Saturday, September 22, 2012

Tom Coughlin is so wrong; Greg Schiano is right

I've been a NY Giants fan since the days of Y.A. Tittle, Sam Huff and Frank Gifford.  Like most Giant fans, I remember an attempted handoff from Joe Pisarcik to Larry Csonka that ended up in the end zone with Herm Edwards.  So I really, really don't understand what Giant coach Tom Coughlin is complaining about with Tampa Bay coach  Greg Schiano.

With time remaining for only one last play in a one-possession game (repeat -- in a ONE possession game), the Giants chose to maximize  their chances of winning by lining up in victory formation to have QB Eli Manning take the snap and simply kneel down.  Tampa Bay trailed by only a touchdown meaning that they could tie the game with a single play (see e.g. Herm Edwards, Pisarcik, Csonka in 1978).  While the Giants chose to run a play that gave them the best chance to win, Greg Schiano called the defensive play that gave his team the best opportunity to win.  He massed his defense over the ball and slammed everyone forward at the snap in hopes of creating a fumble.  It wasn't much of a chance, but it was their best chance.  Eli took the snap, knelt, and got knocked over by all the bodies surging over him from the Bucs charge.  The effort to create a fumble was unsuccessful.

After the play, the clock ran out and Tom Coughlin was absolutely livid with rage that the Bucs had continued to play hard til the end of a game that they still had a chance to win.  In the bizarre world that Coughlin inhabits, the Bucs should have responded to his effort to maximize his chances of winning by quitting before the game was over.  He's nuts.

In a game that was no longer competitive, the Bucs' move would have been a cheap shot and Coughlin would be correct.  But not in a game they still had a chance to win.  Expecting the other team to quit while they still have a chance to win is just crazy.


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