Extreme Logic

Yeah, yeah Mike Tomlin hates his defense. What's worth looking at is this quote:

“My 8-year-old asked me what I was thinking. Other than that, I make no apologies,” Tomlin said. “In the latter part of the fourth quarter, I felt that both offenses were capable of moving the football. Making that decision to kick the onside kick started first and foremost with the belief we could get the football legally. We weren’t able to do that. Even if we weren’t able to do that with four minutes left, if we were not able to stop them, I felt we’d have significant time to navigate down the field.”

He was entirely right, except that I dare speculate that while our offense could "move the football" and "navigate down the field," there's the very real possibility that had we legally recovered the kick, we wouldn't have been able to convert a TD in the redzone-- simply because we didn't have to. There's the very real possibility that we would have left 4 points and time on the scoreboard, which, as we've found out earlier this year, isn't enough.

So.

Logically.

This is a case of let-em-score-too-early.

My dad consistently pounds the idea into my head that you never, ever intentionally let the other team score. He also believes in the "some points are better than no points" maxim, always. I guess I'm a relativist on these things, and really judge it by the situation. In some scenarios, it's simply worth it to risk 3 for the gain of 4. And sometimes, when you have a guy named Ben Roethlisberger + five explosive playmakers, you realize that if your D is a crap shoot, you may as well do everything possible to ensure your O gets the last 2 minutes; even if that means allowing your opponent to take a striking-distance lead.

So.

I completely agree with Tomlin placing his faith in #7, but I think his mistake was allowing for the possibility that Ike may have recovered the ball legally. *Maybe* it was all an act, and Ike was intentionally muffing the legal recovery. But had I been big Mike, I would have been tempted to have Reed shank the ball out of bounds, allowing the Packers a super short field, and myself the last possession with zero mystery involved in my intentions.