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What do you think about Vrabel intentionally kneeling on 1st and goal before halftime?
Posted on 11/9/25 at 10:59 pm
Posted on 11/9/25 at 10:59 pm
A lot of people thought it was crazy, but I thought it was genius. I believe there was 1:44 before half and Tampa and 0 timeout.
The thought process is that Vrabel didn’t want to score, leaving ample time for Tampa to get down the field.
Football has downs and time. As the game reaches half time or end of the game, you have to take into consideration both. Sometimes you sacrifice a down by spiking the ball the save time. Vrabel was sacrificing down by kneeling to eliminate time. Same concept but different application. He was thinking ahead and the best defense is not giving the ball back with ample time.
So often, I see a team running no huddle 1st and goal with 2 minutes before halftime. They would score a TD quick, and the other team would March down and score a TD.
The thought process is that Vrabel didn’t want to score, leaving ample time for Tampa to get down the field.
Football has downs and time. As the game reaches half time or end of the game, you have to take into consideration both. Sometimes you sacrifice a down by spiking the ball the save time. Vrabel was sacrificing down by kneeling to eliminate time. Same concept but different application. He was thinking ahead and the best defense is not giving the ball back with ample time.
So often, I see a team running no huddle 1st and goal with 2 minutes before halftime. They would score a TD quick, and the other team would March down and score a TD.
5
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:01 pm to PeteRose
I do this on Xbox sometimes with a lot less at stake 
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:02 pm to PeteRose
Where did they have the ball???? I guess if he wanted to do that he could have given it to his RB to get it closer but tell them not to get into the endzone.
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:07 pm to PeteRose
I get it. But in that same sequence you also saw why it was a risky move as they needed the 4th down to score the TD
Posted on 11/10/25 at 8:50 am to tylercsbn9
quote:
Where did they have the ball????
1 yard line
Only questionable part to me is how bad the pats are at running in short yardage, def wasn’t a gimme score for them, but going for it on 4th that drive gave them another shot to get it in and Diggs made a great catch
Posted on 11/10/25 at 8:53 am to PeteRose
Given your own 40 is basically field goal range for some teams it starts to make sense. Slightly lower your probability of a td and drastically lower their probability of a fg.
Posted on 11/10/25 at 9:12 am to Turbeauxdog
quote:
Slightly lower your probability of a td and drastically lower their probability of a fg.
Right, but 7-3 is better than 3-0
Posted on 11/10/25 at 9:44 am to Turbeauxdog
quote:
Given your own 40 is basically field goal range for some teams it starts to make sense. Slightly lower your probability of a td and drastically lower their probability of a fg.
You have to think of net scoring before the half. So it’s the last two possessions before halftime. You get one, your opponent get one. So when you’re in scoring position with the ball, you optimally want a net 7, meaning you score a TD and your opponent scores 0.
The other possibilities are net 4 (7vs3), net 3(3vs0), net 0(7 vs 7 or 3 vs 3).
If you score and give your opponent little time, your outcome is net 7 or 3. If you give your opponent enough time to score, it’s either net 4 or net 0.
Posted on 11/10/25 at 9:57 am to TheRouxGuru
quote:it will be interesting when the madden generation completely takes over the coaching world
do this on Xbox sometimes with a lot less at stake
Posted on 11/10/25 at 10:04 am to GreatLakesTiger24
Florio and Simms are kind of annoying, but they had a pretty funny segment this morning talking about these decisions have evolved. In the past, coaches would really put their butts on the line with fourth down decisions perceived as risky, but now they can get away with anything as "that's what the analytics say."
Posted on 11/10/25 at 10:06 am to Bunk Moreland
quote:
In the past, coaches would really put their butts on the line with fourth down decisions perceived as risky, but now they can get away with anything as "that's what the analytics say."
I mean they can say that but they’ll still be fired if it doesn’t work
Posted on 11/10/25 at 10:19 am to wildtigercat93
I think most fans are smart enough to realize a good analytics decision vs a bad one. I can support the process as long as it makes sense and is generally consistent. But you also have to know your teams strengths and weaknesses and how they play into the analytics. Vrabel trusts his offense, I like it.
Posted on 11/10/25 at 10:26 am to hiltacular
the stuff that Tennessee fans complained about with Vrabel was that he was a super conservative game coach and way too loyal to certain players/coaches.
Gotta be punching air seeing him go balls on the table this year in a couple spots.
He’s gone for it on 4th on his side of the field a few times this season as well.
Gotta be punching air seeing him go balls on the table this year in a couple spots.
He’s gone for it on 4th on his side of the field a few times this season as well.
Posted on 11/10/25 at 10:29 am to PeteRose
Tampa has a great run stuffing D. Huge risk doing this. And even taking the knee moved them back a bit from the 1.
It worked but I doubt he’ll do that again.
It worked but I doubt he’ll do that again.
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