I specifically brought up that the punter should be ready to take a safety if there's a problem with the snap and he replied that he assumes the coaches would have mentioned that to him, but that even if they didn't, it should be obvious without needing to be discussed.

And I'll always take my chances on having a ball batted straight down - yes, it's possible that there will be someone laying there on the ground and it will bounce straight into his hands (and he'll be able to react to a very fast moving ball which has just changed direction) vs. a ball tipped into the air where someone in the general region may have time to get under it and catch it. Besides, field awareness comes into play here - both of the defenders knew (or should have known) that there was only one opposing player in the area and approximately where he was. This was not a Hail Mary pass where there were 3 or 4 opposing players around to worry about.

 

[killme]

Do you think Christian Ponder will be able to fluke himself into two Super Bowl rings?

Chances go up if he's traded to NY. But, chances also increase he'll be crushed by the media and fan base if he doesn't win a SB.