Clock Management

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

So, Houston talk radio is testy this morning, because everyone has been sick of O'Brien for two years, but you can't really kill the coach during a 12-win season.

 

Now, all his many sins are being listed. The top of everyone's list is......clock management.

 

Steeler fans are basically done with Tomlin. And the number one complaint for everyone is....clock management.

 

The Bears yesterday gave themselves all of 50 seconds to stage the comeback that almost worked, because they decided a timeout in pocket was more important than 45 seconds. And the Eagles took away any chance of getting the ball back had the 4th down play failed, because they burned a TO before the play.

 

And clearly, near the top of Gruden's list of sins is "clock management."

 

For years, I've said that only two people in the NFL are good at clock management. Those people are Bellichick and Al Michaels.

 

Why is everyone so bad at this? And does it ultimately matter that Gruden is bad at it if every other coach - save one - is as well?

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

I venture a guess most coaches suck eggs at it because they are on the field, worried about a ton of things at once. Not sitting in the comfort of their own home, downing beers, paying all attention to the clock.

 

I’m a much better clock management strategist from my couch than even in being in the stadium watching a game.

[KDawg]

26 minutes ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

 

 

Why is everyone so bad at this? And does it ultimately matter that Gruden is bad at it if every other coach - save one - is as well?

 

Because clock management is very situational, in the same TO/time situation against the same team it even varies. Refs, game plans, other team's execution, special teams play, O play, D play, etc... it all varies. 

 

It's easy for us to sit here and say these guys suck at clock management. But why do we think we're any better at it?

 

I thought Nagy worked the clock masterfully yesterday. I've seen tons of Bears fans say he didn't on the internet today. 

 

People complain about things for the sake of complaining about things. "Oh the clock management sucks" is akin, in my opinion, to saying, "Well, I'm not sure what else to complain about so I'm going to pick clock management because of that one time where he used a timeout and I thought he should have saved the timeout!"

 

There are definitely a few major clock blunders in game. But for the most part it's very situational... And guys get criticized if it doesn't work, but not a mention of it is made when it does. 

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

1 minute ago, KDawg said:

 

 

I thought Nagy worked the clock masterfully yesterday. I've seen tons of Bears fans say he didn't on the internet today. 

 

I thought he was bailed out by that return. I assumed they would get the ball at the 25 and need to get to the 30. I'd much rather have 1:30 and no timeouts than 50 and one timeout.

[Mooka]

You're talking about icing on the cake when theres no batter, oven doesn't work and you've got bad eggs.

 

Innovation, like running a completely new kind of offense is key here. Something like what the colts created with Peyton Manning back in the day, small amount of plays to execute with the QB calling the play at the LOS. 

 

Or similar to what the colts run now with Luck; wc offense, spread out the defense, quick passes etc.

 

[KDawg]

4 minutes ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

I thought he was bailed out by that return. I assumed they would get the ball at the 25 and need to get to the 30. I'd much rather have 1:30 and no timeouts than 50 and one timeout.

 

I can see why you'd think that I don't even think that's a bad thought process.

 

But I think the value of a timeout is huge. If there's a blunder and there's a fumble or a guy catches a ball and doesn't get out of bounds you don't need to waste a down to spike it or race the clock to get lined up. People think hustling to the line to run a play is no big deal, but getting aligned correctly and then processing the play and understanding the defense's alignment in 10 seconds isn't really all that easy to process when you're in a rush like that. 

 

Either way, though, he can be criticized. And likely would be. He went with the gamble that he thought his top ranked D was going to stop them OR the team would be able to get in field goal position due to having that time out. And like you said he was a football rotation away from it working.

[KDawg]

In addition: try having a headset on with a full blown convo of what needs to be done/attacked/personnel/that stuff while trying to figure out the play clock, timeout situation, down and distance and then have a philosophical conversation in your own head about it in about 1 minute real time. 

 

Its not not all that easy.

 

Having said that, these guys are paid to make decisions in those situations, so it could always be better and terrible decisions shouldn’t be excused. But there is a lot that goes into it.

