This may sound a bit pedantic but I really think it needs to be said. In spite of winning and in spite of having what many consider to be the best QB and offense in football, I continue to worry about the in game decisions coming from this coaching staff.
Last week’s win was tremendous. Brady called, by far, his best game ever. The Bills seemingly moved the ball at will on the Lion’s defense. Time and time again his play calls were perfect for the situation. There was one instance, however, where his play call could have cost the Bills the game. Just before half-time, the Bills were driving for a score that would hopefully put them up by 14 points at the half. With 2;34 left in the half the Bills were up 21-14 and had the ball 1st and goal at the Lions 3 yard line. The goals here, in order were: 1) Get a Touchdown; and 2) if possible run as much time off the clock to prevent the Lions from having enough time left on the clock to score. On first down a run was called and Cook was stopped after a one yard gain. It was then second and goal from the 2 yard line at the two-minute warning. The next two calls were odd, if not mind boggling. Remember the prior loss against the Rams where Brady was criticized for the tush-push on first and goal instead of a pass because the former allowed the clock to run (which was against the Bills interest) while a pass, if incomplete, would stop the clock (or be a Touchdown). Sunday v the Lions, faced with the exact opposite situation (we wanted the clock to run and wanted to give the Lions the least amount of time to score when they got the ball back) Brady did the exact opposite of what should have been the plan. Instead of sneaking Josh from the two (even if he didn’t make it the clock would run or Detroit would need to use a TO), he calls a pass play, which if incomplete would stop the clock. While the pass was in fact completed for a one yard gain and while the Lions were forced to use a TO it just didn’t make sense to call that play at that time of the game while in such a short yardage situation. The call on 3rd and one was even more odd. Third and goal from the one. 1:53 left in the half. Every single time the Bills had tried the Allen Tush Push previously during the year they’d gained AT LEAST one yard. By sneaking at this time of the game we would either score or, if stopped, force the Lions to use another TO. It was a no lose situation. In spite of this fact Brady called for a play whereby Josh was in the shotgun formation, eliminating any chance of the 100% previously reliable one yard tush push gain and resulting TD. Why? It makes no sense. Was he trying to show how smart he was? Again, if the goal was TD or time off the clock, a shotgun pass (one would assume it was a pass play because the most efficient one yard running play all year was the sneak) would stop the clock if incomplete. The sneak had no downside-a pass did. We all saw what transpired: phantom false start penalty on Dawkins, Incomplete pass and missed FG.
The next situation that called for a coaching decision was again mind boggling. With two seconds left in the half the Bills had the ball on the Lions 48. With not enough time on the clock to get into better field position the Bills were faced with either a long 66 yard FG (Bass had made a 61 yarder previously this year with plenty of room to spare) or a Hail Mary (remember Aaron Rodgers successful Hail Mary against us before halftime earlier this year). Instead of choosing an option which gave the bills a chance of putting up points, the Bills chose a WR screen to Shakir which had zero chance of resulting in points. WTF??? Why not throw up a Hail Mary? What risk was there? I can understand being overly cautious on the FG as it could have been blocked and could have been returned for a TD (extremely low chance) but there was no reason why a Hail Mary wasn’t called.
The third situation involving bad coaching decisions came at the endo of the game. With the clock running, the Bills lined up for a FG attempt just before the two-minute warning. The Lions were down by four points but had all three of their TO’s remaining. Instead of letting the clock tick down to 2:03 and calling a time-out, the Bills snapped the ball with 2:07 left on the clock. Had the Bills called TO and then kicked the FG at the 2:03 point, the play would have caused the clock to run to the two-minute warning, thus giving the Lions only three stoppages of play once they got the ball back. Instead, by kicking with 2:07 on the clock the Lions got the ball back with 2:03 left, giving them the two minute warning PLUS three TO’s left. Giving team an extra TO in that situation is inexcusable. It’s just another time that McDermott failed to make the correct call when faced with a clock issue. Like the time out he called after Josh’s failed two yard sneak late in the Rams game, McDermott continues to be unable to make the right call when faced with game situations.
I know this may sound critical. I do believe McDermott is a good coach. I do believe that Brady has become a good offensive coordinator. That said, I question whether we can rely upon them to make the right call at the right time (remember 13 seconds) and worry that this consistent issue will raise it’s ugly head down the road and again cost us a chance at a Super Bowl. I want a coach that goes for the win rather than hoping his defense will prevail. Last week, McVea was faced with a fourth down and five call. He could kick a FG and put his team up by 6 and give Josh the ball back with an opportunity to score a TD and win the game, or he could go for it and, if successful, realistically eliminate any chance for the Bills comeback. He chose the former. In a similar situation earlier this year against the Cardinals, McDermott was faced with the same situation. Fourth and two, up by three: kick the FG and go up by six and give the Cards the ball back with 1:30 left and a chance to win or go for it and close out the game. McDermott, of course, chose the passive option and kicked the FG. Had Pass interference been called ( as it easily could have been) with 32 seconds left the Cards would have had the ball 1st and goal at the Bills 2 and probably would have won the game. I want a coach who goes for it in these situations rather than a guy who takes the conservative route and hopes his defense succeeds. We all remember 13 seconds. Let’s hope we don’t face a similar situation again as I’m not confident that McDermott will make the right call.
GO BILLS!!!