Bill Belichick's 4th-And-2 Call Against Colts Debated, Derided (VIDEO)

Bill Belichick's decision to try for a first down on 4th-and-2 late in Sunday night's game against the Colts is drawing lots of criticism. With a six-point lead and the ball on their own 28-yard line with 2:08 remaining, the Patriots elected to go for the first down. Brady completed a short pass to Kevin Faulk, who appeared to catch the ball past the first-down line, but did not establish possession until he was plowed backwards by Colts safety Melvin Bullitt. (Video of the play is embedded below.) The Colts took possession and quickly drove down the short field to score a game-winning touchdown with 13 seconds remaining.

The decision was immediately criticized by announcers and analysts. On NBC, Rodney Harrison called it "the worst coaching decision I've ever seen Bill Belichick make." Jay Mariotti derided Belichick's call as "inexplicably arrogant" and "football suicide." On SportsCenter Trent Dilfer called the decision "ludicrous" and "absolutely ridiculous." And Jim Litke of the AP referred to it as "a reckless gamble."

Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders debated the wisdom of the play itself, asking, "When you need two yards to ice the game, is it better to send everyone on two-yard patterns, or to send everyone on THREE-yard patterns and give a little room for error?"

Others have defended the call. Jeff Ma blogged about the decision on HuffPost, writing that "38 yards in field position is not worth giving up a 60% opportunity to keep Peyton Manning on the sidelines." Wayne Winston concluded that "if the Colts have a greater than 50% chance of scoring a TD after the punt, then Belichick made the right move." Dan Shanoff and David Aldridge also defended Belichick's decision.

The Patriots fall to 6-3 with the loss, a record shared by three other AFC teams, and trail the Bengals for a coveted first-round bye.

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Should Bill Belichick have gone for it on 4th and 2?

Yes. It just didn't work out this time.

No. You have to punt.

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Comments

[Blak]

12:00 AM on 11/18/2009

The NE defense had held Payton to two TD for 3 quarters and they were dog tired. Bill knew this and he knew that Payton knew this. Thats why on the colts last TD, Peyton put up six points in 1:50. He decided to thus put the ball and game in the hands of his most trusted players...Brady/Faulk. Now..it obviously didnt work out and the spot of the ball was also in question. Going back to the last few years..its is shown that whenever Bill faces the colts late in the game in a close game, he most likely will go for it on fourth down situations.

[triplbee]

02:42 PM on 11/17/2009

There isn't any ambiguity here. It was a TERRIBLE call.

[mew-too]

02:33 PM on 11/17/2009

Oh the outrage of the Monday Morning Quarterbacks.

[austinro]

10:02 AM on 11/17/2009

He made the right call, if the running back fields the ball cleanly the game is over.

[scottbalogh]

10:18 AM on 11/17/2009

He didn't! The question the coach should consider under those circumstances is do we give the other team the ball on our 30 or their 30. Then you let your defense do their thing to close out the game. I guess Belichick does not have faith in his defense and an unreal faith in his offense.

[austinro]

11:40 PM on 11/17/2009

The New England defense was completely out of gas at the end and it showed. He took a big risk that would have had a big reward and lost on the gamble. Two yards for the pats offense is a pretty sure thing with all the weapons they, the only thing i would fault him for would be wasting timeouts early in the half, because if he had one left he could have challenged the call.

[contrariandy]

09:57 AM on 11/17/2009

Everyone is focused on the obvious calls, like in this game, where the ball gets spotted and pass interference, but far more games across the league are affected by less obvious calls and non-calls throughout a game like how much an offensive line and defensive backs are allowed to hold. As they say, they can't call it every time,...but sometimes they allow more than others; it can differ from crew to crew or game to game. The league sets, interprets and re-interprets the rules. Officials are honest but imperfect. Calls can be affected by home field noise and emotion as well as by the instructions they get on how to interpret and apply the rules. Some interpretations favor offenses; some favor defenses. Building your team accordingly, dealing with how the rules are applied, and avoiding situations that may result in bad calls are part of the game.

In this case, seriously, watch the replays carefully and objectively. It all happened very fast, but when the ball dropped he immediately caught it and controlled it while he was still upright and going sideways. He clearly had control of the ball outside the 30 for a 1st down. A replay should have overturned the ruling on the field. But, NE had wasted their timeouts.

[Witchitalineman]

09:32 AM on 11/17/2009

No it was his decision. He's the coach and was willing to take a gamble. I say he was right!

[StuManChu]

09:17 AM on 11/17/2009

I thought it was a good call. They had been moving the ball with ease through out the game. It just didn't work out.

Disclaimer: I dislike the Patriots and Belicheat, but call it as I see it.

[gerontion72]

09:05 AM on 11/17/2009

Pats' defense won't forget this call.

[hidef]

08:47 AM on 11/17/2009

Short field or long field the Colts would have scored. The game was on the line...that's what Peyton lives for.

[insightdeluxe]

11:54 PM on 11/17/2009

but, you have to MAKE manning do it! you never make it easy for your opponent!

[Blak]

12:08 AM on 11/18/2009

My sentiments exactly...high passing teams like the colts dont have to make completions to move the ball. Chances of getting a PI call against a tired secondary are pretty high.

