Good coaches play Beat the
Clock
Paul Zimmerman has covered the
NFL for Sports Illustrated since 1979. His exclusive online
column appears each
Friday.
Posted: Fri October 3,
1997
I know a guy who just wrote an entire book about clock
management in football.
He published it
himself. It'll probably sell about eight copies, but I'd suggest
that every NFL coach take a look at it because this is a
much-neglected area of game
strategy.
What I see every week drives me crazy. Look at Seattle vs.
Kansas City last Sunday, a contest that was won by the
Chiefs in
overtime.
With the score tied and 35 seconds left in regulation, the
Seahawks have a first down on K.C.'s 47. They run three
plays and use two timeouts and get down to the 40. The
clock is running; it shows 18 seconds. I'm thinking, quick
hitch pass for the first
down, spike the ball to stop the clock, and you've still
got time for two plays to get down to field goal range. Two
quick hitches, maybe one, and you've got a
shot.
So what do the Seahawks do? They let the clock run down to
three seconds, call a timeout and set up a 58-yard field
goal, which, of course, doesn't have a chance. Huh? There
was still time to move closer, but I guess coach Dennis
Erickson didn't see it
that
way.
The next day I called the Seahawks to find out what had
been written about that monumental gaffe at the end of
regulation. Nada. Zip. What's the big deal? Am I nuts, or
what? They had a chance to win the
game.
Now let's look at Baltimore vs. San Diego. The Chargers
screwed up, but because they won the game, nothing was made
of
it.
Near the end of the first half, with San Diego up, 14-3,
the Ravens have a fourth-and-2 on San Diego's 18.
Baltimore sets up for the 35-yard field goal that will make
the score 14-6. A minute is left when the field goal unit
takes the field. The
Chargers know they're going to get the ball back, so they've got
to call timeout to give themselves a chance, right? I mean
they've already picked up almost 300 yards in total
offense, and another shot might produce three, even seven
points.
Joe Theismann used to say, "Just give me 50 seconds
and one timeout and I'll get something on the board."
A guy like Dan Marino doesn't even need that much time. I
once saw the chart that Al Davis keeps on how much time
each play should take when you're
in a hurry-up situation. Six to eight seconds for a
completed pass out of bounds, 10 to 12 seconds for an
inbounds completion followed by a spike. Four seconds for
an incomplete
pass.
The Chargers could have gotten the ball back and run five
or six plays, but what did they do? Nothing. They let the
clock run, and when they received the kickoff, they had
time for one quarterback kneel, as the crowd, which was
more hip than the
coaching staff, booed mightily. I did,
too.
It's aggressive coaching vs. passive coaching—the guys who
are always looking to squeeze out points against the
"Let's go in and regroup" mentality. When Bill
Parcells talks about coaching aggressively, he means
attacking the clock as well as other
things. So I filed
this away in my memory bank: Chargers coach Kevin Gilbride and
Seahawks coach Erickson are non-aggressive clock-screwup
coaches, or maybe their communication network just goes
south during crunch time. Lots of others fall into this
category,
too.
College coaches are the worst. Once I asked Bill Walsh why
so many of them butcher the clock. "Because if you
ever go to a coaching clinic," he said, "all
you'll hear them talking about is how to set up recruiting
areas or getting alumni involved.
You'll never hear them talking about trying to win a
game."
Which leads us into—uh, does it really lead us into?—New
England at Denver. Well, not really, but it's the biggest
game on the board, so I'll give you my take on it. Two
unbeatens in a Monday nighter, and you can bet that ABC was
rooting hard for the
Broncos last
weekend.
Let's say it comes down to a battle against the clock. Who
would you rather have, John Elway or Drew Bledsoe? Elway is
the architect of umpteen game-winning drives. Bledsoe, in
my mind, is still unproven in crunch situations. He's what
I call a
front-running quarterback. When things are going right, he'll eat
you up. When he's up against a defense that seems to have a
good read on him, as the Jets did a few weeks ago, he's
very
ordinary.
Both teams run the ball well, but Denver's offensive line
is better. It's the best run-blocking unit in the game.
Statistically, the two teams are pretty close in the
offensive and defensive categories, but that's misleading
because Denver has faced
slightly better teams. Mile High—and the fact that the
Patriots don't seem to play well there—gives the Broncos
an advantage.
My
pick: Denver, forcing late
turnovers.
The second big one on the board involves the NFL's only
other unbeaten team, Tampa Bay, traveling to Cheeseville
with a chance to put the Packers three games back in the
division. Are the Bucs really ready for this kind of
challenge? I think so. I think
they're even better than we give them credit for. The
Lambeau crowd will use every legal method to screw the
Bucs up, but that will only serve to get their defense more
psyched.
The Pack, wounded on both sides of the ball and getting
some very weird performances from Brett Favre, will be
better later in the season. I think Tampa Bay is getting
them at just the right time.
I like the Bucs in this
one, but the coaching staff has to stay cool if they get
behind early. They shouldn't go into catch-up mode too
quickly. The Bucs can run on Green Bay if they remain
patient.
Here's another upset:
Washington over the
Eagles in Philly. Gus Frerotte got his rhythm back against
Jacksonville. The defense swarmed. If they can stand up to
the heavy ground hammering Philadelphia will subject them
to, the Redskins can pull this one
out.
Cards to beat the
Vikings in the desert heat. Why have I picked against Minnesota
all year? Because I think their defense is flashy but
unsound. Arizona's, on the other hand, is technically
correct and getting better. Just ask Tampa
Bay.
The Sunday night contest matches Chicago and New Orleans.
How did TNT get so lucky? Don't like the Saints on the
road, even though they hung in pretty well against the
Giants. Don't like the way they're coached, and don't like
Mike Ditka's mood swings.
Gosh, who's he gonna yell at now? Will he or won't he wear
the headset this time? Et cetera. I don't much like the
Bears, either—I mean, how
can you? But
I'll give Chicago this
one.
Previous
editions of Dr. Z
| 
