The Carolina Panthers have Riverboat Ron. The Chicago Bears have Maverick Marc. Or at least they thought they did.
Marc Trestman has been praised for his fearless style, but a far more conservative rookie coach was on display during the final possession of Sunday's killer overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Facing a second-and-7 from the Vikings' 30, Trestman sent out his field-goal team rather than attempt to move deeper into Minnesota territory.
Robbie Gould pushed his 47-yard attempt wide right and the Vikings won the game seven plays later. Trestman was immediately criticized for the decision to not run another play (or two), but he didn't back down Monday.
"We made a collective decision that once we got (inside the 30), there was complete agreement and no discussion on the matter," Trestman said, via the Chicago Tribune. "We were second-and-7 and again, we were in the middle of the field well within Robbie's distance. And the decision is not anything that I regret. ... I don't regret that I have to take accountability for it. But I do."
"I didn't do it from an analytics standpoint," he added. "I did it from having been around Robbie the entire year. And knowing how he kicks the ball and watching him kick in practice, I had no doubt that he was going to make the kick."
Is 47 yards within Gould's range? Of course it is -- you could say that for any kicker in the sport. But a closer look at Gould's stats confirms the obvious: He's better from closer. Gould has made 77 of 85 kicks from 30-to-39 yards, a conversion percentage of 91 percent. The success rate dips to 72 percent (65 of 90) in the 40-to-49-yard range.
The "analytics standpoint" should have been the move in this case.
*The latest "Around the League Podcast" recapped every Week 13 game. *
