Saturday, October 18, 2008
COULD SOMEBODY PLEASE, PLEASE TELL ME...
...what the hell Lovie Smith was doing on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta? Do you really mean to tell me that with just a few seconds left in the game and a one-point lead, you're going to do one of those ridiculous pooch-squib kick things, giving the Falcons the ball much, much closer to field goal range when they get the ball back than they would be if you just booted it to the goal line? Really? Were you really fearing that the kickoff would be run back for a touchdown? How often does that happen? You were really scared of that? Really!?! (I feel like I'm doing SNL's Weekend Update Feature "Really!?! with Seth and Amy".) Lovie, you're not Romeo Crennel, are you? You're actually a good coach, aren't you? You've been to a Super Bowl as a coach, right? So what the hell were you doing???
I now call for a moratorium on all coaching decisions that are stupid. Is there any possible way this can happen? Can we stop squib kicking so that a team that trails by less than a field goal can get close to field goal range and beat us? Can we stop punting on 4th-and-1 from our opponent's 40-yard line? Can we stop going for field goals when we're trailing 31-0? All of these things happen routinely in NFL games, and it is complete madness. Stop it, coaches, stop it!
Paging Dave Henderson: How often does a team playing Game 6 on the road while trailing in the series 3-2 feel like the favorite to win the whole series? It sure feels that way right now, after Boston's amazing comeback from a 7-0 deficit in the seventh inning Thursday night to stave off elimination and force a sixth game in St. Petersburg tonight.
Three years ago, after Brad Lidge surrendered a ninth-inning three-run home run to Albert Pujols to keep St. Louis alive in the NLCS, I noted here that teams that lose in that heart-breaking style never rebound to win the series. (See: Angels in the 1986 ALCS, Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, Giants in the 2002 World Series, Cubs in the 2003 NLCS, etc. I'll even throw in a personal favorite of mine, the Giants in the 2003 NLDS, when Jose Cruz Jr. dropped an easy fly ball and helped Florida come back to win Game 3, a loss from which the Giants did not recover. Not as memorable for most people, I know, but the hole in my heart caused by that game is still there.) Of course, right after I mentioned this suggestion, the Astros pretty much had no problem winning Game 6 that year and advanced to the World Series despite the sudden loss in Game 5. But that seems to be the exception. It's like teams are sometimes set up to have these kinds of tragic sports stories pierce the soul of their fans, losses that they'll have to live with forever (in the case of Cubs fans) or at least until they win the championship (fans of every other team). After a while, you have to kind of embrace these defeats. They're character builders. Right? At least that's what I tell myself when I think of those Giants losses. Rays fans, I'm not going to guarantee that your team will lose both of this weekend's games, but prepare yourself. Every team's fans have moments like this. It might be your chance this year.
I now call for a moratorium on all coaching decisions that are stupid. Is there any possible way this can happen? Can we stop squib kicking so that a team that trails by less than a field goal can get close to field goal range and beat us? Can we stop punting on 4th-and-1 from our opponent's 40-yard line? Can we stop going for field goals when we're trailing 31-0? All of these things happen routinely in NFL games, and it is complete madness. Stop it, coaches, stop it!
Paging Dave Henderson: How often does a team playing Game 6 on the road while trailing in the series 3-2 feel like the favorite to win the whole series? It sure feels that way right now, after Boston's amazing comeback from a 7-0 deficit in the seventh inning Thursday night to stave off elimination and force a sixth game in St. Petersburg tonight. Three years ago, after Brad Lidge surrendered a ninth-inning three-run home run to Albert Pujols to keep St. Louis alive in the NLCS, I noted here that teams that lose in that heart-breaking style never rebound to win the series. (See: Angels in the 1986 ALCS, Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, Giants in the 2002 World Series, Cubs in the 2003 NLCS, etc. I'll even throw in a personal favorite of mine, the Giants in the 2003 NLDS, when Jose Cruz Jr. dropped an easy fly ball and helped Florida come back to win Game 3, a loss from which the Giants did not recover. Not as memorable for most people, I know, but the hole in my heart caused by that game is still there.) Of course, right after I mentioned this suggestion, the Astros pretty much had no problem winning Game 6 that year and advanced to the World Series despite the sudden loss in Game 5. But that seems to be the exception. It's like teams are sometimes set up to have these kinds of tragic sports stories pierce the soul of their fans, losses that they'll have to live with forever (in the case of Cubs fans) or at least until they win the championship (fans of every other team). After a while, you have to kind of embrace these defeats. They're character builders. Right? At least that's what I tell myself when I think of those Giants losses. Rays fans, I'm not going to guarantee that your team will lose both of this weekend's games, but prepare yourself. Every team's fans have moments like this. It might be your chance this year.