[superozman]

It for sure is a top of the complaint list for fans of almost every NFL team.  I think it's one of those items that is so easy to second guess.  Now there are instances that specifically come to mind with Jay.  The first one is the Texans game.  There is 0 reason you let that clock run down to 2 minutes, you call the time out with 220 left or whatever it was.  I think a hindsight one where I say "yea, it wasn't the best, but I can see what he was trying to do" was KC last season at the end of the game.

 

There are many situations in hind sight that don't work.  And if they work, you don't hear about them, just the negatives, so you never weigh the good and the bad.  Just the bad.

[Warhead36]

NFL coaches need to just hire some kid from college that does nothing but monitor the clock and let them know when they should or shouldn't call TOs based on game situation. Its pretty easy but I can understand it being tough for most coaches with all the other stuff going on.

 

Andy Reid's a fantastic coach but hasn't managed the clock in 20 years.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

1 hour ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

So, Houston talk radio is testy this morning, because everyone has been sick of O'Brien for two years, but you can't really kill the coach during a 12-win season.

 

Now, all his many sins are being listed. The top of everyone's list is......clock management.

 

Steeler fans are basically done with Tomlin. And the number one complaint for everyone is....clock management.

 

The Bears yesterday gave themselves all of 50 seconds to stage the comeback that almost worked, because they decided a timeout in pocket was more important than 45 seconds. And the Eagles took away any chance of getting the ball back had the 4th down play failed, because they burned a TO before the play.

 

And clearly, near the top of Gruden's list of sins is "clock management."

 

For years, I've said that only two people in the NFL are good at clock management. Those people are Bellichick and Al Michaels.

 

Why is everyone so bad at this? And does it ultimately matter that Gruden is bad at it if every other coach - save one - is as well?

 

This is an area where I think we as fans underrate coaches and overrate ourselves. There isn't ALWAYS some laminated sheet to follow...a couple examples: 

 

"The Bears yesterday gave themselves all of 50 seconds to stage the comeback that almost worked, because they decided a timeout in pocket was more important than 45 seconds."

 

I would counter your point with the fact that it DID work. They had a shot at a pretty easy FG to win the game. You're right, the return helped...but even if they needed to start at the 25, you could make the case that a TO is valuable after a chunk play (which they got and then used the TO). 

 

"And the Eagles took away any chance of getting the ball back had the 4th down play failed, because they burned a TO before the play."

 

How in the world can we criticize this? The Eagles called a TO before the 4th and Goal play...the play that they discussed and executed to win the game. To me, getting that play right outweighs the contingency of what to do if you fail. To me, that's quintessential coaching to win vs. coaching not to lose and conserving TOs. 

[KDawg]

9 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

NFL coaches need to just hire some kid from college that does nothing but monitor the clock and let them know when they should or shouldn't call TOs based on game situation. Its pretty easy but I can understand it being tough for most coaches with all the other stuff going on.

 

Andy Reid's a fantastic coach but hasn't managed the clock in 20 years.

 

You have no idea. "It's pretty easy" is so false. And I'm sure hiring a college kid who tells the HC to call a timeout will go over well.

 

"Hey man, I, uhh... Well my sheet here says that you might want to uhh, well, think about calling a timeout here man. So uh, call one."

 

Brilliant.

[Redskin4ever]

I agree with a lot of what is being said here. It is easy to second guess. It is a default criticism for most fans. But I also think coaches in general are not as good as they should be. Yeah, it’s easy for us at home and even easier after the game. Al Michaels is brilliant with clock management, but he’s rare even in the announcing field. 

 

Where I think the Bears messsed up is not so much when they didn’t call timeout when the Eagles has the ball. But after the big completion they used the timeout. Then called a short pass that didn’t get out of bounds and Trubisky didn’t know what to do then. He eventually spiked it and it cost 20 seconds to move 8 yards. Had they rushed to the line after the completion downfield, spiked the ball then, they probably had more options on the next play. Of course if they had run the same out play on the next play, it wouldn’t have changed a thing. But I thought by using the timeout when they did, they limited themselves on the next few plays. 

