I am going to watch a recording of “Press You Luck.” It will be more interesting than this game which is now over.
The Lion’s coach should fired at the end of this game. Then the Eagles can hire him.
This is like watching pro wrestling. It looks fake.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
@Basebal21 said:
Detroit dropped the 4th and 2. That ball should have been caught and has now dropped a long INT that hit the guy in the face to make it a one score game. If/When the Lions lose it wont be from coaching it will be from mistakes
yup. hate to pin a potential collapse on one play/player, but Reynolds has to.....HAS TO.....catch that ball
may have cost them a spot in the Super Bowl
and as I type this, he just dropped another one
They looked like a mediocre college team the last few minutes. So many drops hitting guys in the hands. Couldnt agree more you just must catch at the bare minimum one of those as an NFL WR and that missed INT weve already seen a team do that and end up losing. At the very least at knock the pass down dont get hit in the hands and face with it and deflect it into the air
I didn't think a team could be more proficient at handing the Niners a victory than the Packers, but amazingly the Lions said hold my beer in the 2nd half of this game
Say what you want but in the first game today Andy Reid showed the experience on how to control the game with the lead to win - obviously Dan Campbell needs to take a few lessons from him.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
I stated awhile ago the NFL would make the most money from a Chiefs - 49rs matchup in the super bowl and of course there were doubters................ how bout them doubters now
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
@Steven59 said:
I stated awhile ago the NFL would make the most money from a Chiefs - 49rs matchup in the super bowl and of course there were doubters................ how bout them doubters now
Chiefs Lions probably would have been more. Lions fans have been desperate for decades for success and then it would have been Taylor Swift vs Eminem. 49ers dont really have that rabid fanbase or underdog quality people would root for
@Steven59 said:
I stated awhile ago the NFL would make the most money from a Chiefs - 49rs matchup in the super bowl and of course there were doubters................ how bout them doubters now
That match up sucks. I will try to convince my wife to watch a movie. I have no interest in this game.
Detroit showed how a coach can lose a game.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Going for it on 4th and 3 in the second half in a game where you're up 14 points and can just kick a FG to make it a 3-score game is about as asinine a coaching decision I could ever imagine. And then doing it again later on.
Also running the ball on that last TD drive so you had to use a TO was also a bad decision...that TO could gave come in handy after the failed onside kick and given you the ball back with at least a change to get into FG range.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
@grote15 said:
Going for it on 4th and 3 in the second half in a game where you're up 14 points and can just kick a FG to make it a 3-score game is about as asinine a coaching decision I could ever imagine. And then doing it again later on.
They converted the 4th and 2 if they didnt drop it. They dropped a TD, a long INT that lead to a TD, and forgot how to catch the ball dropping multiple passes for over a quarter that would have been first downs or TDs and then a fumble on top of it all.
The drops were the issue. That loss is on the players making far to many mistakes not the coaching or play calling
@grote15 said:
Going for it on 4th and 3 in the second half in a game where you're up 14 points and can just kick a FG to make it a 3-score game is about as asinine a coaching decision I could ever imagine. And then doing it again later on.
They converted the 4th and 2 if they didnt drop it. They dropped a TD, a long INT that lead to a TD, and forgot how to catch the ball dropping multiple passes for over a quarter that would have been first downs or TDs and then a fumble on top of it all.
The drops were the issue. That loss is on the players making far to many mistakes not the coaching or play calling
If. The world of sports is littered with laments beginning with that tiny word.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
@grote15 said:
Going for it on 4th and 3 in the second half in a game where you're up 14 points and can just kick a FG to make it a 3-score game is about as asinine a coaching decision I could ever imagine. And then doing it again later on.
They converted the 4th and 2 if they didnt drop it. They dropped a TD, a long INT that lead to a TD, and forgot how to catch the ball dropping multiple passes for over a quarter that would have been first downs or TDs and then a fumble on top of it all.
The drops were the issue. That loss is on the players making far to many mistakes not the coaching or play calling
If. The world of sports is littered with laments beginning with that tiny word.
