Fateful Decisions

In football, as in war, it is sometimes one decision, by one person, that determines the outcome of a crucial battle. That was certainly the case last night in the Patriots vs. Titans game, but before we get to that, let's talk about the war example as a bit of context.

In 1863, the outcome of the Civil War was very much in doubt. The Southerners won most of the early battles, and there was strong anti-war sentiment in the North. Somewhat by accident, two great armies from the North and South engaged in a three-day battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania that became the turning point in the war. The Confederates got the better of it on Day One, and Day Two's fighting focused on a small hill called Little Round Top. Joshua Chamberlain, formerly a professor at Bowdoin College, commanded the 20th Maine Regiment and he was ordered to hold a specific piece of ground at all costs. He did his best, but when his men began to run out of ammunition and the rebels were closing in on them, he had to make a fateful decision on his own---no time to ask permission or advice!

Chamberlain ordered his men to fix bayonets and charge, which seemed like a suicide mission, but it worked, perhaps because the enemy was so surprised at this unexpected action. Most historians agree that if the 20th Maine had retreated or been captured, the Confederates would have mauled a much larger Union force and turned the tide in the South's favor, probably winning the Battle of Gettysburg. Most historians also agree that the North's victory at Gettysburg was the beginning of the end for the rebellion.

Fast-forward more than 150 years and another Joshua makes a fateful decision that loses a wild-card playoff game and likely signals the end of a football dynasty that seemed as if it might last forever. In the first half, the New England Patriots were moving the ball briskly against the Tennessee Titans, leading 10-7. They found themselves on the Titans' one-yard line, first and goal. All they needed to do was score and give themselves a comfortable lead of 17-7. The next three plays make me wonder, "What was Josh McDaniels thinking?" The first play was a run that lost yardage. The second play was a run that went nowhere. The third play was yet another run that was stuffed, and they had to settle for a field goal. The Titans marched up the field and scored, making it 14-13 Titans at the half, not 17-14 Patriots.

I am sure that Tom Brady and every other Patriot fan was asking, "Shouldn't we throw the ball at least once?" It was clear to the Titans they were not going to do that and so the defense was prepared for the run. It is kind of like Joshua Chamberlain saying, "Okay, men, we are surrounded, and I was told to stay right here and not go anywhere, so let's surrender. I know it means we will lose the battle and the the North will lose the war, but I can't think of anything else to do."

A pass on the second play, even if incomplete, would have forced the Titans to change their defensive alignment and maybe, just maybe, the Patsies would have scored. Of course, we don't know that, just like we don't really know if having Malcolm Butler on the field would have helped win the Super Bowl against the Eagles. What we do know is that those two decisions defied common sense.

Let's assume, though, that the Titans had scored after that, and the half ended with the Patriots ahead 17-14. The entire complexion of the game would have changed. The second half was a defensive battle, not unlike the Super Bowl contest with the Rams last year, a game the Patriots won.

I don't know what Josh McDaniels was thinking down there on the goal line, but I do know one thing. He is being courted by other teams to try his hand at head coaching again, and he couldn't talk to anybody until the Pats' season ended. I am not accusing him of throwing the game or anything like that, but I feel that his mind was not fully focused on the present, which has always been a key to the Patriots being successful. (For that matter, where was Tom "Free Agent" Brady's brain last night?)

Anyway, the interception at the end of the game was embarrassing, but not relevant and wouldn't have happened if the Patriots had not been so desperate at the time. In fact, that "Pick Six" reminds me of "Pickett's Charge," Robert E. Lee's last, futile effort to win the Battle of Gettysburg...but that's a story for another time.