 

Regardless, as was mentioned above they still had a chance to win. So we can nitpick and say how we think the Bears could have done it better. But if they make that FG, none of this matters. 

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

44 minutes ago, Redskin4ever said:

I agree with a lot of what is being said here. It is easy to second guess. It is a default criticism for most fans. But I also think coaches in general are not as good as they should be. Yeah, it’s easy for us at home and even easier after the game. Al Michaels is brilliant with clock management, but he’s rare even in the announcing field. 

 

 

I honestly think that Al Michaels is so good at it, because he's a degenerate gambler. Musburger was great at calculating a million different pieces of football math simultaneously too. I mean, if Musburger was calling a 28-27 nailbiter with a conference title on the line, he would still let you know the second the game went "over." I have to think every football coach has a loser uncle somewhere who owes Big Johnny 10 large and can do the math in a millisecond.

[Est.1974]

Clock management becomes the subject matter, but the failing on Gruden really is his inability to think quickly and instinctively enough at critical times. As a result, he is **** at clock management at key stages of games.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

7 minutes ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

 

I honestly think that Al Michaels is so good at it, because he's a degenerate gambler. Musburger was great at calculating a million different pieces of football math simultaneously too. I mean, if Musburger was calling a 28-27 nailbiter with a conference title on the line, he would still let you know the second the game went "over." I have to think every football coach has a loser uncle somewhere who owes Big Johnny 10 large and can do the math in a millisecond.

 

Tirico is someone who would blow my mind with the things he'd think about while calling a game too. 

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

17 minutes ago, TD_washingtonredskins said:

 

Tirico is someone who would blow my mind with the things he'd think about while calling a game too. 

 

I think Michaels is at the stage of his career where the game he's calling is fourth in importance to him at the moment.

 

1. The moneyline and the over.

2. His golf foursome the next morning.

3. His flight home.

4. The game.

[WelshSkinsFan]

Clock management is generally a pointless topic to discuss when assessing coaches for the simple reason that it is entirely tied into the emotions of the end of a close game.  Typically clock management is only noticed when your team loses and then it becomes subjective anyway because even if the coach had done what we wanted with timeouts etc. there is still no guarantee it would have changed the outcome.

[Redskin4ever]

36 minutes ago, UK SKINS FAN '74 said:

Clock management becomes the subject matter, but the failing on Gruden really is his inability to think quickly and instinctively enough at critical times. As a result, he is **** at clock management at key stages of games.

 

As it relates to Gruden, I remember times being mad at him for clock management, but can’t think of anything specific as those are normally game to game specific situations. My beef with Gruden is more about game management. When to go for it, when to punt, when to be aggressive, etc. Gruden always coaches like he hopes the clock will run out before he loses the game. When the Redskins get the ball in close out situations, they never seems to dominate. They always seem to be conservative and not make the mistake. 

 

All across the league it amazes me how many coaches are willing to give the ball to the other team late in a one score game. Both games yesterday you saw it. The only way the other team wins is if they get the ball. Do what you have to to keep the ball from the other team. Gruden has done that too many times knowing the Redskins don’t have a good defense. But look at yesterday. The vaunted Bears defense couldn’t even get the stop they needed to get. The one way they would have gotten the stop is if they weren’t on the field the last 4 minutes of the game because the offense kept the ball away from the Eagles.

[RabidFan]

2 hours ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

I thought he was bailed out by that return. I assumed they would get the ball at the 25 and need to get to the 30. I'd much rather have 1:30 and no timeouts than 50 and one timeout.

 

They lost a lot of time on that spike too...like 15 full seconds....you gotta have your team prepared to start running up the field after a pass play in case it gets completed.  

[Est.1974]

10 minutes ago, Redskin4ever said:

My beef with Gruden is more about game management. When to go for it, when to punt, when to be aggressive, etc.

 

I agree with this as well. Then we throw the fake punt in at the death.

