News: ST: Cowboys coach Jason Garrett explains clock management decisions at end of Commanders game

[Ultra Warrior]

And GB scored on a Hail Mary against Detroit.. That's not the point..

There isn't a "point". The game is over. We Won. You & others should just let this drop. No game is going to be coached 100% perfect. Mistakes will always be made. It's if those mistakes cost you the game, that matters. It didn't. The End.

 

[khiladi]

And how is that Garrett's mistake? McFadden ran out of bounds, in essence putting 40 seconds back on the clock. Other players don't have to be told to stay in bounds, yet it's Garrett's fault because McFadden didn't have the situational awareness to?

Or maybe it's Garrett's fault for not going to "half speed" after that play and just getting the first down. Never mind the Commanders had stuffed Dallas not once, but twice already on short yardage. If they don't convert, they still kick the field goal, then kickoff to Washington with a minute (or more) remaining. They only needed 22 seconds to score as it was. Only in that scenario, it left Dallas needing a TD to win. That would really fuel your anti-Garrett agenda.

Or maybe you're saying Dallas shouldn't have run McFadden wide, and forced the skins to burn their TOs. Dallas probably doesn't sniff a first down in that scenario, and after the clock runs down, Dallas kicks their FG at around 40 seconds, leaving the skins about 30 seconds after the kickoff. Did I mention that Washington scored in 22 seconds as it actually played out?

Here's the bottom line. After MCFADDEN'S mistake, considering the success the Commanders had stuffing the short yardage game, Garrett decided to play football. This team hasn't been good enough to take any other approach. He went for the TD, knowing the best Washington could do was tie. And don't bother with "Gruden could have gone for two". No coach in his situation - or in his right mind - will gamble his season like that when he could take the easy kick and play for OT.

You don't have an argument here...just an agenda.

And your still trying to fuel your pro-Garrett agenda after years of his incompetence..

I'm talking about the very next play when McFadden scored. I've already said a million times McFadden made a mistake going out of bounds the previous play and if he didn't, Dallas would have kicked a field goal either way with a lot less time on the clock and the Commanders would have had to BURN their time-outs. You know the real issue..

You keep acting as if the dynamic would have been the same for the Commanders of they had no TOs or Dallas would have played defense differently. The Commanders would have to run play with no TOs and run up the field to set. And in none of those scenarios would they've able to choose from a wide diverse set of plays.

Garrett didn't expect the Commanders to return the ball midfield. It's called situational awareness which is a coaches job. If McFadden made a clear mistake the first time, why didn't Garrett tell McFadden not to make the same mistake. Hell, why not tell Cassell to down the ball..

All Dallas would have to do is keep the Commanders inside on 2 plays maximum without any time.

Just stop.. Even your boy Jason admitted McFadden threw him off kilter but they practice going down.

 

[Boyz981]

Hell when he froze his own kicker he didn't blame himself.

Special teams coach wanted that TO!

 

[khiladi]

There isn't a "point". The game is over. We Won. You & others should just let this drop. No game is going to be coached 100% perfect. Mistakes will always be made. It's if those mistakes cost you the game, that matters. It didn't. The End.

If there is no point, than why are you on this forum?

 

[khiladi]

Okay.

tYou would have blamed Bailey for losing the game.

So if the Cowboys score the TD, like they did, was it a sure thing that the Commanders were going to march right down the field and score a TD?

.....recall that the Commanders had been completely shut out of the endzone the previous 59 minutes of play.

And , in the Cowboys scoring a TD with the Commanders subsequently scoring....."the Cowboys don't automatically lose"

Let's say the Cowboys don't score that final FG and it goes into overtime where the Cowboys ultimately lose. Was it because they scored that TD with McFadden? Or was it "a result of a lot of things throughout the game."

Which would have been more responsible for a loss, Jason Garrett's decision making or a turnover margin that statically results in an 81.5% probability of losing?

I really always thought second guessing was reserved for those coaches on the losing team.

If the Cowboys lost as a result of a missed field goal, you would have blamed Bailey? If he misses then the game goes into overtime. Here's where I see a lot of hypocrisy, not talking specifically about you:

With less than 5 minutes left in the game it is 3rd and 1 at the Commander 1 yard line. They had three chances to punch it in and couldn't do it. If they had scored then it would have been 13-9. Jackson's TD would have been irrelevant.

Also recall, that, on the Commander's subsequent drive after the failed 3rd and 1resulted in a FG....the Cowboy defense held the Commanders to a three and out thus allowing the Cowboy offense sufficient time to get down the field and score, FG or TD.

The Cowboys scored 10 points in the last 5 minutes of the game and it should have been 14. Nobody discusses this. No, they want to talk about the 7 points that the Commanders scored which, by the way, was produced by a 41 yard kick return and a 15 yard penalty.

I'm saying that it was far more improbable that the Commanders score a TD in the last minute of the game when they hadn't produced one in the previous 59 and they only accomplished this through s combination of a kick return and a stupid penalty. If the expectation was that they would score easily, why were they three and out the previous drive which was still less than five minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

The hilarious part of the Garrett defense of Bailey missing FGs, is Garrett has been settling for field goals during this whole stretch of losing.

Suddenly, there is the fear of the deadly Bailey of missing a FG from 2 yards out as some rationale by his homers that Garrett planned wisely.. I mean let's ignore the fact that DMC could fumble, since he already fumbled TWICE or Cassell could bobble the snap or muffle the hand-off and so on..

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Special teams coach wanted that TO!

see, always someone else's fault

 

[Kevinicus]

Okay.

You would have blamed Bailey for losing the game.

I wouldn't have just blamed Bailey, but he definitely would have played a big part in things, yes.

So if the Cowboys score the TD, like they did, was it a sure thing that the Commanders were going to march right down the field and score a TD?

No, nothing is ever a sure thing, 100%.

.....recall that the Commanders had been completely shut out of the endzone the previous 59 minutes of play.

And , in the Cowboys scoring a TD with the Commanders subsequently scoring....."the Cowboys don't automatically lose"

Let's say the Cowboys don't score that final FG and it goes into overtime where the Cowboys ultimately lose. Was it because they scored that TD with McFadden? Or was it "a result of a lot of things throughout the game."

It would have been the result of a lot of things throughout the game, and that would likely be one of the more significant things.

Which would have been more responsible for a loss, Jason Garrett's decision making or a turnover margin that statically results in an 81.5% probability of losing?

The turnover margin.

I really always thought second guessing was reserved for those coaches on the losing team.

You shouldn't have thought that. Decisions should be judged by whether they provide the best chance at success, not whether or not they worked out in a particular instance.

If the Cowboys lost as a result of a missed field goal, you would have blamed Bailey? If he misses then the game goes into overtime. Here's where I see a lot of hypocrisy, not talking specifically about you:

With less than 5 minutes left in the game it is 3rd and 1 at the Commander 1 yard line. They had three chances to punch it in and couldn't do it. If they had scored then it would have been 13-9. Jackson's TD would have been irrelevant.

I would have blamed many factors, turnovers primarily, Bailey for missing, and that 3rd and 1 play too which was piss poor coaching as well. If they score there, the entire game changes, nothing would happen exactly as it did before, so you can't play that game with the exception of the very end of the game. It's most likely that if the Skins went down by 4 at that point that and ultimately score a TD, they win the game. Would they have punted back to Dallas?

Also recall, that, on the Commander's subsequent drive after the failed 3rd and 1resulted in a FG....the Cowboy defense held the Commanders to a three and out thus allowing the Cowboy offense sufficient time to get down the field and score, FG or TD.

Which they did not do.

The Cowboys scored 10 points in the last 5 minutes of the game and it should have been 14. Nobody discusses this. No, they want to talk about the 7 points that the Commanders scored which, by the way, was produced by a 41 yard kick return and a 15 yard penalty.

They actually scored 13. They should have gotten a TD on the earlier drive, but poor coaching decisions didn't help the cause. They only got 10 because of Jackson's idiocy and a special teams play of their own, not because the offense did anything great.

I'm saying that it was far more improbable that the Commanders score a TD in the last minute of the game when they hadn't produced one in the previous 59 and they only accomplished this through s combination of a kick return and a stupid penalty. If the expectation was that they would score easily, why were they three and out the previous drive which was still less than five minutes to go in the 4th quarter

Based on the rest of the game, the chances of the Commanders scoring a TD was not great. However, looking at the Cowboys defense and special teams in these situations is cause for concern. Over a minute and two timeouts provides plenty of opportunity, especially to a team with a home run threat like Jackson. You also have to be concerned with the return possibilities and penalties. Despite the odds of the Commanders scoring a TD not being high, it was far greater than the chances of the Cowboys not making a FG with 0 time on the clock had they gotten the first down and not the TD.

 

[Coy]

Almost the same situation in the Denver vs Cowboys game from 2013.

