I have no issues with the end of game clock mismangement

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Yet there was confusion, by a coach or player somewhere, and had the Cowboys tried to run a play without everyone knowing what to do and someone does something like ... IDK, false start #77 ... are they in FG range still? It seems unlikely.

Or do we use our own time out to make sure everyone knows what to do?
Then attempt a "safe play" which results in an incomplete pass because Dak had to throw it away.
In that case, the clock stops again, but this time with LAC NOT having to use a TO, and we are STILL trying a 56 yarder for the win.

So lets go over what happens then:

• Cowboys make it, leave 15 seconds on the clock and LAC has 2 of their TOs.
  • Hope our D does not give up big plays down the field, and/or let something underneath for a big gain (aka, you can't just play prevent due to the 2 TOs.)
  • Luckily, outside a TD, we win or go to OT (just like what happened, but with MUCH more risk)
• Cowboys miss it (like fans seem to believe was the more likely scenario)
  • LAC has the ball around their own 46 yard line, which is a 25 yard difference in field position, with ~15 seconds and 2 TOs.
    
  • But now instead of a chance to tie the game, you are a lot closer for a chance to win
  • Instead of having to drive ~50ish yard for a FG attempt to tie, you are looking at ~30ish yards for a chance to win

If you are upset that there was confusion, I'm fine with that. But if you are upset that the clock was "mismanaged", then I don't know what to say.

The Cowboys put themselves in a situation EVERY TEAM IN THE NFL would take in a similar situation and IMO, it is the Chargers who should be upset with the clock management.

it was mismanaged. they should have been able to run one more play to get a little closer. they apparantley were trying to, but weren't prepared for the chaos and confusion. regardless if the play would have worked, then we are closer and better probability of making the kick....if not, we are exactly where we were and still have to make a 56 yarder.

and the problem with the confusion is the team wasn't prepared. players didn't know what to do. the coaches were confused. even Dak seemed confused. that's the main problem. we are not prepared to handle situations like this. same thing happened against Tampa...the team just wasn't very smart, nor very prepared.

 

[SackMaster]

McCarthy said he wanted to run another play but couldn't because they couldn't see the play clock on the field. That is what I'm referring to when I said clock issues. So they just decided to run the clock down and kick the field goal instead.

Wow. I have no counter point to make here.

I think we are in agreement then, while not ideal, MM did the right thing in the end.

But please, I don't want to put words in your mouth, so feel free to let me know if I drew an incorrect conclusion.

 

[cowboyec]

it seemed weird at the time.
but coach mccarthy shed light on what was going on...so no wonder it seemed weird.
this idea that he is inept is just nonsense.
glad we got him.
better still....even happier we won.
thats all i care about.
screw the who/what/why/how.
all that matters.
cowboys win

 

[Jarntt]

Look. Do I wish the Cowboys been a little smarter with the clock in the last ~30 seconds of the game? Sure.

But forced, and even worse, unforced errors are a thing. See the KC RB that just flat out drop the football while not being touched towards the end of that game vs Baltimore.

Bad snap, fumble, sack, TFL, interception, false start, holding, illegal shift, illegal formation, delay of game ... or anything else you can think of could have happened, then what was in range for GZ is out of range for GZ.

I do believe the Cowboys coaches were expecting the Chargers to take a timeout, hence no other playcall came in for the offense to run after that last run, but since the Chargers didn't call a TO, I think it played out perfectly.

Why, you might ask?

1. It was not a FG that if you missed you lost.
   
2. But we also made sure that if GZ did miss, LAC could not use their left over TO to try and attempt a last minute Hail Mary.

I get it, no one wanted to go into Overtime in that game, but at the same time, I'm thinking the end of the game clock management issue is being COMPLETELY overblown.

Fact of the matter is, last week we complained about giving TB too much time to make a last minute comeback.

This week Big Mike DID NOT make that mistake .... yet some people, to include the local Dallas media, is dang near calling for MM's head.

I just don't get it, but then again, you are more than welcome to try and change my mind.

No, just no. The end of game and half time management for this team has been disastrous for years (pre-McCarthy too). No excuses for messing up things any football fan should know and no passes when those mistakes could have cost a game. It didn’t all of a sudden not become stupid because he made the kick. It was horrible and the clock thing (if true) could have been overcome easily with the clock in his head. Just stop the clock and get it straightened out

 

[cowboyec]

Yeah, I can't buy this.

Why would the chargers call timeout there? At that point, there is little chance they would get the ball back so stopping the clock isn't a priority for them at that point. The Cowboys coaching staff needs to be ready to send in a play/personnel at that point. To suggest they were banking on the Chargers to help them out is preposterous to me. If they didn't have a play ready for that situation, then that's clearly a coaching mistake. And your point about the hail mary possibility is even more of a reason to not settle for a 56 yard FG.

Secondly, their excuse about the clock is just pathetic. There are clocks all over that stadium.

At the end of the day, SETTLING (and that's exactly what they did) for a 56 yard FG is poor management when there were 25 seconds left and you had a timeout still.

you wouldn't say that if there had been a fumble and the chargers walk-off instead.
2ndly...i seriously doubt mccarthy would say anything about the play-clock if it wasn't true.
obviously something was going on there.
settled?
who cares.
we won.
they didn't.
i'll settle for that every single time.

 

[SackMaster]

it was mismanaged. they should have been able to run one more play to get a little closer. they apparantley were trying to, but weren't prepared for the chaos and confusion. regardless if the play would have worked, then we are closer and better probability of making the kick....if not, we are exactly where we were and still have to make a 56 yarder.

and the problem with the confusion is the team wasn't prepared. players didn't know what to do. the coaches were confused. even Dak seemed confused. that's the main problem. we are not prepared to handle situations like this. same thing happened against Tampa...the team just wasn't very smart, nor very prepared.

You seem to forget the possibility of having a NEGATIVE play and/or PENALTY that could have moved us to a 61 or 69 yard attempt.

Again, I am DISAPPOINTED that things were not prepared as much as they should have been at the end of the game, but to imply that it was a disaster waiting to happen is emotion overruling any logic.

As far as the TB game, it was less not being prepared and more of a lack of execution. The two holding calls during our final drive, regardless if they were "legit penalties" or not, was a HUGE issue and we were lucky we even got to the point where we could kick a FG to take the lead.

Yet for some reason, Fans think going for it on 4th-&-6 when we were having issues to even get to the point to attempt a FG was "mismanagement" or "lack of preparation" by the coaching staff. I disagree.

So I think we are conflating two separate instances and trying to make them similar, when in all actuality, they are pretty different.

 

[cowboyec]

19 seconds - timeout. You have time for a pass for a quick out to get 5 more yards. That's what good coaches would have done there. Bad coaches have confusion and almost blow the situation.

bad coaches blow the situation.
good coaches don't and lead their team to a win.
thats what mccarthy did.

 

[cowboyec]

NEVER.
APOLOGIZE.
FOR.
WINNING.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

You seem to forget the possibility of having a NEGATIVE play and/or PENALTY that could have moved us to a 61 or 69 yard attempt.

Again, I am DISAPPOINTED that things were not prepared as much as they should have been at the end of the game, but to imply that it was a disaster waiting to happen is emotion overruling any logic.

As far as the TB game, it was less not being prepared and more of a lack of execution. The two holding calls during our final drive, regardless if they were "legit penalties" or not, was a HUGE issue and we were lucky we even got to the point where we could kick a FG to take the lead.

Yet for some reason, Fans think going for it on 4th-&-6 when we were having issues to even get to the point to attempt a FG was "mismanagement" or "lack of preparation" by the coaching staff. I disagree.

So I think we are conflating two separate instances and trying to make them similar, when in all actuality, they are pretty different.

so you play not to lose as oppose to play to win....where is the mojo?

and against TB, the stupidity of the players that ran out of bounds twice on the last drive. either force tampa to use their timeout or keep the clock running....it was mismanaged. again perhaps communication. if the players didn't undersand not to go out of bounds, then who is supposed to have told them not to go out of bounds. we could have, should have consumed 30 second to another minute of the clock on that last drive.

the two games have been mismanaged at critical times...not even necessarily at the end of the game....the 4th down and goal at tampa wasn't managed properly...everyone says its because of execution, I think it was because we had the wrong personnel for the play called. Moore did the same thing against Philly two years ago, when he took out zeke and cooper when inside the redzone and needed to score. this week in the middle of the 3rd. we are driving down. having success. have momentum. they can't stop the run or pass, and he calls a gimmiky college play and then a pass play with minimum pass protection with all the recievers running mid to deep routes, when Dak got sacked against a 7 man rush. nobody running underneath or a quick slant, in a shorter route instead of a long developing play...that when the game is tied....he tends to try and out smart himself at times. those two plays just killed the whole momentum we had in the series and took us out of field goal range.

