Kind of an odd title to this piece, but the content is of interest.
Game-management decisions in the NFL spark intense debate and second-guessing, but it's amazing to me how little time we spend discussing it on the front end. This is especially true for first-time coaches, so high atop my to-do list for the Minnesota Vikings' training camp this week was to develop an understanding of coach Mike Zimmer's planned approach.
His "planned" approach? What was Mike Tice's planned approach and how did that work out? Game time decisions by coaches are much like those made by players. You never really know how they're going to perform under pressure until it actually happens.
Eli wrote:His "planned" approach? What was Mike Tice's planned approach and how did that work out? Game time decisions by coaches are much like those made by players. You never really know how they're going to perform under pressure until it actually happens.
So, you think it's worthless to try to anticipate these situations? Thinking through them, coldly, rationally, ahead of time is just pure folly?
I think Seifert's next piece should be: "Drilling Eli of VMB".
Texas Vike wrote:So, you think it's worthless to try to anticipate these situations? Thinking through them, coldly, rationally, ahead of time is just pure folly?
I think Seifert's next piece should be: "Drilling Eli of VMB".
i thought the article was a good read so thanks for the link. This was particularly interesting to me:
I also don't expect Zimmer to be heavily influenced by the recent infusion of analytics into game management. Data might suggest that NFL teams are far too conservative on fourth down and in utilizing the two-point conversion, but neither he nor Spielman seemed overly moved when speaking this week.
"We have all of those charts and looked at them," Spielman said. "But when [the game is] going, you still have to go off what your gut instinct is. How is your defense playing? How are you moving the ball or not moving the ball? So if in one game, your offense is moving the ball up and down the field but you're not scoring, maybe that's a different scenario in terms of your decisions. A lot of it is the ebb and flow of the game, who you're playing against. The right answer for this game might not be the right answer for the next game. But at least you're thinking."
I think Spielman's answer is right on target and I like that he and Zimmer are working through possible game situations. As Zimmer himself admitted, he hasn't had to make the kind of in- game decisions required of a head coach so it seems like a good idea for Spielman to help him prepare by getting him to discuss different scenarios and consider what he might do in a given situation.
So the GM is coaching up the head coach? Well, that's a new twist, but I suppose someone has to do it. I wonder if Spielman uses flashcards, or maybe he has one of those big workbooks and Zimmer hands in a newly completed chapter every day after work.
Eli wrote:So the GM is coaching up the head coach? Well, that's a new twist, but I suppose someone has to do it. I wonder if Spielman uses flashcards, or maybe he has one of those big workbooks and Zimmer hands in a newly completed chapter every day after work.
Eli wrote:So the GM is coaching up the head coach? Well, that's a new twist, but I suppose someone has to do it. I wonder if Spielman uses flashcards, or maybe he has one of those big workbooks and Zimmer hands in a newly completed chapter every day after work.
Actually he's helping him learn to make decisions that he has not had to make in the past. We used to do it in the military by killing off the top people of the organization during war games. It makes the people who don't normally make decisions have to make them. They find out it's not as easy as you think. And for a first time head coach I don't see how it can hurt.
Vikings fan since Nov. 6, 1966. Annoying Packer fans since Nov. 7, 1966