"Coached not to lose" . . . "bad play-calling"

[Marcus]

"Coached not to lose" . . "bad play-calling" aaah yes, the most overused and undervalued statement to ever appear on football message boards. They ought to be filtered out like cuss-words.

Go to the Steelers message board. You will find people screaming for Bill Cowher's head because they think he "coached them not to lose" in the Patriots game. After going 15-1. Go to all the teams' message boards that lost the playoff games. You'll find the same thing. They all want their coaches fired for "bad playcalling" and "coaching not to lose". Of the 32 teams in the NFL, 31 of them have fans on their message boards who think that the coaching staff sucks because they coach their teams "not to lose". And believe it not, (go there and see for yourself if you don't) there are actually fans on the Colts message board who think that the "playcalling is too conservative".

Bill Belichick and Romeo Crenel say they not that much different than the other coaches in the league. And it's true, they are not. What they do have is versatile players who execute. But that is coach-talk, not "fan-talk". And of course, no one puts any stock in what coaches say.

 

[cuppacoffee]

I think there is some merit to fans complaints.

Gregg Easterbrooks column on NFL.com

Great Caesar's ghost, Atlanta and Pittsburgh played as if they were afraid of their own shadows! Trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter, Atlanta punted from the Philadelphia 37. Trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh kicked a field goal rather than try for a touchdown from the New England 2. Both teams might as well have handed concession statements to the referee after these mincing fraidy-cat decisions. Which makes an important point: the "safe" strategy usually isn't. Seven of the 10 defeats in the NFL playoffs have linked directly to teams using a "safe" strategy that proved safe only for their opponents.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback

I watched the games and I saw Bettis slump on the bench apparently disgusted/disappointed when Cower called for the field goal.
Sure, the percentages were you would make the field goal, but the math says you will still need two more scores.
New England was ahead of the Steelers late in the game but still called a risky end around play (could lose yards/more ball handling/ chance of fumble in cold weather ) to ice the game, not a run into the middle hoping to run down the clock. Coaches win games for a reason, they out coach their opponent. If all you want to do is play percentages, a housewife with a computer could coach games. Sometimes you can substitute "my players didn't execute" with "I didn't put my players in a position to win".

PS As a Notre Dame fan I will be glad when the season is over and we get our new coach full time.
GO IRISH