Well NFL receivers are expected to catch passes that hit them in the hands. The play call was good as were several other plays that they just dropped like it was a flag football req league game.
@galaxy27 said:
I didn't think a team could be more proficient at handing the Niners a victory than the Packers, but amazingly the Lions said hold my beer in the 2nd half of this game
It' was amazing wasn't?
Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, congratulations to the Lions on doing what it takes to completely blow a game
Until the Lions get back into a position of playing and winning at least the NFC, this game is going to stick in the craw of their fans, possibly for a long time. Especially after the great enthusiasm they displayed. Believe me, as a Philly fan, I know that feeling all too well.
Not easy. Being 16 teams in the conference, all things being equal, the chances of winning that are 16-1. That's once every 16 years for those who are mathematically challenged.
Oh sorry, I almost forgot, the Carolina Panthers are in the NFC, so the chances are only 15-1. 😉
Kick the FG to go up 17. The stop gave the 9ers life. A fluke play and a fumble and it’s a different game. Not sure who messed up the handoff but it was supposed to go to the other side. Sometimes the simplest things bite you in big moments
W.C.Fields "I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
@perkdog said:
This game begs the question of why do NFL Coaches think that going for 3 points is a bad idea?
As we all know it depends on the situation. That was the situation to take the 3 points. Not even debatable. But the brain dead coach thought otherwise.
Now instead of perhaps being there, he will be watching the Super Bowl on TV.
it's not as cut-and-dried as you guys make it seem. in the first half, the Lions put on an offensive exhibition for the ages. just gashing the Niners at will. executing like i hadn't seen a team do all year, against a supposedly vaunted defense.
now consider what type of coach Campbell is. dude is a riverboat gambler. he has supreme confidence in his players. yesterday was not a one-off; he went for it on 4th and short all season long. in fact, i found this:
prior to yesterday's game, the Lions went for it on fourth-and-3 or less in plus territory 20 times in 24 opportunities, and converted on 17 of 20 (15-18 regular season, 2-2 playoffs.) he had a pretty good reason to feel good about converting. his team just went 0-2 in a huge spot.
i disagree with basebal more than i agree with him, but he's spot on -- Campbell is not the culprit for that meltdown...........his players are. if Josh Reynolds, a professional receiver, knew how to reel in an easy pitch-n-catch inside of 10 yards, they move the sticks and the probability of housing one and going up 21 in the middle of the 3rd becomes very real. then the Niners would have been effed. but instead, he showed his propensity for not being able to catch a pass that a middle schooler would have been able to, and that opened the floodgates. later on he had another crucial drop on 3rd-and-9 that gave the ball right back to SF. and then we have Jahmyr Gibbs fumbling and giving the Niners a short field for another score. and then we had one of the best punts i've ever seen that traveled about 70 yards in the air and stuck inside the 5 like a golfer with a wedge, only for 2 Lions to pretend like the football was a hand grenade and dork it into the end zone for a touchback. and then we had an untold number of missed tackles all 2nd half long from a defense that couldn't put together a stop to save its life..........when its life needed to be saved.
bottom line: from the time the Lions went up 17, no one on that team could make a play. this after a half in which all they did was make plays. had they done so -- hell, had anyone done so -- they'd be playing again in two weeks.
edit: and if you want to put some numbers to it, consider this: Michael Badgley was 37 of 48 from 40-49 yards for his career, or 77%. the Lions converted on 4th and short at an 85% clip. had Campbell taken the ball out of Goff's hands after the 1st half he and the offense had and Badgley had missed that kick giving the Niners good field position, he would have been tarred and feathered for that decision too. like, "bro your offense is firing on all cylinders and you've gone for it all year in situations like that, and now you're gonna take the ball out of Goff's hands and put it on the foot of the kicker?"
if the players don't execute, he was going to be the scapegoat no matter the decision. it all boiled down to a Detroit freaking Lion getting pissed off and making a play, period.
