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This is What A Good Coach Does


Green DNA

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Not pasting the entire article, just enough to make the point.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcsouth/0-7-183/Uncharacteristically-aggressive-Titans-roll.html

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For 30 minutes, Jeff Fisher played territorial football, worrying about field position above all else. It was traditional Titans.

But at the half, a coach known for relying on his defense and his willingness to settle for field goals or punt the ball away, saw the need to shape the game differently. It sparked a stunningly complete 31-14 rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that determined AFC playoff seeding supremacy.

Steelers-Titans featured big hits, sacks and tackles for losses, but it opened up with more scoring opportunities than Fisher anticipated. And when it did, he didn't fight it, he allowed for it.

So twice on fourth downs with his team well in the range of kicker Rob Bironas, Fisher elected to keep his offense on the field. A week after a failed fourth-down play cost the Titans a chance to win in Houston, he gave the green light twice more -- with spectacular results.

The two plays:

With 5:12 on the clock in the third quarter, down four points and facing a fourth-and-1 from the Pittsburgh 21-yard line,
Kerry Collins
faked an inside handoff to fullback
Ahmard Hall
, then pitched the ball behind him to the left to
Chris Johnson
. As the Titans anticipated, a cornerback --
Ike Taylor
-- was all that was between the rookie running back and the first down, and Johnson easily juked Taylor. He then chomped up the remaining yards too, scoring a touchdown that put the Titans ahead for good, 17-14.

Next series, with the ball back thanks to the first of two
Michael Griffin
interceptions with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Fisher gave the nod again. On fourth-and-3 at Pittsburgh's 30, Collins fired a pass up the right side perfectly fitted between defenders to
Justin Gage
for 17 yards. The Titans scored another touchdown to complete the drive.

What did Fisher have to say about the aggressiveness?

"I didn't feel like field goals were going to win this ball game," Fisher said. "Because of the way their defense was playing and the way their offense has the potential to play. We get down to the plus territory, we take a shot at it and we got it, it worked for us.

"A lot of it is just a gut reaction. To me, you evaluate the flow of the game, you assess what you anticipate happening. Keep this in mind, before that, they missed a field goal, they fumbled it on the 5-yard line, they were moving the ball. You like to assume that your defense is going to make the stops, and we did. But, still, in a game like this you have to be aggressive. You have to play it to win it. We played our field position game in the first half. The second half was time to go win in."

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Not pasting the entire article, just enough to make the point.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcsouth/0-7-183/Uncharacteristically-aggressive-Titans-roll.html

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For 30 minutes, Jeff Fisher played territorial football, worrying about field position above all else. It was traditional Titans.

But at the half, a coach known for relying on his defense and his willingness to settle for field goals or punt the ball away, saw the need to shape the game differently. It sparked a stunningly complete 31-14 rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that determined AFC playoff seeding supremacy.

Steelers-Titans featured big hits, sacks and tackles for losses, but it opened up with more scoring opportunities than Fisher anticipated. And when it did, he didn't fight it, he allowed for it.

So twice on fourth downs with his team well in the range of kicker Rob Bironas, Fisher elected to keep his offense on the field. A week after a failed fourth-down play cost the Titans a chance to win in Houston, he gave the green light twice more -- with spectacular results.

The two plays:

With 5:12 on the clock in the third quarter, down four points and facing a fourth-and-1 from the Pittsburgh 21-yard line,
Kerry Collins
faked an inside handoff to fullback
Ahmard Hall
, then pitched the ball behind him to the left to
Chris Johnson
. As the Titans anticipated, a cornerback --
Ike Taylor
-- was all that was between the rookie running back and the first down, and Johnson easily juked Taylor. He then chomped up the remaining yards too, scoring a touchdown that put the Titans ahead for good, 17-14.

Next series, with the ball back thanks to the first of two
Michael Griffin
interceptions with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Fisher gave the nod again. On fourth-and-3 at Pittsburgh's 30, Collins fired a pass up the right side perfectly fitted between defenders to
Justin Gage
for 17 yards. The Titans scored another touchdown to complete the drive.

What did Fisher have to say about the aggressiveness?

"I didn't feel like field goals were going to win this ball game," Fisher said. "Because of the way their defense was playing and the way their offense has the potential to play. We get down to the plus territory, we take a shot at it and we got it, it worked for us.

"A lot of it is just a gut reaction. To me, you evaluate the flow of the game, you assess what you anticipate happening. Keep this in mind, before that, they missed a field goal, they fumbled it on the 5-yard line, they were moving the ball. You like to assume that your defense is going to make the stops, and we did. But, still, in a game like this you have to be aggressive. You have to play it to win it. We played our field position game in the first half. The second half was time to go win in."

I've always thought Fischer was a damn good coach. He's the 4-3 version of Bill Cowher IMO. Yeah they got the best of us yesterday as well. I would absolutely love another shot at them in the AFCC too!

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Not for nothing but the premise of this thread is very stupid. Why would we need a thread about things that a good coach does?

It just isn't applicable on a Jets board. Why don't we just post what it is like to have sex with three super models at the same time. We have just a good a chance to see that as we do good coaching from our sidelines.

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http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcsouth/0-7-183/Uncharacteristically-aggressive-Titans-roll.html

So twice on fourth downs with his team well in the range of kicker Rob Bironas, Fisher elected to keep his offense on the field. A week after a failed fourth-down play cost the Titans a chance to win in Houston, he gave the green light twice more -- with spectacular results.

You guys would have fired him after they lost to Houston.

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some of coaching is just luck. you go for it on fourth and whatever and make it, you're great. you miss it and you should have kicked it you're a bum. But, you have to make the best the decision and put the ball in the player hands that gives you the best chance to win. That's what I don't think Mangini does. We can all second guess him, because his guesses have sucked. There's a lot I would have done differently. And no I haven't been a pro. athlete. But, I have coached many sports. Football being one of them. I don't understand many of the plays or use of players Mangini has used nor do I care anymore. Mangini has to go as well as the majority of the coaches.

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Not for nothing but the premise of this thread is very stupid. Why would we need a thread about things that a good coach does?

It just isn't applicable on a Jets board. Why don't we just post what it is like to have sex with three super models at the same time. We have just a good a chance to see that as we do good coaching from our sidelines.

We can dream can't we? Just keep your hands where I can see them, especially if the dream involves the models.

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You guys would have fired him after they lost to Houston.

Damn, I forgot to edit that out. The point is not about firing etc., the point is that put down the manual, the flowcharts, the stars, the biorythms anmd just coach the game according to feel. I don't want hear about a 16.75% chance of making a field goal from 50 when it is snowing and the wind is blowing from the NE between 5-10 mph. That makes everything too mechanical and implies that you cannot improvise or change direction depending on the events unfolding in front of you that do not go according to plan. Sometimes it works, sometimes not but I think it gives you a better chance to win (57.6% of the time).

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