My take on Watson

We wouldn't have won many of the games we have over the past 2 to 3 years without him, and he's a competitor who leaves it all out there on the field. He has my utmost respect, and so this isn't a shot at him at all.

But he has shown this year that in real time he can make some very odd decisions. Now of course he's human, and he's an infinitely better QB than I could ever be, and I'm not taking shot at him. But that 2nd down play at the goal line is a perfect example of a pass that just can't be made. The upside (of the TD compared to a FG) is so much lower than the potential downside, that you just can't make that pass into traffic.

That's not taking a shot at him, it's just pointing out that the coaches need to reinforce to him the game scenario logic and that Watson still has that to absorb.

tiger_thom®

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I obviously like our coaching staff

Nov 14, 2016, 10:19 AM [ in reply to I think that's a fair assessment ]

And have enjoyed the success we've had immensely.

But I wonder if the aggressive mentality they hold leads to some of these decisions.

Another play comes to mind. Against OH ST, on 3rd and 5 (ish) with a lead late we call a passing play where Boyd tried to squeeze a pass in and it was intercepted giving them another shot (we promptly intercepted it back).

I wonder if the "ATTACK!" mindset sometimes causes us to make poor decisions. Again, I'll take the overall outcomes, but sometimes it comes back to bite us.

One of the things that sometimes gets thrown around here is us "Playing not to lose", but I'd argue that had we played not to lose with 5 minutes left in the game then we would've won Saturday. Had we run and taken the FG down int he redzone, or had punted on 4th and 1, then we might well not be having this conversation.

We survived the Auburn game, but again not taking the FG late was being aggressive and "playing to win" when a conservative call of the FG may have made that late game scenario much less taxing on Tiger fans' hearts and nerves.

The team that successfully plays not to lose is the winner.