Can we just acknowledge that wasn't a very good throw by Goff to Reynolds on that 4th down? Should he have caught it? Sure but a more accurate pass increases the chances he catches the ball.
The coaches definitely cost the Lions a shot at victory as much as the players did. These hyper aggressive coaches are all the same, going for it repeatedly on 4th down works until it doesn't in the key moments. Some, like Pederson, ride it to a Super Bowl before they get fired, and others, like Staley, ride it to the unemployment line with nothing to show for it. IMO if Johnson stays this aggressive, he won't last long with the Lions. The 3rd down run and then timeout at the end of the game was horrific but most likely that call was on the offensive coordinator. The timeout cost the Lions any chance of a win or overtime.
Everyone defending the 4th & 3 calls in the 2nd half...where was that vaunted aggressiveness at the end of the first half when they had 4th and goal from the 2 1/2 yard line?
Lastly, has everyone figured out that the "going for it on 4th down" and win probability models are flawed? I don't know what exactly is wrong with the math they use but I know it is wrong. It reminds me of when statisticians claimed forever that that the "hot hand" in basketball didn't exist. As a shoot first basketball player, I knew this was wrong but it took like 30 years for them to figure out that the original models used to "prove" the hot hand was illusionary were actually flawed.
Josh Reynolds is a professional wide receiver paid to catch footballs.........especially ones that drill him in both hands
if he had hauled this in, as he should have, the Niners would have been in deep, deep pop tarts
again, 85% in situations like this, and that number would have crept higher had Josh Reynolds known how to catch a football
want me to show the egregious drop he had later on on 3rd and 9 that gave the ball back to SF? was that Campbell's fault too? what about Gibbs fumbling deep in Lions territory? how about the two nutsacks on special teams who didn't know how to down a punt? it was a comedy of mental errors by the players on the field the 2nd half of that game, and that's why they're not playing in two weeks
sure, let's show it. you would think that after letting your team down in a very crucial spot that you'd be chomping at the bit for an opportunity to redeem yourself. lo and behold, Reynolds got it, 5 minutes later. and this is what he did with it.
the Lions basically had Kadarius Toney out there. and Campbell is the one getting roasted? at what point do you come to the realization that the Detroit Lions had a receiver who was essentially playing for the 49ers?
@perkdog said:
This game begs the question of why do NFL Coaches think that going for 3 points is a bad idea?
They dont unless its 4th and short. The Lions were very aggressive all year on 4th and short which is what got them to where they got. Why would they change what they did all year?
Coaching was not the issue. Play calling was not the issue. The Lions issue was they forgot how to catch a football for 20 minutes to start the second half on both offense and defense. The players gave the game away with mistakes not the coaches
@perkdog said:
This game begs the question of why do NFL Coaches think that going for 3 points is a bad idea?
They dont unless its 4th and short. The Lions were very aggressive all year on 4th and short which is what got them to where they got. Why would they change what they did all year?
Coaching was not the issue. Play calling was not the issue. The Lions issue was they forgot how to catch a football for 20 minutes to start the second half on both offense and defense. The players gave the game away with mistakes not the coaches
I'm not saying Campbell is to blame for the meltdown, that's on his players but Playoff NFL is not regular season football, your playing for keeps and there is no next week if you lose.
He saw damn well how his players were underperforming and absolutely should have made adjustments to his thinking and with the flow of the game.
It's not Dan Campbell's fault they lost but he did nothing to help save them either
I couldn't care less what they did all season, what they did all season broke down and a good coach will see that and make adjustments, he absolutely shouldn't have trusted his guys and kicked some FG's, if anything that might have given his players time to pause and be like "What's going on"
Take the points and adjust to what's going on in the game.
@perkdog said:
This game begs the question of why do NFL Coaches think that going for 3 points is a bad idea?
They dont unless its 4th and short. The Lions were very aggressive all year on 4th and short which is what got them to where they got. Why would they change what they did all year?
Coaching was not the issue. Play calling was not the issue. The Lions issue was they forgot how to catch a football for 20 minutes to start the second half on both offense and defense. The players gave the game away with mistakes not the coaches
I'm not saying Campbell is to blame for the meltdown, that's on his players but Playoff NFL is not regular season football, your playing for keeps and there is no next week if you lose.
