A head scratching moment

Why didn't we kick a field goal rather than going for it on 4th and 13?

They didn't think he'd make it going that direction.

My issue was that they obviously knew that on 3rd down, and were planning on a 4th down play. If that's the case, why was the 3rd down call so conservative?

Yeah, I'm going to re-watch the game a little later and scope that out.

Largent80":3jbot5jy said:

Yeah, I'm going to re-watch the game a little later and scope that out.

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Ran this weird out to Kearse where he stood at the line of scrimmage for a second or two, then dropped into the flat. No blockers in front of him. It looked like they wanted "some" yards but not all of it.

Largent80":1ah3q67l said:

Why didn't we kick a field goal rather than going for it on 4th and 13?

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Before the game Haushka lets the coaches know where he is comfortable kicking from given the conditions.. yesterday going that direction PC says that area of the field was 4 down territory.

I just heard Pete say that it was the winds going against them in that direction that changed their mind.

Largent80":5ys3qvog said:

Why didn't we kick a field goal rather than going for it on 4th and 13?

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Weather tends to reduce the range of kicks (makes the ball harder, deflates it a bit, and makes it kick 'heavier'). Also IIRC he would have had to kick in the wind. I think it's perfectly plausible to think that Haushka wasn't comfortable making that particular kick and so Pete didn't put him into that position. Also remember that Ryan, the normal holder, was still being treated for his face-plant from a bit earlier.

Vetamur":2f6gb15b said:

Largent80":2f6gb15b said:

Why didn't we kick a field goal rather than going for it on 4th and 13?

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Before the game Haushka lets the coaches know where he is comfortable kicking from given the conditions.. yesterday going that direction PC says that area of the field was 4 down territory.

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Good thing the Vikings didn't get that message!

This is why I thought we had a good chance of him missing it. It felt so weird that Pete Carroll didn't want to kick between those goal posts, so when Blaine had to do it, I felt pretty sure that if something was going to go wrong, this was the play it would happen on.

If I remember correctly it was 3rd and 11 and they ran a draw or something. They seemed like they were settling for the field goal but they didn't get the snap off in time and took a 5 yard delay of game penalty. Then on 3rd and 16 they ran another conservative play, the screen to Kearse, again just trying to get into field goal range and not necessarily trying to pick up the 1st down. However the play wasn't executed well and they didn't feel close enough which is why they went for it on 4th down. I didn't really have any problem with that strategy or going for it on 4th down, it was just poor execution. However, the 4th down play didn't really have any chance as it was short pass to Fred Jackson and he would have need to break 3+ tackles to pick up the first down. If they are gonna go for it I wish they would be more aggressive with that 4th down play.

It would have been a 47 yard attempt for Hauschka. I'm sure he could have made it but in the conditions they thought it was more likely to be miss and a 14 yard difference in field position. Perhaps it was the right call because Minny picked up a couple of 1st downs immediately afterwards and those 14 yards could have meant another field goal when they did end up punting.

my head scratcher?
when we were driving at end and were one 1st down away from taking knee= we hand off i believe to Jackson instead of having RW run with read option. i would be questioning that all summer had that kick gone through .

It was a weird game...
I was scratching my head also when they didn't go for the FG.
That one play where both backs seemed to go the wrong way on the read option?
The Vikings giving up before half and kneeling with a minute left?
Way to much strange stuff going on all day!
That game was brutal the whole way.

seahawksny":130cbhzr said:

my head scratcher?
when we were driving at end and were one 1st down away from taking knee= we hand off i believe to Jackson instead of having RW run with read option. i would be questioning that all summer had that kick gone through .

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Yeah I was having flashbacks to our early season struggles when the Offense couldn't get a 1st down in the 4th quarter to save their lives. I thought they were having another 4th quarter meltdown to give the game away. And they basically did, except the Vikings kicker bailed them out.

I would have rather just pooch punted there and pinned Teddy deep.

There seemed to be completely non cogent moments in play calling yesterday.

FlyHawksFly":1n4zhprm said:

Hasselbeck":1n4zhprm said:

I would have rather just pooch punted there and pinned Teddy deep.

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Agreed.

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The Panthers took over at the 23 yard line so there was not much to be gained with a punt. I think going for it was the right call if they didn't feel confident with the field goal. We've seen them pick up the 1st (or a touchdown) many times in similar circumstances. I just wish that Wilson hadn't checked it down on the 4th down play.

It pissed me off for the following reasons

1) The 3rd down play was horrific. If you know you are going for it then you need 7 yards or so in that spot. Bad playcall there
2) On the 4th down. I think it is Baldwin on the right - not sure what the heck he is doing. He is in no position to pick up a first down
3) We hadn't picked up 13 yards all day. So the chances of getting it vs a field goal were most likely less. I get it your kicker says he isn't comfortable which gives you three options
A) Kick anyways - you take the blame as a coach
B) PUNT!!!! It is a 6-0 game at the time. Pin your opponent make them go 80 yards. They won't make it
C) Do the stupid thing and go for it

Not only did we do C but we freaking wasted a time-out that we could have needed in the end. Remember if we had that time-out then we have a minute on the clock when Minnesota kicks. If they make the kick that would be the difference between a real chance of going downfield and game over......

We should have taken the delay of game and punted

It didn't surprise me at all. The first two long snaps (punts) were low snaps. Weather related? I don't know. The second one caused Ryan to have to run and on it he smacked his face on the ground and was reported as questionable to return. Two bad snaps and the holder questionable is what I am sure led to the decision to not kick on 4th and 13. Had they gone witth a backup holder, (most likely RW) it could have had disasterous results.

The more I think about this, I think this would have been a good time for a fake field goal attempt. With Ryan banged up temporarily you could have tjack as the "holder," or someone else. Wouldn't have been any worse.

Mind boggling