My take on the football game

[OZZIE4DUKE]

As posted elsewhere.

I have just gotten home from the basketball game and have read none of this thread. I will endeavor to do that later, probably tomorrow morning. For now, and I will expand on this thought later, all I will say is that Curt Roper must be removed from his post as Offensive Coordinator or at least should not be the person calling the plays. Not saying he has to be fired - Cutcliffe isn't going to do that. He can be reassigned, or demoted, or made towel boy for all I care, but until he isn't calling our plays, excellent efforts like today's will result in close, frustrating losses and not thrilling victories. We should be 6 - 3 today and not 3 - 6. And it's all Curt Roper's fault.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

FWIW, I second (or is it "re-second") that. It seems unanimous coming from all directions. He's had almost an entire season to see the light. He just doesn't, bless his heart. He let the team down again on Saturday. These guys deserve better.
Love, Ima

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I have yet to visit and read the thread, but I do have one negative comment (zpork) and -2 points on it. I'm down to 323...

[lawgrad91]

I call for vote on this motion.

The playcalling has been atrocious this season.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Thanks AD. You got me back up to 324!

Now, about your latest question in WWWD...

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I've posted my response, post #121.

[ArkieDukie]

If I could give you sporks again, I would. The call that frustrated me was the field goal attempt at the end of the first half. If I had been calling the plays, I would've gone for the TD. Chances were about as good as those of hitting a 57 yd field goal.

I was watching the AR-Vandy game while watching the Duke game. AR had the ball on the 11 yd line with 13 sec left in the first half. They went for the TD and got it. Made me think of the Wake game last weekend and what might've been.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

If I could give you sporks again, I would. The call that frustrated me was the field goal attempt at the end of the first half. If I had been calling the plays, I would've gone for the TD. Chances were about as good as those of hitting a 57 yd field goal.

I was watching the AR-Vandy game while watching the Duke game. AR had the ball on the 11 yd line with 13 sec left in the first half. They went for the TD and got it. Made me think of the Wake game last weekend and what might've been.

I would have made the same decision AD, for the same reason. I've said so several times, including before we tried the FG. GMTA!

[devildeac]

If I could give you sporks again, I would. The call that frustrated me was the field goal attempt at the end of the first half. If I had been calling the plays, I would've gone for the TD. Chances were about as good as those of hitting a 57 yd field goal.

I was watching the AR-Vandy game while watching the Duke game. AR had the ball on the 11 yd line with 13 sec left in the first half. They went for the TD and got it. Made me think of the Wake game last weekend and what might've been.

I would have made the same decision AD, for the same reason. I've said so several times, including before we tried the FG. GMTA!

Snyderwine's range is 60 yds. I agree with Cut's choice here instead of a Hail Mary or flea flicker. I don't agree with his/Roper's calls on 2nd/3rd and short on several occasions. I think the Boone option is OK but Boone must be given the chance to throw more. That being said, he badly overthrew a wide open TE (or center or OG or OT) in the endzone on that wild formation we took inside the 5 on one occasion. And I am being kind when I say badly. And I was 150 yds away. Looked like there was not a hokie pokie within 5 yds of him. I liked the idea of the FG after the OC f'ed up another series in the red zone but Will hit the upright . Will was an AA last year and is supposed to have fully recovered from his injury. He HAS to make one of the 28 or 39 yds FGA. That makes our last possession NOT need a TD. I thought it foolish to go for a 40 yd play on 2nd and short from about our 40 on our last possession. Get the damn 1st down with a 3-5 yd pass and get yourself 4 more downs from your 45 or mid-field with about 90 seconds to go. Plus, Sean overthrew that ball, too. That Gillen TO we called earlier that half to avoid a delay penalty was also poor clock/QB/sideline management, too.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

If I could give you sporks again, I would. The call that frustrated me was the field goal attempt at the end of the first half. If I had been calling the plays, I would've gone for the TD. Chances were about as good as those of hitting a 57 yd field goal.

I was watching the AR-Vandy game while watching the Duke game. AR had the ball on the 11 yd line with 13 sec left in the first half. They went for the TD and got it. Made me think of the Wake game last weekend and what might've been.

I would have made the same decision AD, for the same reason. I've said so several times, including before we tried the FG. GMTA!

Snyderwine's range is 60 yds. I agree with Cut's choice here instead of a Hail Mary or flea flicker. I don't agree with his/Roper's calls on 2nd/3rd and short on several occasions. I think the Boone option is OK but Boone must be given the chance to throw more. That being said, he badly overthrew a wide open TE (or center or OG or OT) in the endzone on that wild formation we took inside the 5 on one occasion. And I am being kind when I say badly. And I was 150 yds away. Looked like there was not a hokie pokie within 5 yds of him. I liked the idea of the FG after the OC f'ed up another series in the red zone but Will hit the upright . Will was an AA last year and is supposed to have fully recovered from his injury. He HAS to make one of the 28 or 39 yds FGA. That makes our last possession NOT need a TD. I thought it foolish to go for a 40 yd play on 2nd and short from about our 40 on our last possession. Get the damn 1st down with a 3-5 yd pass and get yourself 4 more downs from your 45 or mid-field with about 90 seconds to go. Plus, Sean overthrew that ball, too. That Gillen TO we called earlier that half to avoid a delay penalty was also poor clock/QB/sideline management, too.

