It seems the idea (in Moore’s mind) was that Dak run about 5-10 yards, go down, and then hurry the offense back into formation for a spike. The WRs don’t run much further than that. That would still give them enough time for a Hail Mary from a better position.
But Dak runs twice as far, which means everyone including the refs need to hustle even further down the field. And he compounds it by handing the ball to the center instead of the nearest official. The center places the ball in the wrong spot, which is why the ref moves it back a yard, which forces the entire line to reset position.
I also find all this kinda academic, because even then it still relies on a low-probability Hail Mary, so it’s not as if the Cowboys were assured of winning.
(Also, if the Cowboys are mad, about how about those 30 seconds they burned keeping the punt team on the field after a successful fake punt. They only ended up with a FG).
Two plays, possibly even three. Even if they had gotten the snap off in regulation that’s one shot out of a hurried formation of 20+ yards for the TD.
rshetts
1827
I am reporting you to the Department of Redundancy Department for that one!
That ref did everything they could. They actively impeded him. Heck, they probably could have called a delay penalty.
If the Cowboys somehow had gotten off one more play and scored, the 49ers would have had a legitimate complaint. The umpire jammed his way into the O-line and then just scooched the ball back a couple of inches. The ball should really have been spotted at the point Dak started his slide, which was another yard+ back. So the whole Cowboys line should have had to move back and get reset before they could spike it. There obviously would not have been time for that.
I’m pretty sure the whole thing was scripted to keep sports talk radio afloat for another year.
That makes sense, but I hadn’t seen it. And while the scoring play would have been reviewed in that scenario, the spot of the ball would not. That would have been a huge fiasco.
And it should be pretty obvious, even to Cowboys fans, why the offense doesn’t get to spot the ball themselves :)
JeffL
1834
Dak screwed it up on that last play in a couple of ways. The Cowboys killed themselves with multiple dumb penalties. They knew that SF was going to try to give them the game with at least one major turnover, because that’s what their QB does, but they shot themselves in the foot so many times they had to switch feet.
And how is a running play down the field with so little time left better than shortish passes on out routes to the sideline? The 49ers have to defend against the long pass, so just about any pattern that fakes a long route and pulls up short near the sideline is going to be open. That was just a Really Bad Play Call.
Sarkus
1835
Yeah, one thing on that last Dallas play is the claim by Dak and McCarthy that they “practice that all the time” because it raises questions about what they actually practice. Do they practice giving the ball to the ref? Do they practice long runs like that? It’s a pretty vague statement to claim to practice the play and then blame the refs for the whole thing. It seems pretty universal this morning that Cowboy fans are defending the play and blaming the refs while everyone else says it was a bad play call and that Dallas put itself in a bad position with a long list of penalties and previous bad decisions.
Which leads to the McCarthy question. From what I’m reading, Jerry really really wants to keep Moore. Moore has already interviewed for the Jags and will get more opportunities. While I’m sure Jerry will try and do whatever it takes to keep him as OC for another year or two, probably including promises to make him the next head coach, it will really come down to whether Moore feels like he can turn down a HC offer. It sounds like that would force Jerry to make a choice and in that case he will choose Moore. Which, along with the Zeke questions, will make for an interesting offseason in Dallas!
JonRowe
1836
Yup.
I still cannot believe that play call. You had so much success with quick passes out of bounds, and change to a high risk running play with no timeouts?
The fault is 100% on Dak though. If he would have give. The ball to the ump instead of his center, they would have had a shot at the end zone, period.
That is something he should have known and been prepared for.
Also, as a Packers fan, I am delighted to see another team suffering from the horrible time mismanagement that McCarthy is so good at.
I wonder how old that Dallas run play in their clock system is. Or how old it is in McCarthy’s no-timeout desperate offense.
And I wonder this, because up until 10 years ago, the umpire positioned himself about 3-5 yards behind the linebackers on plays. Which would’ve been about 5 yards from where Dak slid down. He’d have gotten to Dak and the ball and placement before the offensive line had lined up. It might’ve worked.
But the NFL moved the umpire 10 years ago I think, because of downfield collisions (for safety) and because coaches were designing plays that used the umpire as a pick on crossing routes. But these days the umpire is behind the offensive line (he can put himself behind the defense in a discretionary manner – like setting the ball when the other team is likely to spike it to kill the clock.) But in this case, with the umpire well behind the offensive line at play start, he’s gotta sprint down the field, go through that wall of players, spot the ball, get out of there and blow the whistle.
And you’re just not doing that with what time was left in the game.
JeffL
1838
Yeah, if that’s a play that you’ve practiced, part of what has to be drummed into the QB is jump up, run to the umpire, hand him the ball, and the rest of the team has to practice being in place the second the umpire spots the ball. It came across like a playground play yesterday.
That success was mostly due to some really questionable defensive strategy by the 49ers. Romo kept questioning why the 49ers were not playing a ‘boundary’ defense in the secondary. Right before that last play, Romo showed how the secondary was, finally, lining up to take away short out routes.
I actually think a run up the middle is an OK call with 14 seconds left. It was very poorly executed by Dak, who needs to know exactly how far he can get away with running.
IMHO the run up the middle with no TOs is too risky at that point. You are giving up some control to how quickly the ref can spot the ball for play. Take two shots at the end zone or even throw one more 10 yard route and then take a shot (maybe even 2 if you’re lucky) for the TD.
At least a few other players/former players have said that all teams have this sort of play in their playbook, but it’s based on 18 seconds left being the baseline to get it off and then stop the clock without hoping everything goes perfectly right and you’re somehow able to get it done with less time. And Dallas claimed they practiced this (I’m sure they did), but the Dak screwed up by running too far by a few yards and not handing the ball to the ref, but instead handing it to the center. Which added a sec or two for the ref to get thru the line and touch/place the ball. Still not sure I’d prefer 1 30 yard endzone shot (if they’ve made it) or 2 or maybe 3 shots from 40.
robc04
1842
Hey, I haven’t complained once about the outcome.
Sarkus
1843
Mayock out as GM of the Raiders. They are requesting interviews for both GM and HC candidates. It does clear the deck for Harbaugh, among other things.
In the battle between the Rams and Cardinals, I’m rooting for Meteor.
