Mike Macdonald, the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, made an intriguing choice that, in the grand scheme of preseason, really means nothing, but might offer some insight into what he would (or wouldn’t) do during the regular season.
At the two-minute warning, behind the Tennessee Titans 13–12, the Seahawks had a chance to win on fourth and 1 from field goal range. The drive would have been prolonged, Jason Myers would have been closer, and the Titans would have been forced to use timeouts. Rather, Myers made a 50-yard field goal to give the Seahawks a late lead that they would quickly give up despite playing third- and fourth-string defense.
This would undoubtedly be a contentious choice that was viewed as a mistake if it were a game of consequence involving starters, at least in my opinion. However, it’s at least one piece of information worth talking about because we don’t know how Macdonald will handle these situations.
Here’s what Macdonald had to say regarding whether he would follow the same procedure in the regular season or the preseason when making a field goal decision.
Yes, the same procedure, Macdonald replied. The same choice; I’m not sure how things will alter. All the numbers are involved. We had a debriefing about it. Ultimately, the decision came down to whether or not to pursue it. We should have given Jason Myers another chance to close it out by going backwards after a half-yard line, but we chose not to do so.
When asked if there was someone in his ear with the probability information, Macdonald responded, “We have language that we share, so it’s not this convoluted math equation or whatever.” Brian Eayrs, the head research analyst, provides it to me instantly. You were aware of those things prior to that sequence of setbacks. Based on the play’s outcomes, I had a vague idea of what we would accomplish. You reach a final conclusion based on how things work out. As previously stated, a lot of the decisions we make will be based on the statistics, but ultimately, it is up to you to decide what is best for your squad and how to win the game. It’s not always one thing or the other; it requires constant balancing.”
Giving Jason Myers another chance was a factor, Macdonald conceded. In addition to missing an extra point on Seattle’s lone touchdown, which was his second of three PAT misses this preseason, he had also made two field goals.
He claimed that factored into the decision-making process. “Yes, that was a contributing factor, but it was probably not the main one. I felt confident that he would succeed.
We know, at the very least, that Macdonald has the pertinent information available to him when making crucial fourth-down decisions. It remains to be seen if he will be considerably more aggressive than Pete Carroll when it comes to going for it on fourth down when the games really matter.
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