I'm referring to the last TD Minnesota scored on Sunday. 2:00 remaining. Ball on the Dallas 11. Vikings are ahead 27-3. It's also 4th and 3. What are you going to do?
I'm revisiting this because we had a bit of a similar situation in the BCS Championship game. From my post, I wrote this:
It wasn't. Texas got the ensuing kickoff and on the second play of the drive, Gilbert threw his third of four interceptions, giving Bama the ball on the Texas 27. The game clock showed 1:48 remaining. I ask,. You're the head coach, what do you do? I instruct my team to take a knee. Sure, Mack Brown had time outs in his pocket. If Brown uses one, then proceed to run real plays. If not, continue to take a knee and show a bit of class.
Not Saban. He showed that there were to be no classy win this evening by running the ball for yet another Tide score with 0:47 remaining. Are you kidding me? 47 seconds left. You have the game in hand and you call yet another running play. It was obvious that Texas was not going to call any of their remaining timeouts. Okay, the drive did take another 1:01 off the clock, Scoring that touchdown meant a lock. No, how about the previous TD meant that.
We see that Brad Childress must have gotten his copy of the Nick Saban Coaching for Classless series.So, back to the situation. While it would have been too easy to just try to get four yards and take a knee or two, Childress calls a pass play...for a TD to Visanthe Shiancoe. And after the score, there was more jubilation on the Vikings sidelines. And one very hacked off Cowboys linebacker, Keith Brooking.
I know what was probably going throught Brooking's mind. "They're just running up the score." Or maybe "They're just rubbing it in." I get the emotional side, but for Brooking to actually go over to the Vikings sideline and start the verbal sparring is unnececesary. Let it go for now, but file it away.
Maybe that's what I should do, but I can't. It's not that I have a hatred toward Brett Favre or any of the other Vikings players, I can't for the life of me see the purpose of that play call.
