Giants Capitalize on Texans' Loss of Courage

Football coaches are a conservative lot by nature, so it’s always refreshing when one of them does something bold, unpredictable and potentially risky to their long-term employment. Fortune should favor the bold, which is why I generally approve when an ole ball coach goes for it on fourth down.

I had a college roommate who was exasperating to play in Madden football, because he would always go for it on fourth down, regardless of the yardage needed to convert, his field position and the score of the game. That’s not bold, that’s moronic, and it might not surprise you to learn he was a Raiders fan who later became a lawyer.

No, when I say that fortune favors the bold, I’m talking about the onions displayed by the Texans in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Giants, when on fourth down and one at their own 39 head coach Bill O’Brien called for punter Shane Lechler to throw a short pass.

Trickery! Love it! Give that man some fortune!

It was a scoreless game and the then 2-0 Texans were playing like a team that expected plays like that to go their way. Houston hadn’t allowed a sack or thrown an interception in its first two games, when it became the first team since the Dolphins (1994-1995) to win its first two games in five straight seasons, which will hopefully be honored in Houston by a banner or at least some limited edition commemorative T-shirts.

The Texans had dominated in its victories against Washington and Oakland, led by new quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, a smart, likable fellow who graduated from Harvard and did enough in his career that the Titans and Bills asked him to play elsewhere. Honestly, if the Titans and the Bills don’t want you, that’s no black mark on your resume. After all, if the Titans and Bills could accurately judge talent, they wouldn’t be the Titans and the Bills.

Still, instead of having Fitzpatrick line up under center and go for it on fourth and one, his coach called for Lechler, a former high school quarterback, to throw to running back Alfred Blue on a trick play. It wasn’t desperation, it was confidence, as anyone who had watched the Giants play through two-plus games had to be confident that a punter could work magic against their special teams.
Lechler completed the pass to Blue in the right flat, the Texans converted the first down, and I would have bet good money at that point that the Texans were going to win.

Contrast that with the moment later in the game, when the Giants were ahead 20-10 on the Texans and Fitzpatrick tried to run for a first down. Initially the refs gave him a generous spot, but Tom Coughlin challenged it. I didn’t think that was a particularly bold move by Coughlin, because one had to figure that the Texans were going to go for it on fourth down anyway.

Well, the refs took a look at the spot, ruled Fitzpatrick had indeed come up short, and then O’Brien decided that his team was incapable of getting one yard when they desperately needed it. So he called on Lechler to punt, perhaps hoping that his defense – which to that point had made Rashad Jennings look like Terrell Davis, circa 1998 – would somehow make a stop.

Not necessary, because fortune intervened and punished O’Brien for not going for it. The man who had gone for it on fourth down in the first quarter – on a trick play from almost the exact same field position – was now punting in the fourth quarter down by 10. Lechler’s punt was blocked, the Giants had the ball at the Texans’ 29, and three plays later Eli Manning threw a touchdown to Daniel Fells to make it 27-10.

Closing line: Shane Lechler, 1-1 for 10 yards. But all most people will remember is the blocked punt.

Cameron Martin writes about the Giants for NBCNewYork.com. Martin has written for The New York Times, ESPN.com, The Atlantic, CBS Sports and other publications.
 

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