Why did Harbaugh take the 3 points instead of taking a 15 yard penalty?

You guys are absolutely ridiculous STFU already.That decision didn't lose us the game, that dumb interception into double coverage that ended up in 7 points or letting Miles Austin and Jason Witten control the game at anytime is what lost us the game. The verdict is still out on Harbaugh BUT hes light years better than the coaches we had and when we make playoffs this year I got a whole lot of crow for you all to eat. Stop being babies we played a hard fought game, support our team and lets have some constructive criticism on here for once.

Originally posted by miked1978:

I can see why he did it but I personally would have taken the first down. What kills me is the fans on this site who don't get why he took the points. I don't know if they are blinded by anger or not. Who is to say Ackers wouldn't have missed his second chance? Who is to say we would have scored a TD? Who is to say we wouldn't have turned the ball over? Who knows what would have happened.

The problem is we have a lot of fans that think what they would do in Madden 12 is what a real coach should do.

Say what u will about never taking points off the board but as of right now harbaugh , singletary and nolan all have somethin in common, they don't coach the game to win , they coach it to not lose. Examples , saints mnf , @ Atlanta, vikings, @ colts, yesterday just to name a few . I'd have more respect for a coach who lost us the game for believing in his team that gettin up by a little bit then tucking his ballsack not tryin to get Tue win

Originally posted by miked1978:
I can see why he did it but I personally would have taken the first down. What kills me is the fans on this site who don't get why he took the points. I don't know if they are blinded by anger or not. Who is to say Ackers wouldn't have missed his second chance? Who is to say we would have scored a TD? Who is to say we wouldn't have turned the ball over? Who knows what would have happened.

We get why he took the points; but, this is a game that you need to play to win instead of playing not to lose. It's all on what you put as a priority, clock time or points. When I have a lead and the ability to run an additional 2 minutes off the clock (coupled with the probability that my kicker will help us make it a 2 score game) I'll take that risk every time.

Your assuming 2 minutes would have come off the clock. The chance of a pick six or a fumble return are just as likely. And I know you wouldn't like the call then.

There's no way of knowing if that decision would've changed the outcome of the game, but it's a classic example of playing not to lose. It shows no faith in your offense OR your place kicker and it sends the message that you're afraid to make a mistake; afraid to have the ball; afraid to take control of your own fate. The most important job that Harbaugh has is to change the culture of losing, the culture of caution, and the culture of fear. Epic fail.

Originally posted by Magzarillious:
You guys are absolutely ridiculous STFU already.That decision didn't lose us the game, that dumb interception into double coverage that ended up in 7 points or letting Miles Austin and Jason Witten control the game at anytime is what lost us the game. The verdict is still out on Harbaugh BUT hes light years better than the coaches we had and when we make playoffs this year I got a whole lot of crow for you all to eat. Stop being babies we played a hard fought game, support our team and lets have some constructive criticism on here for once.

There are alot of reasons why we lost this game. Almost all of them can be justified in some way.... kicking the field goal instead of taking the penalty ensure a 2 possesion lead. It was still a 55 yard field goal... we could have gone 3 and out after the penalty and still had to make a long field goal to make it 2 possesions. It was a safe but gutless call.

Then you could point to the interception that lead to 7 points. It was a costly mistake, but Alex answered back with the TD to Walker, and Dallas made more turnovers than we did.... so that shouldn't have been the game changer.

The biggest reason why we lost IMO are the 6 DRIVE KILLING sacks. This offense is not able to convert 3rd and long situations. A sack for an 8 yard loss on 2nd down effectivly kills the drive. And that happened many times. That is why we lost. Harbaugh needs to install some screen and quick slant plays to counteract an aggressive pass rush.

Originally posted by kingairta:
Your assuming 2 minutes would have come off the clock. The chance of a pick six or a fumble return are just as likely. And I know you wouldn't like the call then.

There is ALWAYS a chance that sth like that would happen. Every sports has its risks and I do understand when Harbaugh says that he won't throw anything in the last quarter if we are leading.
But that risk was very low...

I understand the decision but I would've taken the penalty. Not only could you take more time off the clock but you have a chance to score a TD. Sure, a fumble or INT can happen but that's part of the game and can happen at anytime.

O-line lost this game..... no holes for Gore and 6 sacks of QB..love how everyone blames alex though....but he made one mistake and played a good game well enough to win ....i dont care what game i look at i see 6 sacks in box score and i assume thats a L to whoever got sacked 6 times... OLINE you suck you got owned and D you suck still cant cover worth a lick and all you zoners want to blame alex //good grief charlie brown

This is dumb... hindsight is always 20/20 and fortunately for all of you thats what how you are looking at this... you know the outcome so its much easier to make the decision. IF I were making the decision I would have taken the penalty and my shot at a TD and running additional time off the clock, however there is no way of knowing what would have happened. I don't think this was a terrible call... and I think its ridiculous that it is being debated as much as it is... the greater concern is the secondary's inability to cover anyone and the OL inability to block anyone.

I laugh at the people who say it show's a lack of faith in the Offense... really? Are you sure that it doesn't show that he believes in his Defense? If he accepts the penalty does that mean he doesn't have faith in his Defenses ability to stop the cowboys?

I didn't blame alex, because you cannot throw a 7 step drop back pass when the D is on top of you the moment you turn around. This is coaching error, pure and simple. It is absolutely inconceivable that Harbaugh couldn't see 4 guys with their hands in the dirt, and 4 or 5 other guys standing right beside them. Ball is snapped and at least 3 guys break thru the LOS, and unless alex unloads in a split second he was toast. Worse, when the box 8(or sometimes 9) is coming, then that automatically shuts down a run between the tackles for frank. And Harbaugh must have called one of those two plays at least 10 to 15 times, against the box 8. The ONE time alex came to the line, saw the box 8 and thru a 1 step pass to Morgan it went for 13 yds. That is the play that SHOULD have been called, each and every time the cowboys put 8 guys on the LOS. This is coaching error, guys , whether Harbaugh didn't recognize it, or didn't know what to do with it( I have a hard time believing that)...the outcome was always the same: either alex got sacked, hurried, hit or all the above , or FRank got stoned at LOS.

In retrospect, I almost wonder if our new OC up in the coaching box didn't know what was going on. He's been a college OC at a big time O factory for college kids, and maybe HE was the culprit here. Whatever, whoever, was responsible, when JH reviews these tapes the Box 8 is going to stand out like a sore thumb and he will see why his handoffs to frank and deep pass dropbacks all got canned. It wasn't that hard to see or figure out. Why didn't harbaugh see it? Noln, singletary...I can understand that. But JH? that is a puzzler. Bet on this: he either fixes our repsonse to box 8 or he is going to see it all game every game until he does fix it.

the decision alone did not lose us the game, but it certainly didn't help either. Lets move on.

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
the decision alone did not lose us the game, but it certainly didn't help either. Lets move on.

For real. I expected to lose this game when I saw the schedule. This team is much improved under Jim. Just look at how few penalties and just dumb plays compared to last year.

Both. The call was the best one.