Mac Can't Manage the Game

[Atradees]

I saw kupp, the TEs involved, a 100 yard rusher and receiver. Loads of balance.
DK 3 of 6 targets for 20 yards. Murphy with 1.5 sacks. That's qhat I wanted Mac to make happen. To think we will improve

 

[RiverDog]

This is the exact reason he didn't call it after first down. The last thing you want is to give up a score then go 3 and out and risk giving up another. I think it was played right.

IMO most coaches would have called our first timeout after first down and ahead of the 2-minute warning. But at the very least, you call it on 3rd and goal from the 3 with 1:50 left and again on 4th down if they ran the ball and didn't score.

I don't think Mac has confidence in his offense. Sure, we could go 3-and-out and the Steelers could score again. But who wouldn't want the ball on their own 30 with 2 minutes left in the half? He didn't have enough confidence in our offense to get a yard on 4th down last week and it arguably cost us the game.

 

[GemCity]

RDog made some valid points…we did get the dub but, don’t act like we made smart moves the whole game

 

[RiverDog]

RDog made some valid points…we did get the dub but, don’t act like we made smart moves the whole game

Yeah, I'm reminded of Bobby McFerin's song from the 90's, Don't Worry, Be Happy:

Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry
Be happy
The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
But don't worry
Be happy, look at me, I'm happy

We won, so let's forget about all the mistakes we made. Throw away the game film. Who needs it! Don't worry, be happy!

 

[oldhawkfan]

IMO most coaches would have called our first timeout after first down and ahead of the 2-minute warning. But at the very least, you call it on 3rd and goal from the 3 with 1:50 left and again on 4th down if they ran the ball and didn't score.

I don't think Mac has confidence in his offense. Sure, we could go 3-and-out and the Steelers could score again. But who wouldn't want the ball on their own 30 with 2 minutes left in the half? He didn't have enough confidence in our offense to get a yard on 4th down last week and it arguably cost us the game.

Do you have confidence in this offense? Yet? I don’t yet, but I think they will be consistently good by the middle of the season.

 

[Count Hawkula]

 

[flv2]

I would have expected another HC on another team, (with more faith in his offense), to call a time-out at 1:50. You can move the ball with 1:09 and 3 time-outs...but it's tight. Time-outs on offense are only saving about 15 seconds rather than 35-40 seconds on defense. It's a questionable choice rather than an absolute right or wrong decision.

 

[nanomoz]

Why can't we still talk about this stuff? The OP's points are solid. We certainly all suffered enough with Pete's clock management for long enough. We should expect better of an analytics guy like Mac.

Didn’t even read the post. Still know that if you’re whining about this win you need a hug

 

[sutz]

Well, you can post anything you like within board rules. But don't expect 100% agreement on posts like the OP.

 

[Fresno Hawk]

The only play that i though was bad, was to go for it on 4th and 1 instead of kicking the field goal. I thought that we should have taken the 3 points there.

 

[RiverDog]

Do you have confidence in this offense? Yet? I don’t yet, but I think they will be consistently good by the middle of the season.

No, I don't. But I'm not the head coach, either.

Even if you might not otherwise want to take a chance on our going 3 and out, it might be wise to show your men that you have faith in that they might appreciate that you're taking a chance on them. Even if they were to fail in that situation, it might be worth it in the long run. It's a decision-making consideration that goes beyond the percentages and analytics.

A similar situation existed last week when it was 4th and one on the Niners' 19 and Mac opted to kick the FG and didn't even try to pull the defense offside. It's possible that his players could have interpreted that decision as a vote of no confidence.

And yes, I do think they'll get better, too.

 

[RiverDog]

I would have expected another HC on another team, (with more faith in his offense), to call a time-out at 1:50. You can move the ball with 1:09 and 3 time-outs...but it's tight. Time-outs on offense are only saving about 15 seconds rather than 35-40 seconds on defense. It's a questionable choice rather than an absolute right or wrong decision.

I can handle that. In my mind, he should have called the timeout. I've been watching football for over 60 years, and I feel pretty confident in saying that most coaches would have called the timeout(s). But I understand that it's only my opinion and that others, including some very smart football people, might feel differently.

And no, I'm not expecting 100% agreement.

 

[BobbyWagnerIsGod]

The more I see of Mac, the less I think he's qualified!

 

[NoGain]

Maybe it's just me and pmedic, but I was more irked by the TO that was called on 3rd and ten in the 3rd quarter of what looked like was going to be a tight game till the end there. On the play in question, it crossed my mind how to play it from a clock management standpoint, but at the time it was close enough to a 50/50 call for me that I said to myself, okay, let's see how it plays out.

On the other hand, I didn't like the FG in the first game, and clearly thought they should have gone for it for reasons that I railed on about then and don't want to revisit again.

 

[RiverDog]

Maybe it's just me and pmedic, but I was more irked by the TO that was called on 3rd and ten in the 3rd quarter of what looked like was going to be a tight game till the end there. On the play in question, it crossed my mind how to play it from a clock management standpoint, but at the time it was close enough to a 50/50 call for me that I said to myself, okay, let's see how it plays out.

On the other hand, I didn't like the FG in the first game, and clearly thought they should have gone for it for reasons that I railed on about then and don't want to revisit again.

I must have missed that one. Too busy multi-tasking with the Red Zone, I suppose.

Pete was notorious for wasting timeouts. I wish I had a nickel for every time we went into the last 2 minutes of a half or the game with 1 timeout.

 

[Gametime]

Why can't we still talk about this stuff? The OP's points are solid. We certainly all suffered enough with Pete's clock management for long enough. We should expect better of an analytics guy like Mac.

That's 100% fair. I think the title of "Mac CAN'T manage a game" was pretty hyperbolic is all. That's what got me. I'm definitely not saying we shouldn't question individual decisions made or players. I just have a hard time with the blanket approach that Mac is in over his head or is not able to manage a game at ALL. That's what I was reacting to. Of course Mac isn't perfect and he would probably be the first to call himself out on it if he thought so. Doesn't mean he can't manage the game. That's a bit much to me.

 

[Sprfunk]

I think the OP has a good explanation for his opinion. Although I think 1 minute and 3 TOs is my preference. That being said MM is not beyond criticism.

He is a really young coach, and is really learning game management. This will be a long process, and will be more bumps in the road. I still take him to coach this team in a heartbeat.

He fixed our d in a half of a year after 10 years of Pete not being able to. ( and I love pete).

 

[pmedic920]

Posts like these are why 49ers think Seahawks fans are morons

Nope


This is why they think that.

No logic to it but fact nonetheless

 

[evergreen]

I was questioning the clock management too. We’ll get the ball back with at least two minutes. I think you try to put yourself in the best position. Yeah it can backfire like it may have. But last week’s was a questionable situation too. Not even trying to draw them off. And going and getting it probably wins the game. They scored anyway and we still had a chance to win.
And I’m very happy with the win mostly how they played last week until it went south. Pitt blew up a few plays like that too or worse today.

 

[nanomoz]

That's 100% fair. I think the title of "Mac CAN'T manage a game" was pretty hyperbolic is all. That's what got me. I'm definitely not saying we shouldn't question individual decisions made or players. I just have a hard time with the blanket approach that Mac is in over his head or is not able to manage a game at ALL. That's what I was reacting to. Of course Mac isn't perfect and he would probably be the first to call himself out on it if he thought so. Doesn't mean he can't manage the game. That's a bit much to me.

Also fair.