If Favre had run instead of thrown the ball against Mn..how many yards would he have gained?

[trumad]

Poll question: If Favre had run instead of thrown the ball against Mn..how many yards would he have gained?

I'm having a bit of debate with a fellow DUer who claims Brett would have only got about 3 yards.

I believe my fellow DUer is quite mistaken.

I say easily 5 yards to the 35 yard line (from the 40) and quite possibly 10 yards to the 30.

Check out the YouTube at the 2 minute mark. Favre clearly had a lane to the sideline. The counter argument is that one of the linemen would have gotten him---I simply say---no fucking way.

I've posted a pic as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smhiIIekc8g

The pic shows Brett at around the 44 yard line...but when he threw the ball he was almost at the 40 yard line.

[Upton]

1. He would have gotten about 5 yards

probably not much more than that. I'd forgotten some of the stuff that happened at the end of that game. The 12 men in the huddle penalty was inexcusable, as was the interception.

[trumad]

2. Agree---the penalty was a killer

and the guy I'm debating blames Childress for the loss--- which I certainly think is one of the key reasons.

[caraher]

3. I was torn between 7 and 10

He had a LOT of green turf in front of him... the hard part is factoring in correctly the superior speed of most of the likely tacklers.

The penalty was almost as bad as the "gunslinger's" decision to throw. On this play, Tebow would have done the right thing... ;)

[trumad]

4. Right--

he threw the ball around the 40 with a lot of space on the right towards the sideline... he clearly had a head start on the linemen and the angle. The linebackers were closest but you have to factor some help from the receivers which could have cause them to get to him a bit late.

The linebacker in the center had the best shot on Favre--- the corner back not so good because he would have had to turnaround and then encounter the receiver he was covering.

[Goblinmonger]

5. So I'm the guy involved in the debate. The fact that there are votes

for 10 yards and more than 10 yards shows that this poll is meaningless. So there are 3 people saying that none of the three defenders who are 10 yards away from Favre with only two blockers to deal with them would not have closed any ground on Favre before he got to the 35? Seriously? Not to mention the lineman that is about three steps away from him at the time of that freeze frame. MAYBE he gets to the 40 if he hauls ass to the sideline (and remember that the ankle injury was right before this play so Brett ain't in his prime sprinting mode). MAYBE. That still makes it a 53/54 yard field goal.

[trumad]

8. What do you mean maybe he gets to the 40?

He threw the ball from the 40 running to the right with one defender in front of him.

So if he threw the ball from the 40---are you telling me he would not have gained any more yardage if he had run with the ball instead of thrown it?

Dude---you keep going back to the linemen who were in a tangle--- Favre clearly had an angle on them as he was rolling out to the right.

Is it your contention that Favre wouldn't have made it to the 35 from the 40 yard line on that play?

[Poiuyt]

6. Here's an excellent analysis of the play

http://www.nfl.com/videos/minnesota-vikings/09000d5d816016d2/Championship-Anatomy-Favre-s-Crucial-Interception

The primary target was Berrian who was covered at first, but then broke free down the sideline. You can see that the corner was turned the wrong way. Favre has a tendency to lock onto a receiver, and that's been the cause of many of his interceptions. If he had looked at Rice and gone back to his primary, he would have completed the pass for 10 yds.

[Goblinmonger]

7. I think that's good analysis.

The misread of the cover 2.

I still contend that it was horrible play calling by Childress leading up to this interception that put them in this position.

[trumad]

9. Yeah---the analysis shows the open lane to the sideline even better.

[Goblinmonger]

10. Did your sound go out during the analysis

when they said "Favre's not a runner"?

[trumad]

11. Oh now you're going to use the "he's not a runner meme"?

He ran pretty good on the roll out...

Let's see--- run it for 5 yards or pass it across your body into a sea of coverage.

Jesus dude---you're blind devotion of this guy is sweet and all that--- but....

[Forkboy]

12. If you're counting on receivers to do the blocking? Maybe 10 yards, if lucky.

Let's face it, receivers suck at blocking. I see one lineman heading down field, 2 receivers already there, and 3 D-men to cover. One of those receivers (more likely both) would blow any block that would be needed to spring Favre for a big gain.

[trumad]

13. Unless of course you're the Beast.

Marshall took out two Jacksonville defenders the other night allowing Joey Haynos to run for a 50 yard TD.

Here's another.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFaROGUjORs&feature=related

With that said---I agree most receivers can't block... my argument here is that Favre could have easily picked up 5 yards on that play and if he had a decent blocking receiver...maybe more.

[caraher]

14. I still think Favre gets 5 yards even with no receiver blocking

10+ definitely requires someone to make a play downfield. But Favre has a bit of a head-start until he reaches the line of scrimmage because the guys with a shot at him need to remain in coverage.

There's a lot of uncertainty - who will throw a decent block, should Favre tuck the ball right away or pump-fake his way to the line of scrimmage before pulling it down. All that determines the biggest variable here - at what point do the defenders switch to defending the run. But that is really the difference between 5 and 10 yards on the play, not 3 and 5.

And even with only 3 yards it's still a tough but make-able field goal - the pick obviously kills the chance of winning in regulation.

[trumad]

15. He could have pumped fake to the 38

that was the original line of scrimmage. That would have frozen that one linebacker who was closest. The corner back was already running up the field with the receiver and would have been hard pressed to turnaround and make the play.

I think if he tucked and headed to the sideline it would have been an easy 7-10 yards.

[Butch350]

16. You forgot the slot for - preseason - who cares - 1 vote!

[trumad]

17. Umm--- we're not talking about pre-season

we're talking about last year's playoff game..

Come on man--keep up.