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October 31, 2007
Coaches on points
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff
NFL coaches interviewed on Sirius NFL Radio in recent days have commented on scoring points with big leads. Here are some of their comments, courtesy of Sirius' media relations department:
John Fox, Carolina Panthers: “Typically in this league when you have the game in hand you do call off the dogs a little bit but not to the point where you could lose the game. You never can relax too much.”
Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars: “You play to win. If you can score, score. Your job, as a defense, as an opponent, is to slow them down. Offensively you want to score. Obviously, late in the fourth quarter you’re going to make sure your starters don’t get hurt and things like that going forward but you still keep playing football.”
Herm Edwards, Kansas City Chiefs: “I just think that obviously [the Patriots] are going at a pace right now, they’re just playing. They’re having fun playing football. You’re caught in a bad situation there when you have a lead like that. All coaches have been in that situation. Sometimes you’ve been the guy that had the lead and sometimes you’ve been the guy on the other side of it. And that’s what’s great about athletics. People always look into things, trying to figure out is there something that he’s trying to do or say. The coach that is winning, does he run the ball on fourth down or does he pass the ball on fourth down? I don’t know what to tell you. It’s just one of those deals. There’s a lot being made out of things and at the end I think the thing you’ve got to realize is this. You’ve got a team that is playing very very good, setting all kinds of record. When I watch those guys play, they’re having fun. They’re just having fun playing football.”
Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings: “You’re talking about the Washington Redskins and one of the highest paid coaches in the National Football League and a staff full of head coaches and they’re coaching, too. Games can get left-handed like that, unfortunately, and New England has a way of making you be left-handed.”
Lane Kiffin, Oakland Raiders: “Coach Gibbs, I believe, said he had no issues with it. It’s so hard to win and so hard to score I don’t think that there really is running up the score. You’re just playing your players and trying to get better. In this league your backups do have so few opportunities to play that, from my perspective, if we were ever in that situation we would definitely run plays and put in some of our younger guys that otherwise don’t play.”
Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers: “We’re responsible for keeping their score down. They aren’t. That’s just being competitive. That’s what this game is about. That’s what any game is about. I have no comment or opposition to them ringing up as many points as they’re capable of.”
Posted By: mreiss | Time: 05:00:31 PM | E-mail | Link
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(18)Interesting post I found on a message board that I thought I'd share....
Indy when they score 38 or more and up by 17+ in the past 3 seasons is my premise:
2006
Hou (43-24) Up 30 - 10 still throwing and Rhodes runs it in for a TD. Later up 37-17 Manning throws a 30 yard TD pass to make it 43-17 with 2:42 left. Sorgi never sees the field.
Phi (45-21) Manning takes the knee to end the game. Manning threw a TD pass with 3:38 to make it 38-21. Defense returns a TD final score 45-21. Sorgi never sees the field.
2005
StL (45-28) Manning still in the game up 38-20 with 9 minutes left. Throws a TD to go up 45-20 with 8 minutes left. Sorgi enters the game with 3:23 left
Hou (38-20) Manning still in the game with 7:29 up 38-20. Manning comes out in shotgun. They run out the clock with a long drive that included going for it on 4th and 1 with 1:17 left. Sorgi never sees the field.
NE (40-21) with 5:53 left the Colts go for the two point conversion, all class! NE goes three and out. Manning comes in with 5 minutes left. Sorgi never steps on the field. Doug Flutie comes in for Brady.
2004
Hou (49-14) Up 42-7 with 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter Manning comes out with 4 straight passes (gets picked off). Up 42-14 with 7:47 left Manning comes out for another series. Doesn't get another chance to come back in after this series.
Chi (41-10) with 12 minutes left Manning comes out and drives down to the 18 yard line of Chicago and goes for it on 4th and 1 with 4:52 left. Sorgi cleans up with 1:37 left.
Det (41-9) Sorgi enters the game with 1:15 left in the 3rd quarter.
Ten (51-24) Sorgi comes in with 9:53 left. Up 48-21 with just under 3 minutes Sorgi passes on 3rd and 11 from the Ten 19(incomplete). The Colts kick the FG with 2:43 left to make it 51-24.
