Of course. The shorter the field (i.e. 1 yard line), the fewer the opponent's options. Honestly, defending 4th and inches on the 40 yard line is quite difficult!

One response in.

What Montequi said.

That's two.

i will admit that this is off on a tangent and just helping me vent but if it were the dolphins they would defend both very poorly if it were crucial and perhaps maybe defend it well if it were not a pivitol point of the game..sorry for intruding on your post chyren but thanks for step 4 in my decompression to another late season dissapointemnt..that said montiqui has this one covered

ROTFALMAO.

Come on, guys. You know I'm going to express my opinion and if you want to argue with it, as I know the overwhelming number of you will want to, you've got to be on record first as to what you think. Otherwise, I'm gonna say, "I noticed you didn't post that before I wrote."

I remember an Over Time game in the now sunlife stadium, maybe back in the 90s. It was a similar situation, 3rd or 4th down, short yardage. We crowded the line and Brady floated a long bomb to a no name TE who was wide open.

toko34 Wrote:
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> I remember an Over Time game in the now sunlife
> stadium, maybe back in the 90s. It was a similar
> situation, 3rd or 4th down, short yardage. We
> crowded the line and Brady floated a long bomb to
> a no name TE who was wide open.

Yeah, but do you play different defenses against the two situations (in close like your example) or 4th and 1 at midfield when you are on defense?

I would play them both the same. I felt strongly it was going to be a QB sneak.

Just tell us what you think.

After more people than you 3 because everybody's gonna be a critic after I do. I just want others to express themselves as you have.

Yes you defend them differently. On the one at the 40 you have to allow for the possibility that the offense will throw the ball beyond five yards or so. You have to keep a saftey back at a minnimum for a saftey net and you have to cover the receivers man to man. You can't simply stack the LOS with maximum personnel and dare them to run it.

Either way though you have to be very careful because a quick strike on a screen, slant, QB keeper, TE or RB over the middle can bite you.

Also at the 40 you are more than likely going to operate with your base defense. At the goal line your jumbo package makes more sense.

ok seriously... I get the intent of the question is to second guess coaching choices after the fact. All well and good. But be serious, no one in their right mind defends those situations the same. It's exactly the reason why teams get measured on scoring efficiency because it's far easier to defend less of the field, ie goal line situations than it is the entire length or even half of the field.

It's a terribly loaded question, but I get it's a discussion board, so pontificate away.

From 2010 to 2013 coaches ran the ball on 63.7% of 4th and 1 conversion attempts. Running plays are therefore more likely to succeed than pass plays because there are more running attempts. However, passing is a viable and sucessful option according to the numbers.

Then there's this; where on the field is the attempt made.

Red Zone (not goal to go): 54.5% success rate
Goal to go: 68.5% success rate
Opponents 21-40: 60.4% success rate
Own 31 to opponents 41: 66.9% success rate
Own 21 to own 41: 75.8% success rate

So there is a 54-76% chance of converting a 4th and 1 attempt regardless of how you choose to make the attempt and regardless of the position on the field.

One thing I noticed about your stats is that is that the percentage of success goes up the further away from the opponent's goal. The one exception is goal to go (closer) is better than red zone with no goal to go.

Strange. I would have thought the opposite.

Still, I would stack the line in the center on a 4th and inches on THEIR half of the field.

I won't address your strategy. But, I wish I had seen your post in time.

Rick

So Baltimore converted a 4th and 1 on their side of the field. Big deal. Yes, it was a risk for them but they have a good OL so chances were better than 50/50 they get that.

What I'm upset about is 1st and goal at the 4 and you dont score a TD. 3 straight power running plays, heck even QB keepers, gets 4 lousy yards. Unacceptable.

Gotta disavree, Cshashsty, although I have always regarded your word as gospel.

ChyrenB Wrote:
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> Gotta disavree, Cshashsty, although I have always
> regarded your word as gospel.

4th and 1 versus a good OL like Baltimore's is tough to stop because of Flacco's accuracy. Straight up, we lose that battle more than half the time IMO. We didnt lose the game on either of those sequences.

Yeh, but when you don't stack the line, your chances of stopping the sneak are zero.

I can't figure out why we dont play action pass inside the 5. I see other teams every week score a TD on that.

I thought QB sneak all the way. Woulda tried to stop that. It was only like 8 inhces they had to go though.

That is a completely different subject. I'm talking about what we do on defense.

ChyrenB Wrote:
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> Yeh, but when you don't stack the line, your
> chances of stopping the sneak are zero.


What prevents the Dolphins from stacking the line is Flacco. He sees that and he hits you for more than just a yard or two...and he gets the first down anyway.

I get what you are focusing on, but their o-line versus our front seven in the run game was a mismatch in their favor.

I think it's kinda different from your own 34 yard line and 4th and even inches. You (Flacco) see a stacked line and the question is do you want to do something different from a QB sneak.

Your options are to pitch out wide and see if the runner can make it outside (probably the best of what's left). But he's running laterally 10 yards are so giving the outside defense a chance to react while he's running horizontally.

Or you could throw but you'd better hope the safeties are asleep.

Naw, I'd say too risky.

I see the center stacked and I call in the punter.

Of course, if you see the kind of configuration we had..........

Hey, why do you think he not only made the foot or so but made 2 yards on the run?

So you are saying IF Flaco goes to the line and sees it stacked he takes the delay of game and they punt?

Can't argue that .

Or he calls a timeout and how do you know that he needed to take a delay of game and even if he did, how would a five yard penalty hurt the punt????? You are a STRANGE BIRD, dolphin. You like Philbin. and everything else that holds this team back.

BTW to everybody else, see my new thread.

KOO KOO for cocoa puffs.