tk13
10-24-2004, 02:11 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/9998947.htm
Going with the gut on game day
Vermeil reaps benefits, takes heat for late calls
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
When Priest Holmes scored a touchdown on third and goal from the 1 in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs' recent win in Baltimore, Dick Vermeil was more relieved than anything.
That's what Vermeil indicated to his halfback when Holmes reached the sideline. Vermeil wouldn't have to make yet another of those gut-wrenching game-day choices that have been so frequent for the Chiefs this season.
Almost all have backfired for the Chiefs. For all his strengths as a coach, making those choices hasn't been one of them this season, a fact that tortures Vermeil.
“I live with every one of those decisions,” he said. “I don't forget them — ever.”
He has a lot to recall this season. Twice against Carolina, Vermeil ordered a field goal in fourth-and-1 situations when the Chiefs had offensive momentum. Particularly because Lawrence Tynes missed one of the kicks, the extra points would have come in handy in an eventual Chiefs defeat.
Spooked by those decisions, Vermeil went into the next game determined to try for the first down in such a situation instead. In the second quarter against Houston, Holmes gained only 1 yard on fourth and 2 from the Texans' 6.
A field goal would have helped quite a bit in a game that the Chiefs wound up losing by three points.
Last week in Jacksonville, the Chiefs faced a fourth and 1 from the Jaguars' 24 with a two-point lead and 2:21 remaining. Because the Jaguars were out of timeouts, the Chiefs could have killed the clock by gaining a first down.
Despite having Holmes, who converted all four of his third-and-1 rushes this season, and a first-year kicker who had just missed a point-after touchdown attempt, Vermeil ordered a field goal.
Tynes was wide right on the 42-yard attempt. Jacksonville then went on to score the winning touchdown.
Such decisions have played no small part in the Chiefs' disappointing 1-4 record, another fact that eats at Vermeil.
“All you can do is try to make the decision as best you can,” Vermeil said. “I don't know if that's a strength of mine or a weakness. It takes experience. I've been down (on the sideline) a long time.”
In his perch high above the playing field, Carl Peterson dies a little bit with each failed decision. Yet the Chiefs' president and general manager said he considered Vermeil an excellent game-day sideline manager.
“He takes a lot of input from a lot of people,” Peterson said. “He gives a lot of thought to it. It's based on experience. It's based on instinct. I know he puts a lot of time into analyzing these decisions.
“I'm 99 percent in agreement with his decisions.”
That other 1 percent?
“I can't remember at this point,” Peterson said.
Vermeil attempts to prepare for every game-day eventuality. He designed the point-after-touchdown chart that came into use when the NFL adopted the two-point play in 1994. All coaches carry it.
Vermeil has one ex-NFL head coach, Mike White, on the sideline as an adviser. He has two others, offensive coordinator Al Saunders and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, up in the press box but in his ear via a headphone. They all offer advice about certain situations.
“Sometimes we agree, and sometimes we don't,” Vermeil said. “I listen to them. But I still go on my gut feeling.”
Sometimes the gut doesn't know what to say. Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio last week burned a timeout to make a decision on a late-game fourth-down decision. He initially sent his punting unit on the field, then replaced it with his offense.
The Chiefs made a stop, making Del Rio's choice look foolish, if only until the Jaguars got the ball back and went on for the game-winning score.
“It was a circus watching Jacksonville trying to make a decision whether to go for it on their last fourth down,” Peterson said. “If they hadn't won the game, I'm sure Jack Del Rio would have been questioned about that 10,000 times.”
Rookie Falcons coach Jim Mora, who brings his team to Arrowhead Stadium for today's game, was roundly criticized in Atlanta for a failed decision to try a fake punt in a recent loss to Detroit.
Mora ranks game-day decisions to be among the most difficult of jobs for a head coach.
“That's a real stressful part of coaching football,” Mora said. “Those are tough decisions, and they don't seem to get easier with experience. There are consequences to pay if it doesn't work out. You've always got the fans and management and media to answer to, as well as your players.”
Vermeil, though, has plenty of experience. He said he regretted only one of his choices this season.
That was one of the field-goal decisions against Carolina. Quarterback Trent Green was on fire on the first possession of the game, completing six of seven passes for 72 yards, and the fans were already whipped into a frenzy in the Chiefs' home opener.
But, with the Chiefs needing one yard for a first down, Vermeil pulled his offense off the field at the Panthers' 10, and his team came away with only three points.
“When you're in a leadership position, you have to measure the pulse rate of your entire team, and I probably didn't consider that enough in that situation,” Vermeil said. “Sometimes you have to send a message to your team. It might not be the brightest thing to do at the time, but it might be what the squad needs.
“And that's what makes it a good decision.”
Going with the gut on game day
Vermeil reaps benefits, takes heat for late calls
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
When Priest Holmes scored a touchdown on third and goal from the 1 in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs' recent win in Baltimore, Dick Vermeil was more relieved than anything.
That's what Vermeil indicated to his halfback when Holmes reached the sideline. Vermeil wouldn't have to make yet another of those gut-wrenching game-day choices that have been so frequent for the Chiefs this season.
Almost all have backfired for the Chiefs. For all his strengths as a coach, making those choices hasn't been one of them this season, a fact that tortures Vermeil.
“I live with every one of those decisions,” he said. “I don't forget them — ever.”
He has a lot to recall this season. Twice against Carolina, Vermeil ordered a field goal in fourth-and-1 situations when the Chiefs had offensive momentum. Particularly because Lawrence Tynes missed one of the kicks, the extra points would have come in handy in an eventual Chiefs defeat.
Spooked by those decisions, Vermeil went into the next game determined to try for the first down in such a situation instead. In the second quarter against Houston, Holmes gained only 1 yard on fourth and 2 from the Texans' 6.
A field goal would have helped quite a bit in a game that the Chiefs wound up losing by three points.
Last week in Jacksonville, the Chiefs faced a fourth and 1 from the Jaguars' 24 with a two-point lead and 2:21 remaining. Because the Jaguars were out of timeouts, the Chiefs could have killed the clock by gaining a first down.
Despite having Holmes, who converted all four of his third-and-1 rushes this season, and a first-year kicker who had just missed a point-after touchdown attempt, Vermeil ordered a field goal.
Tynes was wide right on the 42-yard attempt. Jacksonville then went on to score the winning touchdown.
Such decisions have played no small part in the Chiefs' disappointing 1-4 record, another fact that eats at Vermeil.
“All you can do is try to make the decision as best you can,” Vermeil said. “I don't know if that's a strength of mine or a weakness. It takes experience. I've been down (on the sideline) a long time.”
In his perch high above the playing field, Carl Peterson dies a little bit with each failed decision. Yet the Chiefs' president and general manager said he considered Vermeil an excellent game-day sideline manager.
“He takes a lot of input from a lot of people,” Peterson said. “He gives a lot of thought to it. It's based on experience. It's based on instinct. I know he puts a lot of time into analyzing these decisions.
“I'm 99 percent in agreement with his decisions.”
That other 1 percent?
“I can't remember at this point,” Peterson said.
Vermeil attempts to prepare for every game-day eventuality. He designed the point-after-touchdown chart that came into use when the NFL adopted the two-point play in 1994. All coaches carry it.
Vermeil has one ex-NFL head coach, Mike White, on the sideline as an adviser. He has two others, offensive coordinator Al Saunders and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, up in the press box but in his ear via a headphone. They all offer advice about certain situations.
“Sometimes we agree, and sometimes we don't,” Vermeil said. “I listen to them. But I still go on my gut feeling.”
Sometimes the gut doesn't know what to say. Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio last week burned a timeout to make a decision on a late-game fourth-down decision. He initially sent his punting unit on the field, then replaced it with his offense.
The Chiefs made a stop, making Del Rio's choice look foolish, if only until the Jaguars got the ball back and went on for the game-winning score.
“It was a circus watching Jacksonville trying to make a decision whether to go for it on their last fourth down,” Peterson said. “If they hadn't won the game, I'm sure Jack Del Rio would have been questioned about that 10,000 times.”
Rookie Falcons coach Jim Mora, who brings his team to Arrowhead Stadium for today's game, was roundly criticized in Atlanta for a failed decision to try a fake punt in a recent loss to Detroit.
Mora ranks game-day decisions to be among the most difficult of jobs for a head coach.
“That's a real stressful part of coaching football,” Mora said. “Those are tough decisions, and they don't seem to get easier with experience. There are consequences to pay if it doesn't work out. You've always got the fans and management and media to answer to, as well as your players.”
Vermeil, though, has plenty of experience. He said he regretted only one of his choices this season.
That was one of the field-goal decisions against Carolina. Quarterback Trent Green was on fire on the first possession of the game, completing six of seven passes for 72 yards, and the fans were already whipped into a frenzy in the Chiefs' home opener.
But, with the Chiefs needing one yard for a first down, Vermeil pulled his offense off the field at the Panthers' 10, and his team came away with only three points.
“When you're in a leadership position, you have to measure the pulse rate of your entire team, and I probably didn't consider that enough in that situation,” Vermeil said. “Sometimes you have to send a message to your team. It might not be the brightest thing to do at the time, but it might be what the squad needs.
“And that's what makes it a good decision.”