I’m not “rejecting” the numbers. The numbers are great! All hail the numbers!
I’m saying that what they were doing wasn’t working, but they kept doing it. Maybe there was a reason for their 4th down failures that the numbers cannot quantify? Maybe their QB had the jitters because the stakes were high or the defense had figured out the snap count or something? Maybe their playcaller had a stomach ache or was distracted by a pretty lady in the stands? Whatever the reason, their 4th down plays were failing, over and over and over again, costing them at least 9 points, maybe more. All I am suggesting is that, in those circumstances, maybe kick a field goal once in a while to get some damn points on the board.
ETA: Kicking a field goal in those circumstances is not necessarily “playing not to lose” and has nothing to do with “traditionalism.” As I said above, I like it when teams go for it on 4th, as a general proposition.
Don’t. I am, and it’s horrible. Titans have turned the ball over 3 times, and the Steelers are awful on offense and only have a 3 point lead. It’s bad football.
Lions crush the upstart Cardinals, 30 - 12. Jared “The Machine” Goff turns in his usual dominating QB performance: 21 for 26, 3 TDs, no interceptions, 140 rating.
OK football fans, here’s a football question that does not deserve its own thread.
When a quarterback wants to start and then end a play quickly in order to stop the game clock from ticking away, he will spike the ball. Recieve the snap, then immediately throw it to the ground, near no receiver whatsoever. How is this not an intentional grounding foul?
A player under center is permitted to stop the game clock legally to save time if, immediately upon receiving the snap, he begins a continuous throwing motion and throws the ball directly into the ground.
Note that it must be immediate. The “delayed spike” is a QB blunder that results in loss of down.
And, it wasn’t always legal, either – the exemption to the intentional grounding rule for the “spike” was only instituted in the early '90s, I believe.
I think this comment is a bit misleading, as the “undelayed spike” also causes a loss of down (i.e. it has the same effect as an incomplete pass). The “delayed spike” incurs the penalty for intentional grounding: 10 yards and - unlike most penalties - loss of down. Additionally, if it happens after the 2-minute warning of either half, it causes a 10-second clock runoff.
