[News] John Harbaugh Isn't Apologizing For Fake-Field Goal Decision

[BR News]

The Ravens didn't execute a fake field goal when tight end Crockett Gillmore stumbled off the line and kicker Justin Tucker's pass fell short.

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[designermaryland]

everything that comes out of this guy's mouth is blather. if you are just calling "aggressive" plays, why can't you gain a freaking yard after a turnover on the 15 yard line? why bring no linebacker pressure to rush? why is your quarterback checking down with 4 yard dump offs when they need 12 yards? that is not aggressive, it is incompetent.

[law215]

But he called out Mosley on the fumbled int and Gilmore on the fake FG. Arrogance by the coach

[jerryjr]

Harbaugh has cost this team 2 straight losses. He would bench any player who cost us 2 wins. Do the right thing coach. QUIT.

[btfan2]

John Harbaugh MR Mediocrity. He is a poser and he is being exposed. I said this 2,3 yrs ago that time would tell. I got neged, threatened and all manner of insults. How do you like him now?

Once again poor coaching all around. Another very bad "O" coach, another lousy "O" line. Another year of jeckel and hyde defense. And yet we hear over and over and over we have to play better. Hey John ya think?

Mr I won't apologize, not to worry we won't apologize for not waving GOOD-BYE!!!! TICK, TOCK....

[cobrajet]

Of course he did not apologize, I never had a doubt. However, IMHO it was another stupid coaching decision. That is two weeks in a row now he cost us much needed points that could have helped us win games. I will never fault or second guess a coach for taking points early in a game.......ever!

[Nightman]

17 minutes ago, btfan2 said:

John Harbaugh MR Mediocrity. He is a poser and he is being exposed. I said this 2,3 yrs ago that time would tell. I got neged, threatened and all manner of insults. How do you like him now?

Once again poor coaching all around. Another very bad "O" coach, another lousy "O" line. Another year of jeckel and hyde defense. And yet we hear over and over and over we have to play better. Hey John ya think?

Mr I won't apologize, not to worry we won't apologize for not waving GOOD-BYE!!!! TICK, TOCK....

If he's fired some other team will hire him.  Lets say Jon Gruden messes later in the season.  Dan Snyder will swoop him right up and I'll hear the Redskin fans at work whoop it and rub it my face.  Unlike Brian Billck who was blackballed because he acted smarter than the owner and never got a coaching job again.

[thegooddoc456]

Well, the Ravens are truly a terribly disgusting team to root for. In all my years of watching professional sports, I've never seen a team who's MO is to simply hang around, keep the score close, and then try to win it at the last possible minute. Sleepwalk through the game, and only play with any focus and intensity at the very end. It's been this way for a few years now...I can count on one hand the few Ravens players that bring it every game. My Redskins buddy was shocked when I told him that we were actually expecting to win the game at the very end...he was alarmed because he thought we mailed it in since the 3rd quarter and it was going to take a great deal of luck for us to score on that final drive. I had to explain to him that we frequently win(when we do win) that way...preferably with a last minute FG. I keep asking, and I've never gotten a satisfactory answer; what good is John Harbaugh if he cannot consistently field a determined and motivated team? I sincerely believe Harbaugh has shredded the cherished identity of this team, and it would take some serious work to undo the psychological damage. We're living on past glories, and I'm not even fooled by Harbaugh's lofty win-loss record...I watched all those games and personally witnessed the steady decline of the Ravens. Of course, had we scored on that last drive, Harbaugh would show up to extol 'his team' for a hard fought victory, he'll remind us how truly great of a team the Redskins are...blah blah blah. I've often wondered if he believes some of the words that come out from his own mouth. Someday, one inevitable day, we'll be free of Haarbaugh's clutch...what a great day it would be!! I don't know about anyone else, but I've been done with his shenanigans for a few years now.

[Fastynart]

I have no problem with the attempt. What I have a problem with is being dumb enough to line up your right footed kicker on the side where he is going to kick with his left. That telegraphed the whole thing to anyone with even half a brain. As soon as I saw the formation, I knew what they were up to. I can't believe that the Redskins didn't.

[mikeorclem]

harbaugh is too comfortable, stale, loyal..needs his butt temp raised

[Raven'evermore]

 There's also such a thing as being too aggressive.  Harbs is too much of a gambler.  He says he wants to give his team a chance to score and yet he takes away that very chance after the offense worked hard to get within field goal range.  Maybe at one time this strategy would have worked consistently, but this is not that offense. Not calling for his head.  Just really frustrated.

[Raven'evermore]

 Also, whether or not our wrs are being covered, we need to start passing long.  Sure Perriman should have caught that first deep throw but in his defense how often has he been targeted going deep?  You need to develop in game situations. Jmo. Oh yeah and West is looking like a stud and Allen did well too. Why did we get away from the run so soon?

[OUravensfan]

26 minutes ago, Fastynart said:

I have no problem with the attempt. What I have a problem with is being dumb enough to line up your right footed kicker on the side where he is going to kick with his left. That telegraphed the whole thing to anyone with even half a brain. As soon as I saw the formation, I knew what they were up to. I can't believe that the Redskins didn't.

I thought my TV was flipping the image, it was completely moronic, these guys are supposed to be paid professionals ?

[Ravens3505]

Bottom line is harbaugh cost us another game for the second week in a row. How can you abandon the run so early WHEN IT WAS WORKING! Pass play after pass play, NO BALANCE! That makes the other team ramp up their pass rush when they know you wont run the ball, this gives Joe absolutely no time! its a sprint to our qb every play and harbaugh makes no adjustment. If youre not going to run the ball and Joes is under pressure all day you need to either leave a RB in to block, chip with a TE, run screens and draws, SOMETHING! not just keep trying to pass with Joe under duress constantly. Also when your offense is struggeling and you have a great defense you TAKE THE POINTS!!! Especially after a turnover on the other teams 15. Harbaugh Is the worst in-game coach in the league. Yes hes won us a super bowl but that was with a great team with a lot of great vets, and offensive line that gave Joe the best protection of his life which Joe showed all of us that given time he'll pick any defense apart. Harbaugh continues to show us he cant see the obvious that any knowledgable football fan can see. hes a joke and I hope Biscotti makes a decision to can his butt real soon!!!!

[purpledown]

close but no cigar, self inflicted wounds, sounds like 2015. Something needs to be done we are 3-2 but should be 5-0. Sounds like last year. I think this game today is on the coaches, no one should be untouchable, including Harbaugh.

[Ravens3505]

Well, the Ravens are truly a terribly disgusting team to root for. In all my years of watching professional sports, I've never seen a team who's MO is to simply hang around, keep the score close, and then try to win it at the last possible minute. Sleepwalk through the game, and only play with any focus and intensity at the very end. It's been this way for a few years now...I can count on one hand the few Ravens players that bring it every game. My Redskins buddy was shocked when I told him that we were actually expecting to win the game at the very end...he was alarmed because he thought we mailed it in since the 3rd quarter and it was going to take a great deal of luck for us to score on that final drive. I had to explain to him that we frequently win(when we do win) that way...preferably with a last minute FG. I keep asking, and I've never gotten a satisfactory answer; what good is John Harbaugh if he cannot consistently field a determined and motivated team? I sincerely believe Harbaugh has shredded the cherished identity of this team, and it would take some serious work to undo the psychological damage. We're living on past glories, and I'm not even fooled by Harbaugh's lofty win-loss record...I watched all those games and personally witnessed the steady decline of the Ravens. Of course, had we scored on that last drive, Harbaugh would show up to extol 'his team' for a hard fought victory, he'll remind us how truly great of a team the Redskins are...blah blah blah. I've often wondered if he believes some of the words that come out from his own mouth. Someday, one inevitable day, we'll be free of Haarbaugh's clutch...what a great day it would be!! I don't know about anyone else, but I've been done with his shenanigans for a few years now.

I don't believe the players don't try to win. Its a lack of coaching. Harbaugh is horrible. completely abandoning the run game when its working, no balance offense whatsoever. keeping a ST coach who constantly gives up big plays and has a penalty on every punk/kick return. passing the ball 90% of the time even tho Joe has no time to do anything before 2 or 3 guys are in his face. theres things good coaches do to neutralize that. like run the ball so defensive line cant just sprint to the qb, like leave RBs in to block or chip with a TE, or run a couple draws or screens. Harbaugh does nothing! he just continues to throw throw throw and expect Joe to make something happen when he cant even drop back before there is 2 guys running after him. Not to mention his in-game decisions that have cost us the last 2 games. Its coaching! the talent is there, its up to the head coach to do the rest PERIOD!

