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Should teams "run up the score?"
craig44
Posts: 10,555 ✭✭✭✭✭
in Sports Talk
The Dolphins 70 point game yesterday got me to thinking, should teams take their foot off the gas pedal at some point during a game that they are winning handily? what about the "unwritten rules?"
Personally, I have never had a problem with it. I remember back in the 91 playoffs, the Bills beat the Raiders by a 51-3 score I believe. never had an issue with it. I have always figured if you dont want to get blown out, play better. It is not up to the opposing team to make you feel better.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
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I think the season point totals may have something to do with tiebreakers for playoff spots? Not sure if it does any longer. Of course the odds of that coming into play are very slim. I don't recall it ever happening.
In my opinion it would be infinitely better to just ease up, play your second team players, call all running plays, and not risk possible injury to your first team players.
The Patriots used to drive me nuts when they left Brady in after the game was won. All it took was one bad rollover, and season would lost.
I am not a fan of running up the score. Sometimes it can come back to bite you. Many years ago, when the Dallas Cowboys became a powerhouse under Tom Landry, they went around league running up the score on their opponents. The Philadelphia Eagles were bad, as usual, back then. The Cowboys beat them by 49 - 0 in Dallas. The Eagles and Philly fans were not happy. In the Philadelphia game, the lowly Eagles upset them by a score of 14 - 10. It was a bit of sweet revenge.
I have no sympathy for a team if they just lay down and quit, play the game till the end of it BUT you absolutely take out your starters and play the reserves, if the reserves score then that's on the opposing team
I echo what perkdog said, take out your starters, if the backups score then that's on the opposing team. Interestingly, Sean Payton is getting blasted for leaving Russell Wilson in the game when it was out of reach.
I think Russell could use the extra practice!
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
If a team is at home they may continue the run up for the fans. Maybe even for the owner who may or may not have it in for the other team. Maybe that team ran it up on them in the past. Turn about is fair play? One other point that may come into play. Fattening up your individual player stats. Comes in handy during contract negotiation time.
One side note about that game, which you may know and recall. After the game, Landry came out on the field looking for Buddy to do the traditional after the game quick congrats, etc, between head coaches. One camera on TV showed Landry looking around. The other camera showed Buddy trotting off towards the locker room. Buddy refused to do that with Tom Landry.
If ya knew Buddy, like Philly fans knew Buddy, that move wasn't surprising at all.
Against the Cowboys next season, I think it was next season, the Eagles had a very comfortable lead against Dallas very late in the game. Eagles were on around the Cowboys 20 yard line, and it was an obvious kneel down situation, let the clock run out, and end the game. The Cowboys D wasn't even paying attention. Well QB Randall Cunningham, of course with the play called by Buddy, gets the snap, and throws the receiver a touchdown. Classic Buddy Ryan.
Landry right after that game refused to meet with Buddy on the field. Landry just quickly walked off the field. Landry had a "if looks could kill" expression on his face. Perhaps the only time that Landry ever did that.
Thanks for sharing that Steve. I hadnt heard it before. I love little stories like that.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
My mistake - I remembered it a little bit incorrectly, but ya gotta watch this. Funny as yell 😆
I read that the Dallas beatdown of the Eagles was during the strike year 1987 against players that crossed the picket lines.
You're exactly right, if ya watch the video, the broadcasters mention that.
I was thinking about games from over 50 years ago. That was well before Buddy Ryan.
Smart to take your starters out for injury purpose. Other than that, light them up.
absolutely they should run up the score
who didn't want to see 73 yesterday?
Exactly. The chiefs could have run it up yesterday on the bears but they pulled the starters late in the third quarter. No need to keep piling on but like you said if the reserves score then good for them
i want to make sure everyone realizes just how inept Denver was yesterday. not only did they give up 70, but Jaylen Waddle didn't even play yesterday. the Broncos were handed a gift and had one less speedster to account for on the outside, yet every time you looked up, Tyreek was roaming the middle of the field by himself like a cheetah in the wilderness. not only that, but the Broncos acted like they had no clue that there was a gazelle was coming out of the backfield, and Mostert went berzerk on them too. AND ON TOP OF ALL THAT, some guy named De'Von Achane(!) went for over 2 bills(!). so if Waddle didn't play and three other weapons on offense ran virtually untouched the entire game, who exactly did you game plan for?
that is a very, very special kind of suckage. so hell yes i wanted them to run it up. forget 73, i was hoping for 77, 84, 91, 98 or 105. you wanna show up unprepared and play like dogs? then you deserve to get completely humiliated in front of everyone.
Even though Miami didn't kick that last FG I think that the Mike White to Robbie Chosen 68yd TD with about 9mins left should definitely be considered running it up. Miami was up 43 at the time and had just pulled Tua. I didn't see the play live but White was definitely taking a shot downfield there that ended up as a huge passing TD,its not like it was a 10yd throw and Chosen did the rest.
I think that the Miami rushing TD on the next drive wouldn't have been considered running it up. In most instances when a team is up that much offenses tend to just keep running the ball and that De'vone Achane run was just a result of that.
I don't play fantasy football but yesterday's game must have been huge for owners of certain Fins players.
Eric
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Wow, I have never seen that before, that's just good old fashioned payback at it's finest.
Legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes hated Michigan so bad that in 1968, up 50-14, he went for a two point conversion after a touchdown. The story goes that a while later when asked why he went for the two point conversion, he said "Because I couldn't go for three." Michigan assistant coach Tony Mason was asked about the two-point conversion by The Beacon-Journal, and he told them, "That fat hog went for two, that's why he's not wanted in this profession."
But that actually wasn't the first time Woody Hayes ran up the score on Michigan, Back in 1961, Ohio State found itself leading 42-20 with less than a minute remaining, but Hayes clearly wasn't content to run out the clock and wanted to find the end zone again. After a 70-yard completion and a fourth-down conversion, the Buckeyes scored a touchdown with just six seconds left on the clock, and Hayes went for two and got it, to bring the lead to 50-20.
Woody Hayes was something else, another funny story, one year Woody Hayes and some Ohio State assistant coaches went on a road trip to do some recruiting in the state of Michigan, and one of the assistant coaches noticed they were low on gas and asked Hayes if they could stop and fill it up, and Hayes says, "We do not pull in and fill up, and I'll tell you why we don't, it's because I don't buy one godda.. drop of gas in the state of Michigan. We'll coast and push this godda.. car to the Ohio line before I give this state a nickel of my money!"
Woody Hayes - lots of class - All low.
You definately can't cross that line, Hayes was a hardened man and had a temper, his hero was General George Patton, who was also a very hardened man that got in trouble for striking a soldier that was shell shocked and didn't want to go back onto the battlefield. Hayes actually saw combat in the pacific in WW2, and he ran the Ohio State program like Patton led his troops, with an iron fist, he often layed his hands on his own players. He also shoved cameramen out of the way at times and once destroyed an endzone marker during a Michigan game. He was one of those guys that had that Patton, MacArthur, type mindset, and his football players were his troops, a very tough, hardened man, like a 1940s war general, he had that kind of mentality. That punch on the Clemson player was a step too far, it ruined him, and he was fired shortly after that.
The opposing player didn't even do anything wrong. He just made a nice play, intercepting a pass.
It would still be unacceptable, but at least I could comprehend this Hayes behavior if say an opposing player would have intentionally clipped his quarterback, and the QB is lying on the field in extreme pain.
I've said this before, I think all football head coaches are at least a little crazy, including the ones I had back in high school. But Hayes took it to a lot crazy, even an insanity level.
Maybe the Eagles wanted to cover the spread.
man, this woody hayes guy was hardcore. makes BB look like a teddy bear!
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.