The CFL has the single point....why don't we take advantage of it? Late in the fourth on about the Winnipeg 45 and up by 6 [ coach rules out the field goal try, if successful makes it a 2 score game ] Medlock tries for the corner and misfires. Too make matters worse there is a 15 yard no yards call putting the ball on the 35. We gained...10 yards and no points on the exchange!
Hoof it through the end zone, go up by 7 and give them the ball on the 35. Trust the defence to make a stop. I know the idea is give them a long field but your still hoping for a stop right. Take the point and you are in the same position and that is your hoping for a stop. If you don't get one well then your up by 7 and a tie is imminent not a loss.
I think they { all coaches } overthink field position...take the points when you can especially in a close game and your deep in their territory.
That makes too much common sense, but then we don't get paid the big bucks to coach, do we? Though if we did, we would have done that, and not have our safety playing 15-20 yards away from line of scrimmage, and wouldn't have had to call a timeout, and give the other team a chance to discuss what play to call.
I understand the frustration with the coaches strategy...but ultimately, these guys - the players - get paid to execute. And Medlock didn't...his punt sucked...the two guys that didn't even know where the ball was and took a 15-yard penalty didn't execute...
Okay, so a single would have been okay, but you gotta be able to trust your ST to pin them down...inside the 15? and your defence has to be able to pin them there...
If Austin has to change his strategy because his players can't execute, then he needs to get new players that CAN!
First, lets correct a few basic facts. For one, it was not late in the 4th, there were 8 and a half minutes left. Second, we were on the 49, not the 45.
49 yard line = 56 yard field goal = 62 yard punt to the goal line = 66.5 yards from a punter on a hash to the nearest corner peg (dust off your high school math) = 82 yards to the back of the end zone
Medlock's average punt this year is 42 yards. Assuming he's kicking it straight most of the time, his average actual punting distance is around 56 yards. There was zero option of hoofing it through the back. If he has his best kick of the game, with absolutely perfect aim, he might be able to hit the corner peg, but that's asking a lot of him.
There's a reason you almost never see teams throw their punter on to get a single over kicking a field goal and that's because honestly, it almost always easier to just to kick the darned field goal.
For the record, I actually agree with the general point that coaches avoid the single too often, just not that it was a viable option here.
There is not much the coverage guys can do to adjust to the ball. They practice getting close to where the ball is expected to land to limit the return. When the ball is punted short, like on two of the plays, or when it bounces back, like on the other one, they are almost guaranteed to get penalized.
I do think that Medlock should have been told to kick it as far as he could to the sidelines. If it goes out in the end zone, we get the rouge and go ahead by seven. If it goes out before the end zone, then the Bombers are pinned deep. And if it doesn’t go out of bounds, then the coverage team just has to force the returner to the outside, with the same possible results - unless, of course, the returner beats the coverage, which could also happen on a coffin corner attempt.
It's not Medlocks fault he was told to keep the punt in the field of play and try to aim for the sidelines inside the 20 or 10 if he could hit it, it's a bad coaching decision and I agree if you have the single in the CFL, the wind at your back and your punting from mid field heck punt the ball 60 yards plus and get a single, unless you have great accuracy off your foot and youy can boot the ball into the coffin corner!
Silly talk. There is no better way to pin them deep than to kick it as far as you can. Teeing it up for a field goal allows Medlock to rear back and crank it. The single is good or pin them deep better.
Anybody remember the game where they lined up in field goal formation, and Ossie kicked the ball out of bounds towards the corner flag.
FGs are kicked from 8 yards closer than punts, and the kicking accuracy is better.
Some coach will try it again one day.
I don’t remember Ozzie doing it, but I do remember Montreal’s onside field goal two years ago. Absolutely brilliant, especially because it’s an automatic first down as long the ball is kicked across the line of scrimmage, no matter how far it goes. Although, in that case they only needed a yard or so, so didn’t really affect the decision. But consider 3rd and 15 or more - only have to lob it up a few yards over the line and let the onside players run underneath it.
Its funny you mention that because being an old Rugby player as Ozzie is, I asked him about that very option one time when I bumped into him shopping. He seemed to think it was a risky play because one touch and out of bounds off the opponent and they have great field position. Better to kick away deep with a lead and little time left and let your D wrap up the win.