i think we should have let the cowboys score a td in the last 2 minutes

Play some more Madden.

 

Or we could've just played some defense. Or covered the punt properly.

 

well i agree, it has happened before, if we let them score at least we have a chance to get the ball back and then its about us not them

 

I think that if we would have let them score there would have been some serious discussions today about how Sparano can't trust his defense to come up with a stop. While it may have made sense in the short term, in the long term it's more of a signal that we have no faith in our defense - and that's something that can tear a team apart.

Kind of like a reverse Baltimore Ravens situation from a few years back.

 

I agree with the OP. I was watching the game thinking once they were that close, let them get the TD and get the ball back with a chance to tie. Knowing Sparano, though, he would have run the ball and let the clock tick down anyways.

 

I agree with this. Was thinking the same exact thing. Very rare for me but the situation dictated that thinking.
Eating time outs and letting the cowboys run out the clock for an easy FG wasn't going to win the football game.
You let them punch it in and we have a shot. I don't think it would be a question of whether Sparano believed in his defense to stop them. They were going to score anyway and win the game. I say give yourself at least some sort of chance to win.
I hate to say it but by not giving up on that drive they gave up on the game.

 

Let the other team score a TD? On purpose?
The Superfans around here must be pissed.....

 

It crossed my mind at the time but thought it might have been better for Wake to have pushed the runner out of bounds rather than tackle him which may have saved a little time and a TO. Not that it would have been easy to think that in the heat of the game.

 

We would have been going for the win, not a tie.

I think it has a lot to do with the HC having confidence in the offense. Given the offense had another 4 times in the red zone that resulted in FGs and no TDs Sparano was probably praying for a botched FG hoping Dallas would lose the game rather than Miami's offense being able to win the game.

I do like the strategy depending on context. Almost worked for GB against Denver in the Super Bowl.

 

Yes once Dallas got inside the 20 they should have let them score. Getting the ball back behind by 5 is much better than not getting it back at all.

 

Guys, sometimes you hear funny things...

The reason we are 3-8 is because we cannot score more than 20 points on any good and sometimes average Defense...

...and Not because we give up to many points...

Scored 13 against Houston...
Scored 16 against Cleve...
Scored 16 against SD...
Scored 6 against the Jets...
Scored 17 against the Giants...

So we are going to let them score a quick TD... you first will loose the respect of the team if you go that way... then you you will loose the ball on downs, because like I said you as a HC will have lost the respect of your team...

 

You're just mad because you ordered your Luck jersey and have to put it away in a closet.

 

There was no way we were going to get the ball back once Dallas got into fg range. We were not able to stop the clock and Dallas fully dictated when they wanted to kick that FG. I don't care if we put up goose eggs in every other loss we've had up until that one. If we wanted a chance to come back and win, we needed to get the ball. Allowing Dallas to kick a FG as time expired obviously does not put us in position to win that game.

 

You send everyone except for man coverage until you stop them or score. Letting them milk the clock inside the 35 is myopic.

 

Once they moved into FG territory there was no more "stop" they are past that.

 

and would have that guaranteed we have scored???

Offensively we could not have maintained possession before when we needed to, what makes anyone thing we could have scored with even 1:30 on the clock, against a D that was making life misserable for our OL???

Let's be realistic here and not a bit delusional???

 

Aqua, I understand, but you need to understand that 1:30 from the 5 yards from the GL is a bit different than 2:00 from your own 35 YL...

 

The problem with this strategy is that the offense can simply go and take a knee on the one, run down the clock, and kick an extra point like field goal.

 

It's true. When you are 3-7 you don't have much to lose so you might as well give yourself a chance to win.
You can't sit there and let them milk the clock all the way down and win anyways.

 

The smart move for the offense in that case is to not score the TD even it appears the defense is allowing it. I vaguely remember that Houston game now that you mention it, and if we would have won with a FG, Ronnie was dumb for running it in. Just kneel down, or go down. Run down the clock and kick the chip shot to win.
I have seen some team do that before and maybe it was even us. Seems like I recall Ricky Williams one time going down short of the goal line intentionally, to milk the clock when 3 points was going to win the game. I can't say for sure it was Ricky, but I have seen a RB react smartly to a defense easing up to allow a TD and get the ball back, by not running it in for the TD.

 

I seem to remember a similar situation for us back in the 70s, the infamous Sea of Hands game against the Raiders. We had a young, maybe rookie, RB named Benny Malone, who scored a TD late in the game on a great effort of breaking tackles, it seems like a FG was all we needed to go ahead. After he scored, the Raiders had a couple of minutes, and needed a TD to win at that point. Then Stabler took them down the field and on the scoring play his knees were inches from the ground with either Stanfill or Den Herder attempting to sack him, when he got the pass off, it went through the hands of a couple of Dolphins, Mike Kolen was one of them, and Clarence Davis who was commonly noted to be a stone handed RB as a receiver, caught the ball and they won. Several people were saying when Malone scored that he scored too soon. Had he went down on purpose inside the 5 for a 1st and goal, as I recall, the Dolphins could have bled the clock down to seconds left, and it would have been a chip shot for Garo.

 

Sorry, we are going to have to agree to disagree here. I am not being delusional. How can this team have a shot at winning without getting the ball back? The only way to do so with any amount of time was to let them score. We had no other way of stopping the clock. Either way, this is a stupid argument and I am not going to get into it with you here.

 

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/hyde/blog/2011/11/_its_no_wonder_then.html

#2

 

Copyright your idea...
Kidding......

 

[video]http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d80b96751/NFL-GameDay-Dolphins-vs-Texans-highlights[/video]

 

There is nothing delusional about it. As low as the odds are that we could have went the length of the field and scored a TD in a minute and a half or whatever time was left, they were a lot better odds than the Cowboys missing a FG that amounted to little more than a PAT.

If we did decide to intentionally let them score, and the Cowboys realized it, they'd have been smart to not take the TD and just kneel at the 1 yd line, let the clock run and kick the FG like they did anyway. Like Aqua said earlier, if it was a rookie like Murray, he'd probably not have thought to kneel down at the one, and just ran it in. That was the best hope the Dolphins had at that point.

 

ha we're using madden now to influence real life strategy? what we should have done in reality was be more agrresive on defense. blitz, get a sack whatever, if they score from a long way out we have some time to have our pathetic offense try and get the game back.

for the op, you know what i do when they let me score in madden? i fall down on the 1 and run the clock. then i score a td instead of the FG.

 

Oh my freaking God, are you serious? We're now comparing actually football strategy to a VIDEO GAME?????????????

I'm now dumber for even opening this thread!!