The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

It amazes me that so many ESPN talking heads are defending Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz's fake field goal in the Lions 37-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon. While listening to the ESPN programs Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption  yesterday, the verdict was nearly unanimous - Jim Schwartz was aggressive, playing to win the game, and in essence, made the right call. I get it. A lot of sports enthusiasts like seeing aggressive play-calling. Even if a team is facing a 4th-and-27 from their own 8-yard line, I'll hear hometown homers yell out, "Go for it!" However, while these out-of-the-ordinary play-calls might be good for sports talk radio, that doesn't make them good calls. I'm a numbers geek through and through, and this is even true when it comes to football. I can remember being at a bar for an Ohio State/Northwestern game about a month or so ago. The Buckeyes, whom had trailed almost all game, were about to face ...

Rumor has it that Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke and Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz were out partying all weekend. That may be the only possible excuse they could give for the pair of bonehead decisions they made toward the tail-end of their games this past weekend. Down 9-6 to Northwestern late in the 4th quarter on Saturday, Brady Hoke decided to go for it on a 4th-and-2 inside the Northwestern 10-yard line. Quarterback Devon Gardner ran to the outside, only to be stopped short of a first down - handing the ball back over to the Wildcats. Luckily for Hoke, Michigan was able to pull off a miracle field goal with no time remaining to send the game to overtime, only to win 27-19 in triple overtime. I'm curious what Hoke was thinking. His offense has struggled immensely this season, especially of late. The game had not featured a single touchdown to that point in the game. The chip-shot field goal would have been almost automatic, tied the game, and likely sent it to ove...