2015 World Series. Game 5. Heck of a series (Game 1 was especially memorable), heck of a game. The Relentless Royals had pushed Matt Harvey to the absolute limit and now we have the already-broken Jeurys Familia trying to close out the game on the top of the 9th while leading by one run---with the tying run for the Royals on third base, just 90 feet away. With one out, there was a groundout to David Wright over at third. Wright looks over to the baserunner, and then throws to first base. Shocking the entire baseball world, that baserunner, Eric Hosmer, bolts for home even though the ball was still in the infield.
Lucas Duda, the Mets’ first baseman was so unprepared for the series of events he misplays the throw at home, therefore allowing the Royals to tie the game. Now, participating in the blame game is far too easy. You can blame Harvey for not allowing the Mets to save the game, you can blame the manager Collins for going with Familia and listening to Harvey, you can blame Duda for the terrible throw. The truth is, the Royals tied and ultimately won this game because they played the ballsier game, took the much bigger risks (They risked the entire game with the new-generation Slaughter’s Mad Dash), and shook the senses of the opponents. The Kansas City Royals excelled in making everyone else uncomfortable by always being on the attack.
Jesus, a reference to a play in the 1946 World Series. I have watched far too much baseball.
Fast forward to January 16, 2016. The Packers and the Cardinals. Aaron Rodgers had just sucked the life out of all of Arizona by successfully throwing a Hail Mary pass to tie the game. Yes, a Hail Mary with NO time left on the clock saved the Green Bay Packers’ season. All they needed was the extra point, tie it, send it to overtime. Of course the point was good. Arizona would win the game because Larry Fitzgerald responded to the comeback with the Hail Larry---a 70+ yard run that would trigger the game-winning touchdown for Carson Palmer and the Cardinals.
Now, I will not fault the Packers for tying the game. Not at all. They did the conservative thing and took their chances in overtime. That being said…
I would have gone for the kill in the fourth quarter. I would have gone for the two-pointer. Every single time.
The Arizona Cardinals literally watched their season go from NFL Title Game to Oh-God-We-Have-To-Still-Win-This. They are shaken. The fans are quiet. Everyone is stunned. The momentum is all Green Bay. So why not just go for the kill right then and there, and not depend on a coin flip five minutes later? Why not once again utilize the MVP of the game, Aaron Rodgers, and go a few more yards and finish the stunning?
Because the NFL in general is a very conservative, risk-less, gutless grouping of teams.
How many times do you see punts as opposed to going for it on fourth down? Even when down three touchdowns in the fourth quarter? How often do you see teams gunning for the tie as opposed to the lead? How often do you see teams playing it safe and just dragging an already-out-of-reach game? How many weaker teams do you see throwing in the towel in the second half? The NFL has a quality problem, and that is all these quarterbacks and coaches choosing to save face as opposed to taking necessary risks to even try to make a comeback.
Plays like the Mad Dash and the Hosmer Run do not occur in the NFL, they just don’t. Hail Mary plays do sometimes happen----but only in the final moments. You won’t see Hail Marys at any other point. You won’t see fake punts or field goals unless you are watching college football. You won’t see surprise onside kicks unless the score is within a touchdown and there isn’t much time left. I’m not saying teams have to fully renegade it up and go for it every single time, because football is about preserving the lead and also preserving territory to prevent the shrinkage of said lead.
The Royals did not have the deep talent of the Mets, yet managed to succeed and win the big prize because they played harder and took all the necessary gambles. In 12 of the last 13 Super Bowls (including this one), the Super Bowl featured whether Brady, (Peyton) Manning, or Roethlisberger. The AFC has been dominated by the same quarterbacks for nearly 1 ½ decades. The same teams win, regardless of how much hope you give your team. Compare that to the American League—which has seen 8 different teams enter the World Series---and they sometimes aren’t the best team in the batch either.
Yes, it is extremely silly to compare football and baseball. But I firmly believe that if these middle-of-the-hill football teams took more gambles we would see more surprises, and could see the boring conservative approach being replaced by a more entertaining, random, and relentless approach to scoring. This type of aggressiveness is what the Kansas City Chiefs (huddling while down by 14 and 3 minutes left?!!??) and the Green Bay Packers (Not going for it at the end?!?!!) needed to beat the obviously-superior opponents. In football, usually the best team wins, and although that guarantees quality football it leaves little room for surprise storylines. Perhaps shaking the entire foundation of the conservative style of play can alter this.
Until then, we still have baseball and its absolutely unpredictable upcoming season to look forward to.
P.S. Patriots over Cardinals in the Super Bowl---with Roger Goodell being “too sick” to attend.
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