Sorry, but this one is on Zorn.

[IbleedBnG83]

Suisham missed two field goals. He has been super accurate all season. That wasn't a bad call. This should be a non-issue.

[Larry Brown #43]

I think I would have punted, but it's a close call either way. As well as Suisham has been kicking, I'd guess there was a 50% chance of making it from 51 yards. The made kick would have put the game away.

Going for the first down had just about the same chance of success without the upside of salting away the win. That's not worth seven yards of field position.

What you're saying about not going for the first down is reasonable. But I still maintain that the punt is the best move in that situation. I simply don't see Dallas driving the length of the field to score a TD. Missing the FG gave Dallas new life. Suddenly they had great field position and the knowledge that they could take the lead with a TD.

The moment we missed the FG, I said to the people I was watching with, "we just lost the game." It was a tremendous gift we gave them.

[Mad Mike]

I think the coach of my son's football team has forgotton more football knowledge than Zorn will ever know, and this man is the coach of our Redskins.:doh:

That's just a dumb statement. And I'm sure your son's coach would agree.

[ron5668]

I heard Aikman say on the broadcast that Zorn said he may say 4 words all week to Sherm the play caller. Anyone else hear that?

[Skinsfor4]

Dont forget about not taking a shot at the end zone before the missed FG b-4 half?

That was horrible HC at its finest.

[bikie]

I heard Aikman say on the broadcast that Zorn said he may say 4 words all week to Sherm the play caller. Anyone else hear that?

I heard that but I thought he was referring to a player, JC if I remember correctly, saying they only had few if any words with sherm during the week... and aikman from a QB's perspective could not believe that...

[BleedinBurgNGold]

What you're saying about not going for the first down is reasonable. But I still maintain that the punt is the best move in that situation. I simply don't see Dallas driving the length of the field to score a TD. Missing the FG gave Dallas new life. Suddenly they had great field position and the knowledge that they could take the lead with a TD.

The moment we missed the FG, I said to the people I was watching with, "we just lost the game." It was a tremendous gift we gave them.

its look like you and I are alone on this one. The percentages simply said if we punted there is is 90%+ chance we wim because the Pokes have only been in our red zone once all game and they fumbled that time! Any kicker kicking a 50 yrd FG or longer perecentage of making it is low. We did not need that FG! If we were down 6-3 in that exact same situation then we need it. Punt the ball, pin them inside their own 5 or 10 and make them have to score a TD from, 90+ yrds. The percentage of that happening is low. The percentage os Suisham (no matter how good hes been) of missing a 50 yarder is pretty high and we saw the result

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Perhaps so.

But THIS one is for the ladies.

/Plays a Teddy Pendergrass record.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

Dont forget about not taking a shot at the end zone before the missed FG b-4 half?

That was horrible HC at its finest.

why is that a horrible call? it was 20 yards to the endzone, with a drop back thats a 25 yard pass to the end zone against a team that KNOWS you HAVE to throw to the end zone. the risk of a turnover there is insanely high, especially considering our passing offense.

its clear he trusted suisham over campell in that situation.

[BornToHail]

I disagree with OP - we have to take the chance on the FG since you have a kicker who (until the 2nd quarter) hadn't missed all year and it's in his range in a dome.

One of the great many things that ended up contributing to our loss which I rarely see mentioned on these boards is the utter lack of clock management on Zorn's part. They go through time outs like they're tic tacs and consequently even after the INT, they had no way to stop the Cowboys b/c they had 1 time out left.

[RandyHolt]

why is that a horrible call? it was 20 yards to the endzone, with a drop back thats a 25 yard pass to the end zone against a team that KNOWS you HAVE to throw to the end zone. the risk of a turnover there is insanely high, especially considering our passing offense.

its clear he trusted suisham over campell in that situation.

Its clear that Zorn put his trust in the wrong person, especially after icing him. But why does he have to drop back 5 yds? What about a quick down and out? Or a loft fade to a tall WR, a rare treat for Jason. The throws out of bounds a tad so only our receiver can catch it. Get even closer for Shaun, and maybe even tick off those last few seconds. So if you are so sure they KNEW we HAD to throw to the endzone, a 5 or 10 yard down and out should have been wide open. Maybe they blow a coverage as Blache does so often, an easy TD.

Campbell did great under heavy pressure yesterday. I am sure it hurts. All on a day Zorn had little reason to not trust him.

[Larry Brown #43]

its look like you and I are alone on this one. The percentages simply said if we punted there is is 90%+ chance we wim because the Pokes have only been in our red zone once all game and they fumbled that time! Any kicker kicking a 50 yrd FG or longer perecentage of making it is low. We did not need that FG! If we were down 6-3 in that exact same situation then we need it. Punt the ball, pin them inside their own 5 or 10 and make them have to score a TD from, 90+ yrds. The percentage of that happening is low. The percentage os Suisham (no matter how good hes been) of missing a 50 yarder is pretty high and we saw the result

Exactly. I don't understand why more people don't see it. People are hung up about what happened before halftime, but this decision was far more egregious.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

Its clear that Zorn put his trust in the wrong person, especially after icing him. But why does he have to drop back 5 yds? What about a quick down and out? Or a loft fade to a tall WR, a rare treat for Jason. The throws out of bounds a tad so only our receiver can catch it. Get even closer for Shaun, and maybe even tick off those last few seconds. So if you are so sure they KNEW we HAD to throw to the endzone, a 5 or 10 yard down and out should have been wide open. Maybe they blow a coverage as Blache does so often, an easy TD.

Campbell did great under heavy pressure yesterday. I am sure it hurts. All on a day Zorn had little reason to not trust him.

a 20 yard pass to the end zone on a quick drop is a pretty tough pass, especially when the cowboys knew we'd have to throw to the end zone. that has turnover written all over it, and zorn wanted to play it safe with a short field goal. nobody thought suisham would miss a 39 yarder, especially given how good hes been.

and again, zorn obviously had no faith in campbell to make any of those throws. if he had, he would have called another play instead of trotting suisham out there.

[Oldfan]

its look like you and I are alone on this one. The percentages simply said if we punted there is is 90%+ chance we wim because the Pokes have only been in our red zone once all game and they fumbled that time! Any kicker kicking a 50 yrd FG or longer perecentage of making it is low. We did not need that FG! If we were down 6-3 in that exact same situation then we need it. Punt the ball, pin them inside their own 5 or 10 and make them have to score a TD from, 90+ yrds. The percentage of that happening is low. The percentage os Suisham (no matter how good hes been) of missing a 50 yarder is pretty high and we saw the result

I think the punt might have been the better call, but it was a close call.

You are over-estimating our chances of winning with the punt and underestimating the chances of making the FG. As well as Suisham has been kicking this season, the 51 yard try was about a 50/50 deal.

With Blache's defense playing bend-but-don't-break as usual in that situation, the chances of Dallas reaching our red zone, even with 35 - 40 yards more of field position, were still very good. As for scoring once within the 20 yard red zone, those were the same no matter how the kick turned out.

[SonnyJ]

and again, zorn obviously had no faith in campbell to make any of those throws. if he had, he would have called another play instead of trotting suisham out there.

In Zorn's defense, he had just witnessed Campbell make a beeline for the out of bounds behind the LOS, and just barely remembered to throw it away before going out.

I'm pretty certain that just about everyone on this board, with no professional QB training, would have known long before that point what to do in that situation. That must have been a downright depressing thing to witness that from the guy that he has been intensely tutoring in playing QB for the better part of the last 2 years.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

In Zorn's defense, he had just witnessed Campbell make a beeline for the out of bounds behind the LOS, and just barely remembered to throw it away before going out.

I'm pretty certain that just about everyone on this board, with no professional QB training, would have known long before that point what to do in that situation. That must have been a downright depressing thing to witness that from the guy that he has been intensely tutoring in playing QB for the better part of the last 2 years.

exactly. put yourself in zorns shoes. you have 15 seconds, 3rd and 1 with no timeout. your QB just made a major mental blunder that the refs spent 3 hours looking at, and you wanna put the ball in his hands to throw a few potential high risk throws for a guy that isnt a high risk percentage thrower? or take 3 points from your kicker who hasnt missed a field goal in 9 games straight.

this was a good call by zorn. electing to throw here would be ok if you had a manning, brady, brees, rodgers, etc type guy. no way should zorn have gambled like this with our offense. take the points.

