It wasn't a bad call, just a call that turned out badly. In fact I'd bet the stats show very few OT's are ended with the receiving team scoring a TD on the first drive, it's just when they do it gets more attention. And the Mornigweg call was different as that was a time when all you needed was a FG to win in OT. Playing for FG position then was a much riskier proposition but even then it wasn't a horrible call. Plenty of OT's were won because the receiving team couldn't move the ball and after punting the next team had significantly better field position, only had to go 20-25 yards and kick a winning FG.
I was surprised we didn't see that but I guess he was getting hit enough as it was. No need to send him for more.
Does the back in the vicinity, realistically 5 yards from where it landed, even matter if it doesn't make it back to the LOS. I don't think it has anything to do with favoritism so much as continued horrid officiating. But the college replacements were such a problem.
Pittsburgh out is a greater benefit to NEP. Arizona and NEP may be the odds on favorites for SB50, but no one wants to see either Seattle or Pittsburgh make the playoffs. Seattle is in, now Pittsburgh needs help.
why is everyone on their knees for Pittsburgh still?????? They have a terrible passing defense. If their passing game isn't clicking they are extremely vulnerable for anyone to beat as we saw them just lose to the shitty Ravens with a QB that 3 weeks ago was wondering if he would ever play in the NFL again! if I was NE I would want to play Pittsburgh! Brady would have the easiest time against that secondary than he would against any of the other potential playoff teams
Pittsburgh and Seattle are the wildcards everyone fears in each conference. Pittsburgh's running game can still scorch NEP, and their passing game not clicking currently is an anomaly, can't expect it to last forever. IF NEP gets McCourty and Chung healthy, they should fear no team. But with or without them, no one should want to face a clicking Steeler offense, defense be damned. Or Seattle.
even if the Pittsburgh offense is clicking to the best of its abilities, New England wins 45-35, because pittsburgh can't stop them. Pittsburgh is not as great a team as the media is leading people to believe
the refs always seem to miss these tings against us.(I know most football fans say this) but until someone from the team steps up and shows this to the league time after time with the pats it will not get fixed. If it costs 10 grand a game not to miss these by hiring 3 extra people to work games from a remote location and have a direct cell phone to the refs or someone in the stadium to make these missed calls. It is a small investment.
I'll agree to to the 45 if they get some of their offense back, but with what they had this weekend they'd be lucky to get 30, let alone 2o. And if they don't get some defense back, they'd be lucky to only give up 35. As currently constructed, they are in no position to face Pittsburgh if they happen to get back on track.
I'm sure Belichick knows the general metrics on these choices as much as anyone. He was adding his own assessment of the Patriots offense/defense , Jet's offense, chances of the Patriots scoring on a first possession, Jets' chances etc. Those type of calculations. For this particular game. I think he knew the odds as much as anyone but had reasons for going against them.
He's done it before. I can think of a few occasions where he took that risk and it paid off. Usually when it was really windy and they didn't want to go against the wind. In this game, the conditions weren't bad at all, so it didn't make much sense. I was laughing hard when I saw the look on his face. It looked like they had just been bamboozled.
I would think you'd see teams kick in OT more often with the rules. If you believe in your D more than the O, why not? A TD is the only thing that ends the game on the fist possession. If the D forces a quick punt the O gets a shorter field and a fg wins the game. There have been 3 games (As far as I know) that the team winning the toss kicked off. BB Sunday and vs Denver in 2013, and Zimmer (Vikings) this year. They won 2 of the 3.
if you take the ball, you are never going to lose without giving your offense a crack to score. the only time it ever makes sense to kick off first in overtime is if weather is a severe factor where field position becomes a much bigger factor then it normally would be.... nevermind if you have tom brady and gostkowski.
i disagree.... i think the last thing the pats want to see is a division opponent who played them tough twice, beat them once, has no issues coming into foxborough and playing well, and even played them tough twice last season with a trash team. pittsburg defense is trash. i think most teams in the afc might prefer the jets to pittsburg, but the patriots certainly are not one of them.
I actually don't disagree with that, it's not as wild as it's been portrayed to be since if you trust your D enough not to give up a TD on one drive you know exactly what you need to do on your possession to extend or win the game. Caveat being unless your QB is Brady...you don't take the game out of Brady/Brees/Rodgers's hands. Especially when your D's really not that great.
regardless of whether you believe in your offense or not, they STILL have to score either way if you want to win. unless you are expecting your defense to pick one off and score a TD or something, you may as well give your offense a crack. in an offense oriented league a 3 and out on the first poessesion of overtime is unlikely.
also, all the focus on overtime, i thought belichecks worst decision was clearly letting the first half expire with 1:50, 2 timeouts and a 12 yard run on first down to get them out to the 30
As currently constructed, they were able trade punches this past weekend, but they would not be able to outlast a Steeler offense that has been on tear until this latest hiccup. If NEP lets players rest over the next three weeks and get some of them back, then Pittsburgh should not be a problem.