He saw damn well how his players were underperforming and absolutely should have made adjustments to his thinking and with the flow of the game.
It's not Dan Campbell's fault they lost but he did nothing to help save them either
I couldn't care less what they did all season, what they did all season broke down and a good coach will see that and make adjustments, he absolutely shouldn't have trusted his guys and kicked some FG's, if anything that might have given his players time to pause and be like "What's going on"
Take the points and adjust to what's going on in the game.
You dont change how you play just because its the playoffs. Thats what the Dodgers do every year and its a disaster for them. You stick with what works.
Nothing broke down other than their players ability to catch a football. They had a 20 minute span where they dropped everything from INTs to first downs. How do you coach that, just run every time, give them spidertac, he did everything he could have done and if they didnt turn into a D3 WR core they win that game
Theres no way to adjust to guys getting hit in the hands and dropping it countless times
@perkdog said:
This game begs the question of why do NFL Coaches think that going for 3 points is a bad idea?
They dont unless its 4th and short. The Lions were very aggressive all year on 4th and short which is what got them to where they got. Why would they change what they did all year?
Coaching was not the issue. Play calling was not the issue. The Lions issue was they forgot how to catch a football for 20 minutes to start the second half on both offense and defense. The players gave the game away with mistakes not the coaches
The coach needs to be more aware and adjust to the situation. The field goal would have made it a three score game. So kick the field goal. I might agree with going for it if by making the field goal it would still be a two score game. So in my opinion it was flawed decision making. Three points would have been huge.
Doesn’t matter if the receiver dropped it on fourth down, the fact that could happen should have entered into the coach’s decision as well.
Of course making the field goal is no guarantee but it’s almost automatic at that distance.
Coach should have also considered a huge loss of momentum if they don’t convert the fourth down which did happen. Niners go down and score and all of the sudden it’s a one score game.
@perkdog said:
This game begs the question of why do NFL Coaches think that going for 3 points is a bad idea?
They dont unless its 4th and short. The Lions were very aggressive all year on 4th and short which is what got them to where they got. Why would they change what they did all year?
Coaching was not the issue. Play calling was not the issue. The Lions issue was they forgot how to catch a football for 20 minutes to start the second half on both offense and defense. The players gave the game away with mistakes not the coaches
I'm not saying Campbell is to blame for the meltdown, that's on his players but Playoff NFL is not regular season football, your playing for keeps and there is no next week if you lose.
He saw damn well how his players were underperforming and absolutely should have made adjustments to his thinking and with the flow of the game.
It's not Dan Campbell's fault they lost but he did nothing to help save them either
I couldn't care less what they did all season, what they did all season broke down and a good coach will see that and make adjustments, he absolutely shouldn't have trusted his guys and kicked some FG's, if anything that might have given his players time to pause and be like "What's going on"
Take the points and adjust to what's going on in the game.
You dont change how you play just because its the playoffs. Thats what the Dodgers do every year and its a disaster for them. You stick with what works.
Nothing broke down other than their players ability to catch a football. They had a 20 minute span where they dropped everything from INTs to first downs. How do you coach that, just run every time, give them spidertac, he did everything he could have done and if they didnt turn into a D3 WR core they win that game
Theres no way to adjust to guys getting hit in the hands and dropping it countless times
What do you do when your entire WR corps is dropping passes? You don't throw it in 4th and 3 you take the FG, I can say that much.
It's shocking that you can't see my point of view and at least partially agree
Convert fourth down and then score a TD, it’s a 3 score game.
Someone please explain how going for a risky 4th down isn’t flawed decision making in that situation?
if you choose to incorporate percentages, kicking a FG of that length was riskier. i said up above that Badgley was 77% successful from 40-49 for his career, while the Lions were 17 out of 20 (85%) when going for it on 4th and 3 or less in the reg season plus the playoffs
@perkdog said:
This game begs the question of why do NFL Coaches think that going for 3 points is a bad idea?