On the coaches show Cut said the Center stopped running and that's why he was overthrown. He wasn't supposed to stop and Boone threw it to where the C was supposed to get to to catch the friggin' ball. I think a bit more air under the ball might have helped too, but he had already stopped so it was immaterial at that point.

And no, we needed TD's, not FG's. We got neither.

[devildeac]

I would have made the same decision AD, for the same reason. I've said so several times, including before we tried the FG. GMTA!

Snyderwine's range is 60 yds. I agree with Cut's choice here instead of a Hail Mary or flea flicker. I don't agree with his/Roper's calls on 2nd/3rd and short on several occasions. I think the Boone option is OK but Boone must be given the chance to throw more. That being said, he badly overthrew a wide open TE (or center or OG or OT) in the endzone on that wild formation we took inside the 5 on one occasion. And I am being kind when I say badly. And I was 150 yds away. Looked like there was not a hokie pokie within 5 yds of him. I liked the idea of the FG after the OC f'ed up another series in the red zone but Will hit the upright . Will was an AA last year and is supposed to have fully recovered from his injury. He HAS to make one of the 28 or 39 yds FGA. That makes our last possession NOT need a TD. I thought it foolish to go for a 40 yd play on 2nd and short from about our 40 on our last possession. Get the damn 1st down with a 3-5 yd pass and get yourself 4 more downs from your 45 or mid-field with about 90 seconds to go. Plus, Sean overthrew that ball, too. That Gillen TO we called earlier that half to avoid a delay penalty was also poor clock/QB/sideline management, too.

On the coaches show Cut said the Center stopped running and that's why he was overthrown. He wasn't supposed to stop and Boone threw it to where the C was supposed to get to to catch the friggin' ball. I think a bit more air under the ball might have helped too, but he had already stopped so it was immaterial at that point.

And no, we needed TD's, not FG's. We got neither.

I agree we always need more TDs but, in this game, we needed to make 1 FG out of the 2 (realistic ones) to put us in postion to drive to their 20 or so with 90 seconds to go instead of their endzone. You've got to trust your PK to make a high %ge of those FG like last year. Now, last year, our decision to kick multiple FG cost us the Merlin game but this year, the Surgan-like misses have cost us 2 games, Richmond and VT. With Will injured for the Richmond game, he gets a pass (but the ones he missed were shorties, IIRC). I'll blame the OC (and 3 air tackles) for the WFU loss. Plus, our inability to (double) cover/stay with a WR in the end zone on a QB scramble on 3rd and long (I think) was a killer play, too.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I agree we always need more TDs but, in this game, we needed to make 1 FG out of the 2 (realistic ones) to put us in postion to drive to their 20 or so with 90 seconds to go instead of their endzone. You've got to trust your PK to make a high %ge of those FG like last year. Now, last year, our decision to kick multiple FG cost us the Merlin game but this year, the Surgan-like misses have cost us 2 games, Richmond and VT. With Will injured for the Richmond game, he gets a pass (but the ones he missed were shorties, IIRC). I'll blame the OC (and 3 air tackles) for the WFU loss. Plus, our inability to (double) cover/stay with a WR in the end zone on a QB scramble on 3rd and long (I think) was a killer play, too.

No, the math doesn't work if you extrapolate to the end of the game. Had we kicked 2 FG's to take a 16 - 14 lead with a 60 to 90 seconds left, it is far too easy for VT to have driven into FG range and then kick a game winning FG of their own and win 17 - 16. Even though we did have numerous 3 and outs against them (YAY!), there were many "bend but not break" stops as well, and, after all, we are still Duke, we would have been in a prevent defense in that last minute (we know how well that usually turns out...), and we needed a 3 point lead to have not lost when they kicked that end of game FG. A 1 or 2 point lead was trusting fate to think we could hold it, and we are not at that point. While you ponder this, remember, I am the optimist. We needed a 3 point lead.

[devildeac]

I agree we always need more TDs but, in this game, we needed to make 1 FG out of the 2 (realistic ones) to put us in postion to drive to their 20 or so with 90 seconds to go instead of their endzone. You've got to trust your PK to make a high %ge of those FG like last year. Now, last year, our decision to kick multiple FG cost us the Merlin game but this year, the Surgan-like misses have cost us 2 games, Richmond and VT. With Will injured for the Richmond game, he gets a pass (but the ones he missed were shorties, IIRC). I'll blame the OC (and 3 air tackles) for the WFU loss. Plus, our inability to (double) cover/stay with a WR in the end zone on a QB scramble on 3rd and long (I think) was a killer play, too.

No, the math doesn't work if you extrapolate to the end of the game. Had we kicked 2 FG's to take a 16 - 14 lead with a 60 to 90 seconds left, it is far too easy for VT to have driven into FG range and then kick a game winning FG of their own and win 17 - 16. Even though we did have numerous 3 and outs against them (YAY!), there were many "bend but not break" stops as well, and, after all, we are still Duke, we would have been in a prevent defense in that last minute (we know how well that usually turns out...), and we needed a 3 point lead to have not lost when they kicked that end of game FG. A 1 or 2 point lead was trusting fate to think we could hold it, and we are not at that point. While you ponder this, remember, I am the optimist. We needed a 3 point lead.

The math does work if we could have picked up about 30-35 yards from the 2nd and 3 from about our 42. Instead, we throw one away to the right side lines (Ithink) and then try a 40 yard pass that is overthrown on 3rd and 3 when we only needed a curl/hook/slant pattern to get the first. Yea, we had no TO left after our brain fart I mentioned above, but a 1st down stops the clock to move the chains at least and there are still probably 60 seconds left with 4 fresh downs. So, ideally we pick up another couple 1st downs and set up for the game winning FG with less than 20-30 seconds to go from inside their 30. Surely, Will was not going to miss another one . Then, they get the ball back with only time left for 1-2 plays and our prevent D works for those 1-2 plays with 3 down linemen, 2 LB and 6 DB on the field with no one allowed behind them. Now who's the optimist?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I agree we always need more TDs but, in this game, we needed to make 1 FG out of the 2 (realistic ones) to put us in postion to drive to their 20 or so with 90 seconds to go instead of their endzone. You've got to trust your PK to make a high %ge of those FG like last year. Now, last year, our decision to kick multiple FG cost us the Merlin game but this year, the Surgan-like misses have cost us 2 games, Richmond and VT. With Will injured for the Richmond game, he gets a pass (but the ones he missed were shorties, IIRC). I'll blame the OC (and 3 air tackles) for the WFU loss. Plus, our inability to (double) cover/stay with a WR in the end zone on a QB scramble on 3rd and long (I think) was a killer play, too.

No, the math doesn't work if you extrapolate to the end of the game. Had we kicked 2 FG's to take a 16 - 14 lead with a 60 to 90 seconds left, it is far too easy for VT to have driven into FG range and then kick a game winning FG of their own and win 17 - 16. Even though we did have numerous 3 and outs against them (YAY!), there were many "bend but not break" stops as well, and, after all, we are still Duke, we would have been in a prevent defense in that last minute (we know how well that usually turns out...), and we needed a 3 point lead to have not lost when they kicked that end of game FG. A 1 or 2 point lead was trusting fate to think we could hold it, and we are not at that point. While you ponder this, remember, I am the optimist. We needed a 3 point lead.

The math does work if we could have picked up about 30-35 yards from the 2nd and 3 from about our 42. Instead, we throw one away to the right side lines (Ithink) and then try a 40 yard pass that is overthrown on 3rd and 3 when we only needed a curl/hook/slant pattern to get the first. Yea, we had no TO left after our brain fart I mentioned above, but a 1st down stops the clock to move the chains at least and there are still probably 60 seconds left with 4 fresh downs. So, ideally we pick up another couple 1st downs and set up for the game winning FG with less than 20-30 seconds to go from inside their 30. Surely, Will was not going to miss another one . Then, they get the ball back with only time left for 1-2 plays and our prevent D works for those 1-2 plays with 3 down linemen, 2 LB and 6 DB on the field with no one allowed behind them. Now who's the optimist?

I'm an optimist, I'm not a drug user!

[devildeac]

No, the math doesn't work if you extrapolate to the end of the game. Had we kicked 2 FG's to take a 16 - 14 lead with a 60 to 90 seconds left, it is far too easy for VT to have driven into FG range and then kick a game winning FG of their own and win 17 - 16. Even though we did have numerous 3 and outs against them (YAY!), there were many "bend but not break" stops as well, and, after all, we are still Duke, we would have been in a prevent defense in that last minute (we know how well that usually turns out...), and we needed a 3 point lead to have not lost when they kicked that end of game FG. A 1 or 2 point lead was trusting fate to think we could hold it, and we are not at that point. While you ponder this, remember, I am the optimist. We needed a 3 point lead.

The math does work if we could have picked up about 30-35 yards from the 2nd and 3 from about our 42. Instead, we throw one away to the right side lines (Ithink) and then try a 40 yard pass that is overthrown on 3rd and 3 when we only needed a curl/hook/slant pattern to get the first. Yea, we had no TO left after our brain fart I mentioned above, but a 1st down stops the clock to move the chains at least and there are still probably 60 seconds left with 4 fresh downs. So, ideally we pick up another couple 1st downs and set up for the game winning FG with less than 20-30 seconds to go from inside their 30. Surely, Will was not going to miss another one . Then, they get the ball back with only time left for 1-2 plays and our prevent D works for those 1-2 plays with 3 down linemen, 2 LB and 6 DB on the field with no one allowed behind them. Now who's the optimist?

I'm an optimist, I'm not a drug user!

But I do have a cup in which you can .