things kevin hates

I could devote an entire blog to stupid things done by football coaches–punting too much on 4th-and-short, passing the ball with a lead late in the game when running would all but seal the victory, making ill-advised replay challenges, and so on. But for now I’d like to focus on one especially grievous clock management error which I’ve seen made countless times: kicking a game-winning field goal and leaving time on the clock afterward.

The most recent example occurred in Washington’s upset of USC. After a roughing the passer penalty was tacked onto a nice completion from Jake Locker, the Huskies had 1st-and-goal. USC had two timeouts, Washington had one. They were on the right hashmark, so I expected a run to get the ball in the middle of the field, followed by two kneel downs if USC chose to use their timeouts. Instead they ran along the right hashmark on 1st down, with USC’s players foolishly tackling the ball carrier instead of letting him score.* USC decided not to call timeout, so Washington let the clock run down to 7 seconds before calling their last timeout. This was an idiotic decision by Steve Sarkisian. A field goal is not going to take seven seconds, guaranteeing that USC would get the ball back after a made field goal. That’s a big risk. And what was gained in return? Roughly nothing. Washington had used their last timeout, so a bobbled snap would have required the holder to scramble out of the pocket and throw the ball away, which could have led to an interception, a sack, time running out during the play, etc. A blocked kick would almost certainly not be recovered by Washington with any time remaining on the clock. If the Huskies had had a timeout, it might have been defensible, but even then, the most likely result of the play (probably a 95% chance, if not even higher) was a made field goal leaving two or three seconds on the clock for USC to work something out on the return.

A similar situation occurred when the Panthers and Saints played in the final game of the 2008 regular season. The Saints, down 30-10 at the beginning of the 4th quarter, had made a furious comeback and led 31-30 with time running out. Thanks in large part to a great catch by Steve Smith, the Panthers got themselves into field goal range and then called a timeout with six seconds left. NFL rules dictate that only five seconds can come off the clock on a made field goal.** This was another horribly stupid coaching decision. The field goal was good, giving the Panthers a two-point lead, but forcing them to kick off to the Saints. Further compounding the error, the kick went out of bounds, giving the Saints the ball at their own 40-yard line.

In both of these situations, coaches gave the opponent an unnecessary possession. Yes, it’s unlikely that they would score, but why take the risk? A made kick is much more likely than any sort of bobbled snap, and if you don’t have a timeout left, you probably won’t be able to stop the clock anyway. So please, coaches, bleed the clock down to a second or two, have some faith in your kickers, and don’t give the ball back to the other team when you don’t have to!

* If Washington’s field goal kicker were horrendous enough, it might be advisable for USC to do everything they can to force a field goal attempt, hope for a miss or block, and go to overtime. I don’t know the guy’s stats, but he had already made two field goals and an extra point in the game. Given the fact that the kicker was unlikely to miss, USC would be better off getting the ball back down seven points with thirty seconds left and two timeouts. But that’s a story for another day.
**This rule came about after Adam Vinatieri kicked a game-winning field goal for the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. The ball appeared to pass through the uprights with two seconds left on the clock, but the rest of the time went off the clock and the game was over. If I were a Rams fan, I’d still be pissed.