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I'm no football coach, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...so can anyone tell me a GOOD reason to go lunging forward with the ball dangling from your fingertips as you struggle to gain and extra yard or score a TD? Ponder fumbled the football out of bounds but was about six inches from having that fall out of the end zone for a Washington touchback and first down at the 20. I just don't understand why players carrying the football put themselves in such a precarious position...

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I'm no football coach, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...so can anyone tell me a GOOD reason to go lunging forward with the ball dangling from your fingertips as you struggle to gain and extra yard or score a TD? Ponder fumbled the football out of bounds but was about six inches from having that fall out of the end zone for a Washington touchback and first down at the 20. I just don't understand why players carrying the football put themselves in such a precarious position...

It's because he is a warrior! :lol:

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I'm no football coach, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...so can anyone tell me a GOOD reason to go lunging forward with the ball dangling from your fingertips as you struggle to gain and extra yard or score a TD? Ponder fumbled the football out of bounds but was about six inches from having that fall out of the end zone for a Washington touchback and first down at the 20. I just don't understand why players carrying the football put themselves in such a precarious position...

It would have been a touchdown as soon as the ball broke the plane of the goal line as long as it was still in his possession. The players don't plan to fumble, so they are taking the chance that they'll score the TD before they lose the ball. In this particular case it would have been difficult for the ball to stay in bounds long enough to cross the goal line and go out of bounds after Ponder fumbled, especially the way the defensive back was trying to push the ball backwards when he hit Ponder (the DB's right hand was directly on the point of the ball pushing it back toward the playing field). It was either going to be a touchdown or the ball was going to be out of bounds just short of the goal line. The players would rather take a small chance at that point than have to run another play where anything can happen (penalty, bad snap, fumble, interception, loss of yardage, etc.). Besides, players at that level are supremely confident in their own abilities and don't believe they are going to fail as they are running the play.
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It would have been a touchdown as soon as the ball broke the plane of the goal line as long as it was still in his possession. The players don't plan to fumble, so they are taking the chance that they'll score the TD before they lose the ball. In this particular case it would have been difficult for the ball to stay in bounds long enough to cross the goal line and go out of bounds after Ponder fumbled, especially the way the defensive back was trying to push the ball backwards when he hit Ponder (the DB's right hand was directly on the point of the ball pushing it back toward the playing field). It was either going to be a touchdown or the ball was going to be out of bounds just short of the goal line. The players would rather take a small chance at that point than have to run another play where anything can happen (penalty, bad snap, fumble, interception, loss of yardage, etc.). Besides, players at that level are supremely confident in their own abilities and don't believe they are going to fail as they are running the play.

Also, the pylon is considered part of the endzone and thus, if you are in bounds and touch the pylon with the ball, it is a touchdown. Ponder was really close to doing it last night. It didn't matter as Pederson scored on the next play, but Ponder getting hurt might matter next week. He was looking better than I had ever seen him and then he gets hurt. I hope it isn't too serious.

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It would have been a touchdown as soon as the ball broke the plane of the goal line as long as it was still in his possession.

Thanks for the explanation. I'd never watched an NFL or college football game before last night. Can you explain the funny helmets the players wear too? Are those for protection?

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Well seriously...I'm not sure how much more condescending 82SiouxGuy's post could have been...

All he was doing is giving a perspective of why Ponder would do what he did and why it wasn't all that risky. I have seen dozens of players do it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Rarely does it roll into the end zone and out of bounds for a safety. I think you just took it wrong.

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Well seriously...I'm not sure how much more condescending 82SiouxGuy's post could have been...

My point was that either he was going to score, or the ball was going out of bounds and stay in Vikings possession. The chances of Ponder fumbling and the ball going into the end zone was very slim. Players are going to take that small amount of risk to get the score now rather than risking something else happening on another play. Did you read the entire post or did you just stop after the first sentence? You asked for a good reason for why they do it, I tried to give you a good reason.
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My point was that either he was going to score, or the ball was going out of bounds and stay in Vikings possession. The chances of Ponder fumbling and the ball going into the end zone was very slim. Players are going to take that small amount of risk to get the score now rather than risking something else happening on another play. Did you read the entire post or did you just stop after the first sentence? You asked for a good reason for why they do it, I tried to give you a good reason.

I read your whole post...decided to quote just the first sentence.

So in that instance, he's 100% certain that the ball will just roll out of bounds? I'd say that's a pretty big gamble. Protect the ball...seems like a good idea.

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I read your whole post...decided to quote just the first sentence.

So in that instance, he's 100% certain that the ball will just roll out of bounds? I'd say that's a pretty big gamble. Protect the ball...seems like a good idea.

Probably not 100% certain. On what football play are they 100% certain that something specific is going to happen? But my guess is that he is pretty sure that he is either going to score or get pushed out of bounds, and he probably thinks that the chances of fumbling are small and the chances of fumbling into the endzone are much smaller. At the angles that Ponder and the DB were coming from it would have taken a really strange bounce to end up in the endzone. Players make a lot of bad choices trying to reach out and gain an extra yard or 2. This time it was a lower risk, potentially high reward move.
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Probably not 100% certain. On what football play are they 100% certain that something specific is going to happen? But my guess is that he is pretty sure that he is either going to score or get pushed out of bounds, and he probably thinks that the chances of fumbling are small and the chances of fumbling into the endzone are much smaller. At the angles that Ponder and the DB were coming from it would have taken a really strange bounce to end up in the endzone. Players make a lot of bad choices trying to reach out and gain an extra yard or 2. This time it was a lower risk, potentially high reward move.

Totally agree with the bolded statement.

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Minnesota is lucky Flynn didn't play all game long. Wait a second. They aren't lucky because it would have meant a for sure loss which keeps the draft pick in the top five.

Now time for Christian to further cement his fate as a garbage man next year.

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Detroit is doing everything it can to blow the division title. The Bears and Packers are practically trying to hand them the crown...and the Lions have fumbled the ball two weeks in a row now.

If Detroit and Chicago screw up Aaron Rodgers being hurt. I mean come on.....a GB starting QB finally gets hurt and they are forced into crappy QB play for a few weeks and loses (and ties) to teams they normally beat.

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If Detroit and Chicago screw up Aaron Rodgers being hurt. I mean come on.....a GB starting QB finally gets hurt and they are forced into crappy QB play for a few weeks and loses (and ties) to teams they normally beat.

A healthy Rodgers over the last 4 games and GB is 8-3 at worst.

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