I’ve been a reader and a fan of Gregg Easterbrook for a long time now, mostly because he advocates a style of football that I agree with. Namely, a logical version that works all the time in Madden, most of the time in real life and is used rarely if ever in the professional level.
(I also like how when I finish a column of his, an entire morning has vanished, I’ve found out about at least one neat news item I overlooked and I feel about 50 IQ points smarter…)
One of the pillars of his style of football is that on a 4th and short you go for it almost all of the time (ie, not stuck inside your own 30 yard line). It makes sense, since most running plays net you about 3 or 4 yards.
And that’s what the Broncos did on Sunday afternoon. Twice, actually. It was late in the final quarter, Denver had a fourth and two and they went for it. And it worked. Three downs later, they faced the same situation – and a quick pass netted them another first down, keeping their final drive alive and setting up a game winning field goal.
Of course, if they had gone for it on a fourth down (and shorter then either of the fourth downs they went for) instead of kicking (and missing) with about 3:30 left in the fourth, they never would have had to put together such a drive.
(But then again, had they done that, I wouldn’t have a column.)
It was nice, refreshing and kind of exciting to see a team do this, too. The Broncos proved that going for it on a fourth down works, but it’s a lesson that I’m afraid isn’t going to catch on in the NFL, in the NCAA or even in high school. Sure, they got the first down (and a few extra yards) people will argue, but what if they had been stopped? What then, Mr. Reads that Commie Pinko on ESPN.com?
Well, coaching is a job where you’re expected to take some risks. The day you decide that you’re not going to risk anything, that the fear of failing is bigger then the allure of winning, is the day you wake up, realizing that you’re coaching a community college team in Idaho.
As a bit of an afterthought, is it just me or does Gus Johnson have maybe the best resume in recent sports broadcasting memory? First it was the Vermont/Syracuse game. Then it was UCLA/Gonzaga. And then Ohio State/Xavier. Most recently, this Denver/Buffalo game. I wonder what’s next.
