Delsolar16
Active Roster
Our final drive before halftime needs to be discussed as I haven't heard anyone in the media or podcasters bring this up. Let's take a look at how we managed the clock right before half. The Saints kicked a FG making it 10-3 and kicked off to us with 2:45 left to play and we had two timeouts. We started from our own 25 yard line.
1st and 10 with 2:45 - Duke runs for 9 yards.
Now, it's 2nd and 1 but instead of getting multiple plays in before the two minute warning we bleed off 40 seconds of clock and take it to the 2min warning. Given how we've been driving the ball so slowly all game, we've now given ourselves only 2 minutes to drive 66 yards.
2nd and 1 with 2:00 - Duke runs for 3 yards
Why are we calling a running play in this situation? We only have two timeouts and need to drive 66 yards. What worked in our favor was Jackson getting called for holding which stopped the clock. But now we need to go 76 yards.
2nd and 11 with 1:55 from MIA 24- Waddle for 10
Then we spend forever getting up to the line and getting the next play off
3rd and 1 with 1:12 from MIA 34 - Waddle for 9
1st and 10 with 1:07 from MIA 43 - Waddle for 17
1st and 10 with 1:02 from the NO 40 - Neutral zone infraction
1st and 5 with 1:02 from the NO 35 - Holding on Deiter
1st and 15 with 0:58 from the NO 45 - Smythe for 13 yards
This play took about 4 minutes to review. During this time I don't know what we were doing but apparently it wasn't getting ready for the next play. We don't have any contingencies called based on the outcome of the review, so we just sit there and wait for the refs to confirm the call. Then Flores signals for a timeout but gets confused and starts yelling for the refs to give him the timeout back which wastes 20 seconds. This made me realize he has no idea what's going on with the clock or how to manage this scenario.
2nd and 2 with 0:33 from the NO 32 - Waddle incomplete
3rd and 2 with 0:27 from the NO 32 - Sacked for 9 yards
4th and 11 with 0:04 from the NO 41 - Sanders misses a 59 yard FG
This was all on coaching as it was clear from the first two plays of the drive our goal was to play for the FG despite having almost 3 minutes and 2 timeouts. This is about the 4th or 5th time I've seen us play weak, scared, and conservative before the half this year, and it almost never works out. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled about our win and 7 straight, but this kind of thing really concerns me. Our situational awareness and clock management is actually my biggest worry about Flores because when we get up against tough opponents the importance of these drives is significantly amplified.
1st and 10 with 2:45 - Duke runs for 9 yards.
Now, it's 2nd and 1 but instead of getting multiple plays in before the two minute warning we bleed off 40 seconds of clock and take it to the 2min warning. Given how we've been driving the ball so slowly all game, we've now given ourselves only 2 minutes to drive 66 yards.
2nd and 1 with 2:00 - Duke runs for 3 yards
Why are we calling a running play in this situation? We only have two timeouts and need to drive 66 yards. What worked in our favor was Jackson getting called for holding which stopped the clock. But now we need to go 76 yards.
2nd and 11 with 1:55 from MIA 24- Waddle for 10
Then we spend forever getting up to the line and getting the next play off
3rd and 1 with 1:12 from MIA 34 - Waddle for 9
1st and 10 with 1:07 from MIA 43 - Waddle for 17
1st and 10 with 1:02 from the NO 40 - Neutral zone infraction
1st and 5 with 1:02 from the NO 35 - Holding on Deiter
1st and 15 with 0:58 from the NO 45 - Smythe for 13 yards
This play took about 4 minutes to review. During this time I don't know what we were doing but apparently it wasn't getting ready for the next play. We don't have any contingencies called based on the outcome of the review, so we just sit there and wait for the refs to confirm the call. Then Flores signals for a timeout but gets confused and starts yelling for the refs to give him the timeout back which wastes 20 seconds. This made me realize he has no idea what's going on with the clock or how to manage this scenario.
2nd and 2 with 0:33 from the NO 32 - Waddle incomplete
3rd and 2 with 0:27 from the NO 32 - Sacked for 9 yards
4th and 11 with 0:04 from the NO 41 - Sanders misses a 59 yard FG
This was all on coaching as it was clear from the first two plays of the drive our goal was to play for the FG despite having almost 3 minutes and 2 timeouts. This is about the 4th or 5th time I've seen us play weak, scared, and conservative before the half this year, and it almost never works out. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled about our win and 7 straight, but this kind of thing really concerns me. Our situational awareness and clock management is actually my biggest worry about Flores because when we get up against tough opponents the importance of these drives is significantly amplified.