Manning told Moreno: Get a first down, but don’t score

Manning said after the game that he told Moreno that he needed to get inside the 1-yard line for a first down — but not cross the goal line — so that the Broncos could run the a minute and 30 seconds off the game clock and then kick a field goal as time expired. Manning didn’t want the Broncos to score a touchdown and have to kick the ball back to the Cowboys, who would then have time to score a touchdown of their own and send the game into overtime.

“He basically was asking me, ‘How am I supposed to do that? How can I get a half-yard but not get a yard and a half?‘” Manning said, via the Associated Press. “I just said, ‘You can’t! You can’t score! You can’t do it!'

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/08/manning-told-moreno-get-a-first-down-but-dont-score/

You can say what you want about Peyton but I think most would agree that he is one of the smartest players in the history of the sport.
That is SMART football and that´s exactly what Dallas should have done on Monday night.

 

[Nightman]

Almost the same situation in the Denver vs Cowboys game from 2013.

Manning told Moreno: Get a first down, but don’t score

Manning said after the game that he told Moreno that he needed to get inside the 1-yard line for a first down — but not cross the goal line — so that the Broncos could run the a minute and 30 seconds off the game clock and then kick a field goal as time expired. Manning didn’t want the Broncos to score a touchdown and have to kick the ball back to the Cowboys, who would then have time to score a touchdown of their own and send the game into overtime.

“He basically was asking me, ‘How am I supposed to do that? How can I get a half-yard but not get a yard and a half?‘” Manning said, via the Associated Press. “I just said, ‘You can’t! You can’t score! You can’t do it!'

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/08/manning-told-moreno-get-a-first-down-but-dont-score/

You can say what you want about Peyton but I think most would agree that he is one of the smartest players in the history of the sport.
That is SMART football and that´s exactly what Dallas should have done on Monday night.

It is too smart to the point of being a gimmick. It's not how you play the game. People get hurt and things go wrong when you go half speed. Every coach in the world will tell you that.

It sounds great on paper but not in reality.

When you are tied or behind, scoring a TD in the last minute is never a mistake.

 

[conner01]

The mistake is not running down the clock to a time that Commanders would have a very slim chance of even tying the game, because they'd have to get the ball up the field in a matter of seconds, without any TOs...

Garrett didn't run out of bounds. A veteran player did
The only other option was try not to score td and you'll never convince me going up by 7 with less than two minutes against a team who had not scored or came close to scoring a td in 58 minutes, was not the right thing to do

 

[conner01]

Almost the same situation in the Denver vs Cowboys game from 2013.

Manning told Moreno: Get a first down, but don’t score

Manning said after the game that he told Moreno that he needed to get inside the 1-yard line for a first down — but not cross the goal line — so that the Broncos could run the a minute and 30 seconds off the game clock and then kick a field goal as time expired. Manning didn’t want the Broncos to score a touchdown and have to kick the ball back to the Cowboys, who would then have time to score a touchdown of their own and send the game into overtime.

“He basically was asking me, ‘How am I supposed to do that? How can I get a half-yard but not get a yard and a half?‘” Manning said, via the Associated Press. “I just said, ‘You can’t! You can’t score! You can’t do it!'

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/08/manning-told-moreno-get-a-first-down-but-dont-score/

You can say what you want about Peyton but I think most would agree that he is one of the smartest players in the history of the sport.
That is SMART football and that´s exactly what Dallas should have done on Monday night.

Not close to the same situation
The skins had not come close to scoring a td in 58 minutes of football

 

[big dog cowboy]

you'll never convince me going up by 7 with less than two minutes against a team who had not scored or came close to scoring a td in 58 minutes, was not the right thing to do

What if I told you we would put Mo on DJax and DJax was heading straight for the end zone. Frankly I'm shocked the Commanders didn't try to exploit that matchup all game. Why they waited until the last 2 minutes made zero sense to me.

 

[rpntex]

Almost the same situation in the Denver vs Cowboys game from 2013.

Manning told Moreno: Get a first down, but don’t score

Manning said after the game that he told Moreno that he needed to get inside the 1-yard line for a first down — but not cross the goal line — so that the Broncos could run the a minute and 30 seconds off the game clock and then kick a field goal as time expired. Manning didn’t want the Broncos to score a touchdown and have to kick the ball back to the Cowboys, who would then have time to score a touchdown of their own and send the game into overtime.

“He basically was asking me, ‘How am I supposed to do that? How can I get a half-yard but not get a yard and a half?‘” Manning said, via the Associated Press. “I just said, ‘You can’t! You can’t score! You can’t do it!'

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/08/manning-told-moreno-get-a-first-down-but-dont-score/

You can say what you want about Peyton but I think most would agree that he is one of the smartest players in the history of the sport.
That is SMART football and that´s exactly what Dallas should have done on Monday night.

