11-19-2014, 06:24 AM
For those who question the wisdom of fans, let's remind ourselves of two very important facts:
1. Fans want their team to win
2. It has been statistically proven that possession is more valuable than field position in football games
Fan wisdom shouldn't drive personnel decisions or play calling, but fans are generally much more often right than wrong when it comes to issues related to ball possession and scoring points. It may be that their wisdom comes from an emotional place, but that doesn't mean it is wrong. I don't think too many fans would want their team going for it on 4th down and 10, up 1 point from their own 20 yd line with 30 seconds to play and the other team having no timeouts. But if it was 4th and a chain link and the other team had 3 timeouts, going for it would make a lot more sense, because you win the game by gaining an inch or two and you are then giving the other team multiple chances to win by giving the ball up. Most coaches would punt in both situations, when the decision to punt is only sound in the first scenario.
1. Fans want their team to win
2. It has been statistically proven that possession is more valuable than field position in football games
Fan wisdom shouldn't drive personnel decisions or play calling, but fans are generally much more often right than wrong when it comes to issues related to ball possession and scoring points. It may be that their wisdom comes from an emotional place, but that doesn't mean it is wrong. I don't think too many fans would want their team going for it on 4th down and 10, up 1 point from their own 20 yd line with 30 seconds to play and the other team having no timeouts. But if it was 4th and a chain link and the other team had 3 timeouts, going for it would make a lot more sense, because you win the game by gaining an inch or two and you are then giving the other team multiple chances to win by giving the ball up. Most coaches would punt in both situations, when the decision to punt is only sound in the first scenario.