2025 NFL Game Thread – Week 1

They playing checkers.
We playin chess.

This shits chess, not checkers, chess, not checkers.

lol we need more Grandmasters itl.

I think part of the problem is that a lot of these correct decisions that are being missed are counterintuitive. Kicking the ball OOB has been ingrained as something you absolutely try to avoid, especially since the penalty used to be so much worse.

I’m still scarred from John Kasey.

This was quite egregious. In the 3 sigma range of bad decision making, eg about 15% lost WE. And once the HC gets a 5 second explanation he understands and makes the proper call.

All it takes is someone outside the heat of the moment to walk thru the few permutations to come up with the proper decision.

Sure, I just disagree with how many teams you think are doing that.

Even with assistants, I think some of these head coaches are unilaterally making decisions in some of these spots, especially given the total # of lost WE decisions we continue to see on a weekly basis.

And some of them have bad assistants. Brian Callahan and his assistants don’t even know all of the rules of what constitutes a catch.

Aggregate all the bad decisions, sure it's a boatload of lost WE.

I'm talking about the very few instances where one simple decision that a grade school kid would understand gets the coach out of hot water when the GM confronts him the next day asking wtf are we paying you millions for.

I have no idea how many teams have a special assistant for these trivially simple situations to break down. Probably not enough or they are not thinking how simple it is

Don't worry, I'm an expert on this subject. I grew up watching a Chicagoan terrorize Chicago. His name was Isiah Thomas. Time is a flat circle.

Google AI recommends an onside kick in that situation. 4th grade math not in its analysis toolbox yet I guess.

You da man.

He’s actually never been quite the same since the beating he took in the PAC-12 championship game three years ago.

But Sark blaming Arch’s inaccuracy on his footwork means Caleb won’t hold that title for long.

Remember the Big-12 championship game Suh nearly won by himself?

Should be the special teams coach’s responsibility imo.

herbie having an MVP-like season would be one of the best things that could happen to the NFL (and for 2+2) this season

no truer words

nope

Jaxson Dart is

wow

Fine. I'll go with youngest starting QB then.

for now, yes

Think again, Ben.

"you're not guaranteed a touchdown"

These coaches have no concept of probabilities

They are very binary thinkers. Range of outcomes doesn’t exist.

Let there be Rangeeeeeeeeee

Seems perfectly reasonable. Best of all options is to kick it through endzone. Unless that is something he knows is too hard for his kicker, he made the right call.

Unless... tarheels I think you said its only 5 yrd difference? If he just kicked it out of bounds, then why risk it.

Unless Unless they can just decline and make you kick it until .... So yea

Sounds like coach was a bit unprepared for the situation unfolding to a short 4th down.

What he should have said afterward was "It was a very close decision. We considered it from both sides and in the end decided to try the kick. But we could have gone the other way as well. It was that close."

At least that would make him sound smarter than what he actually is.

Right, through the end zone starts at 35. OOB penalty starts at 40. Obviously it used to be a way more impactful penalty when touchback started at the 20. But in this situation, the total yard penalty is moot.

I read there used to be a rule where the receiving team could decline the penalty and make the team kick again, which could happen perpetually (maybe unsportsmanlike eventually like multiple encroachments at the goal line?), but my understanding is that rule no longer exists with the recent kickoff changes.

It’s great to trust your kicker to kick it through the end zone until he doesn’t lol. OOB is way more guaranteed, assuming declining the penalty isn't an option for the receiving team.