They dont unless its 4th and short. The Lions were very aggressive all year on 4th and short which is what got them to where they got. Why would they change what they did all year?
Coaching was not the issue. Play calling was not the issue. The Lions issue was they forgot how to catch a football for 20 minutes to start the second half on both offense and defense. The players gave the game away with mistakes not the coaches
The coach needs to be more aware and adjust to the situation. The field goal would have made it a three score game. So kick the field goal. I might agree with going for it if by making the field goal it would still be a two score game. So in my opinion it was flawed decision making. Three points would have been huge.
Doesn’t matter if the receiver dropped it on fourth down, the fact that could happen should have entered into the coach’s decision as well.
Of course making the field goal is no guarantee but it’s almost automatic at that distance.
Coach should have also considered a huge loss of momentum if they don’t convert the fourth down which did happen. Niners go down and score and all of the sudden it’s a one score game.
Convert fourth down and then score a TD, it’s a 3 score game.
Someone please explain how going for a risky 4th down isn’t flawed decision making in that situation?
if you choose to incorporate percentages, kicking a FG of that length was riskier. i said up above that Badgley was 77% successful from 40-49 for his career, while the Lions were 17 out of 20 (85%) when going for it on 4th and 3 or less in the reg season plus the playoffs
Galaxy- the only thing is you don’t get points for converting 4th and 3.
Who’s to say if they did convert that 4th down that they wouldn’t have turned the ball over after that?
Your percentages would be valid if they scored a TD 85% of the time but not apples to apples when you’re comparing 3 points to converting a 4th down.
@perkdog said:
This game begs the question of why do NFL Coaches think that going for 3 points is a bad idea?
They dont unless its 4th and short. The Lions were very aggressive all year on 4th and short which is what got them to where they got. Why would they change what they did all year?
Coaching was not the issue. Play calling was not the issue. The Lions issue was they forgot how to catch a football for 20 minutes to start the second half on both offense and defense. The players gave the game away with mistakes not the coaches
The coach needs to be more aware and adjust to the situation. The field goal would have made it a three score game. So kick the field goal. I might agree with going for it if by making the field goal it would still be a two score game. So in my opinion it was flawed decision making. Three points would have been huge.
Doesn’t matter if the receiver dropped it on fourth down, the fact that could happen should have entered into the coach’s decision as well.
Of course making the field goal is no guarantee but it’s almost automatic at that distance.
Coach should have also considered a huge loss of momentum if they don’t convert the fourth down which did happen. Niners go down and score and all of the sudden it’s a one score game.
What adjustments is a coach supposed to make other than to just cut his team and bring in new players?
You’re hard headed. I said mental adjustments by the coach.
When you have a chance to go up 3 scores go for it. A TD and you’re still up 3 scores. If you don’t understand that you’re being intentionally obtuse.
You do understand the decision to go for it preceded what the players did on the field?
Comments
there's not a single Lion who can make a play right now
hard to watch
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
I am going to watch a recording of “Press You Luck.” It will be more interesting than this game which is now over.
The Lion’s coach should fired at the end of this game. Then the Eagles can hire him.
This is like watching pro wrestling. It looks fake.
They looked like a mediocre college team the last few minutes. So many drops hitting guys in the hands. Couldnt agree more you just must catch at the bare minimum one of those as an NFL WR and that missed INT weve already seen a team do that and end up losing. At the very least at knock the pass down dont get hit in the hands and face with it and deflect it into the air
Missouri 14 OSU 3
Its not their coaches fault that everyone seems to have forgotten how to catch a pass
Missouri 14 OSU 3
A number of NFL coaches, always trying to outsmart themselves. There's a lot of these types in the league right now.
I didn't think a team could be more proficient at handing the Niners a victory than the Packers, but amazingly the Lions said hold my beer in the 2nd half of this game
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Seriously. The Lions are playing like they were paid to lose.
Congrats to KC when they win the SB
Missouri 14 OSU 3
Two different games. One in each half.
