Tugboat Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 I would've taken first ball. As has been pointed out, a couple of key factors there that i'd lean on. 1) The defense just being on the field, possibly tired. Let 'em rest. 2) If you believe in your offense, you can really apply the pressure on the other team to match the score. and further to that, probably the biggest one for me is... 3) You get first shot at "ending it" in Sudden Death. That's a huge advantage to me, in potentially forcing the game out of Mahomes hands. If anything...Kyle's mistake was in the execution. Not managing to punch in a TD on that opening drive. Given who was on the other end of things, i think it was a mistake to not go gutsy and all-in, trying to score that TD on the first possession. If they manage to play 4-down football (which is the only real advantage to second possession), and do punch the ball in for a TD...it's basically game over. Just procedural from there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soko Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 In a vacuum, I’d rather get the ball second for the reasons pretty much everyone’s said. You know what you need, you have the extra down, and you can still (in all likelihood) end it by going for two. However, I think putting the defense on the field after they were being diced up on the final drive of regulation would’ve been irresponsible. Give them some rest, give them some time to make adjustments, then get them back out there. My biggest issue was honestly conceding the FG. Giving the ball to Patrick Mahomes in a postseason OT with a chance to win the game is my nightmare scenario. To me, kicking the FG there is like a 97% chance to lose, while going for it and turning it over on downs at that spot is 98% chance to lose. Obviously giving KC the ball, only needing a FG to win, is a death sentence. But to me, kicking the FG there was as well. JMO. SF blew this game by repeatedly getting stops but never capitalizing with points. Going into OT with Mahomes and KC is going to be a losing battle 9/10, IMO. Their chance was earlier in the game, but they couldn’t score. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakuvious Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 3 hours ago, Soggust said: But just curious - and there is no loaded agenda here, I'm just wondering - Do you think there is any validity to the idea that the 49ers have been really good at playing from ahead all year and Kyle has a known history of "choking" (don't get mad 9ers fans I'm just saying for effect here) in late game pressure situations. So, if we completely ignore the GTO advantage (and I know, "besides that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln"), do you think it might be advantageous for SF's composition this year to let the team play from ahead with less pressure? Just my two cents here, I think typically when we look at teams that are traditionally good when playing from ahead, it tends to be teams that are good at running the ball and running clock, and teams that are good in obvious passing situations on defense. OT is a little different because the clock is irrelevant. So being ahead in OT is dramatically different than being ahead in the 4th quarter, because all that matters is getting a stop, the clock is completely out of play. Like, an 8 yard catch in the middle of the field is often a bad play late in the 4th quarter, if you're behind. In OT, yards are yards and that's about it. Like, that last drive we won on wound up being a 7 minute, 13 play drive. 5 run plays, 7 short passes in bounds, and then the TD. You can't do that if it's a 3 score lead with a few minutes left in the 4th quarter. In OT, the time doesn't matter, as long as you move the ball, it doesn't matter how. So I think some of the things the 49ers are really good at, that have a huge impact in maintaining leads and closing out games in regulation (CMC running, YAC from skill guys, Bosa and co. rushing the passer) don't have the same relevance when we're talking about playing from ahead in OT. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrantikRam Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 4 hours ago, Jakuvious said: The more talented unit than what? Their offense (Niners offense) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakuvious Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 1 hour ago, FrantikRam said: Their offense (Niners offense) Absolutely not. Nothing in recent history would suggest San Fran's D is better than their O. That has not been the case in some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnguy2015 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 (edited) Thinking about it again, wouldn't the best thing for Shanahan to have done be electing to receive first, as he did, but then committing to always going for it on 4th instead of kicking the FG and then going for 2 if he got the TD? If Reid was planning to go for 2 to avoid sudden death if they had to kick off first, he had to have figured Kyle would do the same thing, and thus went for 2 himself if he got the ball first, in which case Mahomes still gets the ball back needing only a field goal to win it. Edited February 13 by jonnguy2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thandInches Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I hate this question and the discussion on it because it’s a lose lose for Kyle. They differ and lose the game and then everyone complains why did you throw your gassed defense first, how could you be that stupid. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamq Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iknowcool Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 55 minutes ago, adamq said: In the grand scheme of things, I don't think this is a big deal and to an extent agree it probably didn't make huge a difference. At the end of the day its still football. And even with old OT rules they still lose because they settled for a FG. Still, feels like this reflects poorly on Shanahan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-mac Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 The biggest takeaway of all from me. The fact we are even debating this means that the NFL has finally gotten the overtime rule right. The fact that it’s a really difficult decision for the coin flip winner shows that it’s a fair system that doesn’t overly reward the coin flip winner. The most interesting question for me is actually whether Team 1 should go for 2. Here are the scenarios: - Kick the XP and then you have to either stop the other team on downs, or prevent the 2 point conversion. - Go for 2 and make it and you effectively have three chances to win. You can either stop them on downs, prevent the 2 point conversion, or drive into FG range next time. If Team 1 gets 8 points on their first drive they are in great position. - Go for 2 and fail and you probably need to keep the opponent out of the end zone. I think there’s a big advantage to going for 2 even if you play offense first. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soggust Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 10 minutes ago, paul-mac said: The biggest takeaway of all from me. The fact we are even debating this means that the NFL has finally gotten the overtime rule right. The fact that it’s a really difficult decision for the coin flip winner shows that it’s a fair system that doesn’t overly reward the coin flip winner. The most interesting question for me is actually whether Team 1 should go for 2. Here are the scenarios: - Kick the XP and then you have to either stop the other team on downs, or prevent the 2 point conversion. - Go for 2 and make it and you effectively have three chances to win. You can either stop them on downs, prevent the 2 point conversion, or drive into FG range next time. If Team 1 gets 8 points on their first drive they are in great position. - Go for 2 and fail and you probably need to keep the opponent out of the end zone. I think there’s a big advantage to going for 2 even if you play offense first. Why can't I think of stuff like this in the moment when people are owning me in the debate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakuvious Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 26 minutes ago, paul-mac said: The biggest takeaway of all from me. The fact we are even debating this means that the NFL has finally gotten the overtime rule right. The fact that it’s a really difficult decision for the coin flip winner shows that it’s a fair system that doesn’t overly reward the coin flip winner. The most interesting question for me is actually whether Team 1 should go for 2. Here are the scenarios: - Kick the XP and then you have to either stop the other team on downs, or prevent the 2 point conversion. - Go for 2 and make it and you effectively have three chances to win. You can either stop them on downs, prevent the 2 point conversion, or drive into FG range next time. If Team 1 gets 8 points on their first drive they are in great position. - Go for 2 and fail and you probably need to keep the opponent out of the end zone. I think there’s a big advantage to going for 2 even if you play offense first. To me that one is all about match up. How strongly do you feel about your odds of getting a 2 point conversion, and how strongly do you feel about your opponent's odds of getting a 2 point conversion? And how do you feel about the other team's odds of getting a TD in the first place, for that matter. The more defensive the matchup the more you should lean towards taking the extra point. The higher the odds for both conversions happening, the more you should want to go for it, to me. Like, if I think both my team and the opponent are unlikely to convert, I risk letting them off the hook by going and failing. If I think both teams are likely to convert, but I take the extra point, I'm putting the game in their control instead of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackstar12 Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 All the clips of Chiefs players and coaches happy 49ers picked to go first isn’t looking good. One side was definitely more prepared than the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 58 minutes ago, Blackstar12 said: All the clips of Chiefs players and coaches happy 49ers picked to go first isn’t looking good. One side was definitely more prepared than the other. I'm not sure how that is a indicative of level of preparation. I think most people just prefer the idea of going second because you have the information and it caught them off guard when the first time it happened, the team took the ball. But in truth there is nothing that supports that its the superior option. At least not yet. Maybe in time it will, but I'm not sure that is the case either. As @paul-mac said, the fact that so many are split on that shows they got it right because it's a tough decision. There are merits to both choices. I'm a go second guy personally, but I could definitely see how it's not the preferred choice. I mean, the primary reason is that you know what you need. Thats a big deal. But if the game is tied after one possession each, having the ball third is pretty huge. I just can't be upset about it. It really just seems like a preference right now? The chiefs had decided they wanted the ball second and 49ers wanted the ball first, so makes sense that the chiefs were happy lol I'm more in line with what @jonnguy2015 has been saying in that I don't know that there's really a problem with taking the ball first that seems fine, but what they did when the got the ball. You have to be locked in to 4 down territory that deep and scoring a td down there in my opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Ramster Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3VyFA0uOgA/?igsh=ZWI2YzEzYmMxYg== no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.