[BiggMack91]

please fire trestmen

[Ugly Ball]

Come on Harbaugh, grow some marbles and own up to blowing a couple games for us, so we can move on. It takes a bigger man to admit fault and learn a lesson from something. And while you are at it, start looking for a replacement for O.C. Trestman/Cam Cameron 2.0...

The Rotting of this fish has to be stopped, at the head.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Ugly Ball

[Cillmatic]

54 minutes ago, Raven'evermore said:

 Also, whether or not our wrs are being covered, we need to start passing long.  Sure Perriman should have caught that first deep throw but in his defense how often has he been targeted going deep?  You need to develop in game situations. Jmo. Oh yeah and West is looking like a stud and Allen did well too. Why did we get away from the run so soon?

Ball hits hand. You catch ball. Not much to develop there, he's an NFL WR. There's no excuse for him dropping it. Using how often he's thrown to deep as an excuse is beyond silly. 

Edited October 10, 2016 by Cillmatic

[Jim from Ellicott City]

  1 hour ago, thegooddoc456 said:

Well, the Ravens are truly a terribly disgusting team to root for. In all my years of watching professional sports, I've never seen a team who's MO is to simply hang around, keep the score close, and then try to win it at the last possible minute. Sleepwalk through the game, and only play with any focus and intensity at the very end. It's been this way for a few years now...I can count on one hand the few Ravens players that bring it every game. My Redskins buddy was shocked when I told him that we were actually expecting to win the game at the very end...he was alarmed because he thought we mailed it in since the 3rd quarter and it was going to take a great deal of luck for us to score on that final drive. I had to explain to him that we frequently win(when we do win) that way...preferably with a last minute FG. I keep asking, and I've never gotten a satisfactory answer; what good is John Harbaugh if he cannot consistently field a determined and motivated team? I sincerely believe Harbaugh has shredded the cherished identity of this team, and it would take some serious work to undo the psychological damage. We're living on past glories, and I'm not even fooled by Harbaugh's lofty win-loss record...I watched all those games and personally witnessed the steady decline of the Ravens. Of course, had we scored on that last drive, Harbaugh would show up to extol 'his team' for a hard fought victory, he'll remind us how truly great of a team the Redskins are...blah blah blah. I've often wondered if he believes some of the words that come out from his own mouth. Someday, one inevitable day, we'll be free of Haarbaugh's clutch...what a great day it would be!! I don't know about anyone else, but I've been done with his shenanigans for a few years now.

I don't believe the players don't try to win. Its a lack of coaching. Harbaugh is horrible. completely abandoning the run game when its working, no balance offense whatsoever. keeping a ST coach who constantly gives up big plays and has a penalty on every punk/kick return. passing the ball 90% of the time even tho Joe has no time to do anything before 2 or 3 guys are in his face. theres things good coaches do to neutralize that. like run the ball so defensive line cant just sprint to the qb, like leave RBs in to block or chip with a TE, or run a couple draws or screens. Harbaugh does nothing! he just continues to throw throw throw and expect Joe to make something happen when he cant even drop back before there is 2 guys running after him. Not to mention his in-game decisions that have cost us the last 2 games. Its coaching! the talent is there, its up to the head coach to do the rest PERIOD!

How about a screen? It's terrible. The opposing defense is in attack mode and Trestman does not even think to set up a screen pass. The play calling is atrocious. I do not know how these guys continue to get jobs. Maybe they just choke on gameday.

[Jim from Ellicott City]

close but no cigar, self inflicted wounds, sounds like 2015. Something needs to be done we are 3-2 but should be 5-0. Sounds like last year. I think this game today is on the coaches, no one should be untouchable, including Harbaugh.

It could just as easily be said that we should be 1-4 or even 0-5.

[Zeus]

Come on Harbaugh, grow some marbles and own up to blowing a couple games for us, so we can move on. It takes a bigger man to admit fault and learn a lesson from something. And while you are at it, start looking for a replacement for O.C. Trestman/Cam Cameron 2.0...

The Rotting of this fish has to be stopped, at the head.

Thank you!

