Take the Points!

Two football coaches, with National Championship rings on their fingers, have been under increased pressure after recent years of unrealized expectations and losses to key opponents. Those two coaches both lost on Saturday & both made coaching errors that were short-sighted & cost their respective teams.

Lloyd Carr & Philip Fulmer - TAKE THE POINTS!!!

Michigan and Tennessee both lost Saturday, though the Wolverines' loss at home to Appalachian State (btw - why no more I-AA? No one knows how to describe them anymore.) was clearly more upsetting to its fan base than the Vols' two TD defeat at soon-to-be-without-scenic-trees-outside-its-stadium Cal. The connection, besides the warming chairs under each head coach, between the games revolves around decisions made in the course of each team's comeback attempts.

First Fulmer - Tennessee was down 17 and drove deep into Golden Bear territory, thanks to a brilliant Arian Foster run. Three tries inside the 10 - no touchdown. What to do?

Down three scores - you kick the field goal, right? You keep chipping away. You have to score three times no matter if you get three or six here, so take the three. Right? RIGHT?

Nope. Fulmer goes for the touchdown, the play gets stuffed and the momentum of the drive is gone. The move did not cost Tennessee the victory, but it was a poor decision nonetheless that looked far worse once Tennessee got within seven points.

Fulmer - TAKE THE POINTS!

Lloyd Carr made even bigger errors during the course of the Appy State game. Down 31-20 late in the 3rd quarter, Michigan scored a touchdown & decided to go for two. They failed to convert, which meant they were down five instead of four (assuming the extra point). Michigan scores again - now has to go for two (when it should have already been up three...), fails again. Now Michigan is only up one point when it should have been up three. Appy's field goal for the win gave them 34 points - the same amount Michigan would have scored had it kicked twice instead of going for two.

Carr - TAKE THE POINTS!

One of my biggest beefs is the continual under-estimation of points by football coaches. In football, when you can score, you need to score. Take the field goal. Take the extra point. Just score.

Take the 2006 Vols - they averaged 28 points over the 13 games they played last season. That is FOUR scores. If they failed to convert two of those touchdowns and only got field goals, that is 20 points - enough to win most of the time. The key is to SCORE. Even if it is 1 point - SCORE.

Fulmer and Carr made a classic coaching mistake - thinking short-term. Fulmer wanted to be down 10 instead of 14. Carr wanted to be down 3 instead of 4. Both instances were in the 3rd quarter with plenty of time left for a million things to happen, especially in a game as wild as the ones they were playing. Thinking short-term cost both teams in the long run.

Both decisions were costly, but even if the result of the decisions had been different, the decision itself was still wrong. For example, Les Miles decided to go for a touchdown on 4th & goal late in the 2nd quarter against Mississippi State on Thursday night. LSU got the score, but the decision was still wrong. If you are Les Miles, why risk getting nothing there? MSU wasn't going to score much against LSU's defense (they were shutout, 45-0), so why risk getting nothing out of the drive?

Chan Gailey understood this on Saturday as his Georgia Tech team crushed Notre Dame. Early in the game, the Yellow Jackets continually drove into Irish territory and continually settled for field goals. Why? Why didn't Gailey panic and go for it on 4th down? Because Gailey understood that a) the game is 4 quarters long b) if I'm down here now, I should be able to get back again c) Notre Dame isn't going to score much against my defense, so every point I can get is great.

No panic. Conservative. Take the points. Blow them out.

(As a Cowboy fan, it pains me to praise Chan Gailey who was a mediocre and devisive coach for the Pokes back in the 1990s, but he deserves praise and credit for his coaching Saturday).

I think both Fulmer and Carr made their decisions thinking short-term and because of the pressure they are feeling from their respective fan bases. Both are often chided for being too conservative. Well, these were examples of when being conservative was also being correct. Both coaches won National Championships being conservative - why change? Because some idiot bloggers will question your decision?

Wait, am I an idiot blogger questioning...nevermind.

Here are my three football coaching rules that will lead to more wins & cooler seats for coaches:

1) Always get points when you can, even if it is a field goal.
2) Never go for two unless it is the 4th quarter. NEVER. Don't consult the "chart." 3) Don't ever put up your index finger after a touchdown because you are always kicking the extra point. This isn't as important as the first two rules, but it irritates me so let's stop this.

Seem simple, don't they? The key to remember: TAKE THE POINTS!