Chavis and Peveto Own The final 50

This was a heart-breaker any way you want to look at it - snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Rehashing the all elements that led to the final 50 seconds aren't relevant to how the final 50 seconds were coached. Yes, the buck stops with the head coach but for those of us living in this universe, it's practical to understand that the primary responsibility for ST and DEF lies with the heads of those units. As great as the Cheif is, he is accountable for the D and Peveto needs to take some blame, as well.

1. ST: Kick-off strategy should have been crystallized for the players on the field; beginning with the kicker, who should have been made to internalize the imperative not to take the KOOB penalty. If there was even an inkling of doubt about a squib (KOOB, up man fielding for superior field position), kicking for a touch back would have been a far better option.

On a side note, the full return with 3 seconds exposed LF to a crushing blow that further roused the red team, while adding an additional layer of shell-shock to the Tigers - discretion might have dictated letting that one be a touch back, if at all possible.

2. DEF: I think I saw 3 down lineman rushing with an umbrella-type zone for virtually every down in the 50 second sequence. Even if there were 4 down rushing and a combo man/zone thrown into that sequence once, it still looked an awful lot like the proverbial prevent defense. This puts an aggressive unit back on its heals after be fully in command for an entire half and also creates creases and buffer zones allowing receivers to stop the clock with the boundaries.


To protect the victory, a kick off resulting in a touch back and a defensive scheme that empowered players on the front to be more aggressive could have resulted in a longer field for the red team and, if it came to it, a longer field goal attempt for their less-than-stellar kicker.