Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel admitted he made a mistake when going for it on fourth down in the Week 4 game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel admitted his mistake in going for it on fourth down in Week 4 with the Titans owning a 24-10 lead over the Atlanta Falcons.
With the Titans facing a chip shot field goal and an opportunity to make it a commanding three-possession game against the Falcons in the fourth quarter, Vrabel decided to go for it on fourth down because, as he originally said, he felt like he was playing with “house money”.
Here’s what Vrabel originally said after the game on Sunday about the decision to go for it.
"“I think that it was just trying to be aggressive. Again, we were kind of playing with house money there with the way the ball had been bouncing around. We felt our defense was playing great and we felt we really could end it there and get going offensively.”"
When I personally read that response, my first thought was that Vrabel just doesn’t get it in regard to why that was such a terrible decision.
You simply don’t give a dangerous offense like Atlanta’s any hope when you are in the driver’s seat of a game and have a chance to really put it away, no matter how good the defense is playing.
Thankfully, the Titans head coach does get it and owned up to his mistake during his Monday presser, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.
"“Given the opportunity, I think probably the proper decision – not knowing if you’re going to get it – is to go up three scores,” Vrabel said. “That’s how it goes. (You) make a decision that is decisive. I always think we’re going to get it when we go for it.“If I get the chance to do it again, like everybody else, just be better and go up three scores. I just wanted to put the game away.”"
While we can certainly appreciate a more aggressive style from Vrabel sometimes, that was not the time. Granted, the Week 4 decision didn’t end up costing the Titans, but it was the second bad call Vrabel has made on fourth down this season, thus the extra scrutiny on it.
He also opted to go for it on fourth down against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3 instead of taking the points with the Titans in the midst of being shut out.
It seems as though Vrabel had his time to reflect on it, owned up to his mistake and hopefully will do things differently moving forward.