[JimLarkin]

08:41 AM on 11/17/2009

its called having supreme faith in your team. i think the pats player will remember that more than they will the loss.

[podios]

08:53 AM on 11/17/2009

Supreme faith in your defense and special teams? Last time I checked, they're part of your team too.

[JimLarkin]

12:43 PM on 11/17/2009

show me where i said "supreme confidence in his offense"

[Blak]

12:09 AM on 11/18/2009

He had confidence in his D and thats why peyton converted for a quick six in 1:50 or less...

[Maggie0507]

08:06 AM on 11/17/2009

Bill Belichick is an arrogant SOB. (1) Huge amount of disrespect for his defensive line thinking they couldn't prevent the Colts from scorin (and, ironically, they didn't...); (2) huge amount of disrespect for the Colts defensive line thinking they couldn't hold the Pats; and (3) Belichick is the kind of coach that wants a win against the Colts at all cost. It used to be that Belichick had the Colts number, but for the last 6 years it would appear that Manning now has Belichick's number and Bill doesn't know how to handle that. He's no longer the darling of the coaching world. No, it wasn't the best game that the Colts or Manning played this year, but it also shows what a good team can do when you're down 17 points (twice) against Brady and the Pats. The Colts played that game with 5 key players out with injuries, and for them to be able to come back like they did shows how much better the Colts are than the Pats. I think Tom needs to stick to his GQ modeling, and Bill needs to go back into the electronic surveillance business.

[CubfanBudman]

06:20 AM on 11/17/2009

As a Chicago guy I have no dog in this race.

The guy had a first down. The side judges came in to spot the ball as a first down. After comercials, it was marked back a couple feet behind the first down.

I hate the pats as much as the colts. I think they got the first. I don't see anyone talking about it.

[kooosh]

06:41 AM on 11/17/2009

Quite a few people discussing this call. Faulk was juggling the ball and the spot was debatable. Pats couldn't challenge and was before 2 minute warning, so wasn't going to be challenged upstairs. Call on the field stands. Not the first time a good/bad call has decided a game. Move on.

[huffy2001]

07:27 AM on 11/17/2009

He did have the first down. Refs were there to protect the Colts perfect season. Did their job. As for the decision to go for it, the Colts were eating the Pats' defense alive. If Manning got the ball he was going to score, plain and simple. Didn't have a choice.

[opprobrious]

05:29 AM on 11/17/2009

How many Superbowl rings have you won? Bill's probably got you beat. Normally I'd say punt (so would the odds) but if Belichick wants to go for it he's earned that right. Anyway, given the Pat's were 78% on 4th down conversions, his best players are on offense, and his defense had decided to take the fourth quarter off AND the play actually worked (the spot was highly questionable) I can see his justification. The game wasn't all that important anyway since the Pat's are a lock to win the East and they dominated the game for the most part. They're not exactly chumps.

[CubfanBudman]

06:23 AM on 11/17/2009

6-3. I think the Bengals will Swoon too. Cedric Benson went out of the superbowl with a tweaked knee. Right now they are in first, but I think the Pats will be there too.

Hope the Bears lose out and get a good draft. MN wrapped up the north.

[Vinkaye]

09:02 AM on 11/17/2009

Oh yes, the game "wasn't that important", only for homefield advantage in the playoffs, no big deal. Look up the statistics on what homefield advantage has meant to these two teams, in the playoffs, and you will see exactly, what was on the line Sunday night.
Yes, the Pats will easily win their crappy division, however, they have yet to beat a team with a winning record this season. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[opprobrious]

04:12 PM on 11/17/2009

I didn't think the Pats were seriously going to catch the Colts anyway but I'm not so sure homefield advantage means as much as it once did. I understand your reasoning though.

[Frenbar]

05:09 AM on 11/17/2009

If he was willing to take that kind of risk, the clear play is to call a fake punt. Nobody is expecting you to fake a punt there and it's certainly a more high percentage play then they called.

[jdmiller49]

07:30 AM on 11/17/2009

Yes! Love the fake punt. Jets (of all people) did it three times successfully this year, I think.

[iceage7]

04:40 AM on 11/17/2009

New england will win the super bowl. They dominated the game with colts only for this call

[SNS]

04:51 AM on 11/17/2009

You call blowing a 34-17, 4th quarter lead "dominating"?

[Vinkaye]

09:10 AM on 11/17/2009

Interesting definition of "domination"! The Pats had a few big plays and a big lead, at one point. However, they could not close the Colts out. This Colts team was missing some big players, out with injuries, and in this game, Manning made some uncharacteristic bad, bad throws, and still this Pats team could not finish them off. Face it, this Pats D is not the Bruschi, Harrison, Seymour, Vrabel, et al. variety, and they are going to struggle against the top teams. Luckily for the Pats, they live in a non-existent division, so they will easily ride into the playoffs, but a Super Bowl appearance, let alone a win, is hardly likely for this team.

[kooosh]

06:54 AM on 11/17/2009

A loss in which you "dominated" is still a loss. You sound like you need a hug.