[Igetp2s]

What a bullshit move not calling timeout when the game could still be won. It doesn't matter that the game was meaningless for them, he violated the integrity of the game.

He should be fined for that crap.

[5 star bomb]

I disagree, its not their job to get the Browns into the Playoffs

[Dark Horse]

He does it every year. It's part of week 17. And I agree that coaches who pull this sh*t should be fined.

[Seattle Slew]

The announcers let him off the hook with only mild criticism. You have to make Tennessee make the 40-yard FG.

[MJFtheGenius]

How much money did you lose on the Colts?

[SBR Lou]

Anyone see him laughing like a schoolgirl after that crushing hit on a Titan during a kickoff return? That's class. Must come with having all that 'quiet strength'.

[biggamer3]

How much money did you lose on the Colts?

Colts actually covered in most books, as +6.5

Just the integrity of the game was hurt by not playing the right way

[Igetp2s]

How exactly do you look your players in the eye after they practice hard all week and play hard for 59 minutes, and then essentially say "I don't care if we win or lose, all your effort was for nothing."

I understand resting your starters so they don't get injured, but I don't understand quitting on a game you can still win.

Why even bother taking it that far. He should have just had his QB kneel down on every snap the entire game, including 4th down to make sure the punter doesn't get hurt.

[BuddyBear]

Yeah, that was a bit strange. I had the Under 17.5 2H so I was thrilled to death that he didn't call timeout b/c a fg would have killed me.

I agree though, he has to force Tenn to make a decision on 4th down. I personally doubt Fisher would have kicked a FG (too risky) but I can see Dungy's line of thinking (don't risk injury and Jim Sorgi is not an NFL quality QB and plus Sorgi is there only backup so you can't put him in any unnecessary danger).

[BuddyBear]

anyone who took INDY in the 2H covered.....

[imgv94]

He's got respect for Fisher, he probably had to take a shit or something. Sorgi was looking real good though I'm sure he had a lot of confidence in him.

[Justin7]

I agree a coach should try to win a game, but Dungy's choice was fine.

With 36 seconds left, he could force a 4th down play. With that little time left, he has less than a 1 in 20 chance to score a TD IF Tennessee missed FG. I can't fault him for avoiding special teams plays (where injuries occur most often) with such a low chance of a payoff.

[Wheell]

You play to win the Super Bowl. Dungy was right to do what he did. End of story.

[Thremp]

Dungy made the correct decision. In a vacuum forfeiting and resting everyone is a far superior choice.

[slacker00]

What a bullshit move not calling timeout when the game could still be won. It doesn't matter that the game was meaningless for them, he violated the integrity of the game.

He should be fined for that crap.

He made 100 decisions earlier in the game that had significantly more to impact the eventual loss than scavenging at some impossible "hook & ladder" play. Dungy's concern was getting past the game as healthy as possible while trying to give some backups some live minutes on the field. They basically lived & died by the arm of Sorgi. That's the toughest thing to face. One more quarter by Manning in the first half probably was the best chance the Colts had to win at the least risk.

I'm a Colts fan and I'm completely satisfied with Dungy's game plan. Gotta give him credit for putting the ball in Sorgi's hands and letting him play to win. Can't dog Dungy if Sorgi couldn't do it with all backup offensive players. I'm amazed they still had a chance, albeit marginal, late in the 4th quarter. I'd have loved to see a Colts win any day, but Dungy did what he feels gives the Colts the best chance to win in 2 weeks. That's what he's paid to do. Dungy's coaching didn't fare too bad last year, did it?

[slacker00]

How exactly do you look your players in the eye after they practice hard all week and play hard for 59 minutes, and then essentially say "I don't care if we win or lose, all your effort was for nothing."

I understand resting your starters so they don't get injured, but I don't understand quitting on a game you can still win.

Why even bother taking it that far. He should have just had his QB kneel down on every snap the entire game, including 4th down to make sure the punter doesn't get hurt.

Every player on the field understood what was happening. I imagine 90% of the fans in the stands and watching at home understood what was happening. It's actually difficult for me to understand the alternative viewpoint except to expect that it comes from the perspective of someone that isn't very experienced at watching NFL football.

