Petes decision to Punt on 4th and 1 at midfield.

[mikeak]

If we were going to line up empty backfield, shotgun and throw short of he LOS with 6" to go then I am glad we punted. If we lined up in a power formation to pound the ball and did whatever out of that gen I wish we would have gone for it....

 

[TwistedHusky]

It was utterly stupid.

Our defense was short-handed, there was the potential for rain later (that never happened thankfully) and that meant that it might be harder to score later. We very easily could have lost the game on that one.

As it was, the Falcons got the ball at the 1 or 2-yard line and ended up marching up the field past the 40 anyway.

When you play a high scoring team, you need to score. We futzed around for a full half on offense, one TD was basically handed to us from the defense.

That 'pass interference' at the end gets called and I GUARANTEE all of us are pointing at that gutless play of not going for it on 4th and inches as the difference and the reason we lost.

Even though we won this one, Bevell really really annoyed me. But Pete not going for it when we had the momentum swinging back to us almost handed us the L.

 

[West TX Hawk]

You have it to go for it on 4th and inches when in opponents territory. If a team is hot and moving the ball with ease, it only takes one or two plays to get them back to your LOS anyway. You have to go for that!

This! Atlanta was roaring down the field and scorching our D in the 3rd qtr. When a high powered O is on fire, as they were, you have to go for it because they're going to be in scoring position soon anyway and that was evident here.

Because the Hawks won, people will forget about this and think all is well, but I'd like to know why in the world do we not have a QB sneak in the playbook?? I cannot recall if Pete/Bevell have ever called a sneak in all these years. When you only need a few inches, it's generally the safest play.

 

[evergreen]

You guys all wanted us to go for it?! I don't think we'd make it. I'm glad we punted. Our short yardage plays were mostly uninspiring. I didn't feel it either. I don't blame Pete. It may have won us the game.

 

[AROS]

Two words people...And this has been my battle cry for decades...

NAKED BOOTLEG

 

[TwistedHusky]

I don't like seeing our RB standing next to the QB on short yardage rushes btw.

Michael would get the ball, try to run to the side and when he got hit he often could not fall forward.

But it is just stupid physics. The RB needs to be behind the QB and running forward when he gets the ball. He needs inertia and momentum, we need 1 yard for the 1st down not 23.

It really annoys me to see a formation where I know that our RB is going to have a speed of zero when he touches the ball and has to hope to accelerate up to speed in time. At a full run, even if he gets hit he is likely falling forward for one.

I get we need the guy in the other position for RO but we aren't or should NOT be running RO against Atlanta, so WTH?

 

[mikeak]

Two words people...And this has been my battle cry for decades...

NAKED BOOTLEG

Kubiack is that you?

How did that work out against Seattle?

 

[AROS]

Kubiack is that you?

How did that work out against Seattle?

I will go to my grave saying that a naked bootleg on 4th and short or 4th and goal gets the job done 90% of the time.

 

[mikeak]

I don't disagree just remember that's houston game a few years ago turn on that play.

Honestly I don't care what they run as long as the 4th and short FORMATION is a run optimized formation. You have to make them commit to the run then I don't care if you run/ pass....

 

[Tical21]

We pinned them at the 2. Correct move when you're at home with the best d in the era. Going for it would have been a sign of desperation.

 

[kf3339]

I see both sides of the argument. Part of me wanting them to go for it as well.

But come on, we pinned them back on their 2 yard line. That next TD was squarely on Richard and the D. No other way to look at it.

 

[davidonmi]

it was horrible. we clearly could not stop them at that point in the game and we needed to retake momentum with points.

 

[mikeak]

Yeah we pinned them at the 2 thanks to a bone-head decision by their KR. That was a lucky outcome and either way they moved the ball at Will so why would we think it be any different no matter where they got the ball?

 

[Flyingsquad23]

Funny complaints again this week......
3 rushing TD's = weak run game
4 sacks = no pass rush
5 fans not screaming = disappointing 12's
Punt on 4th & 1 with game tied = Carroll is too conservative and Bevell is an idiot

All of this after a win over one of the hottest teams in the NFL.
Not every win comes with 500 yards of offense and a shut out, the Hawks under Carroll have now gone 93 consecutive games tied or within one score in the 4th qtr. This kind of game embodies the winning formula that lead to their success.