 

[SackMaster]

No, just no. The end of game and half time management for this team has been disastrous for years (pre-McCarthy too). No excuses for messing up things any football fan should know and no passes when those mistakes could have cost a game. It didn’t all of a sudden not become stupid because he made the kick. It was horrible and the clock thing (if true) could have been overcome easily with the clock in his head. Just stop the clock and get it straightened out

Now THAT highlighted part is funny.

How accurate are you at keeping seconds in your head when CONCENTRATING on doing it? Noq imaging trying to do that in a chaotic situation where you are the one in charge of making crucial decisions? Spoiler, keeping time in your head is hard even when concentrating, and nearly impossible when dealing with other things.

Now if you said someone should of had the lone job of watching the clock at that point of the game, that is a fair point.
But keeping track of it in your head? Laughable at best.

As far as "Just stop the clock and get it straightened out" ... isn't that EXACTLY what they did? Stopped the clock with 4 seconds left, gave the FG unit plenty of time to get settled in ... all the WHILE not leaving any time for the Chargers to try something in regulation?

But since we want to play in hypothetical, lets do this:

Since that was such a "terrible" FG to attempt to make, lets look at it this way.

We stop the clock on 3rd down with 28 seconds to go. We run a play and it DOES NOT get the first down, which was only 3 yards away.

So we are going to attempt a 54 yard FG vs a 56 yard FG? Is that a MUCH better attempt?

Now if we get a first, then obviously that is a quick clock, then trot out the FG unit for a mid 40 yarder in all likelihood. Now that has higher odds, but considering the following, what is the risk vs reward?

And what happens if we don't get a first and don't get OOB to stop the clock? You feel comfortable attempting to run the FG unit out there in <24 seconds to set up, and kick the FG? Or does LAC play nice and stop the clock for us?

Or lets say we stop the clock without a 1st down, we are looking at "the same terrible attempt" but will be giving the ball back the the Chargers by missed FG or Kickoff.

Oh and by the way, in each of the above, LAC gets the ball back and they have at least one TO.

One deep play down the middle. A TO. And the crazy thing, they probably would still have time to try a jump ball to Mike Williams in the EZ at least once.

Then all we are hearing is "How come we didn't let the clock run down when LAC didn't use their time out on 3rd down" complaints, which would be WAY more valid than the current ones.

But then again, I'm apparently crazy. Go figure.

 

[SackMaster]

so you play not to lose as oppose to play to win....where is the mojo?

and against TB, the stupidity of the players that ran out of bounds twice on the last drive. either force tampa to use their timeout or keep the clock running....it was mismanaged. again perhaps communication. if the players didn't undersand not to go out of bounds, then who is supposed to have told them not to go out of bounds. we could have, should have consumed 30 second to another minute of the clock on that last drive.

the two games have been mismanaged at critical times...not even necessarily at the end of the game....the 4th down and goal at tampa wasn't managed properly...everyone says its because of execution, I think it was because we had the wrong personnel for the play called. Moore did the same thing against Philly two years ago, when he took out zeke and cooper when inside the redzone and needed to score. this week in the middle of the 3rd. we are driving down. having success. have momentum. they can't stop the run or pass, and he calls a gimmiky college play and then a pass play with minimum pass protection with all the recievers running mid to deep routes, when Dak got sacked against a 7 man rush. nobody running underneath or a quick slant, in a shorter route instead of a long developing play...that when the game is tied....he tends to try and out smart himself at times. those two plays just killed the whole momentum we had in the series and took us out of field goal range.

So attempting a time expiring field goal for the win is "playing not to lose"? Not even to mention that the game was tied, so a miss does not lose the game.

But assuming you are correct, I think it is safe to say that Tom Brady is the KING of playing not to lose then. I mean, he has built a career as a GOAT doing that same EXACT thing, by putting his team in position to kick game winning FGs as time expires.

You are so right, we should NEVER do what Tom Brady does.


As far as you complaining about play design, sure, go ahead. But if you are expecting the perfect play call against the opposing offense / defense everytime, you are going to be a miserable football fan 98% of the time.

And if you are so smart to be able to always call the perfect play everytime, then PLEASE become the next coach for the Cowboys. I will cheer you on like no other. But be warned, I might also hold you to the same unattainable standard that you like to place on everyone else.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

So attempting a time expiring field goal for the win is "playing not to lose"? Not even to mention that the game was tied, so a miss does not lose the game.

But assuming you are correct, I think it is safe to say that Tom Brady is the KING of playing not to lose then. I mean, he has built a career as a GOAT doing that same EXACT thing, by putting his team in position to kick game winning FGs as time expires.

You are so right, we should NEVER do what Tom Brady does.


As far as you complaining about play design, sure, go ahead. But if you are expecting the perfect play call against the opposing offense / defense everytime, you are going to be a miserable football fan 98% of the time.

And if you are so smart to be able to always call the perfect play everytime, then PLEASE become the next coach for the Cowboys. I will cheer you on like no other. But be warned, I might also hold you to the same unattainable standard that you like to place on everyone else.

I am responding to what you said........things could go wrong. we shouldn't try. lets not even attempt it. we should play it safe............that's playing not to lose....

you missed the point. I wasn't talking about what transpired, which was totally chaotic, mismanaged and could have been disasterous if Z missed the kick (its a 56 yarder and lower probability of success, than lets say one less than 50 for a kicker who missed a 60 yarder badly the week before)..

I don't expect perfect play every time. but when stupidity can be avoided, it should be at all costs....so yeah, I don't like stupid plays...like a college play formation, near mid field, in a tie game, with the offense having all the momentum. that was stupid call.....

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Now THAT highlighted part is funny.

How accurate are you at keeping seconds in your head when CONCENTRATING on doing it? Noq imaging trying to do that in a chaotic situation where you are the one in charge of making crucial decisions? Spoiler, keeping time in your head is hard even when concentrating, and nearly impossible when dealing with other things.

Now if you said someone should of had the lone job of watching the clock at that point of the game, that is a fair point.
But keeping track of it in your head? Laughable at best.

As far as "Just stop the clock and get it straightened out" ... isn't that EXACTLY what they did? Stopped the clock with 4 seconds left, gave the FG unit plenty of time to get settled in ... all the WHILE not leaving any time for the Chargers to try something in regulation?

But since we want to play in hypothetical, lets do this:

Since that was such a "terrible" FG to attempt to make, lets look at it this way.

We stop the clock on 3rd down with 28 seconds to go. We run a play and it DOES NOT get the first down, which was only 3 yards away.

So we are going to attempt a 54 yard FG vs a 56 yard FG? Is that a MUCH better attempt?

Now if we get a first, then obviously that is a quick clock, then trot out the FG unit for a mid 40 yarder in all likelihood. Now that has higher odds, but considering the following, what is the risk vs reward?

And what happens if we don't get a first and don't get OOB to stop the clock? You feel comfortable attempting to run the FG unit out there in <24 seconds to set up, and kick the FG? Or does LAC play nice and stop the clock for us?

Or lets say we stop the clock without a 1st down, we are looking at "the same terrible attempt" but will be giving the ball back the the Chargers by missed FG or Kickoff.

Oh and by the way, in each of the above, LAC gets the ball back and they have at least one TO.

One deep play down the middle. A TO. And the crazy thing, they probably would still have time to try a jump ball to Mike Williams in the EZ at least once.

Then all we are hearing is "How come we didn't let the clock run down when LAC didn't use their time out on 3rd down" complaints, which would be WAY more valid than the current ones.

But then again, I'm apparently crazy. Go figure.

omg, you can't be this thick headed. even I understood what he meant. the coaches should have known how much time was on the clock before they called the play. they should have in fact had several plays ready and already have talked to Dak. players should have been communicated to. so yeah, when pollard ran the play, the coaches should have know about how much time is left. should have planned prior to running a play that wouldn't stop the clock to run a hurry up play right after..... they weren't ready. they looked lost. it was chaotic....they looked like they wanted to run a play, otherwise if that was their plan not to run a play, dak would have walked to the sideline and wait until last couple of seconds to call a timeout... all of this happened right in front of your eyes, and yet you still stick your head in the sand and pretend...

remember, last week. Tampa did the same thing. got in field goal range. ran three plays and Brady threw the ball away if the play wasn't there. all with one goal in mind. get closer if you can...the closer. the better.....and if it doesn't work, then you are exactly where you started, no worse....they didn't worry about making a mistake, penalty, interception, etc....they lined up and ran a play.....

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Look. Do I wish the Cowboys been a little smarter with the clock in the last ~30 seconds of the game? Sure.

But forced, and even worse, unforced errors are a thing. See the KC RB that just flat out drop the football while not being touched towards the end of that game vs Baltimore.

Bad snap, fumble, sack, TFL, interception, false start, holding, illegal shift, illegal formation, delay of game ... or anything else you can think of could have happened, then what was in range for GZ is out of range for GZ.

I do believe the Cowboys coaches were expecting the Chargers to take a timeout, hence no other playcall came in for the offense to run after that last run, but since the Chargers didn't call a TO, I think it played out perfectly.

Why, you might ask?

1. It was not a FG that if you missed you lost.
   
2. But we also made sure that if GZ did miss, LAC could not use their left over TO to try and attempt a last minute Hail Mary.

I get it, no one wanted to go into Overtime in that game, but at the same time, I'm thinking the end of the game clock management issue is being COMPLETELY overblown.

Fact of the matter is, last week we complained about giving TB too much time to make a last minute comeback.

This week Big Mike DID NOT make that mistake .... yet some people, to include the local Dallas media, is dang near calling for MM's head.

I just don't get it, but then again, you are more than welcome to try and change my mind.

Great post and i completely agree with you. Seems like folks want to find something to complain about when it comes to McCarthy. Complain he doesn't go for it on 4th but also complain when he does. Complain that Garrett is too conservative but also complain that McCarthy is too aggressive.

Winning is all that matters. Dallas won so it was great clock management and coaches did a fine job

 

[charron]

It would be better had it been intentional but it wasn't. The safety valve was that if time expired it goes to OT and not an instant loss but it is absolutely something that must be cleaned up and an area an experienced coach should be better at. Not being able to get the play call in is inexcusable. They need to practice redzone and 2 minute offense untill they know it. You can not wait untill the 1 minute mark with the clock running to try and decide what to do. Practice, practice, practice and drill it into Moore's head, Dak's head they should know what you want to do in these situations.

 

[Flamma]

Look. Do I wish the Cowboys been a little smarter with the clock in the last ~30 seconds of the game? Sure.

But forced, and even worse, unforced errors are a thing. See the KC RB that just flat out drop the football while not being touched towards the end of that game vs Baltimore.

Bad snap, fumble, sack, TFL, interception, false start, holding, illegal shift, illegal formation, delay of game ... or anything else you can think of could have happened, then what was in range for GZ is out of range for GZ.

I do believe the Cowboys coaches were expecting the Chargers to take a timeout, hence no other playcall came in for the offense to run after that last run, but since the Chargers didn't call a TO, I think it played out perfectly.

Why, you might ask?

1. It was not a FG that if you missed you lost.
   
2. But we also made sure that if GZ did miss, LAC could not use their left over TO to try and attempt a last minute Hail Mary.

I get it, no one wanted to go into Overtime in that game, but at the same time, I'm thinking the end of the game clock management issue is being COMPLETELY overblown.

Fact of the matter is, last week we complained about giving TB too much time to make a last minute comeback.

This week Big Mike DID NOT make that mistake .... yet some people, to include the local Dallas media, is dang near calling for MM's head.

I just don't get it, but then again, you are more than welcome to try and change my mind.

I'll admit, I was not happy at the time. However, I can't argue your logic. If we were losing by a few points at the time I believe you have to be sharper than that and try to put your team in the best position for success. Which they did not do. But since it was tied I believe you have to make sure you at least have a shot at winning. No reason to take an unnecessary risk.

 

[SackMaster]

I am responding to what you said........things could go wrong. we shouldn't try. lets not even attempt it. we should play it safe............that's playing not to lose....

you missed the point. I wasn't talking about what transpired, which was totally chaotic, mismanaged and could have been disasterous if Z missed the kick (its a 56 yarder and lower probability of success, than lets say one less than 50 for a kicker who missed a 60 yarder badly the week before)..

I don't expect perfect play every time. but when stupidity can be avoided, it should be at all costs....so yeah, I don't like stupid plays...like a college play formation, near mid field, in a tie game, with the offense having all the momentum. that was stupid call.....

OMG, not trying because things could go wrong? I mean, isn't that what Brady did when he threw 3 passes OOB at the end of game last week? I mean, he sure the heck wasn't "trying to pick up more yards" , so I guess the only thing to say is ..... WHAT A COWARD!!!!!

Come on man, this is getting silly.

As far as the actual FG attempt...

Did GZ miss a 60 yarder the week before in TB? Absolutely.

Was LA as humid as TB was last week? I don't think so. At least the announcers did not seem to mention it like they did last week several times.
Even if it was, it sure seemed like SoFi stadium is an indoor stadium. If not indoors, pretty close to it.
Was he kicking off of grass? Nope.

So I think complaining about a 56 yard attempt in LA, in a "indoor" stadium, on artificial turf and in really good kicking conditions because of a 60 yard miss GZ had the week before, in much less kicker friendly conditions, is overreaching a bit.

I hope you can at least admit it is probably easier kicking at SoFi than it is at Raymond James? If you can't, oh well.

Lastly. I hate stupid plays too. And I don't disagree with you on a few of Moore's "college plays" he made at crucial times in the game, AND in the RedZone. Yet some of those "college plays" have had some really positive gains this year. So it's great, until it doesn't work.

But I've never seen a coach who has "always" called non-stupid plays. I'm sure Landry did it. I know Jimmy did. I've seen Parcells do it. I've even seen Andy Reid do it. Just name a coach, they have, and unless they are retired, will in all likelihood, call other stupid plays in their careers.

So instead of focusing on a few specific plays, I tend to be a "big picture" type of guy. And overall, outside of those handful of plays, we have had two weeks of exceptional play calling and game planning.

Where they perfect? No, not even close. But unlike previous coaching staffs, you know who I'm talking about, I am seeing an offense that is attacking opposing D weaknesses and taking advantage of what the defense is leaving open.

Hopefully when Kellen decides to get cute next time, it works. OR he realizes some things just won't work at this level and leaves that to non-critical moments.


I don't know what to tell you man. What happened was not perfect, even blowout Super Bowl wins by the Cowboys were not perfect, but in this game, MM gave us a shot at winning without giving the other team a shot of stealing the win in regulation.

Ain't nothing wrong with that.

 

[SackMaster]

omg, you can't be this thick headed. even I understood what he meant. the coaches should have known how much time was on the clock before they called the play. they should have in fact had several plays ready and already have talked to Dak. players should have been communicated to. so yeah, when pollard ran the play, the coaches should have know about how much time is left. should have planned prior to running a play that wouldn't stop the clock to run a hurry up play right after..... they weren't ready. they looked lost. it was chaotic....they looked like they wanted to run a play, otherwise if that was their plan not to run a play, dak would have walked to the sideline and wait until last couple of seconds to call a timeout... all of this happened right in front of your eyes, and yet you still stick your head in the sand and pretend...

remember, last week. Tampa did the same thing. got in field goal range. ran three plays and Brady threw the ball away if the play wasn't there. all with one goal in mind. get closer if you can...the closer. the better.....and if it doesn't work, then you are exactly where you started, no worse....they didn't worry about making a mistake, penalty, interception, etc....they lined up and ran a play.....

Ya, Brady looked like he REALLY tried to get more yards at the end of the game last week. Never mind, he was just trying to run down the clock because all those incompletions were STOPPING the clock in the first place.


Again, point to me where I said this worked out exactly how MM drew it up, and I will be more than happy to say, my bad.

But if we stopped the clock with 4 seconds left on it, you know the around the time coaches take TO to attempt time-expiring FGs, then I'm think they had an IDEA of what time was left on the clock.

But nah ... MM just blindly ran to the refs, asked for directions .... or a doughnut .... then all of a sudden realized .... "Crap, I gotta call a timeout now. I have no clue what time it is, but lets call it right now."


Thanks guys, I needed the laugh.

 

[SackMaster]

It would be better had it been intentional but it wasn't. The safety valve was that if time expired it goes to OT and not an instant loss but it is absolutely something that must be cleaned up and an area an experienced coach should be better at. Not being able to get the play call in is inexcusable. They need to practice redzone and 2 minute offense untill they know it. You can not wait untill the 1 minute mark with the clock running to try and decide what to do. Practice, practice, practice and drill it into Moore's head, Dak's head they should know what you want to do in these situations.

MM said himself he wanted to run another play, so ya, it was not intentional.

But I give him credit for not panicking during the "personnel mixup" and using the timeout "just cuz".

He realized the opportunity was lost, so do the next best thing. Give the FG unit a legit chance to get settled in, and don't give the Chargers a chance, make or miss.

Hopefully another "personnel mixup" does not happen again during a critical part of the game, but all in all, I fail to see the "disaster" others seem to be seeing.

 

[jaythecowboy]

Wow. I have no counter point to make here.

I think we are in agreement then, while not ideal, MM did the right thing in the end.

But please, I don't want to put words in your mouth, so feel free to let me know if I drew an incorrect conclusion.

I think there is logical reasoning for either decision even though I would have ideally would have wanted to run another play with around 10 seconds left. Just not happy with how McCarthy got to that decision.