Fair enough, but the vast majority of fans, analysts, and Jeff Fisher dont really agree. Fisher said the kick wasnt in his kicker's range, but still said that it wasnt a good coaching decision to go for it on 4th down. You're opinion is definitely in the minority.
Aren't you from Houston/Dallas? Unless you're travelling to bumble-hicksville Tennessee to watch a game... which would seem pretty damn weird/desperate... you're not going to be seeing many playoff games any time soon. Hell, as dumb as Titans fans are... I bet even they would laugh at transplanted Houstonians travelling to Nashville to root for a team that already left them high and dry. That would be equivalent to those Baltimore fans who drive to Indianapolis to watch some of those Colts games still... or Brooklyn natives going cross-country to watch Dodgers games.
I live in Nashville...Obviously a Texans fan! You should have seen the sour looks round here! I LOVED IT!!! BTW, It may surprise you, but the player the fans here feared the most is Steve Slaton, not AJ (though AJ had the best game)...I spoke to one angry co-worker who spouted about why 5 defenders on the Titans can get dragged 5 yards by a little 200 pound running back. They can't believe it...The whole town is in shock and suddenly feels very nervous about the playoff future.... I'm very impressed and proud.
When it comes to the opinions of fans, I think I'd actually prefer to be in the minority. Casual fans, no offense to anyone here (obviously, if you're here, you know something) tend to be quite shallow, to say the least. Also, you misinterpreted Fisher's quote: Read the entire quote. When he says "It was not a good coaching decision," the "it" he's referring to is not taking the wind in the fourth quarter.
But he did say the reason he didn't kick was that it was out of Bironas' range against the wind, implying that if he was in range, he would have kicked the FG instead of going for it.
There was wind at Reliant Stadium? I thought everybody swore there was zero circulation in there with the roof open. BTW... even with the little rain shower, it was another good day with the roof open. 7 for 7... how it should be.
Absolutely. If you read my initial post on the decision, I considered that in my evaluation. For me, it's about the odds. We can debate all day the exact percentage chance for the Titans to pick up a 4th and 3 or for the Texans to move into FG range, but aside from that, even a great kicker like Bironas will only make 75-80% of his kicks from 50, if that. That's a significant risk of failure that to me factors into the analysis. If they're at the 25 and the identical scenario (4th and 3) happens, I'd probably kick it.
Because in either situation, you're going to have to rely on your defense to get a stop. If you kick the FG, you're at least giving your team the lead. And when you have Bironas and the #3 defense in the NFL, you at least have that going for you. But if you go for it and don't get it, one 1st down pretty much seals it. It's playing not to lose rather than playing to win. It's different from the UT/Tech game because that wasn't an all or nothing decision like today was.
No, you're not going to have to rely on your defense. The idea is to go for it, pick it up, and run the clock down to next to nothing (the Texans would've had 20 seconds left, max) before kicking, essentially ending the game on the kick. I guess we'll agree to disagree, because imo, going for it is playing to win. It's putting the game in the hands of your offense and its ability to pick up three yards. I'd much rather do that than trust my defense to hold the No. 3 offense in the league to not even reach field goal range, especially when they have a kicker with a big leg and the wind at his back. Especially when the field goal is from 50 and not at all automatic -- that's the tiebreaker to me in all of this.
It was a good win and a tough loss for the Titans but I would be more worried about the injury to Haynesworth and the nagging injuries to VanBosh heading to the playoffs than a missed opportunity/decision. Titans and the Texans had opportunities on both sides to put the game away...just a hard nosed game.
That Indy game is really killing me...8-6 with the possibility of winning 10 games sounds so damn good!
People need to stop this crap... "shoulda won at jax and st00pid rosenfumblez cost us the playoffs!!" ugh.. guys.. using that logic we should have lost to miami and green bay... we are what we are, .500
Nope. Those games are solidified with wins because we won. Any loses will be subjected to hindsight. It's that simple.
98% of the time, the Indy game would have ended with a "W" for the Texans. You cant say the same thing about any of the other games. Yes, we should have won the Indy game...the the jaguars game wasnt necessarily a win at all. The Miami game was ours for sure before we fumbled the interception we had on Pennington. Luckily, we pulled it out. Regardless, that was necessarily a loss. And green bay, we completely outplayed them...we shouldnt have lost that one. We are fortunate we won, but its not like we got lucky.
Considering that indy has one of those comebacks seemingly every year, I'd say your numbers are a little off.
The tiebreaker for me is that the Titans weren't able to move the ball all that much against the defense today, we didn't allow a TD all game long and pretty much completely stopped the run. So while you're putting the game in the hands of the offense, it's been their defense that has been their bread and butter for the season (along with their run game but we stopped it). I think you also have to factor in that Brown shanked a FG earlier in the game. We also had 2 timeouts so assuming they kick a FG (if they got the 4th down), we probably would have had the ball with some decent time and you would once again have to rely on your defense in trying to stop us getting into FG range.