Only twice has Sorgi come in with more than 8 minutes left in a blowout and that was in 2004. And in blowouts 17+ that didn't meet my criteria, he only came in twice, between 2004 and 2006, both times with less than 4 minutes to play. And so far in 2007 he has come in once (Sunday).
This year alone Brady has been pulled three times with 8 or more minutes left in the game.
The more reaction we hear about the Patriots supposed "piling on"...the more we see who the REAL football coaches are in this league. Sure would love to hear Vince Lombardi's take on it.
Food for thought.
November 10, 1991
The 9-0 Washington Redskins are ahead of the 5-4 Atlanta Falcons 35-17 after 3 quarters. Redskins QB Mark Rypien Throws a 82 Yard TD pass to Gary Clark with 12:12 remaining, 'Skins up 42-17. Shortly after that Rypien hits Art Monk with a 64 Yard TD pass with 10:00 remaining in the game, 'Skins up 49-17. Falcons QB Brett Favre (Yes that guy) Throws a Pick Six to Redskins LB Andre Collins with 0:52 remaing, 'Skins up 56-17 and game over.
Mark Rypien was 16-31-442 and 6 TD's.
Maybe it was considered OK to "Run-it-up" at the time because after all, Jerry Glanville was coaching the Falcons, who cares about him. Coach Joe Gibbs and the Redskins went 14-2, rolled through the playoffs and eventually won their 3rd Super Bowl and were widely considered the best team in the NFL by far that season.
Sound familiar?
Wow! Rich you impress me even if you didn't do the research yourself. As they say on weei during the day... you get an outstanding. (reference to dale and holly show).
Rich, nice job.
"Doug Flutie comes in for Brady."
Bill Polian screams, "Break his f'in leg" in the press box ad reported by Press in the box.
Now that's real cla$$
If I had a QB chasing Peytons record I would do everything possible to help him get the record if it means running up the scores then so be it. This is the NFL and it's ok.
PS I'm a Colts Fan since 84 . Lets all have fun and whoever wins sunday [The Colts] then we will have the bragging rights. If not "to the victors go the spoils" See you either way come Jan. I look forwrd to a great game GO COLTS
GO COLTS
Rich, nice job.
How did Manning set the touchdown record? By running up scores. How did Marino set it? By running up scores. But it's somehow evil for Brady to break the record the same way? Brady and the Pats have the ability to set the record so high it may never be broken. He deserves that record.
What do people (National Media) expect, we have the best team in football as we will win on Sunday in Indy. We have the best coach ever who has his team prepared every week to play ball for four quarters. What else could a fan want?
i hope reiss does a piece on this...Mike, you listening? we need to expose the national media frauds.
how embarrassing for the nfl that the biggest story is that a team is playing too good and scoring too many points. it is also embarrassing how many media types are suggesting that someone should try to hurt tom brady as retaliation for the pats playing so well. maybe the commissioner should make a statement and try to stop this foolishness. cjc
Important aspect lost in most discussion... what about the fans?
I pay a lot of money to go see a game live, in any of the professional sports. For my money, I expect to see competitive play for the WHOLE game... and even if I'm watching the game on TV, I still expect full effort from everyone on both teams until the final play of the game.
Great job Rich, Thank you!
I am getting tired of people wining about the Patriots going for it on forth down twice while they held a big lead. It is far easier for a defense to stop a team dead in their tracks and get the ball back for their own team in good field position by preventing a forth down conversion than it is to try to block a field goal! A team should play every play to the best of their abilities for all 60 minutes. Playing against a weak opponent is not benefiting the dominate team at all. To play against a great team makes you dig down deeper within yourself in an attempt to keep up.
The Patriots want to win their last game of the year. The only way that will happen is by keeping themselves sharp, with their eyes on the goal (of making each play the best play they can) and continue to play for the whole game whether it is 'only' 60 mins. or longer. Playing for records is not needed. If each play is played well, the rest will fall into place. Brady is the team leader on the field and he leads by example, not rhetoric. This is shaping up to be a historic year for all of football.
Way to go Rich! This is what I remember bt had no documentation until now. How do we get this to the brainless talking heads on ESPN, sports pages etc.?
Oh yes, and I also wonder if every team that's losing big time in the 4th quarter are giving their best. I bet that mentally they just want to get off the field so they can complain about the Pats running it up.
best thread i've read in a long damned time, can we send it to the morons at ESPN