Thanksgiving day coaching frustration

[J_V]

My thoughts are very similar to this David Sklansky's idea here http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...0878&page=

In this thread, David points out that when down 14 late in the game it's always correct to go for two twice as opposed to playing for the tie.

I think the situation is exascerbated when you are down 15 or 22. In these cases, late in the game when you will not have time for field goals, you should always go for the two point conversion right away. The reason is because if you miss, you can handle the rest of the game differently, i.e. kick onsides earlier, play more aggressively/desperately.

However, when you are down 22, it's the most important. This situation came up in the Lions game. Detroit was down 22, scored two touchdowns and went for 1 both times. Not only are they not giving themselves a chance to play the game differently if they miss, but if you go for 2 and miss the first time, you still have a chance to go for 2 the next two times to make it up! Obviously if you make it the first time you can kick field goals the rest of the way for the tie (or even better go for 2 again - i.e. down 14 like in the Sklansky thread).

I'm not very good at explaining myself, so I hope you guys follow me. Did anyone else notice this or get frustrated by this? You would think that if casual fans can think of this, someone connected to the organization would point this out.

Apparently the 2+2 quest to educate coaches hasn't made its way up to the NFL yet.

[Michael Davis]

Yes, this was obvious in the Detroit game and it's unfortunate that few announcers are savvy enough to point it out.

FWIW, I'm fairly certain that those coaches' charts tell them to go for 2 when down 22.

-Michael