Punt play with gunner completely uncovered

[JD_KaPow]

Keep in mind that the only reason Jones the punter is here, is because he is a good holder for Bailey's kicks.... it's not for his punting skills, his tackling skills and especially not for his throwing skills.

Garrett's special teams philosophy is to have a punter who is a good holder, punting skills is a plus. For a punt returner, its someone who can gracefully lift his arm in the air to call a fair catch, and who on 9 out of 10 tries will not drop the punt. Punt return yardage is way over rated.

Football Outsiders ranks our punt unit as the 5th-best in the NFL this season.

 

[DandyDon52]

So if Jones rushes the snap and air-mails a pass into the 3rd row, then what?????

As others have said, they should have a guy short would take the snap, and throw the ball not jones.
And they would have to practice the play ! lol
What I think is they dont have a option on that and dont practice for it.
If that is the case then yeah they should not attempt to do it.

If a team is prepared then they could complete the pass easily.
Miami did seem to know they didnt have to cover that guy or were baiting a attempt.

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

As others have said, they should have a guy short would take the snap, and throw the ball not jones.
And they would have to practice the play ! lol
What I think is they dont have a option on that and dont practice for it.
If that is the case then yeah they should not attempt to do it.

If a team is prepared then they could complete the pass easily.
Miami did seem to know they didnt have to cover that guy or were baiting a attempt.

What you think is almost certainly wrong. Team's spend a ridiculous amount of time on special teams. And the Dolphins shaded a guy over pre snap.

 

[JohnsKey19]

As others have said, they should have a guy short would take the snap, and throw the ball not jones.
And they would have to practice the play ! lol
What I think is they dont have a option on that and dont practice for it.
If that is the case then yeah they should not attempt to do it.

If a team is prepared then they could complete the pass easily.
Miami did seem to know they didnt have to cover that guy or were baiting a attempt.

I don't have the confidence in this particular team to pull off such a play on the fly. I'd rather see the punt than watch them botch something costing us 45-50 yards of field position.

 

[Verdict]

Yeah, remember how well that worked out for the Colts against us last year. Just because he's open doesn't mean it will be a good throw nor does it mean the receiver will catch it.

While that is true, it shouldn't take two grown men, who are athletically gifted and getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per year at a minimum, to practice enough to throw and catch an uncontested pass for 10 yards or so. If they can't do that, then one doesn't need to be the punter and the other doesn't need to be the gunner.

The coach should set the bar higher than saying I don't trust those guys to execute a simple pitch and catch. If it is more than a simple pitch and catch, then the guy gunner isn't really technically uncovered.

 

[Verdict]

Our special teams struggle with the basics, last thing we need is for them to try something like that on our own 16 with a one TD lead.

Yes. Good point! Why would our coaches expect our players to be competent? No use in trying to set any standards! This is an excellent idea! I wish I would have come up with this!

 

[Verdict]

So if Jones rushes the snap and air-mails a pass into the 3rd row, then what?????

Possibly replace the punter with another punter who won't "air mail it into the third row"?

 

[Verdict]

The last thing I want is Chris Jones trying to throw a completion from 12-15 yards in the backfield to a guy who is not a regular receiver.

You act like that the punter is a mentally challenged "quad" throwing the ball to a guy who has both hands tied behind his back. Grade school children throw a football back and forth repeatedly without dropping it on the playground. Is it really all that hard?

 

[Proximo]

Some of you guys are killing me in here.

You do realize there are times when the best QB's in the league botch a simple "pitch and catch", right?

And you do realize there are times when the best WR's in the league drop balls that him them directly on their hands/chest, right?

Now with that being said, you want our punter, or some other non-QB in our special team's backfield, to audible to a pass on 4th down, inside of our own 20, in a game where we're up by 7?

Not to mention the opposition was likely baiting us to do just that.

And because we didn't take advantage of this "opportunity", it's somehow a knock on our coaching staff?

LOL

 

[Nightman]

Some of you guys are killing me in here.

You do realize there are times when the best QB's in the league botch a simple "pitch and catch", right?

And you do realize there are times when the best WR's in the league drop balls that him them directly on their hands/chest, right?

Now with that being said, you want our punter, or some other non-QB in our special team's backfield, to audible to a pass on 4th down, inside of our own 20, in a game where we're up by 7?

Not to mention the opposition was likely baiting us to do just that.

And because we didn't take advantage of this "opportunity", it's somehow a knock on our coaching staff?

LOL

It is called risk-reward for a reason. If it was a guarantee there would be no discussion.

The reward is a gigantic play that might go for a TD. He would have only the punt returner to beat.

