4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

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DeefromAtlanta
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4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by DeefromAtlanta »

Guy gets hurt? Tough $hit. You deserve it. That's on you, Satan.

Also, I still don't think the 2nd TD was caught in bounds.


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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by DonYates »

I don't fault them for going for it. Teams come back from 20-point deficits pretty often. If they are doing that in the 2nd half I'll probably think it's bush league.
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by Golddore68 »

There’s no way we would be able to come back from a 20-point deficit against Alabama and Saban knows it. He just wants to run up the score to keep his team ranked number two in the nation. UT beat Top 25 Florida and is undefeated and will possibly be in the top five after today.

It reminds me of the time UT was beating us in a blowout and Fulmer decided to fake a field goal against us, to keep running up the score.
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by DonYates »

Hayball gets a tackle. He's got some wheels.
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by FayetteDore »

Not sure why this isn't in the game thread, but it's beyond absurd to say a team shouldn't try to score before halftime. Unless I'm mistaken, there's still half a game left. :roll:
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by coachinwaiting »

Everybody is entitled to an opinion, and mine is probably not going to be popular. But so be it.

Going for 4th and 12 while holding a sizable lead in the first half had nothing to do with expanding the lead or kicking Vandy while they were down. It didn’t even have anything to do with the game. It had to do with the future. It was for the rest of the season, when that situation might come up again, except when the game was still in the balance.

If Alabama had been in reasonable field goal range and opted to take the three points, I suspect the same argument would have come from the other side of the equation. Why tack on a field goal instead of going for it and challenging the VU defense instead? You can’t simulate real game situations in practice, so if a coach squanders that opportunity, he is cheating his team. They are ALL paid too much to do that.

As for the final TD, the young man who broke free for the touchdown run shouldn’t feel obligated to take a knee at the one or to seek out a tackler. He may never score another touchdown in his college career, and if he gave less than 100% on that play, he wouldn’t deserve the opportunity.

I didn’t like this game, I didn’t like 2017, and I probably won’t like the next one. As much as I enjoyed getting to see my two favorite college teams square off in Nashville every other year when Alabama and Vanderbilt played every year, I’m happier that it isn’t the case anymore.
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by cc11316 »

I'm not a huge Lou Holtz fan but he had an interesting story from his book Wins, Losses and Lessons. Bobby Bowden was coaching at West Virginia while Holtz was at William & Mary. Bowden was winning a one sided game but kept his starters in during the 4th quarter. After the game, Holtz was angered by this running up the score so he asked Bowden about it during post-game handshakes.

Coach Bowden's response: "It's your job to keep the score down, not mine. If you don't like the score, either recruit harder or coach better. I've got to coach my team and you've got to coach yours. You can only coach one team."

Amen to that.
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by Johnmn555 »

I have long felt that where a team is way up and playing its reserves, those players should be allowed to try to score. You shouldn't have a problem with reserves trying to do their best in their limited opportunities. Keeping the first string in is more questionable.
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by charlestonalum »

Johnmn555 wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 10:30 pm I have long felt that where a team is way up and playing its reserves, those players should be allowed to try to score. You shouldn't have a problem with reserves trying to do their best in their limited opportunities. Keeping the first string in is more questionable.
Obviously none of us are college coaches, but it would seem if I had a big lead in the 4th quarter there are far more reasons to have first team on the bench than on the field: e.g. no injuries, evaluate play of others, reward with playing time the others, teaching good sportsmanship...
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by FayetteDore »

coachinwaiting wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 9:54 pm Everybody is entitled to an opinion, and mine is probably not going to be popular. But so be it.

Going for 4th and 12 while holding a sizable lead in the first half had nothing to do with expanding the lead or kicking Vandy while they were down. It didn’t even have anything to do with the game. It had to do with the future. It was for the rest of the season, when that situation might come up again, except when the game was still in the balance.

If Alabama had been in reasonable field goal range and opted to take the three points, I suspect the same argument would have come from the other side of the equation. Why tack on a field goal instead of going for it and challenging the VU defense instead? You can’t simulate real game situations in practice, so if a coach squanders that opportunity, he is cheating his team. They are ALL paid too much to do that.

As for the final TD, the young man who broke free for the touchdown run shouldn’t feel obligated to take a knee at the one or to seek out a tackler. He may never score another touchdown in his college career, and if he gave less than 100% on that play, he wouldn’t deserve the opportunity.

I totally agree. As I was watching that final Bama score, I thought some Vandy fans would complain. But by my count, four Vandy defenders touched the runner and failed to tackle him. No way he should have taken a knee.
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by dcdore »

Another take perhaps.
I don't even pretend to know football better than Nick Saban, but if I were UA's coach Saturday night, once it got to 21-3, I would have been going to my assistants and asking what do we need to work on most. If that results in scoring a lot more points, so be it.
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by coachinwaiting »

dcdore wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 9:00 am Another take perhaps.
I don't even pretend to know football better than Nick Saban, but if I were UA's coach Saturday night, once it got to 21-3, I would have been going to my assistants and asking what do we need to work on most. If that results in scoring a lot more points, so be it.
I think you nailed it precisely. That's exactly what you saw, but I doubt the conversation began on the sidelines during the game. The number one issue Alabama has had on offense this year is developing down-the-field timing between Young and the new receiving corps. 4th & 12 is always a low-percentage option, but the risk is minimalized with a 20+ point lead, so you take advantage of an opportunity.
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Re: 4th & 12 going for it? Up 20+ in 1st Half?

Post by Charlie Nickens »

First half? No problem whatsoever. If they had gotten their last TD up 48-3 and heaved on that would have been different.

I've seen a ton of Alabama-Vandy games since 1969 (ironic first game ,huh?). This was just a beat down. Disappointed VU didn't compete better.
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