Watching the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings on Sunday was a bore. Be serious now and realize Minnesota had no chance at winning this game and I never had the feeling they were going too. This sense blew up in my face right before halftime when Vikings Coach Brad Childress decided to sit on the ball (two running plays and a short pass) with a minute and change left before halftime. The game was 16-14 in favor of the Eagles and all the Vikings had to do is drive at least 35 yards for a field goal attempt to take the lead into halftime. Instead, Childress played conservative football and was content going into halftime down 16-14 on their home field! Worst of all the Vikings fans booed their team because of this decision. Just one question for Coach Childress: "What message do you think you were sending your players by playing conservative football?" Conservative coaching decisions in playoff games have cost teams before. One game specifically comes to mind (HATE TALKING ABOUT IT). The New York Giants blew a 24 point 2nd half lead to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2002 NFL Playoffs. This happened because the Giants coaching staff decided to just run the ball and play prevent defense so the clock would just run out! Teams with large leads tend to get out of their game plans and run out the clock rather than go for the kill. This is a huge coaching mistake because the players will become unmotivated. Players play the game to win the game! Conservative coaching kills this attitude.
These kinds of coaching decisions really irk me to death! My experiences as a coach have taught me the importance of motivating players and playing TO WIN. The problem I have with too many professional coaches today is the fact they play NOT TO LOSE. I’m a believer you should always try to play ahead rather than behind. Apparently Coach Childress didn’t think this way and he robbed his players of an opportunity to take a lead in a PLAYOFF GAME. The Metrodome was left with roars of boos at halftime rather than a melody of cheers. I’ll tell you one thing for sure, the Vikings coaching staff isn’t getting applause from me either! What are your thoughts?
Mike, I really think you make some great points with your blog today and I happen to completely agree with you. Too often we see professional coaches play it safe rather than going for it all. When thinking about what you said I can’t stop but think about how media and our culture of constant criticism and accountability plays into these coaches minds. From my experience at the college level some times I see it from the players as well. They are so caught up with the score and the lead they stop doing the things that got them to where they are at. This play to win and not to lose mentality certainly affects all areas of sports and can be detrimental to the team and the outcomes they wish to accomplish. In this specific game I can not imagine why the Vikings coach sat on the ball without even attempting to get into field goal range. What we can take away from this type of situation is that coach should always stick to what they do; do not try to change your mentality or coaching philosophy because you are scared, stick by your guns trust your gut and do what got you to the position you are in.
ReplyDeleteMike I think that a lot of the points you bring up in your comments on conservative coaching are very interesting and I have to say that I agree with the majority of your argument. In regards to the playoff game between the Vikings and Eagles there are some factors that I believe led Brad Childress to call the game in the manner in which he did. Tavarus Jackson is not a good quarterback he makes a lot of mistakes and does not have the knowledge or maturity to be relived upon to make decisions down the field. I believe that the Vikings had to rely on Adrian Peterson as much as possible to win the game. The Eagles defense can be beat with a physical running game and the short play action passes. Defensively I feel the Vikings did enough to win the game, the Eagles are a good team and Brian Westbrook is dangerous every time he touches the ball.
ReplyDeleteIt is my opinion that championship football is played with tremendously physical offensive and defensive line play. If teams can control the line of scrimmage than you can control the game, keeping the throttle down and staying aggressive will win championships.