When exactly was Dallas supposed to run the clock out?

[WhizKid]

Wow you're funny and original. If Romo hits Austin the games over. If they run-run-run and punt they still lose, but they don't have any time left to even try to re-take the league.

It was a really good play by the defender. Austin drifted a little, that could have been the difference, but we'll never know. It was the right decision, I just think it was a misfire. Three components to the play 1) A great play by the defender 2) not the most accurate throw 3) Austin drifted on his route <<< Just a recipe for disaster.

 

[Nightman]

It was a really good play by the defender. Austin drifted a little, that could have been the difference, but we'll never know. It was the right decision, I just think it was a misfire. Three components to the play 1) A great play by the defender 2) not the most accurate throw 3) Austin drifted on his route <<< Just a recipe for disaster.

I'm not saying it was the only choice, but if the choice is running into a 10 man box or throwing to a WR with one on one coverage, with no safeties to help, it's a no brainer to me. I trust Romo to make a good throw as much as I trust the OL to make good blocks for Murray, but the upside to the throw is worth the extra risk. Matthews and Shields made great plays, it happens. Romo made a great play getting away, but a bad play with the throw.

 

[Ender]

They had the ball twice in the 3rd quarter. On the first drive they went 11 plays 6:35 minutes and got a FG.

Second drive Murray flat out drops a wide open pass. They can run it twice after that to run clock, but do you really want to give up on a drive inside your 20 in the 3rd Q. I don't. They probably could've run a draw on second down, but threw a short incomplete pass to Hanna. They tried to get a first and got sacked. It happens but at least the clock was running for all the complainers.

4th Q they go on a 10 play 90yd TD, 5minute drive to make it 36-24 with 7:55 left.

The Packers then go 80 yds for a TD for the 3rd time this half and score a TD for the fourth time in 4 tries to make it 36-31. Do you really believe Dallas can run out the 4:17 when GB has 3 TOs and the 2 minute warning. Dallas needs to keep scoring. On first down, Romo misses a wide open Dez after a great play fake. Sack on second, first down completion to Dez on third. Murray runs for 5yds on first down, GB TO. On second down a run/pass option is called. GB has 10 in the box to stop the run, so Romo goes with the quick slant option. Not a bad decision, but the throw was late and behind Austin. If he leads him it's probably a TD. Again, they weren't running out the clock and with a 10 man box, they weren't running for a first.

So if they went run, run there, GB uses another TO and gets the ball back after the punt with 2:00 left and no TOs. Does anyone think they hold GB on defense because GB had to use their TOs? Either way Dallas is in the same position of being down by one with around a minute left and 3 TOs.

Yea, this would have been a better argument if they were not running the ball well all game.

 

[AdamJT13]

And a run only forces GB to use a timeout, little time runs off. Then it's 3rd down, another run off tackle run and Dallas has to punt before the 2 minute warning. Nothing changes.

Nothing changes except Green Bay has one less timeout, about 45 seconds less time and probably about 30 more yards to go. And that's assuming that we run the ball on third down, too, and that we don't pick up the first down.

 

[AdamJT13]

So you're willingly giving Green Bay's D a chance at a 3rd down stop? With an offense that was 2-9 on the day on 3rd down?

We had picked up a first down or touchdown on four of our previous six third-down plays, including the last two before that series. (Two of those first downs came by penalty, so they're not counted as "conversions" for the offense, even though the result was a first down for us.) By comparison, only one of our previous seven second-down plays resulted in a first down.

I've heard it all before, man. If we ran on 2nd down and got stuffed then passed on 3rd down and threw an incompletion, the coaches are skewered for "predictable play-calling" and for not "keeping their foot on the gas and letting Romo close out the game".

Any coach who bases his decisions on what people might say after the game does not deserve to be a head coach in the NFL. You make the decisions that are best for winning the game, not the ones that will result in the least criticism if they don't work.

 

[AdamJT13]

I'm not saying it was the only choice, but if the choice is running into a 10 man box or throwing to a WR with one on one coverage, with no safeties to help, it's a no brainer to me.

There were only "10 in the box" because we had our three eligible receivers on the right side all bunched in by the tackle. If they had been spread wide, there would not have been 10 in the box.

