ESPN analysis - Garrett wrong on 3 of 4 fourth down calls

[BlueBandit]

Garrett has done a lot of good things in his few weeks as the head coach. However, his in-game decision-making has been questionable at best.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4674945/what-was-jason-garrett-thinking

 

[Doomsday]

*On fourth-and-4 from the New Orleans 35 early in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys punted.

This is the only decision that I had a real problem with. I understand not having a lot of confidence in Beuhler, but punting from their 35 on 4th and 4 was a bad decision. They only gained 16 yards of field position, I would of went for the first down.

 

[Brooksey]

The one where he accepted the holding call instead of making it 4th and 1 for NO from the 50 yd line was strange. I think they might have punted the football as they were out of FG range.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

The one where he accepted the holding call instead of making it 4th and 1 for NO from the 50 yd line was strange. I think they might have punted the football as they were out of FG range.

Not bad for someone who has been a HC for a little over three weeks; it's a good learning experience.

 

[dbair1967]

The one where he accepted the holding call instead of making it 4th and 1 for NO from the 50 yd line was strange. I think they might have punted the football as they were out of FG range.

They were inside the 50, I think it was the 46 or 47.

I think you people are insane to think Payton wasnt going for it on 4th and less than a yard, when we'd shown no ability whatsoever to stop them.

Not a single run play was held to zero gain or less than a yard yesterday until Brees kneeled down at the end of the game.

 

[Chuck 54]

They were inside the 50, I think it was the 46 or 47.

I think you people are insane to think Payton wasnt going for it on 4th and less than a yard, when we'd shown no ability whatsoever to stop them.

Not a single run play was held to zero gain or less than a yard yesterday until Brees kneeled down at the end of the game.

They forget that he went for it at the 50 later in the game...that one shocked me because after an inc. pass, we took over at the 50 ourselves...of course, we did nothing with it.

 

[AbeBeta]

The one where he accepted the holding call instead of making it 4th and 1 for NO from the 50 yd line was strange. I think they might have punted the football as they were out of FG range.

as he noted the conversion rate for 3rd and 11 is lower than the conversion rate for 4th and 1. So he's playing percentages.

 

[Temo]

I don't have a problem with any of them.

 

[dbair1967]

They forget that he went for it at the 50 later in the game...that one shocked me because after an inc. pass, we took over at the 50 ourselves...of course, we did nothing with it.

Thats Payton's MO. He is an extremely aggressive coach, and can afford to be when he has a QB like Brees and an OL he has faith in.

 

[Woods]

They were inside the 50, I think it was the 46 or 47.

I think you people are insane to think Payton wasnt going for it on 4th and less than a yard, when we'd shown no ability whatsoever to stop them.

Not a single run play was held to zero gain or less than a yard yesterday until Brees kneeled down at the end of the game.

Agreed. Payton is an aggressive coach. I think he would have gone for it for sure. Playing the odds, it made sense what Garrett did. Hopefully easier to stop NO on 3rd and 11 than 4th and 1.

 

[LucaBrasi]

Thats Payton's MO. He is an extremely aggressive coach, and can afford to be when he has a QB like Brees and an OL he has faith in.

that seems to be lost on everybody. Payton was going for it on 4th and less than a yard and if we had a better defense I would have declined the penalty. but we don't. Garrett made the right call.

 

[percyhoward]

Buehler made a 53-yard field goal at the end of the first half. He deserved a shot to tie the game from 52.

Had Garrett given Buehler that chance, the 59-yarder at the end of the game might have been a potential game-winner with the safety net of overtime.

MacMahon's forgetting the 39-yard TD drive that was made possible by Garrett's decision to punt it.

If we give Buehler a shot and he doesn't make what would have been his second 50+ yard kick of the game (and odds are he doesn't) we would have lost 26 yards of field position, meaning that we would have had to drive 65 yards for the score to take the lead, instead of the 39 yards that we ended up having to travel because we punted.

I liked that decision. The three straight passes to Dez at the end, OTOH...

 

[jack2]

Sorry to say that i agree with espn analysis, woulda gone the other way on all 4 plays!

 

[Picksix]

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4674945/what-was-jason-garrett-thinking

So, because Tim McMahon questions it, that means they were wrong.

HOW MANY FREAKING POSTS ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ON THIS POINT?!?!

 

[Picksix]

Sorry to say that i agree with espn analysis, woulda gone the other way on all 4 plays!

I would agree too, but then we'd all be wrong.

 

[AdamJT13]

Funny that the one I disagree with the most is the one ESPN agrees with.

 

[EPL0c0]

1. The pitch to Barber: The problem w/ this play was that Colombo got absolutely BLASTED. That changed and doomed the play.

2. FG from NO 3: Not the first time this has happened. This team had had issues executing inside the redzone. They looked good vs Detroit, not as good today. This is the kind of problem that could likely be improved with personnel changes.

3. The accepted penalty: IMO this was dumb and it was all on Garrett. Up 17-0 and with less than 2minutes left, I *SERIOUSLY* doubt Sean Payton goes for it on 4th and 1. You can't give the Saints 2nd chances.

4. End of game: I think the playcalls prior to the 4th down decision were what hurt Dallas. This is one of the issues that was there when Wade was HC. It's poor execution, poor decisions or a bad combination of the two that hopefully can get fixed.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

If you are pro Garrett then you will understand that it's football and you can't hit 100% on everything.

If you are a "anyone but Garrett" person then you will always have something to nitpick about.

And so it goes...

 

[streetcredit]

They were inside the 50, I think it was the 46 or 47.

I think you people are insane to think Payton wasnt going for it on 4th and less than a yard, when we'd shown no ability whatsoever to stop them.

Not a single run play was held to zero gain or less than a yard yesterday until Brees kneeled down at the end of the game.

Then how did we get the sacks?

 

[links18]

that seems to be lost on everybody. Payton was going for it on 4th and less than a yard and if we had a better defense I would have declined the penalty. but we don't. Garrett made the right call.

Nobody knows what Payton would have done on 4th and one. It was at midfield not the Cowboys end of the field. He might have punted. We'll never know.