Franklin after michigan: “overcome...some interesting calls...”
- Thread starter BobPSU92
- Start date
You've got to be kidding, right? Spike the ball on first down when you are going to run fade plays on second and third downs? You've already game planned and know you are going to run those plays and you have one time out and 25 seconds left? This is basic football 101 that costs us repeatedly.
It's simple. Fade on first down. Run (or whatever) on second, then timeout. Then pass play on third and kick the field goal if it doesn't work.
By spiking the ball you've just reduced your chance of scoring a touchdown by 1/3.
Incredible how so many who never coached a game, never make a mistake. Annnnd there is your answer.
I think the issue is the same mistakes happening repeatedly over several years instead of being corrected. You don’t need even need to go back that many games to find another instance of end of half clock management issues having costly results...
Exactly. You can say "They had 25 seconds" to run 3 plays and a timeout...but they weren't--and almost every single team in the country wouldn't have been either--ready to run a play immediately. It's incredibly hard to have a 1st and goal type play that is ready with the personnel already in the game...without any shuffling or adjusting at the line of the scrimmage. And any type of "quick run play" (ala O'Brien back in 2012 after a first down) probably would've just been stuffed...and cost our team the timeout afterwards.
And then the moaning on here...
Exactly. You can say "They had 25 seconds" to run 3 plays and a timeout...but they weren't--and almost every single team in the country wouldn't have been either--ready to run a play immediately. It's incredibly hard to have a 1st and goal type play that is ready with the personnel already in the game...without any shuffling or adjusting at the line of the scrimmage. And any type of "quick run play" (ala O'Brien back in 2012 after a first down) probably would've just been stuffed...and cost our team the timeout afterwards.
And then the moaning on here...
Even assuming you're correct that a run would have been stuffed (but given the way we ran the ball on Saturday, that's not a great assumption), then you call timeout and still run your 2 fade routes. If unsuccessful, you kick the FG. But at least you had 3 tries for the TD instead of 2. The spike was unnecessary and a poor decision, whether it was the coaches' decision or Clifford's.
A player cannot purposefully bat a ball with sole intention of pushing it towards the opponent’s goal line. That’s not what Shaka did...he batted it sideways with intent to keep ball inbounds. The intent of the bat matters, and while I realize there’s some subjectivity with this, I think the officials misread the intent.
Someone posted the rule in a different thread and intent was not part of it. I don't like any rule that requires intent to be assessed. It requires officials to be mindreaders and I don't trust them to excel at that skill.
Can't you see the praise Franklin would have got for great clock management if they run a hurry up play and Clifford turns the ball over?
Not if there was a sack or fumbled snap and the clock runs out without a field goal. Or a receiver gets tackled at 5he one.
Yes, the spike was brilliant because it prevented something bad from happening. Great logic. Maybe we should have spiked it three times and then kicked the field goal. Or taken a knee and then used the timeout. Or kicked the field goal immediately. All of those reduce risk and further demonstrate excellent clock management.
Now where did I put that sarcasm emoji again?
Now where did I put that sarcasm emoji again?
Saving the timeout is wise. Had he blown it there and something went wrong all the arm chair experts would be screaming ‘Fire Franklin! He wasted a precious timeout!’
I still think a spike in a lot of situations (like this one) where there is more than 10 seconds left is a wasted play. Why not have a quick pass play that you know is going to be the call in this situation... so instead of running to the line signaling spike, you signal the quick play; would catch the defense off guard as well.... Often wondered about this, as well as the appearance of stupidity in this offense of having the defense disorganized and off sides and not snapping the ball. Instead we stop and stare and point and let the defense get set before snapping it. (and I'm aware of the substitution rules, this is not what I'm talking about). I'll take 5 free yards/a free play anytime over waiting for the defense to get set.
How in the world is "saving" the timeout wise? We essentially forfeited a play by spiking the ball. And the timeout was not "saved" -- it was "lost" as in never used and gone forever.
And as I've said earlier, don't forget the "brilliant" timeout taken a few plays earlier, AFTER a first down, AFTER the clock stopped to reset the ball, and AFTER 17 seconds ran off but BEFORE running another play. If you're going to use a timeout there, you use it IMMEDIATELY.
Thus, the only reason we were in the situation where seconds were deemed precious and the idiotic spike and idiotic failure to use the third timeout even occurred was because we let 17 seconds run before calling the second timeout.
In summary -- HORRIBLE clock management, as usual.
Well sure. I guess any of those things could happen. But that's a losers mentality thinking the worst is always going to happen. Plus we still had a timeout. We threw 2 fades into the end zone after we spiked the ball on 1st down. If you can't trust your players to execute 3 plays from the 10 yard line then it's time to give up.
