4th down

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  • #123458
    Greywolf
    Participant

    Doeren makes the final decision on 4th down go/no go. He doesn’t make the play call if he is smart. You mention the pros. The TV cameras are on the OC making the calls as they should be.

    I want our coach to make the decisions that give us the best chance to win. I’m not one to put the rent money on the table to place a bet.

    #123461
    McCallum
    Participant

    I’m not so worried about 4th down as I am on 1st,2nd and 3rd down against teams like BC.

    McCallum

    #123465
    Greywolf
    Participant

    I’m not so worried about 4th down as I am on 1st,2nd and 3rd down against teams like BC.

    At first reading this sounds like a bit of a smart remark and it may have been intended that way but BC had/has a very good defensive line. DE Harold Landry is considered to be the best in the conference and one of the best in the nation. I thought BC’s game plan against us was well thought out and well executed.

    By the same token our DL is one of the best in the country. Our starting 2 LB’s and NIK back are seniors. There is very little drop off if any when we rotate in defensive line and linebacker subs. Our back four is adequate.

    #123466
    McCallum
    Participant

    It was intended as a smart a$$ remark especially after attempting to RUN THE BALL STRAIGHT AT BC on 1st,2nd and 3rd downs.

    Damn nations.

    McCallum

    #123468
    LifeLongWolf
    Participant

    Grey, the point is that punting is MORE risky than going for it in many situations.

    #123469
    Greywolf
    Participant

    Grey, the point is that punting is MORE risky than going for it in many situations.

    Says who?

    #123470
    packplantpath
    Participant

    #123471
    LifeLongWolf
    Participant

    Grey, I am sorry that you didn’t have time to read the article I posted. Maybe you could read the one kindly posted by PPP, it is also a great one. In case you don’t want to read the whole thing, here’s an excerpt from the second one:

    Every single serious study of 4th-down decisions has found that, in most situations, teams would be better off by going for the conversion attempt rather than kicking. I’ve recently completed a study of 4th-down decisions that confirms what some fans already know, that it pays to be more aggressive.

    To put it another way, the data shows that punting gives you less points than going for it would give you, on average. You win more by going for it. As I said earlier, punting has become thought of as the “safe” choice due to coaches concerns about who gets the blame, not who wins.

    I believe punting is just plain wrong. Yes, even 4th and 19 from your own 5.

    I agree with this coach 100%: Coach who never punts

    #123473
    Fastback68
    Participant

    LLW, thanks for starting an interesting thread. This topic came up about 6 years ago when some neighborhood Bostonian transplant was raving about the genius of Bellichek and I replied that going for it on fourth down was common knowledge for those with basic math skills. IMO, the same analysis should be applied to onside kicks. One would think that the Ivy League eggheads would start using the onside kick more often with the new 40 yard line kickoff placement in light of the recently new 25 yard line touchback placement. One major caveat to this line of thinking though and a huge pet peeve, kickers who onside the ball severely towards the sidelines and out of bounds. Why even bother? I guess directional kickers are still hard to come by.

    #123474
    LifeLongWolf
    Participant

    Yeah, FB68, the coach who never punts also always uses the onside kick. So, you are correct.

    #123476
    TheAliasTroll
    Participant

    If Dave is a chess player he’s probably not a very good one.

    #123482
    Greywolf
    Participant

    As I said earlier, punting has become thought of as the “safe” choice due to coaches concerns about who gets the blame, not who wins.

    Your facts about going for it on 4th down are interesting. Is you conclusion that coaches take the “safe” route due to concerns about blame based on research or personal opinion. You have IMO co-mingled fact with opinion.

    Perhaps most coaches believe, right or wrong, that being safe is the way to go. Teams who are behind late in a game tend to go for it on 4th down and many are successful. Should a team decide to go for it on every 4th down get ahead by doing that, the other team would go for it in order to catch up.

    I would like to see the other teams go for it because we have a strong defense and while that is no guarantee we would win, I’d like our chances.

    One thought would be to eliminate punting as an option. Good luck on getting that passed.

    #123483
    McCallum
    Participant

    If Dave is a chess player he’s probably not a very good one.

    Jose Capablanca he ain’t.

    More like Jose Conseco.

    McCallum

    #123484
    TheCOWDOG
    Moderator

    There is nothing safe about a punt unless you have ALL the pieces that are put together. Flipping the field ain’t a bad thing…if…

    Football has 4 downs to retain possession for a reason. I don’t punt anymore.

    #123485
    LifeLongWolf
    Participant

    Grey, as to the data on 4th down decisions, that is science based analysis. As to the WHY coaches tend to ignore the data, that is opinion.

    LLW

    #123487
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    To Punt or Not to Punt?

    There are no absolute punting rules that fit every game during the season…

    IF (I have a good Punter and a good Field Goal Kicker) {

    If ( my Defense is better than yours ) { Outside of field goal range, I’m punting — most all the time }
    IF ( my Offense is better than yours ) { Outside of field goal range, I’m not punting — most all the time}
    IF BOTH { Outside of field goal range, it depends of game and situation….}

    }
    ELSE { What difference does it make? }

    THEN ( Know the Rules, Follow the Rules ) { Know WHEN to break them… }

    Sometimes, the element of surprise is your wildcard, you know…

    POP!!!

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
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