Not running Zeke in final possession

[Doomsday101]

And they weren't letting Beasley go anywhere either. Hand the ball off to your running back who has been carving up the defense and make them stop him. Trying to be cute with a quick screen pass behind the line of scrimmage was not smart.

As I said Douglas made a very good play, if he misses there is nothing in front of Beasley. Douglas read it and was aggressive coming up. However still high percentage. Zeke had a great day but the situation of the game was completely different at this stage of the game. They started the drive with a handoff and Philly nailed Zeke for a loss, they were not going to let him go anywhere, Dallas would have had a better chance using the read option and let Dak run it.

 

[Aviano90]

As I said Douglas made a very good play, if he misses there is nothing in front of Beasley. Douglas read it and was aggressive coming up. However still high percentage. Zeke had a great day but the situation of the game was completely different at this stage of the game. They started the drive with a handoff and Philly nailed him, they were not going to let him go anywhere

Then make them nail him 2 more times. We built the team to run Zeke but for some reason in critical situations, don't like to run him. Makes for a good decoy, or in this case a bad one because the plays they called sucked balls.

 

[millennial_legend]

Beasley could tip the ball - pick 6. Beasley could juggle and fumble the ball - eagles ball. Beasley could drop the ball or Dak under/over throws - incomplete and eagles save a timeout.

STUPID !!!!!!! I’m ecstatic for the win but Linehan (I assume he called that) has to go. Still trying to make Dak a pocket passer as well.

Zeke could fumble...... Eagles ball.

 

[Doomsday101]

Then make them nail him 2 more times.

then punt and the funny part is people would be here today hollering how Garrett was playing not to lose by handing it off knowing Philly was keying on Dak.

 

[Aviano90]

then punt and the funny part is people would be here today hollering how Garrett was playing not to lose by handing it off knowing Philly was keying on Dak.

I'm sure some would, but a much better case can be made for handing it to Zeke 3 straight times when he was dominating the game than it is making a case for not handing him the ball and calling extremely conservative plays with no shot of succeeding to make it appear like we're not playing to lose.

 

[Doomsday101]

Zeke could fumble...... Eagles ball.

True if the what if game anything can happen. What if Douglas misses on the tackle? 1st down for sure, TD possible. Cowboys did get the one thing accomplished they wanted which was Philly burned up their TO and now would have drive the field.

 

[Doomsday101]

I'm sure some would, but a much better case can be made for handing it to Zeke 3 straight times when he was dominating the game than it is making a case for not handing him the ball and calling extremely conservative plays with no shot of succeeding to make it appear like we're not playing to lose.

he was not going to dominating when they for the most part are running a goal line defense, you may get 1 or 2 yards but they were not letting him run. Again it is a different situation mid way through the 4th and the last drive where Philly had 3 timeout and fully expected to see Dallas run Zeke and showed that right off the bat on 1st down.

 

[Aviano90]

he was not going to dominating when they for the most part are running a goal line defense, you may get 1 or 2 yards but they were not letting him run. Again it is a different situation mid way through the 4th and the last drive where Philly had 3 timeout and fully expected to see Dallas run Zeke and showed that right off the bat on 1st down.

He broke long runs against stacked boxes multiple times. If you're going to play conservative, which we did, then we need to hand the ball off to our stud running back behind our offensive line. We don't need cute screen passes for -4 yards and a QB draw. Force them to stop the strength of our team who is playing lights out. If you do feel the need to throw the ball, at least throw it down the field a little and attempt to get a first down. If the risk is too great for that then it goes back to handing the ball off to your superstar RB in order to be conservative.

 

[Runwildboys]

They were at the 29 yard line, don't consider that by our own goal line. Again very high percentage in terms of completion.

Close enough for them to get a FG.

 

[Doomsday101]

He broke long runs against stacked boxes multiple times. If you're going to play conservative, which we did, then we need to hand the ball off to our stud running back behind our offensive line. We don't need cute screen passes for -4 yards and a QB draw. Force them to stop the strength of our team who is playing lights out. If you do feel the need to throw the ball, at least throw it down the field a little and attempt to get a first down. If the risk is too great for that then it goes back to handing the ball off to your superstar RB in order to be conservative.

Ok your opinion, not going to argue the same thing over and over. You did not like the call I had no issue with it at all. See you can still complain no matter what Garrett does. There was nothing cute about it and it is a play many teams have ran in that same situation. Myself I would have faked to Zeke and have Dak run it, given the attention Philly was putting on Zeke but because Dallas ran something else does not make it wrong and me right. They were hoping to pick up the 1st but were still able to get Philly to burn timeouts.

