This so called "Timeout" Fad

[MapleLeaf]

It is human chess. Strategy. point. Counter point. Parry. Thrust.

...football to me is the most exciting game on TV right now. I can't imagine the game being allowed to come down to this type of strategy where the flow of the play is actually interrupted.

It's not what this game means to me. I hope for many others they agree. Especially in the league front office.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

It is human chess. Strategy. point. Counter point. Parry. Thrust.

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall wherever you were watching this game for those last two kicks.

 

[adamknite]

We don't need any more stinking rules.

WHY NOT!? Wouldn't you love to have a "Nick Folk rule?"

 

[Hostile]

Ah, the old 'end justifies the means'.

You surprise me...

No different than icing a Free Throw shooter in basketball. It has been around for years. It just seems more prevalent this year.

It doesn't always work. Tonight it didn't.

 

[SkinsandTerps]

No different than icing a Free Throw shooter in basketball. It has been around for years. It just seems more prevalent this year.

It doesn't always work. Tonight it didn't.

It rarely works in either sport.
Same as blocking a kick, returning a KO, etc.

But as the HC you have to take advantage of every opportunity you get, as slight as it may be.

 

[Hostile]

...football to me is the most exciting game on TV right now. I can't imagine the game being allowed to come down to this type of strategy where the flow of the play is actually interrupted.

It's not what this game means to me. I hope for many others they agree. Especially in the league front office.

You're telling me that the game was LESS exciting to you tonight because of that?

Come on David. Seriously?

 

[Hostile]

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall wherever you were watching this game for those last two kicks.

I am not bipolar, but my family was laughing their butts off.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Everyone keeps saying icing the kicker. Icing the kicker is calling a timeout to make him think about it before he gets a shot at kicking it. This is a headcoach on the sidelines waiting until the absolute last second and whispering time out in a referee's ear that no one else in the damn stadium sees or hears. The kick goes up, everyone thinks they've won, but no, some unseen "agreement" between head coach and ref on the sidelines has put all that on hold.

It's against the spirit of the game.

 

[MapleLeaf]

You're telling me that the game was LESS exciting to you tonight because of that?

Come on David. Seriously?

...game of the season to watch as a fan of football. But for my wife who rarely watches the games as she witnessed the last two plays even she was confused.

She was excited for my sons and I that Dallas won, but she was perplexed at how the game could be stopped. Her immediate reaction was poor gamesmanship.

And her next reaction after saying that was how many times is Buffalo allowed to do this?

She couldn't be the only person on the planet watching the game thinking those thoughts.

 

[mr.jameswoods]

I agree Rack. Teams have been icing the sawed off midgets chain smokers for years. I think it's smart strategy and applaud Jauron or any other coach for doing everything in their power to win for their team.

Initially, I agreed with you and Rack but I think it's going to set a dangerous precedent. Coaches will do this all season now and it's terrible for the game in my opinion. It's one thing to ice a kicker but it's another thing to call a timeout a half-second before the snap in which the kicker essentialy completes the kick and realizes later the opponent called a TO. I feel it does interfere with the spirit of the game. I would do it on 4th down too if I could just to throw a team's momentum off. Imagine, it's 4th and 3 and the opponent suddently calls a TO right before the snap to throw off the team's momentum. That can get irritating really fast.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

even though Rack's a :insert explentive: I have to agree w/ him here, kickers practice all sorts of kicks, at all sorts of distances, at least 5 times a day each, if not more, in practice each week

so they should be used to kicking at certain distances in succession, I don't see the disadvantage to the kicker other than that he can't hit kicks from certain distances consistently, if that's the case, too bad, you should have gotten a kicker who can

btw, teams try to find subtle advantages over their opponent all the time, this is just one of them

 

[Deep_South]

What is happening here is the coach and the ref know there is a timeout, and everyone else in the world, including all of the players, don't know and are playing the down for real, risking getting hurt, the whole ball of wax.

It is stupid and should be done away with immediately. There should be no way a team should be able to call a time out when it is too late to stop the play from going off.

 

[Shuttemdown41]

What's so hard about practicing lining up as though you're about to kick and waiting for the other team to call the timeout which they will then be unable to repeat when you're really ready to attempt the kick? Can it really be that hard to spend a few minutes during the week practicing for this very situation?

ALSO - what happens when one of these coaches calls a timeout only to have the kicker miss the initial attempt and then bang it through on the following kick? Egg on that coach's face maybe? Think that'll get 'em to think twice about doing it?

 

[Hostile]

...game of the season to watch as a fan of football. But for my wife who rarely watches the games as she witnessed the last two plays even she was confused.

She was excited for my sons and I that Dallas won, but she was perplexed at how the game could be stopped. Her immediate reaction was poor gamesmanship.

And her next reaction after saying that was how many times is Buffalo allowed to do this?

She couldn't be the only person on the planet watching the game thinking those thoughts.

I don't care if 40,000 people didn't understand it.

It's part of the game. Until the ball is snapped either team can call timeout. If you prevent that play, you have to prevent them all and that's just so much more wrong.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

I am not bipolar, but my family was laughing their butts off.

Hating kickers and all... didnt you just KNOW he was gonna make it... especially the 2nd time. I cant remember the last time I was so sure of something.

 

[MapleLeaf]

What's so hard about practicing lining up as though you're about to kick and waiting for the other team to call the timeout which they will then be unable to repeat when you're really ready to attempt the kick? Can it really be that hard to spend a few minutes during the week practicing for this very situation?

...and the clock is running down then you wouldn't proceed with the play in that fashion.

That means the defence seeing that you have no timeouts and are scrambling to get you kick team in place can call the timeout with one second left as you just think you have scored the winning kick.

There are situations where the defence can use this to their advantage and the offence has no choice, but to attempt a kick in a short amount of time.

 

[mr.jameswoods]

Think of it this way; part of the fun of football is seeing the outcome of a game decided by a last second kick. We all get ready for it and we know this is the final play. There is a lot of drama to that and it makes the game interesting.

Now you are taking that away because the next time a kick looks good and everyone celebrates, you will find a last second timeout was called right before the kick. It's like the Boy Who Cries Wolf. The next time I see that happen, I'm going to be somewhat reserved and suspicious because I will question if a coach pulled that tactic. Sorry but that is taking away a major element of the game; the last second kick. You are removing a major emotional component of the game.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

I guess the way to stop it is to line up and quick snap it, don't let the clock run down.

 

[Shuttemdown41]

...and the clock is running down then you wouldn't proceed with the play in that fashion.

That means the defence seeing that you have no timeouts and are scrambling to get you kick team in place can call the timeout with one second left as you just think you have scored the winning kick.

There are situations where the defence can use this to their advantage and the offence has no choice, but to attempt a kick in a short amount of time.

As I edited my other post to say, what then when the first kick attempt is missed? It's a risk for the defense as well.

 

[Hostile]

Hating kickers and all... didnt you just KNOW he was gonna make it... especially the 2nd time. I cant remember the last time I was so sure of something.

In truth, I kept thinking about how many of the people who demanded we keep Gramatica were going to start i told you so threads if he missed.

I lost count of how many times people said you can't turn it over to a rookie, on the road, with the game on the line.

My reaction...you were saying?