Throwing on first and goal

[stevegrab]

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the title of the thread says 'inside the 5'

 

 

[detlef]

I get the general point here but first and goal could be anything from less than a yard to a full 10 yards. Plenty of teams in this league are having trouble converting short yardage plays with the run, so it makes perfect sense to throw in these situations. A lot of teams have little chance of getting 2.5-3 yards per run inside the 10, especially against a decent defense. So why should they run just to satisfy people that think passing TDs are lame?

 

Heck look at how many teams throw the ball on 3rd and 3 or less, its a passing league, and much easier to get those few yards by passing for many teams than running.

 

You have a funny habit of just throwing things like this out as if it should be common knowledge. You did the same in the kick-off thread when you assumed it was easier to convert a 4th and 15 than an onside kick. Do you know if what you implied is the case? It certainly wasn't the case in the other thread.

 

There are guys who look this sort of thing up. Now, I don't know what the deal with 3rd and 3 passing or running, but ironically, those who think teams should run more in these types of situations, or in goal to go, may actually be on the correct side of probability and logic and those who want to pass may the silly ones avoiding something because they think it's lame.

 

Now, not related specifically to your post...

 

What is really funny is that, in a forum like this, we'll lambast coaches all the time for their stupid mistakes. Yet, at some point in a thread like this, we'll be asked, "If it didn't make sense, why do they do it?" Using the flawless judgment of these same coaches as evidence that a strategy is sound.

[giantsfan]

The Giants try and pound it all the time, and they stink in the RZ. Kick FG after FG. I think the Giants should throw more on 1st and goal instead of pounding it everytime, so predictable down there. Frustrating to see your team never get TD's and settle for FG's time and time again.

 

One of the big reasons the Giants will be home watching the playoffs this season instead of defending their title.

Edited December 9, 2012 by giantsfan

[nelsosi]

As a general rule, I think football strategy is far behind most other sports in terms of maximizing odds, probabilities and risk/reward. The 4th down debate is the biggest example of this, but I think it also extends to playcalling in situations like this thread.