Like Verdict said, Pee Wee players complete tougher throws. Its all about having the guts to do it.

We obviously don't have the guts to get risky. When was the last fake punt, fake FG or trick play run?

 

[Proximo]

It is called risk-reward for a reason. If it was a guarantee there would be no discussion.

The reward is a gigantic play that might go for a TD. He would have only the punt returner to beat.

Like Verdict said, Pee Wee players complete tougher throws. Its all about having the guts to do it.

We obviously don't have the guts to get risky. When was the last fake punt, fake FG or trick play run?

No, in this case, running the fake play wouldn't display guts, it would display stupidity.

 

[Verdict]

Interesting story. My son, who is a very strong, gifted athlete was the starting corner, starting receiver and punter for his 3A high school team, as a freshman. The coach installed a fake punt play for my son and explained how and when and why the play was called, and how to read the play.

In his first high school game he punted the ball a couple of times, and on about the third punting situation it was 4th and 10 to go on our own 15 yard line. a When my son received the snap he motioned as if to punt and then took off running the ball. His coach was yelling NO NO NO and he proceeded to not only get the first down but take it the distance for the touchdown. The coach was then cheering and yelling YES YES YES.

The coach hadn't called the fake punt, and it was obvious to me that he was quite surprised by it. After the game I asked my son if his coach had called that play, and he said "No". I said well what made you decide to fake it and his response was "I knew I could make it".

I guess the moral to that story is that why wouldn't we expect professional athletes to make similar critical judgments, and given the proper planning to pull off these type of plays. Pitching and catching a pass from the punter to the gunner should be one of those situations, if the conditions dictate it.

 

[Verdict]

It is called risk-reward for a reason. If it was a guarantee there would be no discussion.

The reward is a gigantic play that might go for a TD. He would have only the punt returner to beat.

Like Verdict said, Pee Wee players complete tougher throws. Its all about having the guts to do it.

We obviously don't have the guts to get risky. When was the last fake punt, fake FG or trick play run?

Agreed. There is also a risk/reward analysis for failing to pass the ball. We have lost the last 7 games in part due to always playing it safe.

 

[Nightman]

Agreed. There is also a risk/reward analysis for failing to pass the ball. We have lost the last 7 games in part due to always playing it safe.

I couldn't agree more.

JGarrett is way too conservative for a wildcatter like JJones.

 

[btcutter]

Missed the days of having Danny White. No opposing teams darn to pull a stunt like this.

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

Possibly replace the punter with another punter who won't "air mail it into the third row"?

Just let Romo do it. Makes about as much sense.

 

[Nightman]

No, in this case, running the fake play wouldn't display guts, it would display stupidity.

Why? The player is absolutely uncovered.

Not every play has to have a negative outcome. The Cowboys are allowed to succeed, even on STs.

Like I said, "no guts no glory". JGarrett prefers "you can't lose what you don't put into the pot"

 

[Proximo]

Why? The player is absolutely uncovered.

If at this point, you don't understand why it would have been a dumb decision to audible to a fake punt in that particular situation, then I fully doubt you'll comprehend any reasonable explanation presented on this board.

I'm inclined to think that you're trolling at this point, and I'll leave it at that.

Have a good one.

 

[JDSmith]

Why? The player is absolutely uncovered.

Not every play has to have a negative outcome. The Cowboys are allowed to succeed, even on STs.

Like I said, "no guts no glory". JGarrett prefers "you can't lose what you don't put into the pot"

He was intentionally uncovered. That should tell you something. It wasn't a blown play by Miami, the guy drifted over and covered the gunner before the snap without ever taking his eyes off of the backfield.

Why would anyone in their right mind take the kind of risk that would entail under those circumstances? You mentioned risk/reward. The risk there was giving the ball to the Dolphins at the 16 yard line, or getting it picked off and run in for a quick TD. All that to avoid punting? Really?

 

[jmnichols75]

Yeah, remember how well that worked out for the Colts against us last year. Just because he's open doesn't mean it will be a good throw nor does it mean the receiver will catch it.

I was at the Colts game last year and my seats were pretty good...saw this drop occur "right in front" of me. It was the second consecutive week that the Cowboys had left a gunner wide open (or, maybe the second time in 3 games...something like that). I think the Colts were prepared to try it and still didn't pull it off. I think Romo and Dez connected for a touchdown on the first play after we took over on downs. The rest of that game went our way...and, I think it was because the Colts decided to try and take advantage of what they'd seen on tape.
If it works, you're a gutsy, creative, genius coach with a well prepared team. If it doesn't, you're an idiot that takes way too many chances at the worst possible time with a group of players you didn't properly prepare to capitalize on your opponent's mistakes.