 

[Doomsday101]

Close enough for them to get a FG.

FG makes if 23 to 27 how would a FG make any difference? The play was in no way a high risk play, had Zeke been hit in the backfield and fumbled it what would people say? Garrett right now is in a no win with a large percent of the fans I get that and no matter what they called was not going to be the right thing is some peoples eyes.

 

[Aviano90]

Ok your opinion, not going to argue the same thing over and over. You did not like the call I had no issue with it at all. See you can still complain no matter what Garrett does. There was nothing cute about it and it is a play many teams have ran in that same situation. Myself I would have faked to Zeke and have Dak run it, given the attention Philly was putting on Zeke but because Dallas ran something else does not make it wrong and me right. They were hoping to pick up the 1st but were still able to get Philly to burn timeouts.

I'm sure I can complain no matter what the call is, but I don't. I'm sure many fans do complain regardless of what is called. I've seen it many times. They will contradict themselves in order to keep up a bias.

I just don't see the logic of the play call in this situation. I would have much rather thrown a slant for an incompletion instead of what we actually did. If you want to play conservative, run Zeke. If you want to pass the ball, at least go for the first down. I hate seeing us pass the ball in an attempt to be conservative and force timeouts.

 

[TheHerd]

The part that is bizarre is we will put 2 or 3 TEs on the field and run Zeke into 8 and 9 man fronts all the time, but not when we really want to grind out a first down in a game where we've been running the ball extremely well. And in this situation, that sweep was probably not the best option. Watching the play, if Zeke goes wide I bet he picks up some yards but he knows the sideline is your enemy so he smartly keeps it inside.

When trying to force timeouts, if you're going to run, it's best to run between the tackles. Even against the stacked box.

 

[wrongway]

how do you not run zeke on that final possession!? Throw a screen to Beasley !?

Love the win ! But seriously it’s time to fire Linehan.

Yup, if eagles had timeouts probably a loss there

 

[TheHerd]

I'm sure I can complain no matter what the call is, but I don't. I'm sure many fans do complain regardless of what is called. I've seen it many times. They will contradict themselves in order to keep up a bias.

I just don't see the logic of the play call in this situation. I would have much rather thrown a slant for an incompletion instead of what we actually did. If you want to play conservative, run Zeke. If you want to pass the ball, at least go for the first down. I hate seeing us pass the ball in an attempt to be conservative and force timeouts.

This I agree with. Either be aggressive or be conservative. But make the choice and commit. The way the D was playing, I personally would prefer three Zeke straight ahead runs and a punt, but would not complain about being aggressive.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

how do you not run zeke on that final possession!? Throw a screen to Beasley !?

Love the win ! But seriously it’s time to fire Linehan.

I was watching incredulously as it all unfolded. I said it in the game thread but only we could butcher the obvious playcalling the situation called for.

 

[Runwildboys]

FG makes if 23 to 27 how would a FG make any difference? The play was in no way a high risk play, had Zeke been hit in the backfield and fumbled it what would people say? Garrett right now is in a no win with a large percent of the fans I get that and no matter what they called was not going to be the right thing is some peoples eyes.

I'm simply making the point that 29 yards is close to the end zone, especially when you consider a couple of the drives they had.

Putting the game in the hands of Zeke is much safer than putting it in Dak's hands. You keep saying Beasley would have gotten the first if one man had been blocked. There's no way Garrett saw that in the future. It was just not a good call to make when trying to eat clock and/or get a first down in that situation.

 

[aikemirv]

how do you not run zeke on that final possession!? Throw a screen to Beasley !?

Love the win ! But seriously it’s time to fire Linehan.

We did run Zeke on 1st down. I do think however they did not want to run right up the middle and only take 3 seconds off the clock. They ran wide stuff to take a few more seconds off I think.

 

[charron]

Maybe not the exact play I would have called but I get not running it into a defense that assumed we were going to run it. Obtaining 1st down should be the goal here by any means.

 

[kiheikiwi]

This is why as great as the win was, and much needed. I hope the fact of bone head play calling doesn't get lost in the euphoria of the win.

Come the end of our season, both Garrett and Linehan need to go ! O, and take Moore with them.

Again, the win was great. Shutting up the Eagles is always a great thing. But, the circumstances of the season and our coaching staff does not change one iota.