Clock Management

[ct bills fan]

I've read a couple of threads here, and in other forums, discussing the Bills' clock management in the last minute of the game. I think it was managed incorrectly. With a minute left, Minnesota was around our 10 yard line and had, I think 1 time out left. We had three. Some notes:

(1) With a minute left, Minnesota was in no rush - they had plenty of time to score.
(2) The Buffalo defense hadn't given any indication that is was going to stop Minnesota from scoring a td.

Why we should have used timeouts and got the ball back with around 1 minute left, instead of 26 seconds left:

(1) If Minnesota scores, we get the ball back with more time left on the clock.
(2) If Minnesota doesn't score, they have no timeouts left anyway, so we kneel on the ball and win. Even if Minnesota saved 1 timeout, we would have had to just kneel on the ball one additional time.

The only drawback for Buffalo in calling timeouts is, it would have given Minnesota time to regroup. I argue that our D would have benefitted more from regrouping.

I think we mismanaged the clock and were lucky Drew bailed us out.

[SoCalBillsFan]

Agreed, I actually was yelling at the TV for them to call timeout.

[Buffalofan]

Yep ..I was thinking the same thing. Thank God for Drew .. without him we would be 0-2.

[casdhf]

Without our time outs, we wouldn't have been able to throw the ball to the middle of the field. Why call timeout when we're still winning the game?

[Novacane]

You are absolutely right Ct Bills Fn.

Cas............we would have been able to throw over the middle because we would have had a whole minute left on the clock. + we ended regulation with 2 timeouts. Just plain dumb by GW.

[DIHARD2]

I keep hearing Drew this Drew that, but I did not see No. 11 catch one passing that he threw. There was more than just him playing the game people had to get open and they had to catch the ball. Drew did his job, just as everyone else did theirs. Otherwise we would never have won the game.

Donahoe, said it's going to take three years minimum to get the team back where it was in the '90s. It has only been a year and a half, and we should have an 8/8 team this year, anything more than that is going to be our luck, with the ball bouncing in our direction.

We had so many holds in our team last year, and so little cap room. :pow: :pow: :pow: So lets all get back down to earth please. We have a good start, and our defense is hurting us, but anyone who thought differently were only fulling themselves.

I will take a win anyway we can get it and I will quit trying to analyze the coaching decisions at this time they know the personnel better than I do.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

[Novacane]

Sorry Diehard but when GW makes bonehead decisions I am gonna call him on it!

[DIHARD2]

"Sorry Diehard but when GW makes bonehead decisions I am gonna call him on it!"

BledsoeTOreedfor6, don't get me wrong please, I agree that is our job as a fan. If you see something you feel or we feel is wrong you/we have to complain, again that is our job. I'm just giving my opinion here, on the Bledsoe this the Bledsoe that. I am just saying that there isn't just one man out on the field. He is a lot better than R. J..

If that call on clock management would have cost us the game I would have to agree with your take on it. But if that's all we can find to complain about, G. W. did his job and called it the way he saw it at the time. I think he was hoping our defense would force Culpepper into another mistake. G. W. also might have felt the defense he had out there was able to do the job. Don't forget hurry up and the two-minute drill offense,s sometime worked against the offense as well.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

[4thAndLong]

Gotta agree with DIHARD, I think GW had alot of confidence in the offense to do that, I think he calls a timeout if Moe Williams doesn't get in there...

I think GW was thinking of our drive before the half, we marched right down the field in a minute and scored, we had 26 with 3 T/O, besides, it's pretty easy to run a defense on receivers running comeback routes on the sidelines, it takes away your TE option and takes Josh Reed out of the game, which we would have had if we called those timeouts.

It's GW's defense, I think of it as he was putting them on a test, seeing how they are in clutch situations, he's only seen them in one other real game, and no one knows their capabilites yet.

[Novacane]

ALL I can say is GW would be being crucified here and in local media if Drew and the boys had not bailed him out. The jury is still out on GW IMO. We shall see how the next few weeks go.

[4thAndLong]

It's easy to go out on and say the negatives about him...

But what about the positives?

2 3-and-outs for the Vikes in OT, pass rush on a mobile QB, 3 turnovers...

[SoCalBillsFan]

agreed, bledsoe, yes we win, still, it was a bad decision ot to call a timeout.

Of course I'll take a win any way we can get it! But that doesn't mean I should turn a blind eye to the mistakes of the game! I certainly hope GW isnt

[DIHARD2]

We are looking at the game through 8 to 10 camera minimal and we are not judging what the coaches is seeing on the sideline. All he has to go by is who he has out on the field, and who the other team has on a field. He doesn't have the vantage point we all have watching TV, or if we're at the game and in the nosebleed section, of course we are going to see more, and we would be able to make a better judgment from our viewpoint. Try just not looking at TV and do it the way the coaches is seeing it and that is what's on the Clipboard.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

[ct bills fan]

I'm thrilled we won - just bringing up the point that I think it would have been smarter to conserve more time on the clock by calling a timeout or two. It didn't cost us Sunday, but, it may in the future. 54 yard field goals aren't easy and neither is driving a team 29 yards in 21 seconds. With a little more time on the clock we could have driven farther down the field.

[Dozerdog]

Whenever a team gets inside the 12 yard line with a minute or less in the game, you got to start conserving the clock for your offense if you need it. At that stage, Minnesota is TRYING to kill the clock AND score. Smart on their part. Had the Bills done this in Tennesee during the Music City Miracle, the winning kick would have gone off with time expiring, not necessitating the kickoff that led to the winning TD.

That close, there is no real chance of getting another first down to extend the drive. They had 4 plays to score- The Bills could have easily saved another 45 seconds.


Even with 3 time outs, you would be pressed to use them all with only 20 seconds left.

Couple this, with the 2 point conversion fiasco, the Bills should have had an opportunity to take thy Ball over with about 45 seconds left, 1 0r 2 TOs, and only down by two. While we won, I would rather have had a 40 yard attempt to win than a 50+ yard kick bounce off the crossbar.

GW does a great job getting the troops prepared and motivated. And I know that it seems like nitpicking after a great win. But these things add up. For 6 days, 23 hiurs, and 45 minutes he did a solid job. Those 15 minutes in the closing segments of the game just made winning it that more difficult.

Hopefully, he will learn fom this...

[lordofgun]

Well said Dozer!

BUT I'm still happy with the win. Last year, we would have lost 50-6.

[Dozerdog]

Would that be 2 FGs for the Bills, or a Missed 2 pt conversion?

[Rebecky]

Agree -- there were some bonehead calls from the sidelines which really should have cost us the game. If DB had been here a while, confidently running the O for a while, I wonder if he would have audibled and changed that horrible OT pass-on-the-20 play?

[quizlet2003]

Ahh--- who needs time when we have Drew Bledsoe.