Sometimes it's analytics and sometimes you have to trust your players but most of our 4th downs have been analytics and when you have Lamar Jackson that does help. I appreciate your opinion though and we disagree so I'm going to leave it at that. I agree that we really had to go for it during the Seattle game, but I also agree that the 4th and 1 (less than 1) we really needed to go for and trust our defense, which had been doing well to that point.
Really? Everyone seems to support the decision to go for it the 2nd time around on 4th down. This was a horrible and game changing call that absolutely failed and was 150% UNNECESSARY. I remember reading the game thread comments, everyone including every football fan everywhere expected...take the points. Yet we ran essentially the same play as our previous 4th down try, and you think Vrabel new who was getting the ball? Yea he did, the players did clearly. Even against the stout 49ers defense Lamar was able to turn that play into a 1st. Titans probably planned for that 1000 times in practice and it showed, twice.
The problem with that horrendous decision was that, number 1- it was too early and too much time left NOT to take pts in a game where we had NOTHING going for us at all. Number 2, even IF you convert a 1st down there is no guarantee you get a TD. A TD makes the score 13-14 so you would have to also convert a 2pt play as well....just to simply tie the game.
Any smart coach takes the pts there. I don't give 2 shts about Lamar Jackson's confidence or "analytics" in that scenario. Common sense says there are too many factors to pass a FG there...1st down, TD, 2pt conversion....JUST to tie the game. Take the friggin FG and kick off with the score 14-9
We were playing like trash at that point and as a veteran HC that's when you put your selfish pride and analytics aside and take the damn points. That's a Patsy move by John Harbaugh, one that made a lot of Ravens fans want him out as HC. And obviously it shook our defense too who got to watch our offense march down the field all for nothing. 2 plays later on defense Derrick Henry rumbles for 66 and throws a TD pass. Again I say I seriously think that 4th down fail was the turning point and took alot of air out of the stadium and shook our defense a bit who had to watch us fail yet again where despite it being early in the 2nd half, we were in desperation mode but nothing to show for it.
Someone said not letting arguably our best player in Justin Tucker do his thing in that situation, is like the equivalent of Pete Carroll's decision to pass on the goal line in the Super bowl. Yep.
And as far as heart break goes, yesterday's loss was damn near just as bad for us as that Seattle game was for them.