Do you make that call?

I can't disagree more about having no business. We had no business losing last week.

Our defense gave us the business this week. The defense is showing up! To bad we don't have Ben.

We would have lost in OT no doubt, but you're wrong to insinuate we should have been blown out.

 

I was screaming go for the WIN right in front of my television. So yea, even if we didn't pull it off I would be somewhat happy that we played aggressive to the very end.

 

During the run up to the call to go for it and the play, this all that kept going through my head!

 

If the boys would not have got the TD on that call, I bet the comments that I'm reading would have been totaly diffrent. There is NO way I would have made that call but I'm glad it worked.

 

I think that call showed Vick that the coaching staff had confidence in him and Bell. I also think that it gave that team a big boost in confidence. I can see where they did not want to kick it because Boswell although he did well in all the kicks in the game but they did not want to put that kind of pressure on a guy that just started in the NFL.

 

Kinda call where if you make it you're smart. If you don't people are outraged like the time Cowher decided to have Bettis throw a pass against the Browns late in the 4th qtr and it was intercepted. Had Bettis completed that pass it would have been a "gutsy call."

 

I agree. I don't understand why you line up the RB 6 yard off the LOS to gain half a yard.

In reality, they should have ran a dive play (I wouldn't trust Vick to not fumble) and had Tomlin call a timeout immediately after to kick a FG if they don't get in.

Also, the Steelers had 3 minutes and at least 2 timeouts (don't remember) and gained something like 13 yards with the first minute. Really slow hurry up.

They got in so it all worked out but there was a high likelihood that Bell got stuffed as time expired on that play.

 

It's worth bearing in mind that if logic says run a dive play or QB sneak, then that's exactly what the Chargers would have expected.

Knowing there's massive pressure on them for a stop, show the defense the wildcat, introduce that extra doubt in their minds, then let them overcommit up the middle and run the counter instead.

I don't know who called it, but it's classic Haley.

 

True true but if we are talking percentage and inches Bell made by a fraction of an inch.. lol

 

This, a thousand times this. Funny how much difference a week makes in the minds of the fans. After the Ravens game we all couldn't get enough of slamming Tomlin for going for it all on 4th down twice rather than try a FG (even if Scobee wasn't the answer). And now we're all (almost all) praising him for a gutsy call. SMH.

 

Very happy it worked but, STUPID call! A wildcat with 5 seconds left? If Bell had been stuffed, we'd all be comparing Tomlin to Pete Carroll.

 

Last week I was FURIOUS that Tomlin didn't give it to Bell in that game. I didn't mind going for it on 4th and thought it was the right thing to not kick it because Scobee was useless but the call itself was just so beyond dumb that I will have nightmares about it for the rest of my life. About one minute after Le'Veon scored Monday I thought "THERE'S THE CALL THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE AGAINST THE RATS". We fans can just never enjoy one moment for loathing another. LOL!!! What's funny is after the game Bell said that they put that play in there for a scenario just like what wound up happening. Hopefully we've learned from our mistake. Although it shouldn't be rocket science to say that you're gonna give the ball to your best player but maybe we've all missed our calling and oughtta be working for NASA instead???

 

Tomlin didn't think that was the last play of the game. So I'm not sure people really understand what he was trying to do. If there was no penalty to stop the clock...we would have used our last Time out and then kicked a FG. Instead we did have a timeout and Tomlin thought we could call TO if Bell didn't get in. This wasn't a gutsy call by tomlin, it was Tomlin miscalculating the clock and getting lucky that it worked out.

 

Is this for real?

 

Wait, can anyone help me out here? I must be not remembering this correctly?

I thought the clock stopped on the previous play due to the illegal hit on Heath Miller, which let the Steelers save their final time out, and I think 5 seconds were on the clock?

Could they not have immediately called a time out if Lev Bell didn't get in? Does a running play really take over 5 seconds?

My thinking was if LevBell didn't get it they could have quick called a TO and kicked the field goal?

 

You're correct, but the specific play they ran likely wouldn't have left any time on the clock. I can't remember how much, if any time was left on the clock once Bell hit the pile, but you need to add 1-2 seconds to that (assuming he was tackled right then) for Bell to hit the ground, the Steelers to call a TO and the refs to actually stop the clock. Running a play with 5 seconds simply isn't enough time to call a TO. There may be some plays where it is possible, but most times it won't be and the clock will run out. Doesn't make it a bad call, but I sure hope Tomlin realized that call was very likely the last play of the game, either way, and there wasn't going to be a timeout called

 

There was no time to call a TO if that play had not worked. There were 0 seconds left on the clock.

A dive play is the only run play that could take less than 5 seconds.

It worked out because of Bell.

 

Actually watched it again in super slo mo and a TD was signaled at the 2 second mark (surprised me as well) but question remains if a Steeler had called a timeout with no TD signaled would a ref have acknowledged it in time. The way the refs and clocks were so screwed up in this game I would definitely say no way. As my ex would say "it's a mute point".

 

That is just it though... there is a difference between NFL time and say NBA time. They are more apt to let 3 seconds run off a clock in the NFL when technically they shouldn't.

In the NBA you can make 5 seconds last forever.

Theoretically a goaline run should not take 5 seconds... 3 max. If Tomlin was standing next to ref he SHOULD have had enough time to call a TO in a perfect world.

 

Nah - he was too busy showing off his six pack....errr......6 ponch running up and down the sideline after that play.

 

This 100%. You do what gives you the greatest chance of winning. Didn't we hire some sort of analytics expert to help us with this? I'll give the staff the benefit of the doubt on why they thought that play would work on that situation even though you could argue that standing up with a megaphone and saying IT'S A RUN! STACK THE BOX! may not always be the best strategy. It seemed to me that entire series was set up to get us the tying field goal.., I don't know how else you explain the complete lack of urgency going into and coming out of the 2 minute warning, but when they got the opportunity, they went for the win and got rewarded. And credit where credit is due.... Saving the last timeout by spiking when they did gave them the false confidence to run thinking they could stop the clock if they failed....with the caveat that....SOMEONE ACTUALLY HAS TO BE PREPARED TO STOP IT!!!!!! It does take some guts to 'impose your will' on the other team and run when everyone is expecting it, but you have to give yourself as many chances to win as possible and it felt an awful lot like it was that play or bust in the minds of the players and coaches when it didn't NEED to be.

 

I saw Ben doing that and I was cracking up.