[mofome]

What a bullshit move not calling timeout when the game could still be won. It doesn't matter that the game was meaningless for them, he violated the integrity of the game.

He should be fined for that crap.

you've gone well beyond silliness.

[Igetp2s]

I changed my mind. Instead of just fining him, he should pay back every dollar in ticket sales to that game, because he proved he couldn't care less about the outcome.

Some of the responses in this thread are comical.

If you don't have confidence in your players, then he shouldn't be on the team.

You also don't show respect to the other team by handing them victory, you make them earn it.

If a player quit on a team because they had nothing to play for, they would be heavily criticized. It should be no different than a coach quitting on a still winnable game.

[Dark Horse]

The Giants could have folded Saturday night, but they didn't. Instead they were part of one of the best games of the season. That's how it is supposed to be, because football is played for the public, and without the public Tony Dungy & co can forget their multi-million dollar salaries. So kudos to the Giants and teams like them, and no objections here if you want to flush guys like Dungy down the toilet. There are plenty of teams that play hard in week 17, even when they don't have to, so I've had it with the holier-than-thou attitude of Tony Dungy. Instead of being part of a great football game on a Sunday night stage he bored the daylight out of millions of viewers.

[Igetp2s]

Every player on the field understood what was happening. I imagine 90% of the fans in the stands and watching at home understood what was happening. It's actually difficult for me to understand the alternative viewpoint except to expect that it comes from the perspective of someone that isn't very experienced at watching NFL football.

I've watched a ton of football, including several other meaningless games yesterday, and have never seen a coach quit on a game as blatantly as Dungy.

I'm not talking about play selection or which players play for how long. I'm talking about basic coaching strategy than any 5 year old would know. Hell, even Al Michaels and John Madden noticed it, so it was a pretty obvious move.

Herm Edwards yesterday called time out in OT yesterday to ice the kicker in a completely meaningless game.

That is much more respect for the game, for your players, and for your opponent than what Dungy did.

[jon13009]

Yes, while everyone knew the Colts second string had little chance against TEN, they did keep it relatively close.

Dungy should have given them a chance to pull it out.

[pokernut9999]

Yesterday was no different than last week as far as the Colts were concerned yet in that game he played his starters the whole way against the Texans.

Now with a game of meaning he plays his starters 2 possesions. At least bring them in for the final drive.

Football is not to be played for individual stats yet that was all Indy was concerned with as they threw to Wayne almost every play so he could get the yardage record. Soon as he broke it they took him out in the middle of a drive?

No class what so ever IMO

[remmy358]

LOL there is nothing like seeing a losing gambler ranting and raving...

coach dungy didn't care about the game, as he shouldn't have...unfortunately, the coach's don't have gamblers in mind when there's 30 secods left of a meaningless game

[slacker00]

I've watched a ton of football, including several other meaningless games yesterday, and have never seen a coach quit on a game as blatantly as Dungy.

I'm not talking about play selection or which players play for how long. I'm talking about basic coaching strategy than any 5 year old would know. Hell, even Al Michaels and John Madden noticed it, so it was a pretty obvious move.

Herm Edwards yesterday called time out in OT yesterday to ice the kicker in a completely meaningless game.

That is much more respect for the game, for your players, and for your opponent than what Dungy did.

So, I guess the Colts coulda forced the Titans to kick a chip shot field goal. It's not like weather was a factor or the kicker was less than top notch. Basically gives the Titans a 9 point lead with a few seconds left. Now the Colts need 2 scores with a backup offense and mere seconds on the clock and no timeouts. Who are we fooling here? Even with the A-team in there in a do or die situation, the odds were near nil.

What makes me cringe more is when a team is down my 3 touchdowns and 30 seconds on the clock and they keep going 100% as if there's a real chance to win. I guess it's mildly entertaining to watch, but as a person who understands realistic odds & whatnot it really makes me sigh.

Imagine further that if Dungy really did do what you say and one of the handful of offensive starters still in the game gets an injury and is lost for the playoffs attempting something meaningless and unlikely to succeed. Dungy would be questioned for the rest of his life. Dungy made the right move considering the situation. Every snap of the ball was needless risk last night. Why extend the game by the half dozen or more snaps that would've been needed to even attempt something completely unlikely.