[clskinsfan]

Clock management is so specific to the current situation though. Take Philly's 4th down yesterday. The play clock was running down and it is all or nothing there. I was fine with them taking the timeout there because of the field position right then. If you fail you still have 2 timeouts and your opponent backed up to their one yard line. They cant even kneel 3 times in a row there and they dont want to throw it for fear of stopping the clock. That gives you the ability to almost guarantee a safety and getting the ball back with only needing a FG to win the game. 

 

That is just one example of where a "wasted timeout" wasnt really wasted IMO. And I agree with the rest that Gruden struggles way more with game management and situational awareness.

[Fat Stupid Loser]

On first glance I thought this thread was  "Chick Magnet".  So naturally I clicked on it.  All I know about clock management is the 2 minute warning is stupid and save your timeouts.

[Coach Janky Spanky]

3 hours ago, KDawg said:

In addition: try having a headset on with a full blown convo of what needs to be done/attacked/personnel/that stuff while trying to figure out the play clock, timeout situation, down and distance and then have a philosophical conversation in your own head about it in about 1 minute real time. 

 

Its not not all that easy.

 

3 hours ago, KDawg said:

It's easy for us to sit here and say these guys suck at clock management. But why do we think we're any better at it?

 

 

I agree, not easy at all for the coach, especially with so much going on . . . which is why somebody besides Gruden should be specifically designated for clock management.  Gruden is clearly over his head in trying to call plays and manage the clock on top of everything else.    This is a multi-billion dollar business, and games are won and lost on mistakes like this.   Mistakes that wouldn't happen if one person was designated to be helping the coach with them.  

 

I disagree with the argument that the Bears were better off not calling the TO on defense earlier because it's better to save one on defense, but it's a reasonable position.    At least Nagy probably considered calling the TO and decided against it.  Gruden wouldn't even have considered it.  It doesn't come naturally to him to have the foresight to think ahead, to ask 'what if the Eagles score here?'   Instead, he's thinking, Eagles are running of time, ugh, duh, I hope we can stop them! 

 

 

 

[PeterMP]

4 hours ago, KDawg said:

 

I can see why you'd think that I don't even think that's a bad thought process.

 

But I think the value of a timeout is huge. If there's a blunder and there's a fumble or a guy catches a ball and doesn't get out of bounds you don't need to waste a down to spike it or race the clock to get lined up. People think hustling to the line to run a play is no big deal, but getting aligned correctly and then processing the play and understanding the defense's alignment in 10 seconds isn't really all that easy to process when you're in a rush like that. 

 

Either way, though, he can be criticized. And likely would be. He went with the gamble that he thought his top ranked D was going to stop them OR the team would be able to get in field goal position due to having that time out. And like you said he was a football rotation away from it working.

 

This is really the issue.  It is that there are reasonable differences of opinions, and a lot of complaining about clock management is really 20/20 hindsight when whatever the plan is it didn't work.

 

(Personally, I'm a big fan of keeping a TO in the pocket if possible.  Creating a situation where you're really limited in terms of throwing the ball down the middle of the field, I think, really constrains the offense.)

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

1 hour ago, clskinsfan said:

Clock management is so specific to the current situation though. Take Philly's 4th down yesterday. The play clock was running down and it is all or nothing there. I was fine with them taking the timeout there because of the field position right then. If you fail you still have 2 timeouts and your opponent backed up to their one yard line. They cant even kneel 3 times in a row there and they dont want to throw it for fear of stopping the clock. That gives you the ability to almost guarantee a safety and getting the ball back with only needing a FG to win the game. 

 

That is just one example of where a "wasted timeout" wasnt really wasted IMO. And I agree with the rest that Gruden struggles way more with game management and situational awareness.

 

2 timeouts are worthless there.

 

Say they fail on fourth down with 58 second left.

 

Let's say the Bear just fall into the line three times. And each attempt eats up 4 second.

1st and 10 plunge

TO at 54

2nd and 10 plunge

TO at 50

3rd and 10 plunge

TO at 46

The Bears then drain the clock and have to punt with 6 seconds left from their end zone to Tiny Darren Sproles.

 

With two Philly timeouts, the Bears run out the clock.

 

You are forbidden from talking clock management.