MM explains his thought process of going for 2

droopdog7

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It really just comes down to clock management. It's not a one score game unless you make the conversion. If you wait until the end, you either burn all the time on the clock and risk it all on the last play, only to find out it was actually a two score game the entire time and you just didn't know it, or you keep enough time "just in case" which means risking giving the ball back to Atlanta with enough time for themselves to score. If you go for two early, it's easier to work the clock in your favor.
Exactly. Your path to victory, narrow as it might be, is crystal clear by going for two early.
 

Diehardblues

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I suspect that stat would be hard to come by. But for gods sake people just need to use their thinking skills. No stats needed.
Can anyone even provide another teams scenario in which their coach made a similar decision?
 

Trajan

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Yes, that's why it's better to have more time on the clock instead of less.

Exactly. Those claiming they want everything to rest on the final 2 pt conversion at the end of the game provide no option if you fail the conversion. Yes, the chances of recovering the onside is slim, and even slimmer to then move down the field to score. BUT, it is easier to accomplish this with more time on the clock then no / little time on the clock.

Neither are great options, but one produces a slightly higher probability of success.
 

Haimerej

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Exactly. Those claiming they want everything to rest on the final 2 pt conversion at the end of the game provide no option if you fail the conversion. Yes, the chances of recovering the onside is slim, and even slimmer to then move down the field to score. BUT, it is easier to accomplish this with more time on the clock then no / little time on the clock.

Neither are great options, but one produces a slightly higher probability of success.

The clock argument is a red herring. It's foolish to run the clock down in either scenario. The priority is to score, even if you make the 2 pointer.
 

Diehardblues

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Exactly. Those claiming they want everything to rest on the final 2 pt conversion at the end of the game provide no option if you fail the conversion. Yes, the chances of recovering the onside is slim, and even slimmer to then move down the field to score. BUT, it is easier to accomplish this with more time on the clock then no / little time on the clock.

Neither are great options, but one produces a slightly higher probability of success.
It doesn’t have to be the end of the game. We didn’t know exactly when our next possession would have came. There could have still been ample time for another possession if our 2 pointer failed to tie the game.
 

Uncle_Hank

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The clock argument is a red herring. It's foolish to run the clock down in either scenario. The priority is to score, even if you make the 2 pointer.

If that were the case, teams would kick the game-winning field goal with 30 seconds left instead of 3. There's a reason they don't do that. I assumed this was obvious to anyone who has watched football before.
 

Haimerej

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If that were the case, teams would kick the game-winning field goal with 30 seconds left instead of 3. There's a reason they don't do that. I assumed this was obvious to anyone who has watched football before.

I've seen enough to know kicking a FG is different than scoring a TD.
 

LACowboysFan1

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It really just comes down to clock management. It's not a one score game unless you make the conversion. If you wait until the end, you either burn all the time on the clock and risk it all on the last play, only to find out it was actually a two score game the entire time and you just didn't know it, or you keep enough time "just in case" which means risking giving the ball back to Atlanta with enough time for themselves to score. If you go for two early, it's easier to work the clock in your favor.

Problem is it's not an obvious, no-doubt-at-all, this way is right and the other is wrong decision. Either way you go it can result in a win, or not, depending on what happens after the two pt attempt.

Just part of what makes football interesting....
 

Haimerej

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Not when it comes down to giving the ball back to the other team on the last possession of the game, it doesn't. Not even a little bit.

Any team running the clock down while trailing by 7 or 8 points is taking a bigger gamble than the team down 3 or less running out the clock while in FG range. This is football 101.
 

Uncle_Hank

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Any team running the clock down while trailing by 7 or 8 points is taking a bigger gamble than the team down 3 or less running out the clock while in FG range. This is football 101.

The point isn't to stay down by 7 or 8 either, is it?
 

droopdog7

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The clock argument is a red herring. It's foolish to run the clock down in either scenario. The priority is to score, even if you make the 2 pointer.
If you believe that, and it's a fine argument to make, then there is no difference to go for two on the first or second td right? Right?
 

Haimerej

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No, the point is to score without giving the other team a chance to come back.

That's what your defense is for. So you'd handicap your offense by slowing their tempo when that's arguably what got them back in the game.
 
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