Originally posted by BrianGO:
Strange thing to say coming from Bill Walsh.
Running the clock, kicking a field goal, forcing the Saints to march down the field with 30 seconds left, is not worth talking about as a strategy?
I thought of it as well but you guys want to go up 2 with :30 left? It's tough but they would just need a field goal. Honestly, could have went either way but as good as Akers is a field goal isn't guaranteed. A bad snap, bad hold, miss, block and everyone is then making death threats against Alex for not scoring.
Originally posted by BrianGO:
Strange thing to say coming from Bill Walsh.
Running the clock, kicking a field goal, forcing the Saints to march down the field with 30 seconds left, is not worth talking about as a strategy?
I thought of it as well but you guys want to go up 2 with :30 left? It's tough but they would just need a field goal. Honestly, could have went either way but as good as Akers is a field goal isn't guaranteed. A bad snap, bad hold, miss, block and everyone is then making death threats against Alex for not scoring.
Yep, we already witnessed a few blocked FG's this year.
Not a guarantee.
[ Edited by smithgdwg on Jan 15, 2012 at 8:59 PM ]
There's no need to be insulting. I'm sure every single person here looked up at the scoreboard and said jeez we gave them too much time.
You're wrong on this one, but I do get what you're saying. We make the 2 point conversion and it's a 7 point lead. There's no guarantees and if the opportunity presents itself you have to take advantage of it.
you schizophroenic morons!!!! i cannot believe this idiotic post!!! first, you scream at your tv's because alex can't breach the endzone!!! now, when he has a clear path to score, you want him to fall down short of a td?!! stop all the analyzing because, evidently, if you were so great at being an "offensive coordinator", you'd still be "coaching" in the playoffs!!! you imbeciles are the perfect examples of "armchair quarterbacks".
Akers was not even 100% on his kicks this year nor has he ever been, (why was he a FA this year) and you are even considering not taking a TD when its right there. Our D had been amazing most of the day and a 80yrd TD drive in 3 plays was very hard to imagine.
Akers was 100% on extra points. This FG try would have been around the same distance, depending on how close the kneel downs/special plays are. As for blaming the 49ers/Smith if it didn't work - what would you have done if the Saints had marched down the field and won the game in the final seconds? You would have said that Alex shouldn't have scored the TD - at least not that quickly.
If it makes you feel better, the 49ers could have tried to score the TD on 3rd down, and then handed the ball back to the Saints with 1:15 on the clock with no time outs. Normally that would be better than giving them 2:11 to do it.
P.S. For those that don't like to consider what-if scenarios, this thread is not for you. Best for you to not even look at it.
I couldn't have asked for this game to end any other way. Everything that transpired happened for a reason. This season is even more special just because of that game and the last 4 minutes.
Originally posted by fryet:
First off, major kudos to Alex Smith and Vernon Davis for doing it anyway, however think about this scenario instead.
Instead of Alex Smith running 28 yards for a touchdown, he instead runs for 26 and stays in bounds.
New Orleans only has one time out left. So alex gets tackled, and the clock ticks down to the 2 minute warning. The 49ers kneel down or do running plays that don't product a touchdown, with New Orleans calling one time out. The 49ers would kick a field goal on 4th down and then kick the ball back to New Orleans. Depending on how long it took to execute those 3 kneel downs, the Saints would get the ball back with 30 seconds, and no time outs, being forced to kick a field goal to win. I like the 49ers chances in that scenario.
Fortunately for the 49ers the Saints scored very quickly and gave the ball back to SF offense with enough time to complete that winning drive, but it could have been avoided if Alex had done the unthinkable and avoided going into the end zone in the first place.
just one problem...
brees can EASILY get to field goal position with 30 sec. left and no timeouts, then boom, game over