Police in Detroit should be advised to close off entrances to roofs of tall buildings as well.
Say what you want but in the first game today Andy Reid showed the experience on how to control the game with the lead to win - obviously Dan Campbell needs to take a few lessons from him.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
I have zero skin in this game. don't have an active bet and I'm not a Lions fan.
but it feels like someone punched me in the gut. that's how disturbing this second half has been
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Same, one team lost this game more than the other won it
Missouri 14 OSU 3
Well the Lions look like they're gonna cover the spread. So many Lions fans will be much less angry. Probably no death threats.
I stated awhile ago the NFL would make the most money from a Chiefs - 49rs matchup in the super bowl and of course there were doubters................ how bout them doubters now
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
SF better not lag so far behind against KC. They bailed out late the last 2 games.
Chiefs Lions probably would have been more. Lions fans have been desperate for decades for success and then it would have been Taylor Swift vs Eminem. 49ers dont really have that rabid fanbase or underdog quality people would root for
Missouri 14 OSU 3
That match up sucks. I will try to convince my wife to watch a movie. I have no interest in this game.
Detroit showed how a coach can lose a game.
Talk about an implosion.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Going for it on 4th and 3 in the second half in a game where you're up 14 points and can just kick a FG to make it a 3-score game is about as asinine a coaching decision I could ever imagine. And then doing it again later on.
Also running the ball on that last TD drive so you had to use a TO was also a bad decision...that TO could gave come in handy after the failed onside kick and given you the ball back with at least a change to get into FG range.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
They converted the 4th and 2 if they didnt drop it. They dropped a TD, a long INT that lead to a TD, and forgot how to catch the ball dropping multiple passes for over a quarter that would have been first downs or TDs and then a fumble on top of it all.
The drops were the issue. That loss is on the players making far to many mistakes not the coaching or play calling
Missouri 14 OSU 3
If. The world of sports is littered with laments beginning with that tiny word.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Well NFL receivers are expected to catch passes that hit them in the hands. The play call was good as were several other plays that they just dropped like it was a flag football req league game.
Missouri 14 OSU 3
It' was amazing wasn't?
Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, congratulations to the Lions on doing what it takes to completely blow a game
Tough to watch
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
Until the Lions get back into a position of playing and winning at least the NFC, this game is going to stick in the craw of their fans, possibly for a long time. Especially after the great enthusiasm they displayed. Believe me, as a Philly fan, I know that feeling all too well.
Not easy. Being 16 teams in the conference, all things being equal, the chances of winning that are 16-1. That's once every 16 years for those who are mathematically challenged.
Oh sorry, I almost forgot, the Carolina Panthers are in the NFC, so the chances are only 15-1. 😉
Kick the FG to go up 17. The stop gave the 9ers life. A fluke play and a fumble and it’s a different game. Not sure who messed up the handoff but it was supposed to go to the other side. Sometimes the simplest things bite you in big moments
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
The moment was too big for the Lions, I doubt they get back there anytime soon
This game begs the question of why do NFL Coaches think that going for 3 points is a bad idea?
Don't get that either, got my Niners back in the game................
As we all know it depends on the situation. That was the situation to take the 3 points. Not even debatable. But the brain dead coach thought otherwise.
Now instead of perhaps being there, he will be watching the Super Bowl on TV.
it's not as cut-and-dried as you guys make it seem. in the first half, the Lions put on an offensive exhibition for the ages. just gashing the Niners at will. executing like i hadn't seen a team do all year, against a supposedly vaunted defense.
now consider what type of coach Campbell is. dude is a riverboat gambler. he has supreme confidence in his players. yesterday was not a one-off; he went for it on 4th and short all season long. in fact, i found this:
prior to yesterday's game, the Lions went for it on fourth-and-3 or less in plus territory 20 times in 24 opportunities, and converted on 17 of 20 (15-18 regular season, 2-2 playoffs.) he had a pretty good reason to feel good about converting. his team just went 0-2 in a huge spot.