As I recall, on that play Marino did not have a defender anywhere near him, and he went to the ground on his own. McFadden had two Commanders hanging onto him. He still should have been able to drop to the ground after getting the first down, but the objective – decided upon after a discussion on the flightline – was to score if possible. nonetheless, it would have been much harder for McFadden with two defenders on him in that situation.

 

[khiladi]

Garrett didn't run out of bounds. A veteran player did
The only other option was try not to score td and you'll never convince me going up by 7 with less than two minutes against a team who had not scored or came close to scoring a td in 58 minutes, was not the right thing to do

And coaches called a run to the sidelines.. Maybe McFadden had just as much bad coaching as a rookie that the Cowboys have had with Garrett that veterans ends up making mistakes, because the coaches don't have them prepared..

The point being, if McFadden made a mistake which he did, that exemplifies the point that Dallas was trying to run the clock down... Meaning the coaches were well aware of the clock and time, but bungled it the very next play because, as Garrett admitted that DMC three them off kilter, though they practice going down 100s of times in practice...

 

[khiladi]

Not close to the same situation
The skins had not come close to scoring a td in 58 minutes of football

So Dallas should assume the Commanders have a better chance NOT scoring with two TOs left and more time on the clock as opposed to not scoring with less than 30 seconds left and no TOs left?

Did Dallas think that the Commanders would run past the half-way mark on the kick-return, you know because they weren't doing that all day and Desean Jackson went full blown stupid on the previous kick return allowing them to score in the first place?

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

The hilarious part of the Garrett defense of Bailey missing FGs, is Garrett has been settling for field goals during this whole stretch of losing.

Suddenly, there is the fear of the deadly Bailey of missing a FG from 2 yards out as some rationale by his homers that Garrett planned wisely.. I mean let's ignore the fact that DMC could fumble, since he already fumbled TWICE or Cassell could bobble the snap or muffle the hand-off and so on..

Khiladi, what on earth are you talking about? Besides trying to make GROG a political slogan, I see little substance to your points. Arguing about his clock management from 2+ years ago is fun I guess but grown ups realize things don't stay the same.

Who is to say what Garrett planned. The plan he implemented in practice went in the toilet so he just let it ride. While your master plan of calling timeout and drawing it up in the dirt for them seems flawless, to me, it seems completely obtuse to the significance of DMC screwing it up again.

And before you parrot like and idiot that 'why should he trust DMC to run the ball' I ask you to think it through.

1) a lead run is a routine playcall while your plan is not even remotely
2) they had just screwed up what they've been practicing since July.

And don't you dare dumb down this take into "pro-Garrett" you know damn well I want Payton over him.

 

[conner01]

And coaches called a run to the sidelines.. Maybe McFadden had just as much bad coaching as a rookie that the Cowboys have had with Garrett that veterans ends up making mistakes, because the coaches don't have them prepared..

The point being, if McFadden made a mistake which he did, that exemplifies the point that Dallas was trying to run the clock down... Meaning the coaches were well aware of the clock and time, but bungled it the very next play because, as Garrett admitted that DMC three them off kilter, though they practice going down 100s of times in practice...

Dmac has been in the league a long time and should know not to run out of bounds
Once he did that changes the whole picture
They wanted to run the clock down but that doesn't mean you don't take 7 if it's there

 

[Coy]

Not close to the same situation
The skins had not come close to scoring a td in 58 minutes of football

Not the point, you don't give them a chance.

 

[khiladi]

Khiladi, what on earth are you talking about? Besides trying to make GROG a political slogan, I see little substance to your points. Arguing about his clock management from 2+ years ago is fun I guess but grown ups realize things don't stay the same.

Who is to say what Garrett planned. The plan he implemented in practice went in the toilet so he just let it ride. While your master plan of calling timeout and drawing it up in the dirt for them seems flawless, to me, it seems completely obtuse to the significance of DMC screwing it up again.

And before you parrot like and idiot that 'why should he trust DMC to run the ball' I ask you to think it through.

1) a lead run is a routine playcall while your plan is not even remotely
2) they had just screwed up what they've been practicing since July.

And don't you dare dumb down this take into "pro-Garrett" you know damn well I want Payton over him.

i think you missed the point...

What we are talking about is the ridiculous rationale such as Garrett went for the TD, because Bailey could have botched a field goal like he supposedly did in Seattle..

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

i think you missed the point...

What we are talking about is the ridiculous rationale such as Garrett went for the TD, because Bailey could have botched a field goal like he supposedly did in Seattle..

It's not unrelated.