False Bravado

[newshound]

What happened the the relentless attacking style of June Jones? Did he leave it on the islands?

Last night was a tough one and it's easy to point fingers. Navy is a solid team, well-coached and disciplined. Their staff made great adjustments and exploited our defense for 30-plus minutes last night. Have to give them some credit. They came back from 14 down on the road and won the game after being down on the mat late in the first half.

Yet, for the THIRD straight week, Jones elected to eat his timeouts in the first half and not try to get more points. It didn't really matter at TCU, it could have made a difference last week vs. East Carolina and last night, having run off 21 unanswered points, he didn't go for the jugular. Last I checked, Navy put up 63 points the week before. Try to get all the points you can get, coach, and KNOCK 'EM OUT. That's not the June Jones SMU thinks it hired. At least I don't think it is. That's playing not to lose.

Another point, and this is personal preference. Down by seven, late in the game, with your defense having been shredded for 28 second-half points, I think you GO FOR 2 after you score with 1:35 left. You need three freaking yards to WIN THE GAME. Instead, you put Navy's offense back on the field -- in regulation AND OVERTIME. Excuse me, guys, but you HAVE NOT STOPPED THEM THE WHOLE SECOND HALF! Even if you miss the 2-pointer, you onside kick and you have ALL THREE TIMEOUTS LEFT! Why in the WORLD would you put Navy's offense back out on the field in a tie game at that point?

Again, playing not to lose. When you play not to lose, you usually lose, unless you get lucky. We are now 1-10 all-time in overtime, the worst record in the nation since the rule came into play, including 0-2 this year -- all without scoring a single overtime point!

At 3-3, we still have improved over last year and this team is still inexperienced. But, my goodness, with a little balls, we should be 5-1 and the talk of the national media going to Houston this weekend. You can't get greedy, but geez, last night was another torturous loss.

[KnuckleStang]

Navy is better than a "solid team." They are in the top 3, maybe 2 teams we will see all year. They lost to Ohio State on a fluke. We remain 2-0 in conference until I hear otherwise.
Had he gone for 2 and not gotten it, the entire 1st football page would be a litany of posts about how stupid JJ is, as opposed to your one. He thought we could score, or at least make a chip shot FG

[expony18]

hindsight is 20/20... I can see why going for it makes sense. the defense was on the field for most of the 2nd half, and Navy was starting to roll. its a lot easier to score 2 from the 3 yard line than it is to score 7 from the 25

[newshound]

Ask Todd Haley, the Chiefs' coach, about putting the Cowboys back on the field last week. Dallas had scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter but then the Chiefs were about to pull the game out of their butts and, with it, a huge NFL upset,

But, no, they played NOT TO LOSE and did, in fact, lose in OT.

The only difference is that in college, you are guaranteed to touch the ball.

PB did the same thing vs. Tulane two years ago when Matt Forte ran for 350 yards against -- elected to tie the game and put Tulane's offense back on the field. He played NOT TO LOSE. Guess what? SMU lost.

I am not saying we definitely should have gone for two, what I am saying is that JJ"s reputation dictates that it was something he might have done, especially at home.

[jtstang]

This loss falls on the offense for not putting Navy away and for hanging our D out for way too long in the second half. It had a couple of long drives, but in this offense that doesn't take any time off the clock. You need 4-5 drives per half, and you need to score touchdowns at the end of them.

[PlanoStang]

I thought there was a big chance JJ would elect to go for 2, and the win. Also, think the better
odds at that point was going for 2.

[TheBestAvailable]

You guys are wrong about the 2 point conversion.

If we go for 2, you've essentially reduced the game to 1 play.

If you get it into overtime you have at least 4 downs to get a first down or a touchdown.

Kicking the extra point to tie the game isn't what lost it for us. Navy made a few more plays than our guys and they earned the win. If you lose in a college overtime, you just weren't quite good enough to get it done.

Its the most balenced form of OT, as opposed to the way the NFL does it. Both teams get the same set of circumstances (winning the coin flip helps) but the team that makes the key plays wins in college OT.