Sheldon told his dad about his 4th down analysis at the beginning of the episode, when they were watching a game on TV. He put it into use in a game he was coaching later in the episode. So neither of them observed that his “make it 50% of the time” was NOT a valid analysis of the data.
And they apparently never took a math class either. I don’t watch Young Sheldon, but TBBT was actually pretty careful about getting the science & math correct.
You should watch the clip - it’s 6 minutes long.
Either way, that’s not really accurate. He said “they convert on 4th down 50%…” while on the couch watching a college game with his family. The game they went for it on 4th and 17 was a high school game the father was coaching.
Exactly. Most fourth downs are likely to be like 4th and 6 or less yardage- very rarely is an offense stymied to the point where they get no yardage on a set of downs whatsoever. Most of the time they get some yardage.
Sheldon’s point was that over the course of a season, it’s better overall to go for it when it’s not obviously a poor choice. So over time, the best outcome when it’s say… 4th and 4 might be to go for it as a rule.
Of course, this is dependent on more local factors- is your offense performing adequately, or are they being dominated by the defense? Is the weather a factor? Are injuries a factor? And so on…
Coach Cooper just sort of took Sheldon at face value without understanding what he was getting at and interpreted it as “go for it every time”, in a situation where it was clearly not a good decision even in light of Sheldon’s revelation.
This is an unfair characterization. You don’t know much about football, and that’s no crime, and plenty of other people don’t either. But football fans come from all walks of life, every occupation, every social stratum, and every college major.
Both plays carry risks. But the consequences play out differently. If you punt, you create the risk that the other team might score. But that won’t happen until the other team makes several plays. When they score, the connection between the decision to punt and the other team scoring won’t be obvious.
But if you try to make a fourth down and fail, you turn the ball over to the other team in a very bad field position. The consequences of this decision are immediately apparent.
So while statistically punting may be a worse decision in the overall course of the game, it gives the appearance of being a safer decision in the immediate aftermath of the play. Coaches and players tend to focus more on what’s happening on the field right now then on what might be happening in ten minutes.
I wouldn’t say “very rarely”. It’s not likely, but happens in pretty much every game. All it takes is a 3rd down sack or a holding penalty.
I didn’t know it until someone said it on this thread, but the replay is there more than just to lengthen the play and heighten the suspense-- it adds 5 yards to what the team had to pass to make another “down.” So when Coach Cooper tells them to “go for it” the first time, it might be a rash decision, and based on a misunderstanding of what Sheldon meant, but the second time, it’s a response to a different situation, where they are now 5 yards closer.
Also, Sheldon’s comment when he is sitting on the couch is not in response to the action on the screen; it’s a response to his father & Georgie (and Missy too) all agreeing that the team must punt on fourth down-- there’s no other choice.
OK-- gotta ask-- these are what?
I was gonna say, “hey! I resemble that remark.” (I’m an English major.) I didn’t notice there being any fewer sports fans among English majors or theatre majors (lots of those at my school) than others. Heck, my mother in law has a library sciences masters degree and can talk your ear off about the NFL, MLB, and NHL. I suppose it depends more on where you grew up and who you grew up around.
A sack is when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage, generally while he’s attempting to pass the ball. The ball is spotted where he’s tackled, so if it was 3rd & 10, and he got sacked 7 yards back (which is very common), it would be 4th & 17.
Offensive players are not allowed to hold defensive players attempting to get to the quarterback - they can block or push them, but not grab them. If they do (and get caught), it’s a 10 yard penalty, though they do replay the down. So if it’s 3rd and 10, and there’s a holding penalty, the next play will be 3rd and 20.
Honestly, if you want to learn about football, watch a game or 2 with someone knowledgeable. You’ll learn 80% of what you need to know that way.
A sack (a.k.a. a quarterback sack) is when the quarterback is tackled while trying to pass, for a loss of yardage. It can turn a 3rd down, with 7 yards to go, into a 4th down, with 15 or more yards to go, as the quarterback is typically five to ten yards behind the line of scrimmage when he attempts to pass.
A holding penalty, in this context, is when one of the blockers on offense (usually an offensive lineman) uses his hands to grab onto the defensive player whom he’s blocking. (Holding pretty much happens on every single play, but if it’s obvious or egregious, it gets called as a penalty.) It’s a ten-yard penalty, and negates the result of the play. So, if holding is called on 3rd and 7, it becomes 3rd and 17.
which is?
Honestly, there are a billion terms in football. Instead of asking message board posters random questions, you would be better off following Muldoonthief’s advice and watch a game with someone who knows about it.
The line of scrimmage is the imaginary line where the ball is set at the start of each play. Where the ball was at the end of the previous play determines where the next play starts (and, thus, where the line of scrimmage is for the next play).
Before a play begins, members of each team have to be on their side of that line, and crossing that line before the play starts is against the rules (doing so causes a penalty to be called).
When we talk about down-and-distance (e.g., “3rd and 7”), the second number is how many yards there are between the current line of scrimmage, and the line which must be reached for the offense to earn a new first down.
I don’t know anyone who knows about it.
Yeah - it is one of the most complex sports in the world, unfortunately. There kind of is a “arrrgh, I don’t understand a thing” phase, and then one day it clicks and it becomes an “Aha, now it makes sense” moment. But in between, it’s pretty maddening.
Hopefully by September the bars will be open and safe to visit. Go to any one of them on a Sunday from September to early February (except for the last Sunday in January) and ask anyone there to explain football to you. It will be just like asking on the Dope except there will be a game on the TV to reference. Then start reserving all those Sunday afternoons for the rest of your life to watch football.
You clearly are not a Detroit Lions fan.
That’s not a trick play, that’s a pretty standard play action bootleg. Faking a handoff happens all the time, and the defense is always watching the ball. Offenses use the fake handoff often because even a moment’s hesitation by the defense can break a play open. It can also used truly as an option, the player with the ball makes a real time decision whether to hand off or keep the ball based on the way the defense is reacting.
Misdirection is used often in football because all it takes is a small opening to spring a big play.
There’s a reason we all still remember the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and that’s because both the Hook and Ladder and the Statue of Liberty worked and Boise State got the win. Had the Sooners held on and won, nobody would remember 14 years later. And after all, if the call is to punt on fourth, the trick play is either the quick pass from the holder or the direct snap to the runner. And I think I saw the fake punt work maybe twice in all of 2020 in the NFL.
I’m going to make a terrible pun and suggest buying Madden. They sell for a fraction of the cost after the season is over and are even cheaper used. If most American men (and some of the women) who like football pick up the basic ideas behind football structure by pick-up games of touch at recess, the same principle of learning by doing can apply with a more complicated video game. I don’t know who does the recorded announcing these days (I haven’t bought a copy since it was John Madden and Al Michaels) but actually trying to run plays with suggestions of what to pick could help a lot.