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Clock management at end of 1st half

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by kwebste6, Oct 24, 2011.

  1. kwebste6

    kwebste6 Well-Known Member

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    Oct 18, 2011
    In case your not familiar: Steelers spike the ball on second down with 20 seconds left in the 1st half. We have the ball on the Cardinals 20 with one timeout left facing a 3rd and 2. Arians calls a delayed handoff to Moore and he is tackled for a loss. Clock runs down and we kick a field goal.

    I have to question Bruce Arians play call on 3rd and 2. The whole drive we were making passes down field and working there secondary. I dont understand why we would call a run, assuming he wouldnt get out of bounds we would have to burn our final timeout. We left points on the board in the game, these next two weeks we cannot afford to leave ANY points on the board if we want to win.

    What are your thoughts on the playcall?
     
  2. black hat

    black hat Well-Known Member

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    Oct 17, 2011
    I have to agree with you. It seems we just played for the field goal. In general, I hate all delayed handoffs. Most of the time, we're lucky to get back to the line of scrimmage. Slow developing plays are just not our forte.
     
  3. BLACKnGOLDsince72

    BLACKnGOLDsince72 Well-Known Member

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    Oct 16, 2011
    Yea, scratched my head on that one too. I thought for sure they'd take one shot at the end zone and then kick the FG on 4th down if they didn't make it. If I'm not mistaken they still had one time out left so if they took a shot and couldn't get in for the score they still could have called the time out to kick the FG.
     
  4. Coastal Steeler

    Coastal Steeler

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    Oct 16, 2011
    Points are points as far as I am concerned. How many times have you seen a qb (Tony Romo for one) Throw an INT in that spot. We won, I'm happy
     
  5. KnoxVegasSteel

    KnoxVegasSteel Well-Known Member

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    I agree. Not to mention, how many times is that the call when Moore is in there? You can almost bank on it being a delayed draw to mini-memo up the gut. If the fans know what the call is based on the personnel, formation, and alignment then you had better believe that the defense knows and it only works about 1 in 10 times they try it. It really was a bone-headed call and why he didn't take a shot to the EZ on 3rd is anybody's guess. I guess because once upon a time that play caught the D off guard and it was a big gainer for mini-memo. In that situation, you should be calling a play that has a chance to get you 6. Then if you don't make it, you settle for the 3 on 4th down. Sometimes I wonder if BA is even watching the game or is he just reading a script? Heck, maybe he is listening to Katy Perry on his i-pod through his headset...
     
  6. BLACKnGOLDsince72

    BLACKnGOLDsince72 Well-Known Member

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    Oct 16, 2011
    Exactly my point. I get what coastal is saying but Ben's no Romo ! At least not the last 2 games anyway LOL
     
  7. MojaveDesertPghFan

    MojaveDesertPghFan

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    Oct 19, 2011
    If I'm getting my series straight - after the 1st down play, Kemo got into a shoving match over near the sideline as the clock was ticking down. Another Steeler had to grab him back to the line of scrimmage so BB could spike it - an extra 10-15 seconds clicked off until Kemo returned for the spike. By that time due to the shorter time remaining because of Kemo, one of two things occurred: 1) Ben was checking the Cards defense and might have passed the ball if conditions warranted say to Miller and 2) if the defense was set a certain way he would delay hand to Mewelde not to get much closer but to move the ball position laterally to the right hash which is where it ended up. This is all conjecture other than the Kemo brain lapse but we got the sure points knowing we would receive the 2nd half KO.
     
  8. HugeSnack

    HugeSnack Well-Known Member

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    Oct 17, 2011
    I've been saying it for years: Ben is the worst play-spike-timeout manager I've ever seen. It probably hurts that I pay more attention to him than anyone else because he's on the Steelers, but nevertheless he's the worst I've ever seen. He never knows what to do. Sometimes Tomlin overrules him with a TO from the sidelines, other times he doesn't. But they definitely have a habit of wasting both downs and time and not even attempting to set themselves up for last-minute touchdowns.

    They do it every year, several times a year. It costs us points, I complain, nothing happens. It's not going to change.
     
  9. harristotle

    harristotle Well-Known Member

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    Oct 17, 2011
    It's that kind of thinking that cost the cowboys the patsy game. If you've got a franchise QB use him.

    I really think we should have tossed for 6 on 3rd down then taken the easy 3 if it didn't happen.
     

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