Worst Coaching Mistake of the Playoffs? (1 Viewer)

[houndirish]

There's been a lot of heated debate in another thread on whether Cowher made the right call. It got me thinking as to which Coach had made the worst mistake of the playoffs.

 

[Loomba]

NONE OF THE ABOVE!Tom Moore did not call or get Peyton to call a single pass play longer than 15 yards against New England. Absolutely the stupidest and worst game plan I have ever seen considering the state of NE's secondary and the strength of Indy's offense.

 

[houndirish]

I would agree that Moore definitely deserves criticism if that is in fact the case. However, how are you so certain? Manning audibles so often there very easily could've been deep routes that were called which he changed at the line. If that's the case it's hardly Moore's fault. FWIW ... the Patriots played primarily a two deep zone to prevent the long ball. It doesn't make a ton of sense to offensively playcall against a defensive scheme that is designed to specifically prevent a certain play. If the Patriots kept two safeties deep the Colts should've been able to exploit the underneath routes or at least run the ball. They didn't do a good job of either.

 

[beefcake]

31 teams are "chokers"there can be only 1 winnerdoesnt matter if u went for it or noti mean does it make u feel better that the bills kicked the FG from 25 feet and shanked it, than 50 feet and shanked it.shank = shank = shank31 losers.1/32 chance of winning it all.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

When in doubt - vote Marty-Ball. He is a hall of famer when it comes to choking.

 

[trader jake]

Martyball, if one doesn't learn from history...

 

[Bobcat10]

If Marty didn't blunder, then Herm and possibly Cowher would not have had the chance to blunder. Shannon was gonna lost no matter what. I vote Marty.

 

[houndirish]

I voted Herm for one reason. He witnessed firsthand the mistake of Coaching not to lose as opposed to Coaching to win in the Jets playoff win over San Diego. He then inexplicably made the same error the following week in the loss at Pittsburgh. I don't hold the first missed FG against Herm or Brien as it was a long kick and Heinz is not an easy place to boot the ball. However, knowing that anything 40 yards or longer is no guarantee, I would've thought Herm wouldn't have lost his nerve and settled for a 40 yarder 2 minutes later. That's inexcusable.

 

[Rhino]

NONE OF THE ABOVE!Tom Moore did not call or get Peyton to call a single pass play longer than 15 yards against New England. Absolutely the stupidest and worst game plan I have ever seen considering the state of NE's secondary and the strength of Indy's offense.

 

[Perfect Tommy]

I voted for Cowher's idiotic decision to concede the game by not trying to pull within 7 points. That is just plain stupid. Anybody can see that he needs to go for the TD there, and I have no doubt that Belichik would have gone for the 7 if the positions were reversed. The other alleged gaffs are debatable. Spitball's is not.

 

[QuizGuy66]

I had to go Cowher because that decision essentially ended the Steelers hopes. If they don't make the 4th down conversion, the Pats start with the ball in horrible field position at their own 5 or so and the Steelers still would be down 2 scores. If the defense is good enough to hold the Pats at 11 points, it should be good enough to turn it over or get good field position for the offense with the Pats starting so deep - and that is the bad scenario. The good scenario for them has them winning the gamble and being down only 7 with lots of time left and a crowd going wild. He should've gone for it.-QG

 

[rhawkins68]

None of the above.Mora for not having anything planned for Philly but the same old ho-hum let our Quarterback run.

 

[BGP]

I picked Herm.Had Cowher gone for it and scored, there was no guarantee they would win the game.Had Herm stuck with the regular offense and moved the ball down the field a bit more, the probability is very high they hit the FG and win.This outranks marty's error because 1. it was deeper in the playoffs so the stakes were higher and 2. Herm had just seen Marty make that mistake last week.

 

[KevT]

Mora for not having anything planned for Philly but the same old ho-hum let our Quarterback run.

You use what you have. Mora can't make Vick an excellent passer overnight, it will take time if it ever happens.

 

[Tau837]

I voted Cowher, but I agree with many of the others.Not mentioned so far is Andy Reid calling timeout at the end of the 1st quarter to try to stop the Falcons from kicking a FG, which instead triggered to them to go for it and keep their drive alive.I agree that the Falcons and Colts both had lousy offensive game plans, so their coordinators and head coaches deserve . (Yes, I give credit to the defenses, but still find fault here.)I wasn't all that impressed with the Steelers' offensive game plan either. And I might argue that the second down play call (fade to Burress) was a worse call than the FG on 4th down.Also, both the Eagles and Colts mismanaged the clock badly at the end of the first half of their second round playoff games... not sure if that was coaching or QB stupidity.