i disagree with basebal more than i agree with him, but he's spot on -- Campbell is not the culprit for that meltdown...........his players are. if Josh Reynolds, a professional receiver, knew how to reel in an easy pitch-n-catch inside of 10 yards, they move the sticks and the probability of housing one and going up 21 in the middle of the 3rd becomes very real. then the Niners would have been effed. but instead, he showed his propensity for not being able to catch a pass that a middle schooler would have been able to, and that opened the floodgates. later on he had another crucial drop on 3rd-and-9 that gave the ball right back to SF. and then we have Jahmyr Gibbs fumbling and giving the Niners a short field for another score. and then we had one of the best punts i've ever seen that traveled about 70 yards in the air and stuck inside the 5 like a golfer with a wedge, only for 2 Lions to pretend like the football was a hand grenade and dork it into the end zone for a touchback. and then we had an untold number of missed tackles all 2nd half long from a defense that couldn't put together a stop to save its life..........when its life needed to be saved.
bottom line: from the time the Lions went up 17, no one on that team could make a play. this after a half in which all they did was make plays. had they done so -- hell, had anyone done so -- they'd be playing again in two weeks.
edit: and if you want to put some numbers to it, consider this: Michael Badgley was 37 of 48 from 40-49 yards for his career, or 77%. the Lions converted on 4th and short at an 85% clip. had Campbell taken the ball out of Goff's hands after the 1st half he and the offense had and Badgley had missed that kick giving the Niners good field position, he would have been tarred and feathered for that decision too. like, "bro your offense is firing on all cylinders and you've gone for it all year in situations like that, and now you're gonna take the ball out of Goff's hands and put it on the foot of the kicker?"
if the players don't execute, he was going to be the scapegoat no matter the decision. it all boiled down to a Detroit freaking Lion getting pissed off and making a play, period.
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Can we just acknowledge that wasn't a very good throw by Goff to Reynolds on that 4th down? Should he have caught it? Sure but a more accurate pass increases the chances he catches the ball.
The coaches definitely cost the Lions a shot at victory as much as the players did. These hyper aggressive coaches are all the same, going for it repeatedly on 4th down works until it doesn't in the key moments. Some, like Pederson, ride it to a Super Bowl before they get fired, and others, like Staley, ride it to the unemployment line with nothing to show for it. IMO if Johnson stays this aggressive, he won't last long with the Lions. The 3rd down run and then timeout at the end of the game was horrific but most likely that call was on the offensive coordinator. The timeout cost the Lions any chance of a win or overtime.
Everyone defending the 4th & 3 calls in the 2nd half...where was that vaunted aggressiveness at the end of the first half when they had 4th and goal from the 2 1/2 yard line?
Lastly, has everyone figured out that the "going for it on 4th down" and win probability models are flawed? I don't know what exactly is wrong with the math they use but I know it is wrong. It reminds me of when statisticians claimed forever that that the "hot hand" in basketball didn't exist. As a shoot first basketball player, I knew this was wrong but it took like 30 years for them to figure out that the original models used to "prove" the hot hand was illusionary were actually flawed.
Robb
Mixture of confidence and arrogance?
Very good points @galaxy27 and @fergie23
yes or no, should this pass have been caught
wasn't a very good throw by Goff lol
Josh Reynolds is a professional wide receiver paid to catch footballs.........especially ones that drill him in both hands
if he had hauled this in, as he should have, the Niners would have been in deep, deep pop tarts
again, 85% in situations like this, and that number would have crept higher had Josh Reynolds known how to catch a football
want me to show the egregious drop he had later on on 3rd and 9 that gave the ball back to SF? was that Campbell's fault too? what about Gibbs fumbling deep in Lions territory? how about the two nutsacks on special teams who didn't know how to down a punt? it was a comedy of mental errors by the players on the field the 2nd half of that game, and that's why they're not playing in two weeks
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
sure, let's show it. you would think that after letting your team down in a very crucial spot that you'd be chomping at the bit for an opportunity to redeem yourself. lo and behold, Reynolds got it, 5 minutes later. and this is what he did with it.
the Lions basically had Kadarius Toney out there. and Campbell is the one getting roasted? at what point do you come to the realization that the Detroit Lions had a receiver who was essentially playing for the 49ers?
https://youtube.com/shorts/6YL7RIHj1tc?si=UNbaNgzTNpTeJcbE
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
They dont unless its 4th and short. The Lions were very aggressive all year on 4th and short which is what got them to where they got. Why would they change what they did all year?
