Gutsy Play Calling

Jason Cole writes about Marvin Lewis' gutsy play call on fourth-and-1 in the 4th quarter of yesterday's game against the Panthers. Rather than going for a power run up the middle to get 1 yard and an inch, Lewis aired it out for a 32 yard gain. It's the kind of call that when it works, people write how gutsy it was and how it shows the attitude of the team, and when it flops, people write how stupid it was. If it's gutsy, shouldn't it get gutsy no matter how it turned out?

But the play stands in stark contrast to what Mike Holmgren called in a similar situation in the Seahawks-Vikings game. His Seahawks also facing fourth-and-1, against a defense that had totally shut down the running game all day, calls a power run up the middle. The Vikings had not only dominated up front, they had about 9 guys in the box waiting to stifle the expected run play. The linebackers were stacked up in the middle and right side of the offensive line. It seems to me, as a totally nobody, that this means there was man coverage on the wide receiver split to the left of the offense, so a quick slant pass to that receiver after a one-step drop would have easily picked up a yard and several more. But Mike goes conservative and goes what is expected. Play gets stuffed, for a loss no less, and the 'Hawks lose.

Two teams, similar situations, one gutsy call (that worked) and one conservative call (that flopped).