[billiejean]

i haven't read through all of the comments yet so I may be repeating some things. It was a terrible decision. That is two weeks in a row. He needs to own that. And what could make it worse? On 3 and 10 on or around the 15 (I'm not exactly sure but i think this is pretty close) you choose to RUN it straight up the middle??? And... yea just read an article from a national sports news organization declaring it the most obvious fake field goal attempt ever and they're are right. I am sure they ran this in practice and I can't believe there wasn't a coach around to tell Rosberg or Harbaugh that this was a terrible idea. Or for that matter a player.  I am sure Tucker questioned it, maybe not verbally, but certainly in his head. This is total speculation and I have nothing to back this up but I wonder sometimes if John has surrounded himself with "YES' men. Did they really think that the Skins were not going to see Tucker lining up wrong.  There were plenty of other missteps in this game but even with those, we would have been able to take it to overtime. To go in on Mosley, and not take responsibility for it, is just ridiculous. I would have felt a little bit better, not much, but a little bit better if he came in and said that was on me and it was a bad call.

Edited October 10, 2016 by billiejean

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

The problem, is that EVERY TIME he takes points off the board for a gamble, it haunts us, EVERY STINKING TIME, so why keep doing it? 

This is not a Madden game, when points are there, take them.

Harbaughs bad decisions keep costing us, and he never learns from his mistakes, so we,all have to suffer, no accountability. 

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

Harbaugh is in denial of his stupidity, and needs come to Jesus meeting.

[billiejean]

10 minutes ago, OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL said:

The problem, is that EVERY TIME he takes points off the board for a gamble, it haunts us, EVERY STINKING TIME, so why keep doing it? 

This is not a Madden game, when points are there, take them.

Harbaughs bad decisions keep costing us, and he never learns from his mistakes, so we,all have to suffer, no accountability. 

This especially true with our track record.  The games are always close this year and for much of last year too.

[duffydg]

Wow.  After watching his post game interview and the defiance on his face, I don't know what to say.  John, how about this  " I was wrong, it was a tremendously stupid idea to try that fake FG.  For the second straight week, I personally played a big part in the loss of the game.  As a coach, it is critical to not lose games for your team and I seem to be doing my best to help the other team.  Not only did I try the fake FG, but I also thought it would be a brilliant idea to run a play into the wind with 1 second on the clock, before HT.  Yes, my QB took another hit and I received a bonus for my stupidity, when we lost our starting RT. I even tried to run a 4th and 2 and have Joe draw them offsides, but Joe didn't seem to want to play along, so we took a 5 yard penalty, because I knew Justin Tucker needed an extra challenge kicking into a swirling wind."  That is how he should have answered, instead of babbling on about how he was trying to be aggressive and people are going to have to defend his fake FG try.. What.....  Is this for real?   He seems to be in over his head and this team is getting worse by the week.  With the exception of Gary Kubiak saving his backside 2 years ago, John H would be on his way to missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year.  We are at a Y in the road folks.  Something has to change.  This franchise is getting worse, not better.  I predict a 6-10 season at best.  

[Ravenshine]

Oh no, don't apologize, I loved the fake field goal attempt. Yeah if it had worked it would have been great, but I admire the willingness to try it. It was early in game and I thought it was a good risk at the time, I really would hate to see the Ravens ever get conservative and afraid to do things like this, I love these kinds of plays. No apologies, I agree!!!

[gr2522]

Okay, John Harbaugh keeps saying "we need to start playing better". Instead, why don't you start by saying we need to coach better! Please why don't you own up to your mistakes, and there have been many lately, and admit that the offensive play calling has not been good at all. The Ravens have completely abandoned the run game in favor of a passing attack with a leaky OL blocking for an ELITE QB who is coming back from a serious knee injury from last year. This recipe only calls for disaster, and the season is quickly beginning to look disastrous. A lot of blame has been assigned to Trestman, and yes he needs to be fired, but ultimately it is Harbaugh who signs off on Trestman's play calling. Mr. Biscotti please step in and fire the people responsible for causing this "funk" which has infected our beloved Ravens.

[jdynamite]

 Confused how Harbaugh sat there and says how Mosley has to make the play and keep the ball secure score the TD. Mosley made an incredible INT and was trying to make a play & score for the pathetic offense and it backfired.  

 

Similar to that terrible fake FG attempt on 4th and 11 after choosing to not pass it on 3rd and 9 with Flacco. 

 

Harbaugh "isn't apologizing for that decision". So why is Mosley to be held accountable but not coaching for boneheaded fake FG or abandoning the run game that was shredding the redskins.