It’s a two-minute rest period.
I think this needs to be balanced against this:
Which I think could also play a huge role into the final decision.
However, Shanahan has claimed that they already decided how they’ll chose if they won the OT coin flip before the game started.
Not to reveal all of my strategies, but during the playoffs, the surprise opening OT onside kick is in my repertoire.
If the kicking team recovers the ball, does that count as a chance to score for the receiving team?
Onside kickoff? I would think not
Fumbled return, yes
Absolutely
yes. it is “an opportunity to possess the ball”
very much this.
The risk the kicking team takes in this action is if their opponent recovers the ball, they will generally have very good field position to start their drive than if they just kicked it through the end zone.
IMO, the “better” tactic to use for a “surprise” kick is the attempt to squib kick it to around the 10 or 5 yard line.
Isn’t that literally every play in the NFL?
If conditions were materially different on one end of the field then perhaps there’s merit to changing sides. But you’d think 10 minute OT periods would be better in that case.
Was it just me, or did those Jesus commercials suck the fun out of the room faster than Travis Kelce’s rendition of “Viva Las Vegas”?
considering they were Hobby Lobby sponsored, so a hate group trying to make everything all wonderful and loving, just like any other cult
My thought in real time:
Yeah, I commented upon seeing the commercial that it was a really weird song choice. Off the top of my head I could think of a number of better ones. Man In The Mirror came to mind first, but many more would have been better.
ETA: I love the song… it just didn’t fit with the messaging IMO.
More over-analysis, but good stuff nevertheless, cuz Barnwell:
TL;DR version: Shanahan should run on 3rd and 4 in OT instead of passing, because need 4 yards and have TWO plays to do it, not just ONE.
Shanahan said he wasn’t thinking about going for it on fourth-and-4, and that’s where his mistake came in. On third down, the 49ers came out in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers), and the Chiefs matched with their dime personnel package (six defensive backs). There wasn’t even a pretense of running the ball, as Purdy lined up in empty and had Christian McCaffrey move across the formation in motion.
The league’s most aggressive fourth-down offenses gain an advantage on third down by being willing to run in situations where teams typically throw the ball. Third-and-4 (or even longer) can be a run down for the Eagles, Lions and Ravens, because they’re comfortable either picking up the first down or going for it on fourth-and-short. In 2023, on third down with 3-to-5 yards to go in games where each team still had at least a 20% win probability, Shanahan called 16 passes on 17 plays. The Lions called 29 passes on 39 plays. The Eagles called 24 passes on 41 plays. Purdy isn’t Jalen Hurts, but the 49ers have a great rushing attack, and the Chiefs aren’t a great run defense, even if they were better than expected against San Francisco.
Shanahan has run on third-and-long before, with Raheem Mostert’s third-and-8 trap against the Packers in the 2019 NFC Championship Game as a famous example, but if he wasn’t thinking about going for it on fourth down, it had an impact on his third-down call. Running the ball on that third-and-4 could have converted on its own. It also could have set up a fourth-and-short that would have tipped the scales toward going for it and potentially converting for a touchdown. The bigger issue with what happened on third down was the pass protection, but if Shanahan was more open toward going for it on fourth-and-short, the 49ers would be a more dynamic offense on third down. Without knowing how things would play out, the 49ers probably would have been better off running on third-and-4, especially given how the Chiefs matched with their personnel.
And, this doesn’t even mention that Shanahan has the best Running Back in the game on his own team! By nearly 300 yards in the Regular Season!
I just wish this “analysis” had come from Pete Carroll
And Pete’s best course of action was even more obvious.
https://twitter.com/ASchatzNFL/status/1778077051007746123
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