On the immediate post game wrap-up on CHML last night, John Salavantis pretty much made a sweeping statement about our final drive that went horribly wrong.
He said: With 48 seconds left after running back the kick-off, it was almost an impossible task anyways.
I know that everyone mostly puts a lot of stock in his words but I do shake my head at some of the ways he can sweep things under the carpet.......at times he sounds like an enabler and will not call out the obvious. It gets frustrating to listen to at times.
Fact is that Coach Sal has been around the CFL long enough to know that 48 seconds can be an eternity if the clock is managed well and the proper plays are called to get in field goal position. That has been proven hundreds and hundreds of times over the years in the CFL......two glaring examples are our Grey Cup win in 1972 and our Grey Cup berth in 1998...and those are just two examples.
Last night's game was very winnable even in the final drive.......two more quick receptions of even 10-12 yards would have been more than enough for Setta to attempt a field goal...
The final interception resembled a last play Hail Mary pass rather than a possession/postive yards play......it wasn't necessary and a sure, quick 10 or 12 or 15 yard pass to the sidelines would have been the play to call......and probably one more after that.
It just struck me funny that Coach Sal would write off the last 48 seconds like that in the CFL........he knows better than that.
Anyways, his comments caught me off guard and I'm wondering what you think about what he said.
That's about all I have to say about the game last night......that was our game and we handed it away on a silver platter. That's a real shame. Many players let the team down when we most needed them.
It wasn't at all impossible. If Kevin Glenn threw under to Bruce instead of trying to do over the shoulder on what looked like a hook route, Bruce would've had it, and we would've had the field goal.
It's easy to question what might have happened. Maybe the short routes were taken away because Edmonton could've anticipated that same scenario. In any case, I think it was a good play call. The execution was faulty though. There was a miscommunication between Glenn and Bruce. Bruce was open and Glenn over threw him. Maybe Bruce cut the route off short. No point in complaining about it. If he catches that ball then we'd be raving about what a gutsy call it was and swooning over this team's killer instinct.
That’s all true…whatever the reasons are that we didn’t get it done in the last drive, the fact is that I believe he is 100% wrong when he said it was a near impossible task anyways. That is incorrect and 48 seconds is a long time in the CFL to at least get in field goal range…more than ample time.
I trust the coaches know that and will stress that very thing to the players and lay out exactly how we should have easily gotten into field goal range with time to spare.
His comment just seemed strange especially with his vast knowledge and coaching experience.
NotaBengal: right on. Bruce was open. If Glenn had hit him both Bruce and Glenn would have been heros on here. it wasn’t the worst play call but it was a little bit of overkill. We didn’t need to get to the 20. the 35 would have been an almost guarantee. Maybe that was taken away but we should have gone with a more conservative play in that situation. We had plenty of time for two more passes.
Anyway, I hope we learned an important lesson in this game. If we did, the loss might be worth it.
I was about to sit down and write how stupid that last play was, with all that time left. But Deerhunter said it all. Three short passes and a field goal, i would also like to know WHO THE #*?@^%$ CALLED THAT LAST PLAY????????????????????????
They had a TONE! of time to do 2 or 3 more quick plays. Correct me if I'm wrong, but do we not get 1 point on FG if it missed but goes out of the end zone?
Was he open? Maybe, and even if he was, why do we go for the low-probability play when 20 yards takes us inside the EE 40, giving Setta better shot than trying to hit Bruce downfield…and the pass wasn’t EVEN close…20 seconds means 3 or 4 plays in the CFL…remember, even if there is :00 on the clock, the play continues till it’s over, unlike the NFL.
I disagree entirely with Coach Sal. But I think he gets paid to say +ve things about the Cats, no matter the situation.
Which year was the Saskatchewan/Ticat Grey Cup? 1986? 1989? Anyways, after Champion’s touchdown, I believe there was about a minute left, and Sas. booted a field goal to win.
Yes - proper time management is possible if you have the right coaches calling the plays…
& the right coaches ( Sal, r u listening?) interpretting them.