First of all, I have not stated that he should have gone for it on 4th down. He was right in taking the FG there and taking the lead. That's not my issue.
You can write it off as thinking people are just disagreeing because it didn't work but in reality there are some pretty smart people here who understand football. And I know it's hard for some to grasp but sometimes, even if the play or a series of plays doesn't work (or does for that matter) it could actually be because the play calls were not very smart.
I said the moment they got the ball back in the 4th that they had to pass it at least once because Seattle was going to (correctly, mind you) sell out on the run. And what did Garrett do? He obliged Seattle there. That's an uber conservative coach at a key spot in the game. Seattle said, "I hope you run it 3 times right up the gut" and Garrett said, "You got it, guys! Here you go!". That 's just an obvious example of Garrett being way too conservative. As it always happens, when things get tight or uncomfortable for him, he panics and curls into a shell.
It's just the reality of the situation and it's a staple of Garrett's. Has been for 5 years.
This team will not beat Philly if Garrett again coaches scared. But I fear he will again.
Play calling criticism all depends on the game situation and the call. I'm happy to talk specifics. And while, yes there are some very smart posters on the board, many of them aren't criticizing the play calling. Those that do, have very specific examples.
It's also the case that there are multiple bad or questionable play calls in every game. You get ~65 chances. Not all of them are going to be right. The question is whether or not so many of them are wrong that play calling is an actual liability, or are fans just second guessing? So much of the time, it's just second guessing.
On the series you're talking about, it's not like we weren't effective rushing the ball. We have the OL and we have the mindset that we're going to win games by controlling the line of scrimmage. People love it when it works. When it doesn't, it's immediately the coach playing scared. To be clear, it's immediately the HC who's playing scared and not the guy who's actually calling the plays. I'm sorry, but that's pretty convenient. How 'bout we ride those 4 virtual first round picks who are the strength of our team to a first down every now and then? How 'bout we roll the dice that they can get it done on 3rd and 2 once in a while, when we need it, and we don't trust our QB to throw a proper bubble screen in a pinch because he apparently can't throw a proper bubble screen in a pinch?
Everybody's lobbying to see Dez Bryant defend Richard Sherman some more. As if Linehan were just too stupid to see how great that looked. Anything less is coaching scared, I tell you.
Give me a break. Take the points, trust the defense. Because your offensive team isn't good enough right now to beat the Seahawks in a jump ball contest and you've got a QB who gave up last week's game throwing into double coverage on first down on one series and blowing a wide open WR in the end zone by trying to pass off a wounded duck instead of an actual pass. But, you know, he hadn't played a meaningful game in 13 months at that point, so he's ready to go this week in the red zone agains the Seahawks when everybody's covered. Gah.