GO HAWKS

 

[erik2690]

Couldn't agree more Kiwi. Michaels doesn't have that fight for yards mentality that we've come to expect from every RB now that we've been spoiled by Lynch.

Pin them deep and trust your defense. That's Pete's mantra.

Plus, Michael had just pussied out on the previous play.

Pete was pissed. Probably punted out of anger at CMike

Yeah that was such an awful run, it was 3rd and 1 and he had a lane to dive for the first and he kinda just paused to make a cut instead and got stuffed. It was blatantly bad awareness of the 1st down marker at the least.

 

[davidonmi]

Funny complaints again this week......
3 rushing TD's = weak run game
4 sacks = no pass rush
5 fans not screaming = disappointing 12's
Punt on 4th & 1 with game tied = Carroll is too conservative and Bevell is an idiot

All of this after a win over one of the hottest teams in the NFL.
Not every win comes with 500 yards of offense and a shut out, the Hawks under Carroll have now gone 93 consecutive games tied or within one score in the 4th qtr. This kind of game embodies the winning formula that lead to their success.

GO HAWKS

sorry but rushing TD's is not a good indicator of the run game's success. Whenever we moved the ball it was through the air, the run game was pretty much nonexistent outside of the td's

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

What if they do a naked bootleg and Russell Wilson adds a third serious injury to his collection?

Lot of MMQB'ing going on here.

 

[Seanhawk]

It was utterly stupid.

Our defense was short-handed, there was the potential for rain later (that never happened thankfully) and that meant that it might be harder to score later. We very easily could have lost the game on that one.

As it was, the Falcons got the ball at the 1 or 2-yard line and ended up marching up the field past the 40 anyway.

When you play a high scoring team, you need to score. We futzed around for a full half on offense, one TD was basically handed to us from the defense.

That 'pass interference' at the end gets called and I GUARANTEE all of us are pointing at that gutless play of not going for it on 4th and inches as the difference and the reason we lost.

Even though we won this one, Bevell really really annoyed me. But Pete not going for it when we had the momentum swinging back to us almost handed us the L.

They actually marched it past the 40, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 and all the way to the end zone. Not having any confidence in the defense played into his decision making too, and he probably thought they had a better chance of keeping them out of the end zone on a longer drive. For that he was wrong.

 

[Silver Hawk]

Couldn't agree more Kiwi. Michaels doesn't have that fight for yards mentality that we've come to expect from every RB now that we've been spoiled by Lynch.

Pin them deep and trust your defense. That's Pete's mantra.

That's truly funny. Don't know what you've been watching but if nothing else, Michael is a fighter. Not sure about the Michaels guy though. Maybe he has issues.

What a bunch of whiners. Fire Kearse. Fire Bevell. Fire Richard. Pete doesn't have balls. Trade, or better yet, cut Jimmy Graham. Earl shouldn't have gotten married. Trade Kam. On and on.

 

[mikeak]

Couldn't agree more Kiwi. Michaels doesn't have that fight for yards mentality that we've come to expect from every RB now that we've been spoiled by Lynch.

Pin them deep and trust your defense. That's Pete's mantra.

That's truly funny. Don't know what you've been watching but if nothing else, Michael is a fighter. Not sure about the Michaels guy though. Maybe he has issues.

What a bunch of whiners. Fire Kearse. Fire Bevell. Fire Richard. Pete doesn't have balls. Trade, or better yet, cut Jimmy Graham. Earl shouldn't have gotten married. Trade Kam. On and on.

I agree with you 100% that Michael fights through tackles and is now a hard working RB and really like what he brings.

With that said he twice screwed up yesterday.

First half he gets the ball by the sideline about 8 yard gain then steps out of bounds. If he takes the collision up-field he gets first down. I am 95% sure we punted as we failed to convert but I could be wrong

Later in the game he gets the ball on short down 3rd down. He gets 1 out of 2 yards because he stopped and tried to make a lot of out if when all he needed was a little. He should have hit the hole in that situation.

This is his first year starting so I expect some of this but it comes down to lack of situational awareness / instincts taking over. Doesn't mean that he doesn't have the fight for yards mentality just that he needs to understand when to fall forward and when it is ok to try to turn it into a big gain / go out of bounds instead. He will get it as he keeps playing