 

[Tau837]

Mora for not having anything planned for Philly but the same old ho-hum let our Quarterback run.

You use what you have. Mora can't make Vick an excellent passer overnight, it will take time if it ever happens.

Yes, but there was no creativity. How about flaring Dunn out in the flat, with all the attention being paid to surrounding Vick in a "contained" pocket? How about a WR screen? How about a shovel pass or end around?The direct snap to Dunn was the only creative play I remember, and even that was obvious because Vick motioned out of the backfield.

 

[GOD HATES US ALL]

At least Marty had a "dependable" kicker he could lean on..........Herm, on the other hand, was idiotic in thinking that turd Brien could make these kicks coming just one week after the debacle in San Diego.Both coaches deserve to be chastized, but Herm had no justification in his decision

 

[djcolts]

Also, both the Eagles and Colts mismanaged the clock badly at the end of the first half of their second round playoff games... not sure if that was coaching or QB stupidity.

For the Colts - I blame the QB for that. He should have called the last TO with 16 secs left, and then tried to attempt 2 or 3 passes in the endzone.

 

[CalBear]

I picked Herm.Had Cowher gone for it and scored, there was no guarantee they would win the game.Had Herm stuck with the regular offense and moved the ball down the field a bit more, the probability is very high they hit the FG and win.This outranks marty's error because 1. it was deeper in the playoffs so the stakes were higher and 2. Herm had just seen Marty make that mistake last week.

Uh, Herm had also just won an overtime playoff game last week, using the exact same strategy.And the Steelers almost lost that game, specifically because they were throwing unnecessarily in a tie ballgame. If Brien hits the FG, is Cowher's decision to have Roth throw the worst call of the playoffs?

 

[KevT]

Mora for not having anything planned for Philly but the same old ho-hum let our Quarterback run.

You use what you have. Mora can't make Vick an excellent passer overnight, it will take time if it ever happens.

Yes, but there was no creativity. How about flaring Dunn out in the flat, with all the attention being paid to surrounding Vick in a "contained" pocket? How about a WR screen? How about a shovel pass or end around?The direct snap to Dunn was the only creative play I remember, and even that was obvious because Vick motioned out of the backfield.

I really don't think any running would have been that effective against the Eagles. They came into the game wanting to make Vick throw. Their only concern was stopping the run. At least that's what I came away thinking. The only time the Falcon's really moved the ball in that game came on long passes. The one to Crumpler, still surprised he held onto the ball, and the one where Finneran came across the middle and gained 20+ yards after the catch.

 

[rhawkins68]

Mora for not having anything planned for Philly but the same old ho-hum let our Quarterback run.

You use what you have. Mora can't make Vick an excellent passer overnight, it will take time if it ever happens.

I still think he could have gameplanned better. Everything was the same old stuff. Even the direct snap had been done and was obvious.In order for them to have beaten the eagles Mora needed to have an edge. That's would be by doing the unexpected or lining up formations that the Eagles had not already dissected on film. The easiest would be sending in new packages to run the same plays.Although, coming a close second to Mora is the game plan that Cowher brought to the table that basically said hey we run we run. No wrinkels from us. I just feel that Mora with Vick had more options for changes than the Steelers did. I consider the Cowher fg and others as game time decesions. If your talking mistakes you need to see who game planned the worse not who made a decesion based off of his team strengths (defense) and taking the points.

 

[rhawkins68]

Mora for not having anything planned for Philly but the same old ho-hum let our Quarterback run.

You use what you have. Mora can't make Vick an excellent passer overnight, it will take time if it ever happens.

Yes, but there was no creativity. How about flaring Dunn out in the flat, with all the attention being paid to surrounding Vick in a "contained" pocket? How about a WR screen? How about a shovel pass or end around?The direct snap to Dunn was the only creative play I remember, and even that was obvious because Vick motioned out of the backfield.

I really don't think any running would have been that effective against the Eagles. They came into the game wanting to make Vick throw. Their only concern was stopping the run. At least that's what I came away thinking. The only time the Falcon's really moved the ball in that game came on long passes. The one to Crumpler, still surprised he held onto the ball, and the one where Finneran came across the middle and gained 20+ yards after the catch.

That's my point. Atlanta should have expected the Eagles to try and force them to pass. i mean even the average fan knows Vick is a runner and that's about it.So why not come up with wrinkles in the passing game to help Vick. It could be anything but at least try it. They should have been able to open up the med passes against the eagles if they had planned properly. Put Dunn in the slot next to Crumpler and line Duckett up in the back field every play. Just have something to beat the other teams scheme for you.

 

[Z-Dog]

It can't be Herm, b/c Herm didn't settle for the 42-yarder. I mean, yes, he ran the ball once he got close, but that was the Jets normal offense all season. The Jets ran the ball on every down and distance, and did quite well. In fact, the week before, in a similar situation against SD in OT, the Jets handed the ball to Lamont Jordan when they were getting to long FG range, and he ran it for 19 yards. Pittsburgh was prepared for that wide run and stuffed it when Herm called it against them. It could be Marty, though, to be honest, you need to rely on your kicker making 40-yard kicks. If your kicker can['t do it, find someone who can. You have to consistently hit from that distance.I'm gonna have to go with Cowher and the FG call. No creative playcall there? Run out of HB options or delay fake handoff pitchouts? How about just having Bettis fall forward? Settling for a FG is criminal there.

 

[houndirish]

It can't be Herm, b/c Herm didn't settle for the 42-yarder. I mean, yes, he ran the ball once he got close, but that was the Jets normal offense all season. The Jets ran the ball on every down and distance, and did quite well. In fact, the week before, in a similar situation against SD in OT, the Jets handed the ball to Lamont Jordan when they were getting to long FG range, and he ran it for 19 yards. Pittsburgh was prepared for that wide run and stuffed it when Herm called it against them. It could be Marty, though, to be honest, you need to rely on your kicker making 40-yard kicks. If your kicker can['t do it, find someone who can. You have to consistently hit from that distance.I'm gonna have to go with Cowher and the FG call. No creative playcall there? Run out of HB options or delay fake handoff pitchouts? How about just having Bettis fall forward? Settling for a FG is criminal there.

Herm ABSOLUTELY settled for the 42 yarder .... Pennington downed the ball on 3rd down! Heck they lost a yard on the play! At the very least run the ball forward. You might actually gain a yard or two.

 

[nerangers]

I had to go Cowher because that decision essentially ended the Steelers hopes. If they don't make the 4th down conversion, the Pats start with the ball in horrible field position at their own 5 or so and the Steelers still would be down 2 scores. If the defense is good enough to hold the Pats at 11 points, it should be good enough to turn it over or get good field position for the offense with the Pats starting so deep - and that is the bad scenario. The good scenario for them has them winning the gamble and being down only 7 with lots of time left and a crowd going wild. He should've gone for it.-QG

I agree totally. I was surprised watching the game that he did not go for it. I heard after in his interview, if it was only one yard he would have. I think he needed to go for it and shift the momentum in the game. I was glad he didn't though.

 

[AB in DC]

Herm over Marty, because:- The FG was longer (and made more so due to the kneel-down)and- It's a lot harder to kick a FG at Heinz than in SD.

 

[TheLaw]

Cowher kicking the FG, with 8 minutes left, when you're down 14, on a 4th and goal from the 2, is indefensible. Down 11, you are still in need of 2 possesions - and now you need a 2pt conversion. So essentially, you need a FG and 2 TDs (the second of which would be farther away than the 4th and goal.) You go for it and dont get it, you still need 2 possesions, but you needed that when you are down 11, only instead of getting the ball at the 30, the Pats are starting from their endzone. Bad bad call - and I usually defend Cowher. Not here my friends. The game was more than that one playcall, but that one sealed the deal for good.Still, :stillers:

 

[Loomba]

I would agree that Moore definitely deserves criticism if that is in fact the case. However, how are you so certain? Manning audibles so often there very easily could've been deep routes that were called which he changed at the line. If that's the case it's hardly Moore's fault. FWIW ... the Patriots played primarily a two deep zone to prevent the long ball. It doesn't make a ton of sense to offensively playcall against a defensive scheme that is designed to specifically prevent a certain play. If the Patriots kept two safeties deep the Colts should've been able to exploit the underneath routes or at least run the ball. They didn't do a good job of either.

I agree the Pats D probably were sitting back covering the deep ball, but I still think you have to try a few shots down the field if for no other reason than to maybe draw an interference call. If Peyton was audibilizing out of some deep plays, I still point a finger at Tom Moore. He should have told Manning to just do it a couple of times regardless of the look. Remember, NE had some question marks in the secondary.

 

[Michael Brown]

I voted Herm for one reason. He witnessed firsthand the mistake of Coaching not to lose as opposed to Coaching to win in the Jets playoff win over San Diego. He then inexplicably made the same error the following week in the loss at Pittsburgh. I don't hold the first missed FG against Herm or Brien as it was a long kick and Heinz is not an easy place to boot the ball. However, knowing that anything 40 yards or longer is no guarantee, I would've thought Herm wouldn't have lost his nerve and settled for a 40 yarder 2 minutes later. That's inexcusable.

 

[houndirish]

Given Andy Reid's horrific clock management in the 2nd and 4th quarter I thought this poll might need to be revisited!

 

[MarktheVike]

I just placed my vote for Reid. I think it would have served the Eagles well to be a bit more challenged in the NFC. They were clearly the superior team in their division and conference. The Eagles played at a very relaxed, confident pace as they steamrolled their way to the SB this season.However, that drive with 5 minutes left was NOT the place to be relaxed and at ease. Where was the urgency ???

 

[RoarinSonoran]

i mean does it make u feel better that the bills kicked the FG from 25 feet and shanked it, than 50 feet and shanked it.

Can't say that I've ever seen a FG try from almost 2yds into the endzone (which would mean a snap from about the endline). Nor an FG from inside the 7 (goalline snap). No wonder they were shanked, they were too close!

 

[Bloom]

Cowher kicking the FG, with 8 minutes left, when you're down 14, on a 4th and goal from the 2, is indefensible. Down 11, you are still in need of 2 possesions - and now you need a 2pt conversion. So essentially, you need a FG and 2 TDs (the second of which would be farther away than the 4th and goal.) You go for it and dont get it, you still need 2 possesions, but you needed that when you are down 11, only instead of getting the ball at the 30, the Pats are starting from their endzone. Bad bad call - and I usually defend Cowher. Not here my friends. The game was more than that one playcall, but that one sealed the deal for good.Still, :stillers:

indefensible is exactly the word i would use. down 11 you still have to convert what is essentially a 4th and goal on the 2 pt play. if you think you can make the 2 pt conversion, then you think you can make the 4th and goal from the 2.

 

[culdeus]

Given Andy Reid's horrific clock management in the 2nd and 4th quarter I thought this poll might need to be revisited!

When all is said and done it will likely be shown that at no point in the season did Philly have to run a hurry-up offense. They were never pressed down the stretch in a game that mattered and it showed. From Mitchell catching that ball, to running out of the huddle for even more than just one play they were not prepared from a game perspective. If you can't trust your guys to run the hurry-up then you have to go with what you know.

 

[AB in DC]

Even if they didn't want to go no-huddle, they could have called the plays and gotten to the line a whole lot faster.

 

[Godsbrother]

Cowher kicking the FG, with 8 minutes left, when you're down 14, on a 4th and goal from the 2, is indefensible. Down 11, you are still in need of 2 possesions - and now you need a 2pt conversion. So essentially, you need a FG and 2 TDs (the second of which would be farther away than the 4th and goal.) You go for it and dont get it, you still need 2 possesions, but you needed that when you are down 11, only instead of getting the ball at the 30, the Pats are starting from their endzone. Bad bad call - and I usually defend Cowher. Not here my friends. The game was more than that one playcall, but that one sealed the deal for good.Still, :stillers:

indefensible is exactly the word i would use. down 11 you still have to convert what is essentially a 4th and goal on the 2 pt play. if you think you can make the 2 pt conversion, then you think you can make the 4th and goal from the 2.

Well, I think there was considerably more than 8 minutes left but I agree that it was a bad decision to kick the FG. I was at the game and complaining about the decision but the guy next to me kept saying "you gotta get the points".His reasoning was that there was plenty of time left, they had already tried 3 times to get the TD and couldn't score, and that if you don't score anything it is demoralizing.I didn't buy it and still don't. You had to get 7 there and if you don't have the confidence to do it from the 2 yd line how on earth do you think you're going be successful on a 2 pt conversion? If you don't get it you put NE on the 2 and hopefully your defense gets them to go 3 and out and you get the ball back with lots of time and good field position. Of course the way the Steelers defense was playing Brady probably marches 98 yards for a TD.

 

[biglare66]

And the real winner is.......Andy Reid (and the entire Eagles offense)Pathetic clock management, and it turned out that they lost the game because of it. The Eagles themselves did not believe they could win. When, in fact, they could have. This is really unprecedented.The reality, as it turned out, they could have saved perhaps a minute or more, and put themselves into position to win the game on the final drive. I thought that the eagles and mcnabb played very well. But in the end, they stumbled from a LACK OF SELF CONFIDENCE, and blew it.

 

[Joe T]

NONE OF THE ABOVE!

Tom Moore did not call or get Peyton to call a single pass play longer than 15 yards against New England. Absolutely the stupidest and worst game plan I have ever seen considering the state of NE's secondary and the strength of Indy's offense.