Funny, if the Colts get blown out last night this isn't even a discussion. I don't know why I'm humoring this discussion. It's really silly. It's probably a tribute to the Colts B-team that they gave the Titans all they could handle, to the point that the outcome was in doubt right to the end of the game. But after the Colts go for it on 4th down in their own territory and turn it over on downs, the game was over.

[janus]

So, I guess the Colts coulda forced the Titans to kick a chip shot field goal. It's not like weather was a factor or the kicker was less than top notch. Basically gives the Titans a 9 point lead with a few seconds left. Now the Colts need 2 scores with a backup offense and mere seconds on the clock and no timeouts. Who are we fooling here? Even with the A-team in there in a do or die situation, the odds were near nil.

What makes me cringe more is when a team is down my 3 touchdowns and 30 seconds on the clock and they keep going 100% as if there's a real chance to win. I guess it's mildly entertaining to watch, but as a person who understands realistic odds & whatnot it really makes me sigh.

Imagine further that if Dungy really did do what you say and one of the handful of offensive starters still in the game gets an injury and is lost for the playoffs attempting something meaningless and unlikely to succeed. Dungy would be questioned for the rest of his life. Dungy made the right move considering the situation. Every snap of the ball was needless risk last night. Why extend the game by the half dozen or more snaps that would've been needed to even attempt something completely unlikely.

Funny, if the Colts get blown out last night this isn't even a discussion. I don't know why I'm humoring this discussion. It's really silly. It's probably a tribute to the Colts B-team that they gave the Titans all they could handle, to the point that the outcome was in doubt right to the end of the game. But after the Colts go for it on 4th down in their own territory and turn it over on downs, the game was over.

sharp post.

[janus]

How exactly do you look your players in the eye after they practice hard all week and play hard for 59 minutes, and then essentially say "I don't care if we win or lose, all your effort was for nothing."

one approach may be to look them in the eye & say "as we all know, that game didnt ****ing matter... now lets get back to focusing on the playoffs".

[SBR Lou]

Here is the clip of Dungy giggling like a schoolgirl after a player gets leveled on a kickoff return. Don't see the class in this.

Around 10 secs in..

[Thremp]

Yeah, he shouldn't be excited to his team playing well. How terrible.

[SBR Lou]

I don't think you'd see a lot of other coaches look up at the replay and laugh in awe along with his players at the expense of a guy getting hammered on a play. Most coaches would pat their player on the ass or say 'great hit'.

[Thremp]

I don't think you'd see a lot of other coaches look up at the replay and laugh in awe along with his players at the expense of a guy getting hammered on a play. Most coaches would pat their player on the ass or say 'great hit'.

Awesome. So maybe he's "one of the boys" instead of a quasi homo or a stuffy old fart?

This is insanity. Almost every football player/fan/enthusiast revels in seeing people getting demolished. From like highschool on people have fantasies about hitting people like that guy. And Dungy gets ripped on for reveling in it for a few moments in a meaningless game?

[Wheell]

That was the greatest hit I've ever seen. It was pure with no side movement and I saw it coming before it happened. I enjoyed it, so should Dungy.

[slacker00]

It was a good clean hit. I have no problem with Dungy taking pleasure in the moment. But, Dungy usually is so emotionless, it's kinda suprising. I'm glad the guy is having some fun out there, as opposed to a dude like Belichick who looks like he's got painful hemorroids all the time. Maybe Dungy was resting his emotions as he rested his starters. Expect the iron faced Dungy to return for playoff football. BRING ON THE SECOND SEASON!!!

[BigBollocks]

Of course Dungy couldn't have cared less whether the Titans won by 6 or 9, and obviously the quote about letting his players down because they didn't try to block a FG with 25 seconds left and go down and score a TD in a game that means absolutely nothing is beyond absurd.

Guys you're talking to a newcomer who has devoted 15 posts to venting because his Titans -6.5 bet lost (probably for a $100 or less). You can give him as much or as little attention as you want...:an_light: