"And now you're probably down to a snap...with six seconds left in the game."
Mike Tirico said those exact words as the Dolphins lined up on 2nd down from the Colts' 30 yard line.
You already know my thoughts on this sort of thing.
And, of course, the next play was the final play; Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano must have been listening to the Monday Night Football broadcast. The final play, for those who didn't watch ESPN1 last night around 11:30, was an interception in the endzone...game over, Colts win. I knew this was going to happen because Chad Pennington doesn't have the arm strength to fit a ball into a tight window from 30-plus yards out (especially when eight defenders are crammed into the endzone).
But 15 or 18 yards out, now that's slightly more manageable, even for a guy with a cap gun for an arm.
But, why Brad? Why do you mention 15 or 18 yards? I'll tell you why, my friend. Because, with six seconds remaining, you can easily attempt a pass play that will net you 15 yards in about three or four seconds-----and if it doesn't work, you can try your quasi-Hail Mary with two seconds left.
Making things a billion times worse for any Dolphins fan reading this...
Indy's defense on the final play was begging Miami to grab the same fifteen yards I just wrote about. The Colts rushed only three and planted seven defenders at the goal line. Only one Colt -- besides the three down linemen -- was visible on my Samsung television screen, and he was eleven yards off the line of scrimmage, facing three Dolpins receivers on the right hash.
Which means...
The two Dolphins receivers on the left side, Davone Bess and Ted Ginn, were uncovered for at least -- AT LEAST -- fifteen yards (and probably more like twenty-five). The Colts were conceding those yards, because, apparently, their coaching staff also thought six seconds wasn't enough time to run two plays.
Part of the blame should fall on Dolphins QB Chad Pennington, as well. I'm positive he recognized the Colts' alignment, so why didn't he get the Dolphins in some sort of quick screen-type play to Ted Ginn and allow him to run as far as he could along the sideline before stepping out of bounds with a second or two left?
I typically hate when armchair quarterbacks try to simplify the NFL, but this one really is as simple as I'm making it out to be. A quick pass to Ted Ginn -- one of the world's fastest humans -- would've netted 15 yards-----and greatly improved their chances of winning.
Stupid idiots.
-Brad Spieser (Brad@TwinKilling.com)
9/22/09
