3rd & 16

[se7ensaw]

I have spent a long time since the game thinking about what had happened and trying to figure out one play that in my mind, changed the entire course of the game. At halftime, we could not have been happy with the first half, but we just needed to make some adjustments and try getting the ball to our playmakers. We came out took the ball right down the field the 1st time we had the ball in 2nd half. Not only did we have the lead, but we had momentum, Culpepper was clearly getting a little comfortable back there. And as we all know, the biggest thing with him is his confidence. He hits a few in a row and he can get to the point he is almost unstoppable, or the opposite, he can come out and throw another interception the next throw, as he did. But we take the lead, and have it going to the 4th quarter. And then we had Pitt deep in their territory, and we had them 3rd and 16. We stop them, but get called for illegal hands to the face. If we get the ball back off the punt like we should have, very good chance we go right back down the field, or at least kick a field goal. And that could have made a huge difference,we wouldn't have needed a TD so we might have been a little more open to running on the go adead drive. But we got called for the penalty. You guys know the rest. I'm just saying that alot of the blame goes on Culpepper and I don't think it was really his fault, I know he made the throws, but he only did so when he was pressing. Championship teams don't make dumb penalties to give other good teams easy first downs. We have to play with a lot more discipline than that.

 

[nolefin]

yes that was total b.s and had nothing to do with the play! i could not stop thinking about that b.s call, welker takes it to the 50 minimum and we win the game imo, but hey we get f'd by the refs screw it!

 

[Phin-o-rama]

imo i agree with you ...THAT was the game and as they were driving down after that penalty, i knew we had lost our opportunity...i really did.

lehan killed us

 

[nolefin]

and by the way that should not be an automatic 1st down! 5yd penelty should never bail you out of 3rd and 16 total b.s

 

[feelthepain]

I don't subscribe to the "one play changed the complection" theory!! If you listen to what Saban preaches, it's all about the next play!!! Which would take the last play out of the equation, not to mention the play that happend two qtrs before. I think if the players are of this thinking then we are a long ways from winning anything. Excuses, need to stop....so you make a mistake, thats gonna happen it's the teams that move beyond that mistake and overcome that are the difference between SB champs and teams that can't even make the playoffs. I guess Saban doesn't have the Fins there yet. Lets see where they are by the end of the regular season.

 

[Phin-o-rama]

I don't subscribe to the "one play changed the complection" theory!! If you listen to what Saban preaches, it's all about the next play!!! Which would take the last play out of the equation, not to mention the play that happend two qtrs before. I think if the players are of this thinking then we are a long ways from winning anything. Excuses, need to stop....so you make a mistake, thats gonna happen it's the teams that move beyond that mistake and overcome that are the difference between SB champs and teams that can't even make the playoffs. I guess Saban doesn't have the Fins there yet. Lets see where they are by the end of the regular season.

i guess...but bottom line, when your playing the SB champs at home with all the adversity the phins were up against, there is little room for errors....specially with such a tight game.

our D came out and if i recall Traylor made 2 monster plays to get them to 3rd and 16.....a 3 and out there with us getting very good field position absolutely changes the game.....if we get a td that drive we are up 24-14....i dunno its all speculation but in my mind that penalty absolutely changed the game and took any momentum we had away.

 

[feelthepain]

i guess...but bottom line, when your playing the SB champs at home with all the adversity the phins were up against, there is little room for errors....specially with such a tight game.

our D came out and if i recall Traylor made 2 monster plays to get them to 3rd and 16.....a 3 and out there with us getting very good field position absolutely changes the game.....if we get a td that drive we are up 24-14....i dunno its all speculation but in my mind that penalty absolutely changed the game and took any momentum we had away.

The Steelers made mistakes, they fumble on the 2 yard line after an 18 play drive, your not going to play a game without mistakes! You can limit them, sure and the teams that make the least amount of mistakes usually win, but one things for sure teams that dwell on their mistakes rarely win. I think Saban is trying as hard as he can to get that mentality into the minds of the players. I also think Saban understands that only in his second season and the roster turnover we've sustained it's gonna take time for things to come together. I think Saban is stressing this loss far less then us fin fans. I think Saban sees the potential to score a lot of points with this O, and shut people down with this D.

 

[fin1]

i guess...but bottom line, when your playing the SB champs at home with all the adversity the phins were up against, there is little room for errors....specially with such a tight game.

our D came out and if i recall Traylor made 2 monster plays to get them to 3rd and 16.....a 3 and out there with us getting very good field position absolutely changes the game.....if we get a td that drive we are up 24-14....i dunno its all speculation but in my mind that penalty absolutely changed the game and took any momentum we had away.

Agreed homer or not. totally changed the game and you could see how livid Saban was at the corner (can't remember who) for getting the penalty. Then they show it on replay and its like b*lls*it.

 

[fin1]

The Steelers made mistakes, they fumble on the 2 yard line after an 18 play drive, your not going to play a game without mistakes! You can limit them, sure and the teams that make the least amount of mistakes usually win, but one things for sure teams that dwell on their mistakes rarely win. I think Saban is trying as hard as he can to get that mentality into the minds of the players. I also think Saban understands that only in his second season and the roster turnover we've sustained it's gonna take time for things to come together. I think Saban is stressing this loss far less then us fin fans. I think Saban sees the potential to score a lot of points with this O, and shut people down with this D.

I don't think anything we say is going to have any bearing on whether the phins dwell on it or not. It's why we have this forum, you know, to what if the game to death until the next one........:D

 

[feelthepain]

I don't think anything we say is going to have any bearing on whether the phins dwell on it or not. It's why we have this forum, you know, to what if the game to death until the next one........:D

Huh???

 

[The Aqua Crush]

yeah that play was killer. we should have held on if that play went to fourth down. JT had pressure on batch which resulted in a terrible throw. The penalty was marginal but a rookie mistake by lehan.

saban was livid at him. those are the mistakes we need to minimize fora great season. in my opinion that changed the game right there.

 

[Cannonboy]

I agree, the fins had all the momentum going until that bogus call. We put alot of pressure on Batch and after that it stopped.

 

[tdelliott]

That call killed our momentum

I agree that was a crucial mistake on our part. We would of had good field position and we were moving the ball. :fire:

 

[BigScuingili]

I don't subscribe to the "one play changed the complection" theory!! If you listen to what Saban preaches, it's all about the next play!!! Which would take the last play out of the equation, not to mention the play that happend two qtrs before. I think if the players are of this thinking then we are a long ways from winning anything. Excuses, need to stop....so you make a mistake, thats gonna happen it's the teams that move beyond that mistake and overcome that are the difference between SB champs and teams that can't even make the playoffs. I guess Saban doesn't have the Fins there yet. Lets see where they are by the end of the regular season.

Well maybe you should subscribe. That drive had the defense on the field way too long before the fumble recovery. Yes, maybe the defnese should have stopped them on the next set of downs and there would not be a problem, but reality is that the momentum had shifted. That call completely drained the emotions and stamina of the players. Someone said earlier that if punted, we would more thna likely have the ball at the 50 or even beyond in their territory.

 

[Canadianfishfan]

well we can talk about momentum... But I'll see how saban preaches the dealing with adversity line this week. With all the veteran leadership on this team.. i want to see a solid game. i dont care if we smoke Buffalo out. Division games are always tough.. but i wasnt to see a smart solid performance, that gives us the best chance to win.