Bad decisions by players and/or coaches

[l3will]

Share a story about a bad decision you have seen made by a coach or a player.

First, I have to preface this story by saying that it occurred a long time ago. It happened before the rule was changed in NFHS rules to always have the clock start on the snap after a change of possession.

Team X is pinned back on their own 12 yard line with 5 seconds left in the half. It is 4th and 10 to go, Team Y has just taken their last time out of the half. Coach of team X tells the QB to take the snap and then take a knee. QB takes the snap and then drops to a knee. The crew stops the clock for the new first down for Team Y. Team X's coach is going ballistic because the clock is stopped, he's yelling for his captain to call a time out. I tell the captain that that he really doesn't want a time out and the clock is going to start... the captain insists on the time out.

The coach calls me over and tells me that we screwed up in stopping the clock, it should remain running after a running play. I explained to him that we merely stopped it to reset the chains after Team Y was given a first down and we would have restarted the clock with the RFP, but since he had called a time out it would now only start with a snap. The coach insisted that we had totally screwed it up.

Team Y got a shot at the endzone, but did not end up scoring.

We even got to explain the situation to the A.D. at half time all over again.

[mcrowder]

My favorite bad decision by a coach. Team was leading handily at halftime, and played 2nd string in the 2nd half. About 40 seconds to go in the game, however, and they are only up by 6. Luckily, they have the ball, and the other team is out of time outs. They run the ball up the middle, ending around the 25 yard line.

Time out!

What?!?!?!

Offensive coach calls a time out. They wanted to get some practice for their kicker on a reasonably long FG. So they line up for the 42 yarder, and it's blocked... and returned for a TD the other way.

If that had happened in college or the pros, coach would have been canned. Luckily for this coach, he was also the AD.

[Bob M.]

REPLY: A state championship game some years ago. I was the line judge. Home team is leading by 4 points with about 30 seconds remaining in the game. It's their ball 4th and 10 from their own 12 yard line. They call time out. Coach visits the huddle in the middle of the field. As time out ends and he's running past me to the sideline, he has a brainstorm. He turns and yells back to his punter, "Run it through the endzone" to give up the safety and be able to free kick afterwards. Good thought. However, the punter apparently only heard the words "Run it..." and on the snap proceeds to run it forward where he gets stopped for no gain. Two plays later, the visitors take it on a sweep to my side into the end zone. They win the game and the state championship. You should have seen the stuff being thrown out of the stands. I almost got hit with a drumstick.

[AndrewMcCarthy]

Originally posted by Bob M.
I almost got hit with a drumstick.

That would have left a nice BBQ stain on the knickers!!

[stevesmith]

Cowboys decision to fake punt vs. the 49er's on Sunday.

[Warrenkicker]

Well maybe I will classify this as a stupid decision by a coach.

A couple of weeks ago in a kid's game on Saturday the team with a lead of 21-0 had the ball on B-10 with about 10 seconds left in the game. All of the sudden the A players are calling for a timeout. I am really trying to ignore them but the coaches are yelling for one as well. I finally grant it. Then they have the guts to yell that I let 4 seconds run off of the clock. I never even gave them a response. I turned the other way and said loud enough for the other sideline to hear me, "I wish I could have let 6 more seconds run off." They agreed with me. A had let all of their players play already so this was just to get another useless touchdown.

Then a couple of days later with other teams I had a coaching staff who were joking with me all game and winning the game, a refreshing combination. One coach asked as time was running out if he had any more timeouts. I looked at the clock to see it at 5 second left and said back to him, "It might take me 5 seconds to find out." He laughed.

[bigwes68]

Had one Saturday in a youth game (12-year-olds I think). A had just gotten the ball back on a turnover on downs with about 40 seconds left, leading 14-0. B was out of time-outs. Just take a knee and go to the house, right?

Wrong. A decides to run a toss sweep, which is, of course, muffed by A's running back. B scoops it up and returns it about 40 yards for the touchdown.

A managed to recover the onside kick and finally took a knee to win 14-6, but that game could have been over much sooner (and they could have lost, too).

[BulldogMcC]

How about the tried and true mistake I see all the time, intercepting a long forward pass on 4th down. I have had this happen in two Varsity contests this year. First was A's ball 4th and 25 from B's 35 yard line. A passes the ball which is intercepted by B at their own 5 and downed there. I am on A's sideline and overhear the A coach tell an assistant, "That's better than any punt would have done." Then I had it again this weekend, and it was the team that was on A the first week, now on B. I was the U this time so I was not on the sideline to hear anything, but I am pretty sure the coach had some words for that player.

[ljudge]

I just had this this afternoon in a JV game.

Visiting team wins the toss...defers option 'til 2nd half.

The referee gave the remaining options to the home team. The kid said we want to kick. The R asked him 3 more times are you sure you want to kick? Yes, we want to kick.

After that was done with I went to one kid and said "coach is going to be maaaaad at you!" He said "why we always elect to kick?" What he meant to say is we always defer (and end up kicking). The R tried and gave him more chances than he should have to get it right.

It turned out to be pretty funny. The coach and his teammates busted his chops the whole game.

[Forksref]

It seems this was in a state championship game a few years ago, maybe in Idaho, not sure.

Team A up by a point with seconds to go. Last play of the game. QB wants to run out the clock and he runs backward to use up time and he ends up in the EZ and I think he took a knee or ran out of the EZ.

Fine way to lose the state championship.

[waltjp]

November 19, 1978. Thirty-one seconds left in the game, Giants lead the Eagles, 17-12. The Eagles are out of time outs. Giants just need to take a knee and the game is over. Inexplicable, the Giant QB attempts to hand off to Larry Csonka. The ball is fumbled. Herman Edwards scoops it up and returns it for a game winning touchdown.

Eagle fans know this as the "Miracle in the Meadowlands". Giant fans simply call it "The Fumble".

[Suudy]

Originally posted by Forksref
It seems this was in a state championship game a few years ago, maybe in Idaho, not sure.

Team A up by a point with seconds to go. Last play of the game. QB wants to run out the clock and he runs backward to use up time and he ends up in the EZ and I think he took a knee or ran out of the EZ.

Fine way to lose the state championship.

I heard something on Paul Harvey a few years a go about a Washington, B-8 playoff (or was it the championship?) where something similar thing happened. I think it was Taholah high school that lost, but all my web searches have turned up nothing.

Team A up by 3 or 4 points, just a few seconds left. A takes the snap runs backwards. When the scoreboard buzzer goes off the QB throws the ball in the air and starts celebrating. The ball flew behind him and was bouncing around. Team B picks up the ball and runs for a touchdown, beating Team A.

This is why we want schools to rip out that damn buzzer...

[Snake~eyes]

Originally posted by Suudy

I heard something on Paul Harvey a few years a go about a Washington, B-8 playoff (or was it the championship?) where something similar thing happened. I think it was Taholah high school that lost, but all my web searches have turned up nothing.

Team A up by 3 or 4 points, just a few seconds left. A takes the snap runs backwards. When the scoreboard buzzer goes off the QB throws the ball in the air and starts celebrating. The ball flew behind him and was bouncing around. Team B picks up the ball and runs for a touchdown, beating Team A.

This is why we want schools to rip out that damn buzzer...

I've heard of that play, we make sure to turn the buzzer off before the game starts. Set the clock to 1 second to test it, if you can't get it off let both coaches no so theres no issue.

Either way thats a rough play....

Originally posted by Suudy

I heard something on Paul Harvey a few years a go about a Washington, B-8 playoff (or was it the championship?) where something similar thing happened. I think it was Taholah high school that lost, but all my web searches have turned up nothing.

Team A up by 3 or 4 points, just a few seconds left. A takes the snap runs backwards. When the scoreboard buzzer goes off the QB throws the ball in the air and starts celebrating. The ball flew behind him and was bouncing around. Team B picks up the ball and runs for a touchdown, beating Team A.

This is why we want schools to rip out that damn buzzer...

The situation you speak of actually happened in a state championship game in Kansas a few years back as well, as we were told during the rules meeting here in Nebraska last year. Our association's executive director heard the story from Kansas' director at the national meeting, and was using it to make sure we know the buzzer doesn't kill the ball. Maybe the stars and planets were aligned and it happened more than once?

[w_sohl]

If they are that stupid they deserve a turn over, they have been playing long enough to know that the buzzer doesn't kill the play.