Sparano 4th Down Call

I liked the idea of going for it, I think the actual playcall should have been different.

It was the right call. Too many things can happen on a FG attempt. You go for it there and try and get the first down, worst case scenario you make Delhomme drive 70+ yards with no timeouts needing a TD to tie.

We won the game.

Sparano trusted his defense more than his kicker. His defense took care of business and won the game!!! If the kick was blocked it could have been a disaster!

I agree with Sparano on this one.

Sparano also said he was worried about the blocking as, with all the o-line injuries, guys would have been out of place, etc. and bad things can happen. So while I wanted to see a quick punt at the time, I can see why he went for it now.

Hey, let's not get carried away ..... it's not like he went for it on 4th and 2, from his own 28, with a six-point lead, and Peyton Manning on the other sideline :shifty:

If this was Indy, NE, NO instead of Carolina, does he still go for it?

Too many injuries is why we didn't go for the FG. As hardcore and garden said, too many bad thing can happen there, especially if it gets blocked.
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"HardKoreXXX wrote:

It was the right call. Too many things can happen on a FG attempt. You go for it there and try and get the first down, worst case scenario you make Delhomme drive 70+ yards with no timeouts needing a TD to tie.

was the only call with the offensive line compromised to the breaking point with injuries.
I thought the coaching @ all levels w/ excellent in this game, outstanding in every way.

"k-bayfinfan wrote:

Too many injuries is why we didn't go for the FG. As hardcore and garden said, too many bad thing can happen there, especially if it gets blocked.
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Very true.
Chances of a FG getting blocked goes up when its as long as that wouldve been, it was the right call.
The play I wouldve liked to see is the Fullhouse pitchout they used earlier, but I imagine injuries played a part in what we could call as well.

Remember Carpenter had slipped at the start of the game and remember how banged up our OL was.

It was the right decision.

"byroan wrote:

I liked the idea of going for it, I think the actual playcall should have been different.

I agree I was expecting a pass TBH

It was very much the right call.

a. The O-line was patch-work with an inexperienced Center who could fudge the snap. The line itself would not guarantee a good kick.

b. If they miss it, Carolina gets it at the 45

c. If they punt (and no one ever punts in the red zone), they basically give up the ball and put it in the hands of our notorious 4th quarter defense right away. Worst case scenario: you give them a shot to get the 6 in one play.

That said, I think they should have maybe gone with Polite, although he did cough it up, and Lex had been on a tear running the rock.

"Paul 13 wrote:

If this was Indy, NE, NO instead of Carolina, does he still go for it?

No, he kicks the FG IMO. Like I said, Delhomme + 70 yards + No TO's = Let your defense stop them.

It was the right call.

His options were as follows:
Take the chance at the FG (40+ yards if I recall) with a banged up line, and a guy who has never practiced as Center
If you make it: You kickoff to the opposing team, and at that point anything can happen (run back for TD, then onside kick recover, then pts?)
If you don't make it: You turnover on downs, and give them the ball

Punt:
You take the chance of a bad snap with a guy who has never practiced as Center.
You make it: You gain an extra 15 yards maybe. The difference between 70 yards, and 85 yards is important, but not enough when they're going to be taking shots down field.

Pass:
You take the chance of a pick like we had last week in the last crucial few minutes.
Make it: Fresh set of Downs, you win the game
Don't make it: Either get an INT, give up the ball, or get sacked and potentially lose a lot of yardage

Run up the middle:
You've got 3 yards to pick up, and your backs have been gashing up the middle pretty consistently for 3 yards all game
Make it: Fresh set of downs, end of the game
Don't make it: Lose maybe 1-2 yards at most, and turnover on downs

Run to the outside:
Good running game for the most part, however a banged up line has to draw out the open side.
Make it: Fresh set of downs, end of game
Don't Make it: Turnover on downs, chance that the outside run gets snuffed out and you lose more yards than an up the gut attack.

I'm no football analyst, but the way I see it our best odds were in the up the middle run we did. We had some outrageous plays from Hilliard that broke for 10-12 yards, and then almost right after that big 18 yard pickup. When you take into account the probability of success, versus the penalty for failure, I'd do what Sparano did every day of the week.

One other thing that I think people are forgetting here; The Center(s) being hurt had no bearing on the FG, as John Denney is the long snapper and would be in there anyway.

Either way I like the decision, just feel this needed pointing out.

It was the only call he could make.

As Sparano said afterward, with all the injuries to the offensive line, the special teams units were absolute patchwork. Would have been a 45-yard FG on a wet field with guys lining up in positions they hadn't practiced at.

My high school lost a state championship on a blocked extra point with 0:00 left because of a blown assignment. I got no problem with this call. ;)

And how bad off was the OL? They were one play away from pulling from the defensive line. Phillip Merling was mentioned.

some good points in here. I wan't really taking the line into account, but I think it's kind of irrelevant since we were counting on that same line to get enough push to get us 3 yards up the middle. I just wish we had a better playcall. Not taking anything away from the coaching, I think this game was called pretty well, just that one play left a bit desired for me.

I like the call, and I like the play.

• A field goal was too risky given the injury status. Even a simple missed field goal gives them better field position.

• A pass brings a heightened risk of a turnover.

• A run to the outside brings more of a risk for a long runback if it is fumbled.

• A run to the middle is safest -- plus our greatest run success through the game had been between the tackles.

"Ultra wrote:

some good points in here. I wan't really taking the line into account, but I think it's kind of irrelevant since we were counting on that same line to get enough push to get us 3 yards up the middle. I just wish we had a better playcall. Not taking anything away from the coaching, I think this game was called pretty well, just that one play left a bit desired for me.

Well, its not the same line. I looked at a video of our field goal unit from another game and there and they had six, maybe seven offensive linemen on the field. We were only able to five linemen by putting two guys injured enough they were not expected to return on the field. They would have had to put multiple guys with no practice and likely no experience on the field and have the tight ends(including Sperry) lined up like linemen. According to Sparano, we were very close to having Phillip Merling playing OL. If the already injured Berger went down again or hurt himself worse at the end, we might have been trying to teach Merling to snap the ball

It was the right call my question is how come Rickey didn't get the ball??

"GARDENHEAD wrote:

We won the game.

Sparano trusted his defense more than his kicker. His defense took care of business and won the game!!! If the kick was blocked it could have been a disaster!

I agree with Sparano on this one.

I agree with you 100%

Did u see the kickoff when dan slipped and fell.... imagine him slipping again and the Panthers schooping it up and running it back for a TD. OMG, i would have died.

"Frumundah Finnatic wrote:

Remember Carpenter had slipped at the start of the game and remember how banged up our OL was.

It was the right decision.

I agree I was expecting a pass TBH

In my mind maybe last weeks interception came up when they made the decision. I agree a pitch back would have been better but they did what they did and it worked out!!!! :up:

I think the FG would actually have been a better probablilty than the conversion but who cares really because we won the game. Smarter decisions need to be made though as that FG seals it and its within Carpenter's range but yet again we won so lets move on and correct things like that later. :woot:

I'm not buying it. And if we were never going to kick it why four vanilla runs up the middle by Polite and Lex? Trust his defense but not henne and one WR?

"sking29 wrote:

I think the FG would actually have been a better probablilty than the conversion but who cares really because we won the game. Smarter decisions need to be made though as that FG seals it and its within Carpenter's range but yet again we won so lets move on and correct things like that later. :woot:

Not sure which has a better probability: Kicking a 40 yarder with iffy footing when you have a makeshift line (and possibly giving them better field position) or running it for 2 yards when you've averaged 5 yards a carry up to that point.

Maybe there really is no "right" call in that spot.