Saturday is clueless
 

In his postgame presser, Saturday made a comment saying time was not of the essence on that last drive. Really Jeff?

He should have owned that shit, everyone else knows he fucked it up. May not have won anyway, but damn that was ridiculous.

This team is a clusterfuck and an embarrassment.

o


I don't think that he was so much clueless as he was ball-less when he answered that question ...... I think that he knows damned well that time was of the essence, but he didn't want to admit that he had a brain-freeze at the worst time.

o

Yeah, that was about as bad as it gets. Definitely his Jim Caldwell moment.

Everyone already knows he had a brain freeze, true leaders admit their mistakes. It just makes him look stupid. There is no excuse, and I know you are not excusing him, but that was 3rd grade level stupid coaching. He has been in this league a long damn time, he should have known better.

o

It would have been awesome for a wide receiver or an offensive lineman to have called a time-out after Ryan scrambled for those 14 yards ...... they may be under strict instructions not to do so, but defying your coach in a situation like that would have been right up there with Peyton Manning calling Tony Dungy's punt-team off of the field on 4th down when the Colts were trailing by a score of 21-3 late in the 3rd quarter in a playoff game against the Steelers.



"I had not yet learned that is better to be chastised for doing the right thing than to have to live with regret for being obedient and doing the wrong thing."


Bill Walton, on wishing that he had defied legendary coach John Wooden and called a timeout in UCLA's loss to Notre Dame in 1974, a loss that ended their 88-game winning streak.

o

Saturday's statement is being taken out of context, and it just seems like this is more about people going out of their way to criticize Saturday b/c they didn't like the fact that Irsay hired him in the first place.

First, it literally had no impact on the game, so it's all about nothing. They didn't run out of time, they lost the ball on downs. You can argue that they wouldn't have needed to rush the Taylor run, but Saturday explained that already had the next play decided and it's not crazy to think that rushing the play could work to your advantage if the Steelers were tired or unprepared. Granted it didn't work out that way, but it's a defensible position.

Second, I watched the post-game questions and he wasn't saying that they weren't rushed or anything, just that it wasn't necessary in his mind to use a timeout at that moment, as he felt the remaining time was adequate (i.e. time was not of the essence). On the prior play, Ryan was down with 50 seconds left on the clock, and they next hiked the ball with 33 seconds left (Saturday did say he wished they had hiked the ball a little faster, and it looks like they could have saved a few seconds by doing so).

So, in the end, they chose a timeout over 17 seconds (assuming the timeout was called the moment Ryan stopped sliding forward). I'm sure most HCs would have taken a timeout but, again, I think Saturday's position is defensible and it hardly merits treating him like an idiot. He had 33 seconds left, with three timeouts, and they were at the Steelers' 26 yard line. That should be plenty of time to score, and they could use the entire field in doing so. By using a timeout, they'd have 50 seconds and two timeouts. Maybe the latter is slightly better, but not dramatically so.

Look, I thought hiring Saturday was crazy and potentially disastrous as well, but give the guy a fair chance. Many of these commentators seem so ready belittle the guy so they can prove their working thesis that you can only hire an experienced coach. I mean, everyone's focused on whether the Colts are playing any better under Saturday, but nobody ever asks whether they're playing any worse. If Saturday and Frazier are that bad, then you'd expect them to play worse than when they were being coached by an experienced coach/playcaller, right? Yes, you're of course looking for improvement, but the thesis that he's unqualified rests on the assumption that he can't perform as well as an experienced coach.

It's all so absurd. Keep an open mind and give the guy a fair chance.

A rational response in an irrational setting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sED4fzIV0k

I didn't bitch about the Saturday hire. I didn't give a shit at that point. The season is lost anyways. But these coaches who don't know when and how to use a timeout frustrates me. Again, it's not brain surgery. Our 80 year old QB just ran for a lot of yards, give him time to recuperate and quit acting like time is not of the essence. I don't care if Saturday continues to be the coach. I'm just a fan who calls out the bullshit when I see it.

Saturday said today he made a mistake and if he should have called a timeout. I respect he owned it. Maybe a day later, but he did admit he made a mistake. He is literally by the truest definition a rookie coach. He will make mistakes, but as long as they are not repeated over and over it is growth. Hell nobody knows, but this could be the next Lombardi in training. I'll continue to give him the benefit of the doubt, mainly cause right now we don't have a choice.

Good deal. Glad he owned it. Now, I take back the Saturday is clueless statement.