|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |
Clock management a lost art
Posted: Thursday October 21, 1999 01:38 PM
Clock management in the final minutes of a game seems to have become a lost art in the NFL. Two examples of horrendous management jump out from Week 6. Take the New York Jets and their 16-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. There's 4:44 left, score 13-13, you've got a first-and-goal on the three- yard line. The Colts haven't moved the ball at all against you. If you slam the ball in three times with Curtis Martin and don't make it, you kick a chip-shot field goal for a 16-13 lead, and you've taken the clock down under two minutes. Or they take timeouts, putting the Colts in a precarious situation. Instead, the Jets attempt an appeasement pass to Keyshawn Johnson, who's always vocal about wanting the ball. It gets picked off and is returned 55 yards in the other direction. Then Peyton Manning, one of the most prolific passers in the league, uses the running game to pound it and pound it with Edgerrin James. With only 14 seconds left, Mike Vanderjagt kicks a 27-yard field goal to secure the win. Farther north, in New England, the Patriots look like they have a for-sure victory over the Miami Dolphins, up 30-25 with less than three minutes to play. Drew Bledsoe passes instead of New England running the ball, taking just a few seconds off the clock before punting. And the Dolphins don't have to expend timeouts. Damon Huard then has time to drive the length of the field, and hits the five-yard pass to running back Stanley Pritchard with 23 seconds left. The ball game is over. In defense, there's always the excuse that we couldn't move the ball on the ground. But how do you know -- unless you try. And you force them to use their timeouts. If you get the first down, it's a bonus. With the delineation of duties between offensive and defensive coordinators, I think teams are beginning to get a narrow view of their own little spheres of control. They are constantly seeing how productive they can be statistically to feather their own beds, so to speak, and they don't take into consideration their play-calling -- offensively or defensively -- on the entire game. These offensive coordinators and head coaches are so enamored of showing their "genius" that they have lost sight of playing sound, percentage football, and it's costing their teams dearly. George may get it done with VikingsI predicted early in the season that Jeff George would eventually take over for Randall Cunningham as the Vikings starting quarterback. And he's got a chance to see what he can do this week with a full complement of receivers against the San Francisco 49ers, who are hurting at cornerback. Despite his strong arm and accurate throwing ability, the knock on George has been that he's not a winner, not a leader. But I think the Vikings fit him perfectly. I would not be surprised if there is lobbying coming from the Vikings receiver corps for George to keep the job. They notice his accuracy, velocity and tight spiral that's easy to catch. This gives Jeff, who I coached with the Colts, a tremendous opportunity to silence his critics. Don't underestimate the influence of ArnspargerDon't listen for a minute to those within the Washington Redskins who contend newly added defensive guru Bill Arnsparger wasn't with the team long enough to influence the Redskins' 24-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals. It was a good move by Norv Turner to get this guy on board during a bye week. Although it was only three practices he attended, he had 10 days to two weeks to view film, sit in on coach's preparation meetings, and a chance to instill a sense of confidence in the team. A former defensive back who played for Arnsparger told me this: "Never once did we feel like we went ill-prepared into a game. And never did an offensive design or formation confuse our defense." Now that's a big statement. Ron Meyer, a former NFL head coach, is a pro football analyst with CNN/SI and appears weekly on CNN's NFL Preview.
| |||||||||||||||||
