Take a knee? Go for two?

Donate To GopherHole
S

Some guy

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 1, 2014
Messages
23,081
Reaction score
12,133
Points
113
With 2:13 left and first down.
Up 6.
Purdue with no timeouts.

Assuming the 4 kneels take 13 seconds the game is over.


We ran, which I guess I don't have a problem with due to needing 4.25 seconds per play, and score.


They get the ball back (granted down 13).




Here is the problem:
1) in scoring Purdue went from down 6 with zero chance of touching the ball again to down two scores but now having the remote possibility of a TD, onside kick, TD scenario. And then we lost a player for the first half next week.

2) after scoring a touchdown to go up 12...why go for one? Were we really worried about them scoring a touchdown and 2 field goals? Or were we just not thinking?
At that point in the game there is little difference between 13 and 12. Huge difference between 13-14.
 

Or could have kicked a FG and it would have been two scores....

Honestly though Claeys leans toward being aggressive at times. I like it. Maybe that TD doesn't matter to us, but maybe it does to the kids on the field.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Or could have kicked a FG and it would have been two scores....

Honestly though Claeys leans toward being aggressive at times. I like it. Maybe that TD doesn't matter to us, but maybe it does to the kids on the field.
Click to expand...

Okay, but if being aggressive why would you ever go for one in that situation
 

Not going for 2 there was dumb. Makes no sense.
 



I will admit that I thought the same thing when we scored the TD. I thought they were just going to take 3 knees. I didn't think it would probably matter, but it really did probably make the win probability from 100% to probably 99.9%.

Maybe I should just stop worrying about some things though.
 

I have no issue with either the touchdown score instead of taking the knee and kicking the extra point instead of going for two. Scoring the TD is all about an attitude. Going for 2 in that situation could have possible turned in to a pick 2 or a fumble for 2, which would have made it a 10 point game instead of a for sure 2 TD game, which at that point so unrealistic, I am going to say it was impossible.

The only play I have an issue with is the pick (basically 6) at the end of the half. What were they going to do from the 10 yard line with 15 seconds left. That was ridiculous IMO...
 

heston11 said:
I have no issue with either the touchdown score instead of taking the knee and kicking the extra point instead of going for two. Scoring the TD is all about an attitude. Going for 2 in that situation could have possible turned in to a pick 2 or a fumble for 2, which would have made it a 10 point game instead of a for sure 2 TD game, which at that point so unrealistic, I am going to say it was impossible.
Click to expand...

You must be a very, very young Gopher fan.
 

Not taking a knee was one of the dumbest coaching moves I have ever seen. Worse than passing from your own 20 with no timeouts and only 15 seconds to play in the half. When you can run the clock out on a win, you do it. Period. No debate. A certain win became only a very probable win. And we lose Rallis for the first half of the Nebraska game because of it.
 




Terrible decision to run a play. If Mitch takes 3 knees we're not arguing over the validity of the targeting flag.

For those of you saying there was too much time to kneel it, the ball was snapped on 1st down with 1:38 left. Even if you run it a little short, 2nd down snaps with 1:00 left, 3rd down snaps with 0:21 left, and the game is over.
 

2727Gopher said:
Not taking a knee was one of the dumbest coaching moves I have ever seen. Worse than passing from your own 20 with no timeouts and only 15 seconds to play in the half. When you can run the clock out on a win, you do it. Period. No debate. A certain win became only a very probable win. And we lose Rallis for the first half of the Nebraska game because of it.
Click to expand...

Preposterous statement entry?
 

To your first point, I had no problem with them running a play and scoring the td. I don't deduct points from coach for lack of clairvoyance in seeing the bogus targeting call coming.

Regarding your second point on not going for two, I admit to not even thinking about it. Once it became a two score game I thought the game was over. After halftime, defensive adjustments were pretty effective and Purdue managed to score only 3 points. I read an interesting quote from the Purdue qb. He said he was very frustrated in the second half, and that the Gophers showed him every coverage in America that half. He said they continually threw a wrench into their offense.
 



GopherRock said:
Terrible decision to run a play. If Mitch takes 3 knees we're not arguing over the validity of the targeting flag.

For those of you saying there was too much time to kneel it, the ball was snapped on 1st down with 1:38 left. Even if you run it a little short, 2nd down snaps with 1:00 left, 3rd down snaps with 0:21 left, and the game is over.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. I was screaming at TV when that happened. What if we fumble on that play? Just dumb and a needless risk not to mention it puts our defense back on field with risk of injury or what happened with Rallis. Think Saban or Meyer runs it there? I do not.
 

TNGophfan said:
Agree 100%. I was screaming at TV when that happened. What if we fumble on that play? Just dumb and a needless risk not to mention it puts our defense back on field with risk of injury or what happened with Rallis. Think Saban or Meyer runs it there? I do not.
Click to expand...

Not the first time Claeys has had issues with clock management in game. Which for a math guy is a little surprising. I remember thinking at the time that the only shot Purdue had was if we scored, slim shot sure but it did give them an opportunity to get the ball back when as others have pointed out we could have just kneeled to end the game. Maybe Claeys has something against kneeling, after all we should have done that going into the half as well but instead elected to try and go score for some insane reason in that situation.
 


