Question for the board.

[Mister Hoarse]

Down by 4 - ball in hand offensively... I won't feel comfortable however unless we have a two score lead with 1 second on the clock.

These porkchops

[Den60]

Can we play against us?

We'd have to stand in line to do so.

[Panama]

How about this? 2:05 to go starting from your 6th with one timeout. You can pick the team.

They had no timeouts. Whichever team I might pick, that is...

[Bordious]

Against Tony Romo, up. I can only remember him not doing well in these situation, and I can't think of any big Romo comeback.

[Yubaking]

Interesting question.

With the relative strengths of the offense (considerable) and the defense (none), I would trust the offense to win the game much more so than the defense, so I would say that it would be better to be down 4 with 3 minutes left and the ball. With 3 minutes left, timeouts and field position are largely irrelevant as long as they are the same for both sides of the comparison (e.g., Cowboys ball on their own 20 versus our ball on our own 20).

Uniquely, I would come closer (not saying I would) to changing my view and trusting the defense if the Cowboys were down 3 versus being down 4. My thinking is that a three down stop in our territory could cause the Cowboys to kick the game equalizing FG and then we would have a chance to win the game in OT (if we won the coin toss). But if it is TD or bust and the Cowboys are going to use 4 downs no matter what, I do not trust our defense at all.

[Panama]

Interesting question.

With the relative strengths of the offense (considerable) and the defense (none), I would trust the offense to win the game much more so than the defense, so I would say that it would be better to be down 4 with 3 minutes left and the ball. With 3 minutes left, timeouts and field position are largely irrelevant as long as they are the same for both sides of the comparison (e.g., Cowboys ball on their own 20 versus our ball on our own 20).

Uniquely, I would come closer (not saying I would) to changing my view and trusting the defense if the Cowboys were down 3 versus being down 4. My thinking is that a three down stop in our territory could cause the Cowboys to kick the game equalizing FG and then we would have a chance to win the game in OT (if we won the coin toss). But if it is TD or bust and the Cowboys are going to use 4 downs no matter what, I do not trust our defense at all.

Your logic is flawed. Since our defense has no strength, with three minutes left and up by 4 you want the defense on the field. That way, when the Cowboys score the go-ahead TD, there's still nearly two minutes for the offense to win or tie.

[thelightningwill]

In Sundays game with the Cowboys, would you rather the Chargers be up by 4 points with 3 minutes to play and Dallas has the ball or, would you rather the Chargers be down by 4 but we have the ball with three minutes left to play?

I would rather be ahead and not have the ball.
If Dallas has three minutes to score, they might go ahead by three with still enough time on the clock for us to score as well.
I guess the worse situation would be, if we were ahead by less than one score and we had the ball. In that case, we might think, hey, we have too many injuries on the O'line to risk making a pass. So we could just run the ball on 3rd and long and leave just enough time for the other team to score and win.

[Panama]

I guess the worse situation would be, if we were ahead by less than one score and we had the ball. In that case, we might think, hey, we have too many injuries on the O'line to risk making a pass. So we could just run the ball on 3rd and long and leave just enough time for the other team to score and win.

Yeah, but, c'mon, what are the odds of that ever happening? :stirpot:

[Yubaking]

Your logic is flawed. Since our defense has no strength, with three minutes left and up by 4 you want the defense on the field. That way, when the Cowboys score the go-ahead TD, there's still nearly two minutes for the offense to win or tie.

I am making the assumption that the Cowboys are intelligent enough to manage the clock on their game winning drive at least to some degree. As good as our offense has been, I certainly wouldn't expect a TD in under a minute (after they scored) against a good Cowboys defense on an ensuing drive starting from at or near our own 20. Even a game equalizing FG would be a challenge.

[Den60]

They had no timeouts. Whichever team I might pick, that is...

I thought they still had one. Checked and I was incorrect.

[thelightningwill]

Yeah, but, c'mon, what are the odds of that ever happening? :stirpot:

I just noticed you had already posted the same thing I posted before I posted it.

[Danimal]

Down and ball with the O