You're not counting the 45 seconds (5 for the play, 40 for the ensuing play clock) they'd have used if they had picked up the first. Yeah, we would've had 2 timeouts, but by the time they snapped it for the ensuing first down, it would've been down to 1:15 or later. Add in 40 seconds for the play we can't stop the clock on, add in 15 seconds for the three plays (five per play), and suddenly you're down to 0:20 before they kick it. Completely different scenario. I also wouldn't say we completely stopped the run. They gashed us pretty good a lot of times, and had 100 yards on 24 carries. That's not too shabby. The Titans had some success in terms of moderate yardage situations. That's why to me, the real problem was the idiotic play call to go deep -- especially with Collins throwing as poorly as he did.
Giving up 21 points in a span of 2:10 is perfectly normal. You're right, my numbers are off...comebacks like that happen quite often. Go check history. Thanks for playing.
I love reading the opponents' beat writer's articles after a game like today. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20081214/SPORTS01/81214007/1002/SPORTS Texans defeat Titans, 13-12 Tennessee squanders chance to clinch home-field advantage By Jim Wyatt • THE TENNESSEAN • December 14, 2008 HOUSTON — All the talk was about the field goal the Titans didn’t try. Almost lost following their 13-12 loss to the Texans on Sunday was the fact they were shown up by a team already eliminated from the playoffs. What should be front and center on every Titan’s mind — their big cushion in the AFC is now down to one game, and the road to Super Bowl XLIII might not go through Nashville after all. “I think we were on vacation this week, knowing we got a bye and whatever other good stuff happened for us,’’ linebacker Keith Bulluck said. “But as a team we need to get our heads out of our (butts). … We didn’t show anything. Something needs to change.’’ The Titans lost for the second time in four weeks and are now 12-2. A few hours later in Baltimore, things got even more serious for Tennessee when the Steelers rallied to beat the Ravens and improve to 11-3. Next Sunday the battle for the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs will be up for grabs when the Steelers visit LP Field. The Titans secured a playoff spot and a first-round bye last week by clinching the AFC South. Now they’re in a fight. Their 10-0 start seems so long ago. “We need to check ourselves,’’ running back LenDale White said. “I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way and I am not trying to gloat or put anybody on the spot. But we all need to look within ourselves, understand we can be beat and are not invincible. “The main thing now is we have Pittsburgh on our plate and we’ve got to go in and fight. It’s all on us.’’ It was all on them Sunday as the Titans stumbled and bumbled their way through a mistake-filled, penalty-marred game against a team they’d beaten seven times in a row. Still, the Titans had a chance to win it. With the Texans leading 13-12 at the two-minute warning, Coach Jeff Fisher passed on a chance to let Rob Bironas try a 50-yard field goal on fourth-and-3 from the Houston 32. Fisher elected to let quarterback Kerry Collins throw a pass and, as he did most of the day, Collins overshot his receiver. “There was a play to be made,’’ Collins said, “and I didn’t make it.’ The Titans never got the ball back. Bironas had already hit a 51-yarder in the third quarter and was 4-for-4 on the day. The fourth-year pro has eight career kicks of 50-plus yards, including a 60-yarder against the Colts in 2006. Fisher said the wind was too strong and in the kicker’s face. He blamed himself for not taking the wind in the fourth quarter instead of the third. “It was not within his range,’’ Fisher said. “So that’s why we went for it.’’ An uneasy Bironas admitted he thought he was going to attempt the field goal. Asked if thought he could’ve connected on what could have been his eighth game-winning kick, he said: “It doesn’t really matter.’’ What mattered: The Titans were outgained 375-281, the Texans had the ball for more than 36 minutes, the offense failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season and the defense allowed Texans receiver Andre Johnson to catch 11 passes for 207 yards. “It doesn’t settle well. We are all mad,’’ Collins said. “We have found ways to win these games and we didn’t get it done. But we can’t hang our heads. I’m not happy with the way we played today. I think we need to be cognizant of the fact that we did not play our best game.’’ The Texans, who’ve won four games in a row for the first time in franchise history, had grown tired of being the failures in the series, which the Titans lead 11-3. “All they talked about was home-field advantage. They almost guaranteed victory,’’ Texans defensive tackle Travis Johnson said. “It was a kind of slap in the face. It told us they planned to come into our house and (urinate) on the carpet. That wasn’t going to happen.” “We turned Smash and Dash into Smush and Crush,’’ said Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans, referring to White and Chris Johnson, who combined for 91 yards. One of the Titans who didn’t want to talk to media couldn’t help himself as he headed out the door, surely dreading the mood on the plane ride home. “This,’’ linebacker Stephen Tulloch said to no one in particular, “is about as sick as I’ve felt in a long time.’’
