Your Thoughts on the 4-1 Call

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STPGopher said:
Playing devil's advocate, didn't the OL and RB get a key first down last series?
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It a likelihood analysis. On the prior play—which was a 3rd down and 7, not a 4th down play (huge difference)—Mo succeeded in part because everybody was expecting a pass play. Plus, we could still punt if Mo’s run failed (because it was 3rd down). It was a two-down situation.

In the 4th and 1 situation, where everyone is expecting a Mo run, and we turn the ball over if the run fails, everything is different. You can either see the critical differences or you can’t. But trust me, these are very, very different situations.

So many people in life make poor choices. Weird to see a thread, however, in which so many people are incensed because PJ choose to not make a poor decision. PJ made a rational, low-risk, high reward decision instead of a higher-risk decision that carried far more damaging consequences.
 
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I don't really understand that thought process that says punting there is not playing to win. Your D has been great, they are playing their 3rd string QB and have to go 90 yards with no timeouts for a TD.

My initial instinct when it was 4th and 1 was to go for it. But the punt was the safe play because if something goes wrong and you don't get the first down you just made their job way easier.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I don't think I have. When did we get stuffed on a QB sneak this year?
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Didn’t Tanner fumble a QB sneak within the last year? Maybe I’m thinking of another game/team.
 





The ball should have been spotted 1/3 of a yard forward from where it was originally spotted, not a 1/2 yd backwards. It’s a joke that it wasn’t 1st and 10.
 

4 & 1, shoulda gone for it like Tecmo Bowl style!

Line up in shotgun, hike it, run backwards as far as you can into the end zone if possible and then hell Mary that shit! Guaranteed a TD! Fleck don’t know! #YKIYK
 



Yah-E said:
The games is on the line, your best player is amped up and says “I got this and let’s go!” And you say “nope, I’m the coach, you sit down, PUNT!”

I don’t know…it turned out OK, Nebraska was able to get 2 huge passes on us in their last drive…

I’d let Mo and Offense to secure that half a yard at our own 30 yard line….what you’d say?
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Punt. Make them go 80 plus yards with those QB’s and put it in the end zone.
 


For me PJ made the right call. Gotta punt that and make NEB drive the whole field. I’d argue that it shows a confidence that your guys will come thru and get the W. Going for it on 4th down at midfield smells more like being afraid to lose the game to me. Doesn’t matter anyway - got the W. On the NW.
 

I was originally miffed at the decision not to go for the dagger, but after the emotions settled and I thought about it, I feel it was the right call to punt. Nebraska scored 3 points total since their second possession of the game. They had no timeouts. Make them go 85 yards and score. If we get stuffed at the 50, it would have given them a huge boost that may have carried them to the end zone.

The overturning of the spot was very questionable. Sure looked like he was well past the yard marker when he did hit the turf.
 



Wonder if emotions would have changed for Fleck if the team would have lined up on the 1st down that was taken away. Officials blow the whistle and say wait a minute. It is reviewed. Reversed like it did. Now would Fleck call a timeout then to discuss going for it as opposed to punting? Now you get Mo and others in his face longer trying to get him to go for it.

If I remember correctly, you had half of the offensive staff wanting to do one thing and the other half wanting to do something else. I'm assuming punting or running it in for a first down.
 


On the overturned Nebraska catch out of bounds...it isn't even reviewed if we don't wait to switch balls to snap our offensive play and it remains a two score game

Same scenario on Mo's first down. Run a play...yes you want to take 40 seconds off the clock ideally but the refs already showed what's going to happen if you call a timeout so they can review and overturn the previous play for the home team.. don't take a timeout so they can go hmmm we should look at that spot....talk about aiding and abetting the enemy

PJ is wildly inconsistent with his fourth down go or punt strategy...he usually makes the wrong decision but what he does the worst is make the wrong play call when he does go for it. As has been mentioned, with the crazy rules right now...line the QB up under center....put three beasts in the backfield to push him ahead 5 yards. How can not get a yard doing that?

I'm glad PJ punted because we'd have run a play that did not work in all likelihood...
but punting you need a great snap and the line needs to do its' job,,,blocked punt/bad snap is probably the worst outcome of all choices

As mentioned: if you are going to punt, why you wouldn't hard count to get them to jump off side?? It is a no risk high reward play. They set it up with all their indecision
 





scools12 said:
Don’t know. Don’t care.

Ask the LSU head coach. He might know.
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I have a feeling if that situation happened against Bama, PJ would likely go for it considering they have a Heisman winning QB.

I don't think the Herm Edwards quote has aged too well though. The guy is better at providing sound bites than he was at coaching!
 

The way our defense was playing, it was the right call. If we went for it, I’d actually want to see a QB sneak. No got stuffed more than I’ve ever seen in yesterdays game (guessing he’s not 100%, although he was still darn good!).
 

Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
I have a feeling if that situation happened against Bama, PJ would likely go for it considering they have a Heisman winning QB.

I don't think the Herm Edwards quote has aged too well though. The guy is better at providing sound bites than he was at coaching!
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I understand why PJ punted and it was the right choice.

Still don’t have to like it.
 

We now have a fan base that on conservative weekends is complaining about a 31-0 win and a win in Lincoln. Maybe Gopher football is treading in the right direction.
 

at first I wanted them to go for it, but was fine with the punt.

overturning the first down was actually the correct call, if you watch closely, Mo's butt hits the ground when he is still upright and hes clearly short of the marker. he doesn't make it past until he lays down, but that well after his butt had already touched. They could have explained it that way.
 

Not even a tough decision at all - you punt that every time if you have a solid defense and trust them. Face it, if we got stuffed on 4th and 1 (and this has happened not once but TWICE to us) deep in our own territory Fleck would have been savaged by the media as well as us. This would have been too much risk. I do not know of a single NFL coach that would make that call to go for it there. If they missed that one, he would probably be looking for a new job pretty soon.

Fleck makes the right call.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Another way of looking at that is "if we were 2 for 4 instead of 0 for 4 at stopping Illinois on fourth down."
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Illinois stopped themselves against Michigan state so I am not sure that’s a better way of looking at it, but yeah you could
 

It was the right call. Let Nebraska go against the Gopher Defense who were playing well.
 

scools12 said:
I understand why PJ punted and it was the right choice.

Still don’t have to like it.
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If it worked, what's not to like?

He trusted a very solid defense that had kept the Nebraska offense out of the end zone since the 1st Q/opening drive.
 

Ope3 said:
If it worked, what's not to like?

He trusted a very solid defense that had kept the Nebraska offense out of the end zone since the 1st Q/opening drive.
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The right choice was made.

I would have liked to seen Fleck trust his really good RB to gain a 1/2 yard.

This isn’t really that hard to understand.
 
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