Okay, We Won The Game......BUT??

I saw it as more of an FU to convention, which Austin has often done. Gable is also a very good ball handler, and I’m sure he appreciated some extra running.

The Cats are talented enough to do almost anything they want.

I think I mentioned this in another thread, but it may have been an attempt to score another touchdown in order to get a bigger point-differential. It had me shaking my head too; however, I agree with attempting (and scoring) the PAT instead of the 2-pointer at that stage of the game.

I tend to disagree about going for 2 points. At that point we were up by one. Adding another single would make it 2. A field goal by the Evil Empire could have won it. Also the PAT is not a gimmee anymore.

:cowboy:

It’s not a question about talent. It’s a question about playing “smart”. What if Masoli or Gable fumbled the ball and the Eskimos picked up the fumble and scored or set themselves up for a touchdown? Don’t think it couldn’t happen because I watched Eric Norwood do the exact thing in Edmonton last year.

Don’t know what you’re talking about here Mike? The play we’re talking about occurred when the score was 31-26 for the Esks. A two-point convert puts the 'Cats to within 3 points if successfull but by going for one point they would have been down by 4 points if Maher made that convert which he didn’t do anyways.

Sorry I thought it was after our last TD that we went for the 2 point play? Perhaps oldtimer’s disease is striking once again. :oops:

Alright I'll play this silly game called "Okay, We won the game......BUT ?? " :slight_smile:

YES we won the game BUT consider the fact that in order to have that amazing 25 pt comeback that we had to play really lousy to get behind on the scoreboard by 25 pts in the first place before we actually pulled it off. :slight_smile:

You know, rewatching the game I don't think we played that bad in the first half. It was more a case of Edmonton marching and finishing effectively.

[url=http://www.tsn.ca/cfl-must-see/video/cfl-must-see-owens-climbs-the-ladder-for-incredible-grab~917406]http://www.tsn.ca/cfl-must-see/video/cf ... rab~917406[/url]

Looks like I haven’t lost it yet. The two point play did put us up by 3. Therefore I think it was the right call. Going for the single PAT (a risk in itself) would have put us up by 2 and vulnerable to a game winning field goal by the Evil Empire. If we had missed the two point conversion that would have left us in the same position - being vulnerable to a game winning field goal. There was still 9:30 remaining in the game.

:rockin:

You are correct that the Ticats went for two points after that touchdown. And I don’t think anyone would disagree that that was the correct call at that time.

But the decision people are questioning was going for the one-point conversion on the previous touchdown. The touchdown made the score 31-26 - down by five. A one point conversion puts us down by four, meaning we’re still behind if we score just a field goal, but the two point conversion puts us within tying distance with a field goal. So why only go for one?

I’m thinking Austin was playing it a bit cocky here. Perhaps he was telling offence with this call, “I know you could score the two-point conversion, but I also know you can score another touchdown take the lead.” Also, maybe he was thinking that missing the two point conversion this time forces him to go for two when they did get that next touchdown to take a three point lead (which they ended up having to do anyway because they missed the one pointer).

I suspect there’s a lot more going on in that head of his than a lot of us we give him credit for.

I agree with that last comment. “In Kent I trust”. He is right too many times for it to be co-incidence.

(And thanks for the clarification - old timers is still at work when you lose comprehension - :smiley: )

:thup: :thup: :thup:

Yay, CFIO…somebody who “gets it”!!! I guess the only question here is, when does the coach start watching the scoreboard to make these decisions? Is it with 12, 10, 8 or less minutes left in the game??? Personally, I think you have to play the scoreboard once you’ve reached the fourth quarter. I’d love to ask Austin this question and I will if I get the chance to do so, but more than that I’d ask him why he didn’t go into victory formation in the final :28 seconds.

Yeah, that one’s a real head-scratcher.

I wish we still had the old “Quarterback Club” meetings where fans could ask coaches and players questions. Perhaps an alternative will be to see if Drew Edwards might ask Austin for us. I will email him and let you know if I get a response.

:cowboy:

My email to Drew Edwards:

[b]Hi Drew.

On the Ticat forum a number of people are wondering why Austin didn't call the "victory formation" with 28 seconds left in the Edmonton game. Did you ask him this question? If not, could you ask it for some fans who are curious about his decision to run CJ twice before the "victory formation" was used on the last play of the game?

I know I, and other 'rabid' Ticat fans would like to get his reasoning if he is willing to share it. Heck you can even show him this email so he doesn't think it was you asking a "silly" question.

Thanks for reading,

Mike[/b]

A Quarterback’s club, aka a “Ask The Coach”, on these forums for a few hours sometime the week after each game is a good idea. Even if we just have one of the assistant coaches answer some of these questions it would be better than all of our endless speculations.
As to the running plays at the end of the game - even Scott Mitchell was wondering about that one when I was speaking to him earlier this week. My best guess is that the coaches were not certain about exactly how much time taking a knee would consume compared to how many seconds were remaining. We didn’t want to give the Esks even the opportunity for a hail-mary, so running the ball ensured we consumed the remaining time. But that’s just my speculation. Let me try to find out.

You both have it exactly right. The game the coaches are watching bears little resemblance to the game us fans are watching. I’ve had the pleasure to hang out with the coaching staff for the last ten years and it constantly amazes me how dramatically different my perception of what happened is from their understanding of what worked and did not work and why.
It kinda explains why our coaches never read these forums. :wink:
Having said that - these forums are for the entertainment of us Ticat fans, and second-guessing coaching decisions is the most entertaining part of being a football fan. :rockin:

"You both have it exactly right. The game the coaches are watching bears little resemblance to the game us fans are watching. I've had the pleasure to hang out with the coaching staff for the last ten years and it constantly amazes me how dramatically different my perception of what happened is from their understanding of what worked and did not work and why.
It kinda explains why our coaches never read these forums. :wink:
Having said that - these forums are for the entertainment of us Ticat fans, and second-guessing coaching decisions is the most entertaining part of being a football fan. :rockin:"

I understand why the question, Bob.

But, I always thought that the most entertaining part of being a fan is in enjoying the victory.

I tend to save my questions for when we lose the game.

"I wish we still had the old "Quarterback Club" meetings where fans could ask coaches and players questions. Perhaps an alternative will be to see if Drew Edwards might ask Austin for us. I will email him and let you know if I get a
response. "

I remember those meetings at the Sheraton Connaught. Perc Allen was usually the host. The panel was a mixture of players and coaches. There were the Q and A's from the fans, door prizes (I won twice) and at the end, they would show the game film from the previous encounter with commentary from one of the assistant coaches.

I miss those sessions. They were a lot of fun, especially as a young fan. It was a great opportunity to gather autographs and to see the players up close.

Ooops, I just gave away my age!!!

Unfortunately, with today’s technology, the contents of these meetings will be available in real-time for anyone who wants to view them. You can bet that the various scouting and coaching staffs of all the other teams would be paying some serious attention to these meetings!