RS1 could have dropped at the 1 yard line. This has occurred before and the argument is always "can't ask a kid not to score" BUT you can and should. It has happened many times before. I have seen cases where defenses let the offense score in that situation. I get the odds of a comeback were small, but they were zero if we don't score. Plain and simple, we were wrong to score.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Spoofin said:
RS1 could have dropped at the 1 yard line. This has occurred before and the argument is always "can't ask a kid not to score" BUT you can and should. It has happened many times before. I have seen cases where defenses let the offense score in that situation. I get the odds of a comeback were small, but they were zero if we don't score. Plain and simple, we were wrong to score.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Agree.

I would have knelt. But if you don't kneel to ensure you take up 13 seconds over four plays...you HAVE to tell everyone to go down inbounds...including don't score.


Game went from a guaranteed win to Purdue having the ball down two scores. A miracle touchdown, 9'side kick, touchdown WINS them the game (because we didn't go for two)
 

All three were bad decisions. We still did win and that say's a lot when the team can overcome bad coaching decisions.
 

Some guy said:
Agree.

I would have knelt. But if you don't kneel to ensure you take up 13 seconds over four plays...you HAVE to tell everyone to go down inbounds...including don't
Game went from a guaranteed win to Purdue having the ball down two scores. A miracle touchdown, 9'side kick, touchdown WINS them the game (because we didn't go for two)
Click to expand...

You didn't even have to burn 13 seconds. The game clock started again after the first down by Mitch so the 1st down snap came with something like 1:45 to go.
 

I don't think I can ever support the strategy of not scoring or don't score too fast. Many people on this site applauded the second half defense, why wouldn't you trust them to shut down Purdue at the end?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 

TNGophfan said:
You didn't even have to burn 13 seconds. The game clock started again after the first down by Mitch so the 1st down snap came with something like 1:45 to go.
Click to expand...

If that is true then it is definitely dumb.

My yahoo sport app said 2:13
 

jonnyganas said:
I don't think I can ever support the strategy of not scoring or don't score too fast. Many people on this site applauded the second half defense, why wouldn't you trust them to shut down Purdue at the end?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Even if you trust the D why even add that variable?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

jonnyganas said:
I don't think I can ever support the strategy of not scoring or don't score too fast. Many people on this site applauded the second half defense, why wouldn't you trust them to shut down Purdue at the end?



Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

You're new to following the gophers aren't you?��

All I'm saying is the other team can't score if they don't have the ball and it opens up all kinds of variables like injury or the Rallis situation. Under your premise, why does anyone take a knee at the end of a game or half. Know I'm overly obsessing over this but bad clock management drives me nuts.
 

TNGophfan said:
You're new to following the gophers aren't you?��

All I'm saying is the other team can't score if they don't have the ball and it opens up all kinds of variables like injury or the Rallis situation. Under your premise, why does anyone take a knee at the end of a game or half. Know I'm overly obsessing over this but bad clock management drives me nuts.
Click to expand...

There was a decision made by Purdue on the same series that I don't understand so maybe someone can enlighten me. On first down Rodney Smith runs out of bounds for a loss of a couple of yards. On that same play we are called for holding, why would Purdue accept the penalty and push us back as opposed to taking the play? It would have been 2nd and 12 or something like that with the clock stopped as opposed to first and 20. In a game where you absolutely need to figure out a way to get the ball back with time on the clock it would sure make sense to me to take a full down out of the mix for the other team. Am I missing something obvious? Moving back 10 yards didn't push us out of field goal range so I just don't get the decision to not take the play.
 

It seems a lot of coaches have trouble with end of game/half management. Yesterday LSU had the ball at the Alabama 45 or so. It was 4th down and the clock was running. For some reason they take a TO with 8 seconds left instead of 2 or 3. They throw a Hail Mary into the end zone. Incomplete. Problem was there was still 1 second left on the clock which gave Alabama a chance to throw one deep.
 


GophersInIowa said:
It seems a lot of coaches have trouble with end of game/half management. Yesterday LSU had the ball at the Alabama 45 or so. It was 4th down and the clock was running. For some reason they take a TO with 8 seconds left instead of 2 or 3. They throw a Hail Mary into the end zone. Incomplete. Problem was there was still 1 second left on the clock which gave Alabama a chance to throw one deep.
Click to expand...

They need to get one of those cards that tells them to go for two like Bert had.
 

GophersInIowa said:
It seems a lot of coaches have trouble with end of game/half management. Yesterday LSU had the ball at the Alabama 45 or so. It was 4th down and the clock was running. For some reason they take a TO with 8 seconds left instead of 2 or 3. They throw a Hail Mary into the end zone. Incomplete. Problem was there was still 1 second left on the clock which gave Alabama a chance to throw one deep.
Click to expand...
You can take LSU out of Les Miles but you can't take the Les Miles out of LSU
 

Some guy said:
You can take LSU out of Les Miles but you can't take the Les Miles out of LSU
Click to expand...

So true.

Another example in the Vikings game today. It was 3rd and goal at the 1 and Zimmer took a TO with 27 seconds left. Why not let it go down to 15 seconds or so. That still give you enough time for at least two more plays.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom