Was this NOT the worst coaching move ever? (1 Viewer)

[Raider Nation]

For those too young to remember, I'll set it up.

1987, week 2. San Francisco @ Cincinnati.

Bengals lead 26-20 with 0:06 remaining. Cincy has the

ball, it's 4th down and they are on their own 30 yard line.

They could have done a few things which would easily have run out the clock:

- Line up to punt, and have the punter run into the end zone.

- Pitch the ball to Brooks and let him slowly, calmly run the ball into his own end zone.

- Have Boomer do the same thing, as Theismann correctly (GULP!) pointed out.

- Get Boomer into a shotgun, and throw the ball nine miles in the air downfield.

So what happened? SEE FOR YOURSELF

It is inconceivable that Cincinnati could lose that game. Wyche deserved

whatever crap he got afterwards. The only other awful coaching decision

which comes to mind that rivals this one was when Marty Mornhinweg was

coaching the Lions, and they are playing the Bears. The game goes into

overtime, Detroit wins the coin toss, and he elects to kick off. Naturally, the

Bears receive the ball and proceed to score on their first possession.

Any other coaching blunders I'm forgetting???

 

[Wu-banger]

WOW... That was bad.

 

[Mr. Black]

That was awful, did the 49er's have a great return man back then?

 

[Raider Nation]

That was awful, did the 49er's have a great return man back then?

Certainly nobody like Deion. Maybe Joe Cribbs or Mike Wilson.'87 Niners

But that doesn't even matter.

Someone had to calmly run the ball out of the end zone until time expired.

 

[Borat]

That was awful, did the 49er's have a great return man back then?

John Taylor was on that team... not sure if he handled return duties that season, but he was a very good punt returner.

 

[mantle's liver]

That has to rank up there with the all-time worst.

 

[Raider Nation]

That was awful, did the 49er's have a great return man back then?

John Taylor was on that team... not sure if he handled return duties that season, but he was a very good punt returner.

Taylor only had 9 grabs that season. A ton of guys caught a few balls, other than Rice & Craig.

Running Backs+----------------------+----+-----------------------+----------------------+| Name				 |  G |  RSH  YARD   AVG  TD  |  REC  YARD   AVG  TD |+----------------------+----+-----------------------+----------------------+| Roger Craig		  | 14 |  215   815   3.8   3  |   66   492   7.5   1 || Joe Cribbs		   | 11 |   70   300   4.3   1  |	9	70   7.8   0 || Doug Dubose		  |  2 |   10	33   3.3   0  |	4	37   9.2   0 || Terrence Flagler	 |  3 |	6	11   1.8   0  |	2	28  14.0   0 || Andre Hardy		  |  1 |	7	48   6.9   0  |	1	 7   7.0   0 || Tom Rathman		  | 12 |   62   257   4.1   1  |   30   329  11.0   3 || Del Rodgers		  |  7 |   11	46   4.2   1  |	2	45  22.5   0 || Harry Sydney		 | 14 |   29   125   4.3   0  |	1	 3   3.0   0 |+----------------------+----+-----------------------+----------------------+Wide Receivers+----------------------+----+-----------------------+----------------------+| Name				 |  G |  RSH  YARD   AVG  TD  |  REC  YARD   AVG  TD |+----------------------+----+-----------------------+----------------------+| Dwight Clark		 | 13 |	0	 0   0.0   0  |   24   290  12.1   5 || Terry Greer		  |  3 |	0	 0   0.0   0  |	6   111  18.5   1 || Ken Margerum		 |  2 |	0	 0   0.0   0  |	1	 7   7.0   0 || Carl Monroe		  |  3 |	2	26  13.0   0  |	3	66  22.0   1 || Jerry Rice		   | 12 |	8	51   6.4   1  |   65  1078  16.6  22 || John Taylor		  | 12 |	0	 0   0.0   0  |	9   151  16.8   0 || Mike Wilson		  | 11 |	0	 0   0.0   0  |   29   450  15.5   5 |+----------------------+----+-----------------------+----------------------+Tight Ends+----------------------+----+----------------------+| Name				 |  G |  REC  YARD   AVG  TD |+----------------------+----+----------------------+| Chris Dressel		|  1 |	1	 8   8.0   0 || John Frank		   | 12 |   26   296  11.4   3 || Russ Francis		 |  8 |   22   202   9.2   0 || Ron Heller		   | 13 |   12   165  13.8   3 || Brent Jones		  |  4 |	2	35  17.5   0 |+----------------------+----+----------------------+

 

[Borat]

That was awful, did the 49er's have a great return man back then?

John Taylor was on that team... not sure if he handled return duties that season, but he was a very good punt returner.

Taylor only had 9 grabs that season. A ton of guys caught a few balls, other than Rice & Craig.

According to this, a guy named Dana McLemore returned punts for the 49ers in 1987. And he didn't do a bad job, either:21 returns, 265 yards, 12.6 avg, 1 TD

 

[Raider Nation]

That was awful, did the 49er's have a great return man back then?

John Taylor was on that team... not sure if he handled return duties that season, but he was a very good punt returner.

Taylor only had 9 grabs that season. A ton of guys caught a few balls, other than Rice & Craig.

According to this, a guy named Dana McLemore returned punts for the 49ers in 1987. And he didn't do a bad job, either:21 returns, 265 yards, 12.6 avg, 1 TD

He was a small, quick guy. A tad bigger than say, Dexter Carter.

 

[Don Quixote]

Not sure which part is funnier. Sam Wyche giving Joe Montana the ball at the opponent's 25-yard line, or Sam Wyche prematurely walking across the field to shake Bill Walsh's hand.

 

[Bob_Magaw]

miracle at meadowlands was collossal blunder & OC was fired next day...

 

[Raider Nation]

miracle at meadowlands was collossal blunder & OC was fired next day...

Should Pisarcik have taken a knee? Of course. But how hard is it to turnaround and hand the ball to Csonka? I blame the players a bit more thanI blame the coaching staff.

Joe Pisarcik (born July 2, 1952) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for eight seasons, from 1977 through 1984 after playing collegiately at New Mexico State University. He began his career with the New York Giants, and is best remembered for his role in a November 19, 1978 game where the Giants, up 17-12 with only seconds to play, lost after his ill-advised handoff (a play called by offensive coordinator Bob Gibson over Pisarcik's objections) to Larry Csonka was fumbled and returned for a touchdown by Herman Edwards of the Philadelphia Eagles. The play has ever since been remembered as "The Fumble" by Giants fans and "The Miracle at the Meadowlands" by Eagles fans.

 

[Bob_Magaw]

why ever risk a handoff exchange if you don't have to?

nowadays they ALWAYS take a knee if running out the clock with no exceptions...

bottom line, if the right play gets called the giants win... that is on the coach...

i read about this recently & even the players were aghast by way of background... csonka said don't hand me the ball! but the QB had been chastised for changing play week before so he wasn't about to cross the OC up twice in consecutive weeks... with disastrous results...

not same kind of situation, but look at bad things that can happen even with a standard run play... in the PIT/IND playoff game, MLB brackett dislodged the ball from bettis near the goalline & DB harper nearly returned it for a TD... so even seemingly innocuous run plays can have horrific consequences... why take that risk unneccessarily?

 

[Raider Nation]

why ever risk a handoff exchange if you don't have to?

nowadays they ALWAYS take a knee if running out the clock with no exceptions...

bottom line, if the right play gets called the giants win... that is on the coach...

i read about this recently & even the players were aghast by way of background... csonka said don't hand me the ball! but the QB had been chastised for changing play week before so he wasn't about to cross the OC up twice in consecutive weeks... with disastrous results...

not same kind of situation, but look at bad things that can happen even with a standard run play... in the PIT/IND playoff game, MLB brackett dislodged the ball from bettis near the goalline & DB harper nearly returned it for a TD... so even seemingly innocuous run plays can have horrific consequences... why take that risk unneccessarily?

I don't disagree, per se. But my point is, a professional QB shouldbe able to turn and hand the ball to a professional RB once the stupid

play was already called. Even if Csonka simply fell down right away.

 

[Flying V]

Not sure which part is funnier. Sam Wyche giving Joe Montana the ball at the opponent's 25-yard line, or Sam Wyche prematurely walking across the field to shake Bill Walsh's hand.

I'm gonna go with Bill Walsh skipping off the field.

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

For those too young to remember, I'll set it up.

1987, week 2. San Francisco @ Cincinnati.

Bengals lead 26-20 with 0:06 remaining. Cincy has the

ball, it's 4th down and they are on their own 30 yard line.

They could have done a few things which would easily have run out the clock:

- Line up to punt, and have the punter run into the end zone.

- Pitch the ball to Brooks and let him slowly, calmly run the ball into his own end zone.

- Have Boomer do the same thing, as Theismann correctly (GULP!) pointed out.

- Get Boomer into a shotgun, and throw the ball nine miles in the air downfield.

So what happened? SEE FOR YOURSELF

It is inconceivable that Cincinnati could lose that game. Wyche deserved

whatever crap he got afterwards. The only other awful coaching decision

which comes to mind that rivals this one was when Marty Mornhinweg was

coaching the Lions, and they are playing the Bears. The game goes into

overtime, Detroit wins the coin toss, and he elects to kick off. Naturally, the

Bears receive the ball and proceed to score on their first possession.

Any other coaching blunders I'm forgetting???

What makes it even worse is that Wyche thought the game was over after the TD, and ran over for the hand-shake...

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

That was awful, did the 49er's have a great return man back then?

Certainly nobody like Deion. Maybe Joe Cribbs or Mike Wilson.'87 Niners

But that doesn't even matter.

Someone had to calmly run the ball out of the end zone until time expired.

Not even that. Run it out at the 5... Only six seconds. That could easily be killed off by jogging back to the sideline at the 5... Probably not worth the risk of going out with 1 second though, to the endzone is the safer choice...

 

[Tornacl]

I have to go with Moronweg for the Lions. If you recall, there were BAD winds that day, so he opts to go with the wind rather than take the ball in OT. Okay, I can live with that, although its not the choice I'd probably make.

What made that worse was the fact that he seemed to forget why he gave up the ball two minutes later! The Lions held the Bears on 3rd down (3rd and 10 from around the Lions 30 yard line), but there was a holding penalty on Chicago. Rather than make them try close to a 50 yard FG against gale-force winds, the Moron accepts the penalty. Chicago converts on the 3rd and 20, then scored a TD to win it!

He should've been fired before they took the bus ride home!

 

[oddball]

This one is top 5:

Eagles. Rich Kotite. He lost the game because he said he didn't know if they should kick a field goal or not because rain smudged his playbook.

 

[joffer]

Barry Switzer continually running Emmitt Smith into the line against the Eagles. I think it was 3 straight plays in their own territory. Forget which year

 

[The Commish]

You guys are missing the big picture here. This is probably the only piece of documentation in all of history that proves Joe T was right about something....this is unbelievable!!!!!!!

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

I have to go with Moronweg for the Lions. If you recall, there were BAD winds that day, so he opts to go with the wind rather than take the ball in OT. Okay, I can live with that, although its not the choice I'd probably make.What made that worse was the fact that he seemed to forget why he gave up the ball two minutes later! The Lions held the Bears on 3rd down (3rd and 10 from around the Lions 30 yard line), but there was a holding penalty on Chicago. Rather than make them try close to a 50 yard FG against gale-force winds, the Moron accepts the penalty. Chicago converts on the 3rd and 20, then scored a TD to win it!He should've been fired before they took the bus ride home!

You know I forgot all about that scenario, but now that you mention it, I can recall watching that game, thinking... Decline it you moron...

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

I have to nominate a season (2005) of 4th and shorts around the opponents' 35-45 yardline where Mike Mullarkey punted instead of going for it...

 

[SpaceCowboy]

This wasn't the worst coaching move ever, but I believe the Bears not changing their defensive game plan in the playoffs last year could be considered a slight blunder

 

[Raptors]

LMAO @ Wyche running across the field when SF tied the game with no time remaining to shake Walsh's hand (before the PAT try).

 

[Sinrman]

The only other awful coaching decision

which comes to mind that rivals this one was when Marty Mornhinweg was

coaching the Lions, and they are playing the Bears. The game goes into

overtime, Detroit wins the coin toss, and he elects to kick off. Naturally, the

Bears receive the ball and proceed to score on their first possession.

As a Lions fan... this just hurts... this has GOT to be the worst decision ever. Though the one you pointed out was definitely a top 2 or 3 blunder...

 

[fatness]

The worst coaching move I ever saw was Steve Spurrier.

 

[Oaktown]

Man, I remember where I was for that game.....Soooo awesome

 

[Jules Winnfield]

Denny Green taking a knee instead of having the highest scoring team EVER try to score against the Falcons in the NFC Championship game.

 

[SSOG]

The only other awful coaching decision

which comes to mind that rivals this one was when Marty Mornhinweg was

coaching the Lions, and they are playing the Bears. The game goes into

overtime, Detroit wins the coin toss, and he elects to kick off. Naturally, the

Bears receive the ball and proceed to score on their first possession.

Any other coaching blunders I'm forgetting???

The only other awful coaching decision

which comes to mind that rivals this one was when Marty Mornhinweg was

coaching the Lions, and they are playing the Bears. The game goes into

overtime, Detroit wins the coin toss, and he elects to kick off. Naturally, the

Bears receive the ball and proceed to score on their first possession.

As a Lions fan... this just hurts... this has GOT to be the worst decision ever. Though the one you pointed out was definitely a top 2 or 3 blunder...

Come on. It wasn't even a BAD decision. If it had worked, no one on the planet would even remember it. How do I know that? Because Mike Shanahan took the wind in overtime against Buffalo in week 9 of the 1997 season, and Denver won the game. In fact, Shanny was roundly praised, and that "outside-the-box" thinking was one of the big reasons Shanny earned the nickname "The Mastermind".What's that? You don't remember any of this? That's my point exactly.

If Bill Bellichick's intentional safety vs. Denver had failed, would we be sitting around right now talking about how THAT was one of the worst coaching decisions of all time, too?

Also, fun fact: the team that takes the wind in overtime is actually 2-1 lifetime. The three coaches "stupid" enough to make that call? Marty Mornhinweg, Mike Shanahan, and Hank Stram. Food for thought.

 

[Raider Nation]

The only other awful coaching decision

which comes to mind that rivals this one was when Marty Mornhinweg was

coaching the Lions, and they are playing the Bears. The game goes into

overtime, Detroit wins the coin toss, and he elects to kick off. Naturally, the

Bears receive the ball and proceed to score on their first possession.

Any other coaching blunders I'm forgetting???

The only other awful coaching decision

which comes to mind that rivals this one was when Marty Mornhinweg was

coaching the Lions, and they are playing the Bears. The game goes into

overtime, Detroit wins the coin toss, and he elects to kick off. Naturally, the

Bears receive the ball and proceed to score on their first possession.

As a Lions fan... this just hurts... this has GOT to be the worst decision ever. Though the one you pointed out was definitely a top 2 or 3 blunder...

Come on. It wasn't even a BAD decision. If it had worked, no one on the planet would even remember it. How do I know that? Because Mike Shanahan took the wind in overtime against Buffalo in week 9 of the 1997 season, and Denver won the game. In fact, Shanny was roundly praised, and that "outside-the-box" thinking was one of the big reasons Shanny earned the nickname "The Mastermind".What's that? You don't remember any of this? That's my point exactly.

If Bill Bellichick's intentional safety vs. Denver had failed, would we be sitting around right now talking about how THAT was one of the worst coaching decisions of all time, too?

Also, fun fact: the team that takes the wind in overtime is actually 2-1 lifetime. The three coaches "stupid" enough to make that call? Marty Mornhinweg, Mike Shanahan, and Hank Stram. Food for thought.

I think you may have missed the point.What made it look particularly bad - other than the fact they lost - was that the Bears scored on their first possession of overtime. It was almost like they said "Ho-Hum.... Wind??? What stinkin' wind?"

 

[Z-Dog]

Uh, what about the Dolphins in 2002. Last game of the season, if the Dolphins win, they win the division. If they lose, the Pats win... unless the Jets beat Packers in Green Bay in late December. In that case, all the teams would finish 9-7 and the Jets would take the division on tiebreakers.

The Dolphins gave up 11 points in the final 2:46 of regulation to send the game into overtime, but what was awful about it was the offensive play selection when they were leading 24-21. Deep in their own territory, the Dolphins ignored Ricky Williams, who had already rushed for 185 yards and 2 TDs, the Dolphins allowed Jay Fiedler to attempt three passes in a row, even though only 2:46 was left on the clock. After the three-and-out, Mark Royal shanked at punt 23 yards, letting the Patriots take over at the 34. Vinatieri eventually kicked the FG to send it into OT and kicked another FG in OT. The Dolphins were out of the playoffs, breaking a five-year playoff streak, and the Pats had hope that they would defend their Superbowl title. Later that day though, the Pennington-led Jets blew out the Packers 42-17 in GB and knocked the Pats out of the playoffs.

A lot of things had to break NE's way (or NYJ's way, depending on how you look at it), but there wasn no excuse for Miami not letting their best offensive player touch the ball in the final minutes of the last game of the season with a division title on the line. Especially when he's an RB who would have kept the clock moving, and who ahd already shredded the Pats defense, running for over 5 ypc that day.

 

[fossdboss]

Herm Edwards Jets vs Steelers 2004 Playoffs.

New York at 1:46 NYJ PIT

1st and 10 at PIT 36 Curtis Martin (NYJ) rushed up the middle for 2 yards. 17 17

2nd and 8 at PIT 34 Pittsburgh timeout; 01:37 remaining 4th quarter

2nd and 8 at PIT 34 Chad Pennington (NYJ) pass left side complete to Curtis Martin (NYJ) for 8 yards.

1st and 10 at PIT 26 Curtis Martin (NYJ) rushed left side for 1 yard.

2nd and 9 at PIT 25 LaMont Jordan (NYJ) rushed left side for 2 yards.

3rd and 7 at PIT 23 Jets timeout; 00:06 remaining 4th quarter

3rd and 7 at PIT 23 Chad Pennington (NYJ) rushed up the middle for -1 yards.

4th and 8 at PIT 24 Jets timeout; 00:04 remaining 4th quarter

4th and 8 at PIT 24 Pittsburgh timeout; 00:04 remaining 4th quarter

4th and 8 at PIT 24 43 yard field goal by Doug Brien (NYJ) is no good.

1st and 10 at PIT 24 End of the 4th quarter.

How do you call a timeout to set up a FG, decide that you left too much time on the clock, take a knee to lose almost two full yards, take another timeout, THEN attempt your field goal?

It still hurts.

 

[Borat]

Uh, what about the Dolphins in 2002. Last game of the season, if the Dolphins win, they win the division. If they lose, the Pats win... unless the Jets beat Packers in Green Bay in late December. In that case, all the teams would finish 9-7 and the Jets would take the division on tiebreakers.

The Dolphins gave up 11 points in the final 2:46 of regulation to send the game into overtime, but what was awful about it was the offensive play selection when they were leading 24-21. Deep in their own territory, the Dolphins ignored Ricky Williams, who had already rushed for 185 yards and 2 TDs, the Dolphins allowed Jay Fiedler to attempt three passes in a row, even though only 2:46 was left on the clock. After the three-and-out, Mark Royal shanked at punt 23 yards, letting the Patriots take over at the 34. Vinatieri eventually kicked the FG to send it into OT and kicked another FG in OT. The Dolphins were out of the playoffs, breaking a five-year playoff streak, and the Pats had hope that they would defend their Superbowl title. Later that day though, the Pennington-led Jets blew out the Packers 42-17 in GB and knocked the Pats out of the playoffs.

A lot of things had to break NE's way (or NYJ's way, depending on how you look at it), but there wasn no excuse for Miami not letting their best offensive player touch the ball in the final minutes of the last game of the season with a division title on the line. Especially when he's an RB who would have kept the clock moving, and who ahd already shredded the Pats defense, running for over 5 ypc that day.

Actually, believe it or not, had the Jets lost, both the Pats and the 'Phins would have made the playoffs (one as division champ, one as wild card).

 

[SSOG]

I think you may have missed the point.

What made it look particularly bad - other than the fact they lost - was that the Bears scored on their first possession of overtime. It was almost like they said "Ho-Hum.... Wind??? What stinkin' wind?"

I think you may have missed MY point. A decision is either good, or it's bad... and whether it succeeds or not is irrelevant. If a decision is a good decision (like Bellichick's intentional safety), and it doesn't work out... it was still a good decision. If a decision is a bad decision (like Cincy running the ball in the link you provided) and it works out... it was still a bad decision.If Detroit had opted for the ball, tried to kick the game-winning FG, but had it fall short (because of the wind) and returned for a TD, would that have made taking the ball a bad decision? If it had taken Chicago TWO possessions to win, would taking the wind suddenly have been a less bad decision on Mornhinweg's part?

I don't think taking the wind was a bad decision. It's probably not the one that I would have made, but I can understand the reasoning behind it. It's not like Chicago was this offensive juggernaut. I think that accepting the holding penalty was a pretty horrible decision, though.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Uh, what about the Dolphins in 2002. Last game of the season, if the Dolphins win, they win the division. If they lose, the Pats win... unless the Jets beat Packers in Green Bay at home in late December. In that case, all the teams would finish 9-7 and the Jets would take the division on tiebreakers.

The Dolphins gave up 11 points in the final 2:46 of regulation to send the game into overtime, but what was awful about it was the offensive play selection when they were leading 24-21. Deep in their own territory, the Dolphins ignored Ricky Williams, who had already rushed for 185 yards and 2 TDs, the Dolphins allowed Jay Fiedler to attempt three passes in a row, even though only 2:46 was left on the clock. After the three-and-out, Mark Royal shanked at punt 23 yards, letting the Patriots take over at the 34. Vinatieri eventually kicked the FG to send it into OT and kicked another FG in OT. The Dolphins were out of the playoffs, breaking a five-year playoff streak, and the Pats had hope that they would defend their Superbowl title. Later that day though, the Pennington-led Jets blew out the Packers 42-17 in GB and knocked the Pats out of the playoffs.

A lot of things had to break NE's way (or NYJ's way, depending on how you look at it), but there wasn no excuse for Miami not letting their best offensive player touch the ball in the final minutes of the last game of the season with a division title on the line. Especially when he's an RB who would have kept the clock moving, and who ahd already shredded the Pats defense, running for over 5 ypc that day.

Fixed.

 

[Chase Stuart]

I still maintain that Herm Edwards choosing to kickoff to start both halves is as dumb as it gets. Wyche was at least in a bit of a unique situation. Edwards messed up the most basic of things.

 

[Z-Dog]

Whoops - my bad. My favorite game that year was the 41-0 shutout of Indy the next week in the first round of the playoffs (also at home).

 

[SSOG]

Uh, what about the Dolphins in 2002. Last game of the season, if the Dolphins win, they win the division. If they lose, the Pats win... unless the Jets beat Packers in Green Bay in late December. In that case, all the teams would finish 9-7 and the Jets would take the division on tiebreakers.

The Dolphins gave up 11 points in the final 2:46 of regulation to send the game into overtime, but what was awful about it was the offensive play selection when they were leading 24-21. Deep in their own territory, the Dolphins ignored Ricky Williams, who had already rushed for 185 yards and 2 TDs, the Dolphins allowed Jay Fiedler to attempt three passes in a row, even though only 2:46 was left on the clock. After the three-and-out, Mark Royal shanked at punt 23 yards, letting the Patriots take over at the 34. Vinatieri eventually kicked the FG to send it into OT and kicked another FG in OT. The Dolphins were out of the playoffs, breaking a five-year playoff streak, and the Pats had hope that they would defend their Superbowl title. Later that day though, the Pennington-led Jets blew out the Packers 42-17 in GB and knocked the Pats out of the playoffs.

A lot of things had to break NE's way (or NYJ's way, depending on how you look at it), but there wasn no excuse for Miami not letting their best offensive player touch the ball in the final minutes of the last game of the season with a division title on the line. Especially when he's an RB who would have kept the clock moving, and who ahd already shredded the Pats defense, running for over 5 ypc that day.

Actually, believe it or not, had the Jets lost, both the Pats and the 'Phins would have made the playoffs (one as division champ, one as wild card).

That was a crazy season. I remember that, in order to reach the playoffs, Denver needed a win (which they got). They then needed the Pats and the Jets to either both win or both lose (which they did). They then needed Atlanta to beat Cleveland (which they did not). There were all sorts of conspiracy theorists who were speculating that Reeves lost on purpose just to stick it to Denver and keep them out of the playoffs.In other words, the AFC East and Wildcard picture, as it was impacted by those 4 games, was as follows:

Scenario #1- Miami wins, they're the AFC East champ. If the Browns win, they're the wildcard. If the Browns lose and the Jets win, they're the wildcard. If both the Browns and Jets lose, and Denver wins, they're the wildcard. If Denver, New York, and Cleveland all lose... I think the wildcard went back to Cleveland, but I'm not sure.

Scenario #2- Miami loses. If the Jets lose, New England is the AFC East Champ and Miami is the wildcard. If the Jets win and the Browns lose, then New York is the AFC East Champ and Denver is the wildcard. If the Jets win and the Browns win, then New York is the AFC East Champ and Cleveland is the wildcard.

I think Buffalo was in on some of the tiebreaking scenarios, too. And maybe KC or SD. I know that Denver, KC, San Diego, Buffalo, New York Jets, New England, and Miami all either finished 8-8 or 9-7.

That year was absolute chaos. Best wildcard race in history, imo.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Whoops - my bad. My favorite game that year was the 41-0 shutout of Indy the next week in the first round of the playoffs (also at home).

I'll never forget John Abraham going off sides, Favre throwing down the field on a free play -- and then the crowd erupting as they showed Vinatieri's OT kick on the TV.

 

[renesauz]

I think you may have missed the point.

What made it look particularly bad - other than the fact they lost - was that the Bears scored on their first possession of overtime. It was almost like they said "Ho-Hum.... Wind??? What stinkin' wind?"

I think you may have missed MY point. A decision is either good, or it's bad... and whether it succeeds or not is irrelevant. If a decision is a good decision (like Bellichick's intentional safety), and it doesn't work out... it was still a good decision. If a decision is a bad decision (like Cincy running the ball in the link you provided) and it works out... it was still a bad decision.If Detroit had opted for the ball, tried to kick the game-winning FG, but had it fall short (because of the wind) and returned for a TD, would that have made taking the ball a bad decision? If it had taken Chicago TWO possessions to win, would taking the wind suddenly have been a less bad decision on Mornhinweg's part?

I don't think taking the wind was a bad decision. It's probably not the one that I would have made, but I can understand the reasoning behind it. It's not like Chicago was this offensive juggernaut. I think that accepting the holding penalty was a pretty horrible decision, though.

Truthfully, I thought he made the RIGHT call kicking off...I was watching the game at the time, and the wind was reaking havoc with the QB's. The BAD call was accepting the holding penalty..they could never have hit that FG from 45 (or whatever it was) yards in that wind.

IN order to qualify as one of the worst coaching calls ever, there really has to be a pretty solid consensus that it was a bad call to begin with.

Wyche's call in this Cincy game has to go down in the top five though. He made his cluelessness even more obvious when he ran over to congratulate the Niners before the game was even over.

The miracle in the Meadowlands probably qualifies also. (Although as a Philly fan I was pretty happy!)

That aside, every year there's a ton of horrible calls that get forgotten simply because it doesn't change the outcome of the game, or they happen somewhere BEFORE the last five minutes. EVERY NFL coach is guilty of at least a couple of boneheaded calls.

 

[Reaper]

Herm Edwards Jets vs Steelers 2004 Playoffs.

New York at 1:46 NYJ PIT

1st and 10 at PIT 36 Curtis Martin (NYJ) rushed up the middle for 2 yards. 17 17

2nd and 8 at PIT 34 Pittsburgh timeout; 01:37 remaining 4th quarter

2nd and 8 at PIT 34 Chad Pennington (NYJ) pass left side complete to Curtis Martin (NYJ) for 8 yards.

1st and 10 at PIT 26 Curtis Martin (NYJ) rushed left side for 1 yard.

2nd and 9 at PIT 25 LaMont Jordan (NYJ) rushed left side for 2 yards.

3rd and 7 at PIT 23 Jets timeout; 00:06 remaining 4th quarter

3rd and 7 at PIT 23 Chad Pennington (NYJ) rushed up the middle for -1 yards.

4th and 8 at PIT 24 Jets timeout; 00:04 remaining 4th quarter

4th and 8 at PIT 24 Pittsburgh timeout; 00:04 remaining 4th quarter

4th and 8 at PIT 24 43 yard field goal by Doug Brien (NYJ) is no good.

1st and 10 at PIT 24 End of the 4th quarter.

How do you call a timeout to set up a FG, decide that you left too much time on the clock, take a knee to lose almost two full yards, take another timeout, THEN attempt your field goal?

It still hurts.

This thread was made for Herm....

Besides that play, in general, my lasting image of Herm as Jets coach is some footage I saw on a game recap where you can see Herm running around the sidelines obviously clueless on what decision to make begging his assistants to tell him what to do. You could read his lips..... "what do we do??????"

 

[Big Score]

Uh, what about the Dolphins in 2002. Last game of the season, if the Dolphins win, they win the division. If they lose, the Pats win... unless the Jets beat Packers in Green Bay in late December. In that case, all the teams would finish 9-7 and the Jets would take the division on tiebreakers.The Dolphins gave up 11 points in the final 2:46 of regulation to send the game into overtime, but what was awful about it was the offensive play selection when they were leading 24-21. Deep in their own territory, the Dolphins ignored Ricky Williams, who had already rushed for 185 yards and 2 TDs, the Dolphins allowed Jay Fiedler to attempt three passes in a row, even though only 2:46 was left on the clock. After the three-and-out, Mark Royal shanked at punt 23 yards, letting the Patriots take over at the 34. Vinatieri eventually kicked the FG to send it into OT and kicked another FG in OT. The Dolphins were out of the playoffs, breaking a five-year playoff streak, and the Pats had hope that they would defend their Superbowl title. Later that day though, the Pennington-led Jets blew out the Packers 42-17 in GB and knocked the Pats out of the playoffs.A lot of things had to break NE's way (or NYJ's way, depending on how you look at it), but there wasn no excuse for Miami not letting their best offensive player touch the ball in the final minutes of the last game of the season with a division title on the line. Especially when he's an RB who would have kept the clock moving, and who ahd already shredded the Pats defense, running for over 5 ypc that day.

If I didn't know any better, I would say that had to have been a Mike Martz coaching decision.

 

[MarshallRob]

You guys are missing the big picture here. This is probably the only piece of documentation in all of history that proves Joe T was right about something....this is unbelievable!!!!!!!

Good point. The play-by-play guy (Tim Brandt?) was about as clueless as Wyche until Theisman filled him in. I love the blase call of the finale. Brandt describes the TD pass as "incredible" but from his voice you'd just think the Bengals had actually run out the clock.

 

[mike11162]

How about the Lions game a few years ago in Arizona when Bobby Ross elected to go for 2 after a TD with the Lions trailing by 4 points at the time and about 5 minutes or so left in the game? Of course, the conversion attempt failed, the Lions held on defense and got the ball back with 2 minutes or so left in the game, then drove to the Arizona 8 but couldn't punch it in for the TD. Couldn't try a game-tying FG because they tried the 2 pt. conversion instead of just kicking the PAT like anyone else would have (outside of maybe Morninghweg). I don't remember if that was the year before or the same year as when Ross quit in mid-season after getting blown out by the Dolphins and the Lions standing at 5-4 at the time, which also could qualify as a top 5 coaching blunder itself, since that set off the chain of events that brought in Millen and Morninghweg.

 

[mike11162]

Oh, and speaking of Sam Wyche, anyone remember the time in Tampa Bay when he had both Dilfer and Craig Erickson in on the same play, and I think he had Erickson lined up as a WR? He was pretty much a lame duck coach at that point, but that sealed the deal he was being canned after that season.

 

[Pick]

I still maintain that Herm Edwards choosing to kickoff to start both halves is as dumb as it gets. Wyche was at least in a bit of a unique situation. Edwards messed up the most basic of things.

You can't choose to kickoff both halves.

 

[Z-Dog]

Uh, what about the Dolphins in 2002. Last game of the season, if the Dolphins win, they win the division. If they lose, the Pats win... unless the Jets beat Packers in Green Bay in late December. In that case, all the teams would finish 9-7 and the Jets would take the division on tiebreakers.The Dolphins gave up 11 points in the final 2:46 of regulation to send the game into overtime, but what was awful about it was the offensive play selection when they were leading 24-21. Deep in their own territory, the Dolphins ignored Ricky Williams, who had already rushed for 185 yards and 2 TDs, the Dolphins allowed Jay Fiedler to attempt three passes in a row, even though only 2:46 was left on the clock. After the three-and-out, Mark Royal shanked at punt 23 yards, letting the Patriots take over at the 34. Vinatieri eventually kicked the FG to send it into OT and kicked another FG in OT. The Dolphins were out of the playoffs, breaking a five-year playoff streak, and the Pats had hope that they would defend their Superbowl title. Later that day though, the Pennington-led Jets blew out the Packers 42-17 in GB and knocked the Pats out of the playoffs.A lot of things had to break NE's way (or NYJ's way, depending on how you look at it), but there wasn no excuse for Miami not letting their best offensive player touch the ball in the final minutes of the last game of the season with a division title on the line. Especially when he's an RB who would have kept the clock moving, and who ahd already shredded the Pats defense, running for over 5 ypc that day.

If I didn't know any better, I would say that had to have been a Mike Martz coaching decision.

Seriously. Actually, if the Rams hadn't won the Superbowl against the Titans we'd all be posting about how Martz refused to let Faulk touch the ball all game.

 

[Delusions Of Adequacy]

Denny Green taking a knee instead of having the highest scoring team EVER try to score against the Falcons in the NFC Championship game.

Yeah,that was pretty bad. I was throwing stuff at the TV because I knew when Green started running out the clock [they were in good field position, as I recall], Atlanta would beat them in overtime.I was at a Raiders-Jets game in early 90s at the LA Coliseum.Raiders were down by 3 in the 4th quarter, 4th and goal at the Jets 3.The uncharacteristically went for the win, running the ball on 4th down and scoring.Interviewed after the game, Art Shell let slip that he thought it was 3rd down...

 

[Mario Kart]

The worst non-decision is by Mike Sherman. Playoffs against the Eagles, which would later be known as the 4th & 26 victory, when the Packers had been winning the game in the trenches all the time. Sherman elects to punt on 4th and 1 instead of running Ahman Green up the middle or sideways or whatever in front of William Henderson and that awesome Packers OLine.

This was going to be Brett Favre's last year in 2003 because that team was all set to win that Superbowl. They could have beat Carolina and gone on to the Superbowl that year. Had the Packers been beaten by a 4th and 4 or something like that instead of a 4th and 26, I could live with that. But non running Ahman Green and then losing on a 4th and 26... for ever and ever.