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Note about end-of-game clock management

Leg of Theismann : 10/23/2018 1:19 am
This is something that comes up when I'm watching games quite often and I always notice it. Note in this instance it didn't end up really affecting the game much, but I just think it's funny that I always notice it right away and somehow these professional coaches and players don't notice it.

The Falcons pick up a 1st down with 3:30 left in the game. The Giants had 2 timeouts left. After this play, they ran 3 plays that all stayed in bounds and kept the clock running, but ultimately resulted in a 4th & 5 with 2:00 left and the Giants had ZERO timeouts (there were a couple false starts in between there but that doesn't really matter for explaining this).

The Giants could have saved a timeout. Let's rewind back to 3:30 when the Falcons picked up a 1st down. The play clock started running with 3:29 left and the Falcons would have had to run their 1st down play with about 2:50 left, which would have meant they'd likely have to run their 2nd down play before the 2 min warning. Then, if the Giants stopped them on 3rd down, they then could have used a timeout, and there would be ~1:55 remaining and the Giants would still have a timeout left. That's better than 2 min remaining and no timeouts.

My point is: just a few seconds makes a huge difference between a team having to run a play before the 2 min warning and not having to run a play, and I'm always baffled that teams aren't more "forward-thinking" about that, or there aren't more hard and fast "rules" that teams abide by. Like: if there's more than 3:30 left, don't use a timeout, see what happens, if there's less than 3:20, might as well use a timeout. Or something like that. My profession is entirely math-based so maybe that's why I think of minor things like this, but at the end of a football game every second and every timeout matters so ultimately it isn't minor.
Leg  
B in ALB : 10/23/2018 1:25 am : link
You've had a couple good posts tonight. Good stuff man.
That's an interesting analysis  
ray in arlington : 10/23/2018 1:26 am : link
thank you.
Great post dude  
dep026 : 10/23/2018 1:31 am : link
Shurmur has been a disaster.
I wish we could say this wasn't a concerning pattern...  
NoGainDayne : 10/23/2018 1:43 am : link
I wasn't actually paying enough attention at this point out of frustration but you are right and this isn't isolated.

It's nice that Shurmur seemed to "know" he had a "50% higher chance of winning the game" by "going for 2 and making it" but still can't get easy math like this right.

He even mentioned it in his press conference that after the Saints game he wouldn't be caught "not being aggressive" it's nice to know that he has taken it to heart and now has an itchy trigger finger with timeouts. (We also saw this before the half in the Carolina game)

Math is not the strong suit of our leadership. But then again should we really be surprised when our new GM was mocking it in the off-season.

People can downplay it but i'm sharing the link again. Can't be stressed enough that this is the wrong attitude to be a leader in a business that generates the amount of data that football does now.
Gettleman mocks analytics - ( New Window )
Thanks for reading my drivel guys  
Leg of Theismann : 10/23/2018 5:08 am : link
And thanks for the feedback.

It's something that has always bothered me and honestly that kind of thing has happened over and over again going all the way back as far as I can remember (regardless of coaching staff).
Leg  
markky : 10/23/2018 6:23 am : link
you are correct. Similarly teams with the ball can save some time by taking the timeout right before the 2 minute warning rather than letting the clock run down.
The question is  
mdthedream : 10/23/2018 6:35 am : link
do the Giants at this point want to really win? They are out scouting next years QB. Winning just drops them lower in the draft.
it's been that way forever  
giants62 : 10/23/2018 8:01 am : link
Simple mathematics does not seem to be something 99% of NFL coaches understand, or care to understand. They are not programmed that way.
Really good post  
Jimmy Googs : 10/23/2018 8:06 am : link
but maybe Shurmur thought Eli would score so quickly that he didn’t want to leave so much time on the clock...

Really nice analysis. Devil in the details, right...?  
Pete in CO : 10/23/2018 8:57 am : link
Now, taking this well made point and applying it to Shurmur is where I am getting confused and disappointed.
I was under the impression that he was the right man for this job. Still am. Calm demeanor, strength working with the offense and with QBs. Those strengths might also lead one to believe that game management is another strong part of his repertoire.
Yet over a few games this season, time management and offensive synchronization seem to be some of the greatest weaknesses for this team. Why is that? It’s just weird and confusing. A team w a veteran HC and QB should have stuff like this licked. Obviously not.
I really think that a team that’s been losing as consistently as they’ve been doing tends to “throw out” much if not all of the vital planning they do all week for the sake of trying to win out of desperation, or even a little panic. And that acts counter to their best chances of winning.
Exactly  
stompuout : 10/23/2018 12:49 pm : link
Like in the end of the 1st half, I don't recall all the details, why the heck Eli is rushing the team down the field? Not sure if that comes from Schurmur or not, or ingrained from Coughlin who always believe in scoring as soon as possible. I was glad Eli got sacked before Rosas field goal instead of incomplete pass on 3rd down and forced Atlanta to take one of their two remaining timeouts and they took their last on an injury. They did end up with 3 legitimate shots to the end zone before half ending FG. If commoners like us can see this, not sure why coaches, veteran players and even announcers are so clueless.
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