Easy to Second Guess Firebirds Loss
Matthew Pickut
Sunday July 28, 2002
 Raymond Philyaw Image courtesy of Kevin Sheller |
Decision : Under pressure QB Raymond Philyaw’s attempted pass to OL/DL Mark Valvo rebounds off the nets into the hands of Dallas DS Jason Shelly.
2nd guess: What in the world are you doing? You have not thrown a pass to the TE all year!
3rd guess: All right, I have to admit it would have made my season to see Valvo come down with that ball. I would be a hypocrite to complain.
4th guess: It’s a playoff game, you just put together a 10-play drive where it looked like everything clicked, just throw the ball away and make sure you get some points out of the drive.
Verdict: probably not the best call, but can you really blame Philyaw for trying to make something happen? Philyaw’s aggressive play (24 for 38, 273 yards, 3 TD passes, 2 TD rushes) helped the Firebirds stay in the game. It is easy to forget this is only Raymond’s second year as a starter.
Situation: Firebirds’ kick-off, 54 seconds left, up by one 40-39
Decision: Firebirds’ head coach calls for an on-sides kick
2nd guess: Why give them the ball with such a good chance to score, your defense has shown they can stop Dallas when they need to?
3rd guess: If the Firebirds recover the ball – game over, Indiana moves on to the second round
4th guess: 54 seconds is a long time in the AFL
5th guess: Exactly, that’s why you can’t give Dallas the chance to run the clock down and kick a field goal for the win without giving the Indiana offense a chance to come back. Plus, even if Dallas scores, they need the equivalent of two TD’s (one touchdown + a 2pt conversion) to get up seven. Worse comes to worse you still have a chance to play for the win or for overtime.
Verdict: Classic Mike Dailey, I can guarantee he makes that call 100 out of 100 times. The call shows the confidence Dailey has in his players. He wants to give his players every opportunity to make big plays with the game on the line.
Situation: 10 seconds left, extra point conversion, down by one, 47-46
Decision: Coach Dailey calls for a pass play
2nd guess: K Nelson Garner is 4 of 5 on PATs, he hit his last 4 in a row
3rd guess: The offense is on a roll, give them the chance to win the game, besides PATs are far from automatic in the AFL
4th guess: You play for the win at HOME, and a tie on the road, you have been behind all game you have to give yourself a chance in overtime.
5th guess: With the way overtime is set up you’ll probably have to go for the 2pt conversion sooner or later, why not take to momentum and go for it to end the game.
Extra-special, one time only, 6th guess: Yeah? Well, yo’ momma dresses you funny!
Verdict: I would have gone for the PAT, hope to win the coin toss, and relied on my defense in overtime to come up with a big stop. That’s easy to say after the pass is blocked to the turf, but personally, I think that just getting into overtime could give you the momentum after being behind most of the game. Then again, it was Dailey’s calls that got Indiana to the point to even make the decision necessary, so you can’t be too critical. For now, we’ve got all off-season to argue about this one. Thankfully, it is a short one with the change to a winter schedule.
Matthew Pickut is a pastor in northern Indiana and a long time AFL fan. He also writes for his own website: The Brown Paper Blog. He graduated from Taylor University in Upland Indiana (class of `96) with degrees in Biblical Literature and Sociology as well as a healthy respect for the medicinal properties of coffee.