And if you look at the formations of the offense and defense, we had more blockers to the right than they had defenders. Had we called or had Romo audibled to a run off the right tackle or a toss sweep right, it sure looks like it would have been an easy 4-5 yards, if not a first down.

 

[Nav22]

Any coach who bases his decisions on what people might say after the game does not deserve to be a head coach in the NFL. You make the decisions that are best for winning the game, not the ones that will result in the least criticism if they don't work.

I wasn't implying that any coach should do that. Just that fans will complain about ANY decision that backfires.

 

[iceberg]

They had the ball twice in the 3rd quarter. On the first drive they went 11 plays 6:35 minutes and got a FG.

Second drive Murray flat out drops a wide open pass. They can run it twice after that to run clock, but do you really want to give up on a drive inside your 20 in the 3rd Q. I don't. They probably could've run a draw on second down, but threw a short incomplete pass to Hanna. They tried to get a first and got sacked. It happens but at least the clock was running for all the complainers.

4th Q they go on a 10 play 90yd TD, 5minute drive to make it 36-24 with 7:55 left.

The Packers then go 80 yds for a TD for the 3rd time this half and score a TD for the fourth time in 4 tries to make it 36-31. Do you really believe Dallas can run out the 4:17 when GB has 3 TOs and the 2 minute warning. Dallas needs to keep scoring. On first down, Romo misses a wide open Dez after a great play fake. Sack on second, first down completion to Dez on third. Murray runs for 5yds on first down, GB TO. On second down a run/pass option is called. GB has 10 in the box to stop the run, so Romo goes with the quick slant option. Not a bad decision, but the throw was late and behind Austin. If he leads him it's probably a TD. Again, they weren't running out the clock and with a 10 man box, they weren't running for a first.

So if they went run, run there, GB uses another TO and gets the ball back after the punt with 2:00 left and no TOs. Does anyone think they hold GB on defense because GB had to use their TOs? Either way Dallas is in the same position of being down by one with around a minute left and 3 TOs.

in the 2nd half.

 

[Nightman]

There were only "10 in the box" because we had our three eligible receivers on the right side all bunched in by the tackle. If they had been spread wide, there would not have been 10 in the box.

And if you look at the formations of the offense and defense, we had more blockers to the right than they had defenders. Had we called or had Romo audibled to a run off the right tackle or a toss sweep right, it sure looks like it would have been an easy 4-5 yards, if not a first down.

Either way it's still 10 men within 6 yds of the LOS. I'm not saying they wouldn't pick up the first down running twice, but Romo saw a one on one with Austin and took a shot. It was a reasonable decision. If he converts, Dallas practically ices the game(worse case they punt with 20 secs left). Most offenses are more successful when they throw when the defense plays run and runs when the defense plays pass. Romo had been pretty successful reading the defense up to that point.

I would rather see them fail being aggressive than stick to the "book", play conservative, rely on the defense and still lose.

 

[Hoofbite]

ESPN guys, I think Schefter, just had a good point... We ran the ball more in the first half than we did in the second half, even though we obviously had a huge lead after halftime.

And the Packers ran the ball more than we did in the second half even though they were down 26-3.

How often have we heard from RJ that we had no choice but to pass it when we got down 10 in the second quarter? Bet Packer fans are glad McCarthy didn't get that memo.

Yep.

7 yards per carry pretty much tells me they could have ran the clock out whenever they wanted.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

The overall run/pass ratio wasn't very good, but that's not what the OP is talking about. You don't "run out the clock" in the 3rd quarter, especially with this D. He's just referring to our last few drives when the clock was truly a factor.

It was funny hearing Aikman and Buck lament the play-calling after the drive late in the 3rd because we called 3 straight pass plays. If Murray doesn't drop the ball on 1st down, that's basically a "run" because we gain a few yards and keep the clock moving. And even if we DID run it once on that drive, that only kills about 35 seconds and we were still in the 3rd quarter.

But, of course, he *did* drop it thereby stopping the clock because it was an incomplete pass. One of the best reasons of all to run the ball.

 

[Stash]

Nothing changes except Green Bay has one less timeout, about 45 seconds less time and probably about 30 more yards to go. And that's assuming that we run the ball on third down, too, and that we don't pick up the first down.

That's the key point.

Like the current regime and coaching staff, many fans think a run = giving up. We just "can't do it". No matter how many times we already have or how well we've been running it.