The conundrum -- and it's not on Kirk

S

STLhawkeye20

Well-Known Member
I understand the argument. Let them score and get the ball back with more time on the clock. Belichick did it with the Patriots and Brady and it worked out. So you would think that Kirk would have it in his blood. In retrospect we can say that Kirk should have done it. We can debate that Old Kirk lost this game and that it would have been smarter to let them score. Maybe it would have.

Then there's the other side. Go with the Defense. The Defense played a hell of a game for four quarters. HELL OF A GAME. MSU was helpless against us for almost the entire game. Unfortunately the D just didn't have enough gas left in the tank. But if they get that stop on third and goal, and get into fourth and goal, then it's a different story. There's something to be said for trusting your players. That's Old Kirk, New Kirk, and Forever Kirk. He will always trust his players until the bitter end.

I'm not sure I know what the right decision was and I don't think I'll ever know. But Kirk was the one in the position and he made it. I'm damn proud that he coaches the team I love and I'm damn proud of the effort that our Defense displayed today.

I, for one, will be at whatever bowl this team goes to, deservingly, supporting them from the stands.

Go Hawks!
 
You're wrong. It's on Kirk. The defense wasn't stopping anyone on that drive. Everyone in the building knew it. And Kirk's inability to manage the clock cost the team a shot at a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Old Kirk lost this game. Period.
 
^^^ This. D was tired and couldn't stop anything. The odds of 4 straight stuffs on the goal line were slim to none.
 
It was just hard because we were so close to stopping them.

It was hard to clearly foresee what the right strategy was.

They stop scott there there and its 4th and 1 for the game.
 
phdsvp said:
You're wrong. It's on Kirk. The defense wasn't stopping anyone on that drive. Everyone in the building knew it. And Kirk's inability to manage the clock cost the team a shot at a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Old Kirk lost this game. Period.
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You're advocating putting the ball in the hands of an offense that couldn't cross the 50 in the second half save one long pass play. Doesn't seem like a better option.
 
VAHawkFan said:
You're advocating putting the ball in the hands of an offense that couldn't cross the 50 in the second half save one long pass play. Doesn't seem like a better option.
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Do I think it's a better option than what happened? Yep.
 
As it turned out should have let them score. But i find no fault in trying to stop them.. they almost did. Plus, 20+ plays MSU was do to screw up
 
I would've preferred we let them score after the 4th and 2 conversion to give the offense a chance. If the defense couldn't stop a 4th and 2, it's not going to stop 4 plays within the 5.

That said, great effort by the Hawks, proud of the team and year. Tough, tough game. I take no shame in losing to the Spartans the way it happened.
 
phdsvp said:
Do I think it's a better option than what happened? Yep.
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Don't even go there. Seriously. This isn't on Kirk. This isn't on the D or the offense. This was the best football game I've seen since since last year's Superbowl. In a game like that, things happen. MSU made a heroic drive to end the game. Heroic.

Somebody had to win. Tonight it was MSU. Tomorrow it could have been Iowa. Oh well.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
^^^ This. D was tired and couldn't stop anything. The odds of 4 straight stuffs on the goal line were slim to none.
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And yet it nearly happened. On the TD if an Iowa player had lowered his helmet a couple inches he had a good chance of knocking the ball out of LJ's extended hand before it crossed the plane of the goal.

Game of inches, fellas. We came up a little short on a valiant effort.
 
He called the appropriate To's before they got the first down at the 4. There was 2 + mins left and he called the 3 TO's. It was as proactive and forward thinking at that time as you could have wished for. He would not have done that before, it was the correct TO's for being aggresive, didnt work out. No qualms, PERFECT TO usage down the stretch, NO DEBATE
!
 
VAHawkFan said:
You're advocating putting the ball in the hands of an offense that couldn't cross the 50 in the second half save one long pass play. Doesn't seem like a better option.
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No kidding. Can you even imagine the what-if's if Iowa had let them score?

Not to mention the fact that Iowa got the long TD because MSU was loading the box. They aren't going to load the box with 0:30 seconds left in the game. I'm not saying Iowa couldn't have done anything but it's not like the deep ball was going to be open at that juncture. They would probably have dumped it underneath four times and lost anyway.
 
Yeah, it came down to the last play with Iowa almost making the stop with a split second for a Hawk knocking the MSU carrier's arm down before he extended it over the goal.

Way to go, Hawks.
 
I have to side with going for the stop. I wasn't confident Iowa could move the ball down the field to tie/win.
 
I think Kirk made the right call and used the timeouts correctly. That 3rd down pass by Cook with pressure in between two Hawkeye defenders was the play of the game. Get a stop there and MSU is likely punting.
 
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