Making the WRONG choice when both choices are RIGHT

I've been amazed by the poor decisions made by our Head Coach with regard to clock management and game management this season.
The latest examples:

  1. Attempting a field goal when trailing by 15 points 24-9 with less than 5 minutes remaining, turning a two possession game into a (yep) two possession game.

  2. Then, trailing again by 15 points, the Cats score a TD with about a minute left, making the score 27-18. Taaffe leaves the offense out to try for a two point convert, then at the last minute, reconsiders, calls a timeout and then sends out the kicking team.

Hey Coach! Either decision is fine. You can try the two pointer now or later in this scenario. It doesn't matter. You can't make the wrong call in this scenario!

Oh wait, the wrong call would be to inexplicably burn a timeout trying to decide and then change your mind. That timeout was desperately needed if you recover the onside kick, or to stop the clock if you don't. Unbelievable!

Hey Coach! Either decision is fine. You can try the two pointer now or later in this scenario. It doesn't matter. You can't make the wrong call in this scenario!
No! either decision is not fine and that why I am assuming Taaffe changed his mind because if you miss that 2 point convert the game is over.

If you miss the two point convert you’re down by 9 in a one possession game.

You need one two point convert and one single point convert and you need to make both.
It does not matter in which order you try each of them.

But the timeout that you waste dithering will cost you football games.

If you miss the first one your done! Onside kick doesn’t count, retriving the ball doesn’t matter, scoring another touchdown doesn’t matter.

Get the needed points first and go for the risk when it counts, at the end.

Actually most CFL coaches in this situation try the two pointer first, but the argument is spurious because you simply need to make them now or make them later.
Arguing with yourself, then burning a timeout is clearly the worst possible outcome and is so Mickey Mouse it deserves ears.

Really? Who? and why? It doesn’t make sense. It would be nice to have a timeout but it doesn’t really matter. 30 seconds to get down field from half plus the clock stops after every first down and you run your last play with time expired.

You're now trying to convince us that timeouts don't matter when you're trailing by a touchdown with less than a minute to play in the ball game.
Just go ahead and dither away those timeouts to kick a convert - 'timeouts don't matter', lol.
You must either be daft, Taaffe, or his next Offensive Co-ordinator.

Actually, the funniest thing about all of this is that you know what you would do if down by nine points pending the conversion, and so do I, but Charlie doesn't. He has to think about it, then makes a decision, then reverses himself and has to burn a timeout to kick the simple convert.
That's why his team is 2 and 15.

Taaffe made the right call. Instincts might have told him to go for the 2, build confidence and see what happens. However,once you realize that if you miss the 2 point conversion it's game over you have to take the single.

This isn't the NFL with the time stoppage in the CFL 30 seconds from middle field is plenty of time. And I did say it would be great to have the time out....but not the end of the world.

He used the timeout because Richie wanted to go for two when the absolute right call is to go for one.

Well scotty_dogg gets it!

I don’t see the big deal in calling the time out. This just seems to be an agenda in adding to the people who question Taaffe’s ability. These are probably the same who rejoiced when we hired him. Funny how losing taints people’s logic.

Taaffe has won everywhere he has gone, do you guys honestly think he forgot how to coach in 1 season.

This is minute nitpicking because things seem so bad.

Everywhere?
Certainly not here in Hamilton…

It’s hard to believe he’s forgotten how to coach in 1 season, but darn it if he doesn’t keep trying to convince us…

Burning a timeout at such a critical point in the game is just another of the countless bonehead moves made by Taffe this year....

As a head coach, peewee or above you need to have things planned ahead.
If we score we do this…
If it is 3rd down and less than XX yards we do this.

I think they should have gone for the 2 pointer on the first TD.
If it failed they now know they need another TD, and another on-side kick with FG.
Why wait until the 2nd TD to go for 2??
There is no advantage, only a disadvantage.

There certainly is an advantage. You get the single and then you only need a TD and converted 2 point attepmt to TIE the game. Thus making it a 1 possession game. Those are much better odds than going for 2 nbot getting and needing 2 possesions to win.

LMFAO.
Sir, the 'odds' of getting a single convert and a two point convert in two attempts are the same regardless of the order in which you try them.
OMG, I laughed and laughed at your latest post (and so would any first year Stats student). Thanx for this - you really brightened my day.

It's the needing 2 possesions to win that has lower odds. Not the order in which you get them. Re read my post before you try to insult my intelligence.

I'll actually dumb it down a bit.

If you take the single. You need a TD and a 2 point conversion to tie the game and take your chances in O.T.

If you go for 2 and DON'T get it. You need a TD and a 2 point conversion, and another possesion to try for a FG to win.

Which has better odds of success?

Scotty: I'm not insulting your intelligence.
Just try to follow okay?

Charlie's & Scotty Dogg's Scenario:
The odds of scoring a 1 pt convert: 99%
The odds of scoring a 2 pt convert: 40%

Alternative (Traditional Scenario:
The odds of scoring a 2 pt convert: 40%
The odds of scoring a 1 pt convert: 99%

If you assume (as your post implies) that the 2 pointer will not be successful, then you will not win under EITHER SCENARIO.
If you assume that you have a 40% chance whether you do it after the first or second TD, which is of course accurate then it is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT whether you do it after the first or second TD.
Just don't burn a timeout hurting your head thinking about this or dithering or changing your mind as it is very very basic logic.

If all this is boiling down to a timeout, we've reached an all time low here. At that time and this point in the season the team is probably looking for any kind of momentum or emotional charge it can get. Maybe their gut reaction said to go for it.

However, you have to play it safe. When you do have a chance to force the game to O.T. you play that scenario. The odds of winning in O.T. are greater then than they are if the 2 point conversion is failed. Okay they blew a time out. But they did so in making the right call.