Coaching was not the issue. Play calling was not the issue. The Lions issue was they forgot how to catch a football for 20 minutes to start the second half on both offense and defense. The players gave the game away with mistakes not the coaches
Missouri 14 OSU 3
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/lions-dan-campbell-under-fire-4th-down-decisions-loss-49ers
Lions' Dan Campbell under fire over 4th-down decisions in loss to 49ers
Keep reminding yourselves that Brock Purdy is.................... "not very good".
Was there civil unrest in Baltimore and/or Detroit last night after both teams lost in the Conference Championship games?
Further was there civil unrest in Kansas City and San Francisco last night after both teams won in the Conference Championship games?
I'm not saying Campbell is to blame for the meltdown, that's on his players but Playoff NFL is not regular season football, your playing for keeps and there is no next week if you lose.
He saw damn well how his players were underperforming and absolutely should have made adjustments to his thinking and with the flow of the game.
It's not Dan Campbell's fault they lost but he did nothing to help save them either
I couldn't care less what they did all season, what they did all season broke down and a good coach will see that and make adjustments, he absolutely shouldn't have trusted his guys and kicked some FG's, if anything that might have given his players time to pause and be like "What's going on"
Take the points and adjust to what's going on in the game.
You dont change how you play just because its the playoffs. Thats what the Dodgers do every year and its a disaster for them. You stick with what works.
Nothing broke down other than their players ability to catch a football. They had a 20 minute span where they dropped everything from INTs to first downs. How do you coach that, just run every time, give them spidertac, he did everything he could have done and if they didnt turn into a D3 WR core they win that game
Theres no way to adjust to guys getting hit in the hands and dropping it countless times
Missouri 14 OSU 3
The coach needs to be more aware and adjust to the situation. The field goal would have made it a three score game. So kick the field goal. I might agree with going for it if by making the field goal it would still be a two score game. So in my opinion it was flawed decision making. Three points would have been huge.
Doesn’t matter if the receiver dropped it on fourth down, the fact that could happen should have entered into the coach’s decision as well.
Of course making the field goal is no guarantee but it’s almost automatic at that distance.
Coach should have also considered a huge loss of momentum if they don’t convert the fourth down which did happen. Niners go down and score and all of the sudden it’s a one score game.
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Here’s what it amounts to…..
Kick the field goal, it’s a 3 score game.
Convert fourth down and then score a TD, it’s a 3 score game.
Someone please explain how going for a risky 4th down isn’t flawed decision making in that situation?
What do you do when your entire WR corps is dropping passes? You don't throw it in 4th and 3 you take the FG, I can say that much.
It's shocking that you can't see my point of view and at least partially agree
if you choose to incorporate percentages, kicking a FG of that length was riskier. i said up above that Badgley was 77% successful from 40-49 for his career, while the Lions were 17 out of 20 (85%) when going for it on 4th and 3 or less in the reg season plus the playoffs
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
What adjustments is a coach supposed to make other than to just cut his team and bring in new players?
Missouri 14 OSU 3
Galaxy- the only thing is you don’t get points for converting 4th and 3.
Who’s to say if they did convert that 4th down that they wouldn’t have turned the ball over after that?
Your percentages would be valid if they scored a TD 85% of the time but not apples to apples when you’re comparing 3 points to converting a 4th down.
You’re hard headed. I said mental adjustments by the coach.
When you have a chance to go up 3 scores go for it. A TD and you’re still up 3 scores. If you don’t understand that you’re being intentionally obtuse.
You do understand the decision to go for it preceded what the players did on the field?