Cardinals kick field goal instead of going for TD, WTF!!!!

[gusmahler]

[ QUOTE ]
With 1 second left in the game the Cardinals elect to kick a field goal from the half yard line to tie the game instead of going for the TD.


[/ QUOTE ]
4 minutes left, down by 3, the Chiefs elected to go for it on 4th and 1 from the Oakland 23 yard line. They were stuffed and lost the game.

Don't these idiot coaches know that they should get the tie and play for the win later?

(I was just being facetious. I understand your point. To be fair to the Cards, twice this season, they've gone for the TD at the end of the first half even though they were in FG range. They succeeded both times:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/playbyplay...7&week=REG7

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/playbyplay...7&week=REG5

[kidcolin]

that's what the pundits will have you believe, anyway.

[MicroBob]

not sure what the rule is but Monday night Miami got flagged for the illegal forward pass with 2 seconds left in the game.
I thought if PIT accepted the penalty then the clock would wind down 10 seconds and be the end of the game or something like that. The annoucers hinted that they thought it was the end of the game too.
Instead, PIT declined the penalty. So it became just a regular incomplete pass I believe which stopped the clock and gave MIA another chance.

Obviously it didn't make a difference to the outcome of the game but technically it could have. And if PIT was aware that accepting the penalty meant the end of the game vs. giving MIA one more chance then it's obvious they would have accepted it.

And if it did not result in the end of the game then I have no idea why they wouldn't accept the penalty to march them back 10 more yards or whatever.

Just seemed like a really strange finish there.

[gusmahler]

[ QUOTE ]
not sure what the rule is but Monday night Miami got flagged for the illegal forward pass with 2 seconds left in the game.


[/ QUOTE ]
Wikipedia says the 10 second runoff doesn't occur for illegal forward pass.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football_rules

[MicroBob]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
not sure what the rule is but Monday night Miami got flagged for the illegal forward pass with 2 seconds left in the game.


[/ QUOTE ]
Wikipedia says the 10 second runoff doesn't occur for illegal forward pass.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football_rules

[/ QUOTE ]


cool, thanks.
Still wonder why they declined penalty though.
At least, I THINK they declined the penalty. I really can't remember for certain now.

[Bork]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
not sure what the rule is but Monday night Miami got flagged for the illegal forward pass with 2 seconds left in the game.


[/ QUOTE ]
Wikipedia says the 10 second runoff doesn't occur for illegal forward pass.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football_rules

[/ QUOTE ]


cool, thanks.
Still wonder why they declined penalty though.
At least, I THINK they declined the penalty. I really can't remember for certain now.

[/ QUOTE ]

They did decline the penalty and it still made no sense. They could have forced Miami back further. WTF

[DonkeyKongSr]

But what was the point of Pittsburgh declining the penalty? I was very confused as there was zero benefit to doing so that I could think of.

[Smell The Glove]

Billy Bibbit got it exactly right imo. The coaches are playing to deflect criticism from themselves personally, rather than playing to maximize their chances of winning the game. If the Cardinals go for the TD and don't make it, then it's the coach's decision that led directly to the loss. If the Cards kick the field goal and then lose in overtime, then the problem is the players or luck or the other team or whatever.

It's the same reason that MLB teams bunt too much and overpay for mediocre veterans. Also NBA teams taking star players out of the game when they get 3 fouls in the first half.

If sports fans were less results-oriented, things might be different.

[Triumph36]

[ QUOTE ]
Billy Bibbit got it exactly right imo. The coaches are playing to deflect criticism from themselves personally, rather than playing to maximize their chances of winning the game. If the Cardinals go for the TD and don't make it, then it's the coach's decision that led directly to the loss. If the Cards kick the field goal and then lose in overtime, then the problem is the players or luck or the other team or whatever.

It's the same reason that MLB teams bunt too much and overpay for mediocre veterans. Also NBA teams taking star players out of the game when they get 3 fouls in the first half.

If sports fans were less results-oriented, things might be different.

[/ QUOTE ]

if sports fans were less results oriented i might not win at poker

[AngusThermopyle]

[ QUOTE ]
not sure what the rule is but Monday night Miami got flagged for the illegal forward pass with 2 seconds left in the game.
I thought if PIT accepted the penalty then the clock would wind down 10 seconds and be the end of the game or something like that.

[/ QUOTE ]

The 10 second runoff applies only to certain penalties. False start, yes. Illegal formation, no. And the clock has to be running for it to apply (ie if 9 seconds left with the clock stopped, a false start will not result in a 10 second runoff).

And illegal forward pass is a 5 yd penalty.