[Oldfan]

...and again, zorn obviously had no faith in campbell to make any of those throws. if he had, he would have called another play instead of trotting suisham out there.

It's all Campbell?

The score had nothing to do with the decision?

The way our defense was frustrating the Boys had nothing to do with it?

The weak pass protection had nothing to do with it?

Suisham's accuracy at this range wasn't a factor?

It's all on Campbell?

[SonnyJ]

exactly. put yourself in zorns shoes. you have 15 seconds, 3rd and 1 with no timeout. your QB just made a major mental blunder that the refs spent 3 hours looking at, and you wanna put the ball in his hands to throw a few potential high risk throws for a guy that isnt a high risk percentage thrower? or take 3 points from your kicker who hasnt missed a field goal in 9 games straight.

this was a good call by zorn. electing to throw here would be ok if you had a manning, brady, brees, rodgers, etc type guy. no way should zorn have gambled like this with our offense. take the points.

Well, having written what you quoted, I still think Zorn was wrong. You know how I feel about Campbell, and I'm pretty sure something bad would have happened.

But, for crying out loud, Zorn. You're 3-6. You know you're getting whacked at season's end. Why not just give it a shot? As low of an opinion as I have of Campbell as a QB, I still think Zorn completely over-manages the guy.

I would love to hear that sometime during the coming week, Zorn calls Campbell into his office and says "Sink or swim time, Jason. I'm tired of being your keeper - your playing time is now all on you. I'm giving you complete freedom. If you play like an idiot and become a turnover machine (think Ramsey in the Bear game in 2005) or go into a shell, barring injury, I'm pulling you and benching you for the rest of the season. This is your chance to shine."

It won't happen, of course. But I think it should .

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

It's all Campbell?

The score had nothing to do with the decision?

The way our defense was frustrating the Boys had nothing to do with it?

The weak pass protection had nothing to do with it?

Suisham's accuracy at this range wasn't a factor?

It's all on Campbell?

it was 3-0 (the FG im referencing is the one before half, not in the OP, another poster commented on the missed short FG and thats what ive been referring to)

zorn had a choice. let campbell chuck one to the endzone or to the sidelines and hope someone gets out of bounds.

or

let suisham kick a short field goal and go up by 6.

weak pass pro and our defense had nothing to do with the potential last play of the first half.

regarding the 50 yarder, not sure that was the right call. probably would have gone for it considering our defense had been stuffing them and suisham had already missed from short. that one you can pin on zorn. a draw on 3rd and 2 is another bad call, but zorns not calling those plays (to my knowledge.)

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

Well, having written what you quoted, I still think Zorn was wrong. You know how I feel about Campbell, and I'm pretty sure something bad would have happened.

But, for crying out loud, Zorn. You're 3-6. You know you're getting whacked at season's end. Why not just give it a shot? As low of an opinion as I have of Campbell as a QB, I still think Zorn completely over-manages the guy.

I would love to hear that sometime during the coming week, Zorn calls Campbell into his office and says "Sink or swim time, Jason. I'm tired of being your keeper - your playing time is now all on you. I'm giving you complete freedom. If you play like an idiot and become a turnover machine (think Ramsey in the Bear game in 2005) or go into a shell, barring injury, I'm pulling you and benching you for the rest of the season. This is your chance to shine."

It won't happen, of course. But I think it should .

itll never happen so i cant even speculate on wishing for it. and id agree zorn over manages the guy but for all we know he has to. the bucs game was the first time ive seen him slinging the ball and it resulted in 3 picks. im assuming zorn wants to avoid that. his gunslinger audition was a pretty quick lived outing lol.

and you do have a point, why not go for it in a lost season, but hes not thinking like that. he has to maintain the "8 in a row or we dont go" mentality. so while id like to see some more aggressive football, he obviously thinks thats just a recipe for disaster.

[polywog999]

Sorry... this team wins and loses together. They don't finger point and that's a testament to Zorn. Zorn goofs sometimes, so does Suisham, so goes Fat Albert. "Team."