Monday, October 20, 2008

Just fall on it, son.

Ty Warren and Deltha O'Neal have more than 13 years of NFL experience between them, but it was the rookie who made the right decision on Andre Hall's second fumble of this evening. First Warren and then O'Neal, tried to pick up the ball on the run, looking for the electrifying fumble return for a touchdown, ensuring a place on the night's (and maybe the week's) top plays. 

Ty Warren is not built to be anything but a lineman. Deltha O'Neal, if he had good hands, would not be playing on the defensive side of the ball, trying to knock down the passes that others are trying to catch. These are not people who should be trying to pick up an oblong spheroid that was apparently slick enough to come out of one guys hands (twice) already.

Jerod Mayo just fell on the ball. That's just plain old good team play. Not flashy, but flashy wins fewer games than you might think. The right thing to do with a fumble is almost always to cover it, wrap it up, and hope they don't punch and gouge you too badly on the bottom of the pile. Trying to pick it up on the run is almost always the wrong thing to do. Warren and O'Neal risked giving the ball back to the Broncos (albeit far behind the original line of scrimmage), while Mayo just covered it up so the guys who are paid to handle the ball could do their thing.

No comments: