Sunday, November 4, 2007
Should Have Punted
It's been a few hours since the Hawks' overtime loss to the Browns and I still can't find any justification for going for it on fourth down there in overtime. I understand that with sudden death you want to do everything possible to score when you get the ball first and maybe Holmgren didn't feel that the D could get the job done, since they couldn't stop Cleveland the entire second half. That being said, the Seahawks have been absolutely horrible in short yardage situations this season, ranking near the bottom of the league in both third and fourth down conversions. The Hawks had already been stopped on a 4th and 2 earlier in the game and appeared to run almost the exact same play on that last attempt. Holmgren seems to be living in the past and just doesn't seem to realize that the offensive line just isn't capable of dominating like it was during the Super Bowl season. That year Seattle ranked number one in the league for fourth down conversions, only getting stopped once all season. The formula was simple then: hand it to your MVP running back and run him behind the best left guard and left tackle in the NFL. Everyone in the stadium knew what was coming, but it just couldn't be stopped. The team just isn't what it was that year anymore. Every time the Hawks have gone for it on fourth down this season they seem to run a similar play and time and time again the defense seems well prepared for what's coming. But the bottom line is that Holmgren should have trusted his defense and forced the Browns to put together a significant drive in order to win the game. It's rather ironic how this one played out considering how often it seems that Holmgren is too determined to play the field position game.
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4 comments:
do you really think it would have mattered though Gabe? Do you really think the Browns would not have passed to Winslow and Joey J for that extra 30 yards? i honestly think that the Seahawks were right in going for it, but the play call was just horrible. I mean everyone knew if the Browns got it back they were going to score. Their passing game was not going to be stopped by the Seahawks in the 2nd half of that game. And unlike the Hawks, the Browns were using the power back in Jamaal Lewis effectively and picking up the short yardage. Which ever way you look at it, the Hawks showed once again just how inconsistent they are as a team.
Seriously Gabe, you're just regurgitating what the announcers were saying after the play. Prior to the play, they weren't exactly screaming at Holmgren not to go for it. Cleveland was rolling over the Hawks and even if we put them on the 1, they could have driven down field on our defense. The Hawks were almost within Brown's range and thus should definitely have gone for it. At least when we won the toss Hasselbeck didn't say we'll take the ball and we're gonna score.
They were gonna score on us anyways is the justification everybody is using? You guys are right, it makes a lot of sense to make a team go 30 yards to win the game instead of 50-60+. This thought process is the exact process I use on every 4th down in Madden 08 and also the same reason why I don't win a lot of games. If Holmgren really wasn't trusting his D then maybe he should have taken two more shots at the end zone at the end of regulation instead of running the draw play and nearly running the clock out. I never thought I'd find myself debating whether I'd rather have Jim Mora coaching the Huskies or the Hawks next season.
If you can't get half a yard when you need it most, you have no business winning an NFL game. I'm glad he went for it, and hope he would again.
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