Dooley's explanation for using the timeout with 2 seconds

[Volznut]

and then taking a knee - per Hubbs....

paraphrasing, basically they wanted a 10 yard gain and then throw another one for FG range. When they did not get the 10 yard gain, they called timeout to see if they could do a hail mary. After talking with Bray about it and thinking it over, he decided not to take the risk of injury and downed the ball.

Some have made a big deal out of this - it wasn't.

[BigOrange Maniac]

It was a big deal. As a coach, you should know going into that situation whether your QB is capable of making the throw. That's part of game management. By taking the time out, he puts his team at a bigger risk of fumbling and letting something freakish happen...especially since UT was forced to run the victory formation from the shotgun due to Bray's injury, and they've struggled at times with the shotgun snap this season.

I disagree. I think it was a big deal and Dooley should've known going into that situation what he would have done if such a situation arose. No harm, no foul, as they say, but in the future uncertainty just might bite us on the rear.

[Volznut]

It was a big deal. As a coach, you should know going into that situation whether your QB is capable of making the throw. That's part of game management. By taking the time out, he puts his team at a bigger risk of fumbling and letting something freakish happen...especially since UT was forced to run the victory formation from the shotgun due to Bray's injury, and they've struggled at times with the shotgun snap this season.

I disagree. I think it was a big deal and Dooley should've known going into that situation what he would have done if such a situation arose. No harm, no foul, as they say, but in the future uncertainty just might bite us on the rear.

are you kidding me? coaches make decisions on the fly all the time, he wanted to see if we could do a hail mary, Tyler said he wasn't sure he could get it there, and therefore he made the choice to down it. A timeout there makes no difference. Obviously going into the game Tyler can make throws or he wouldn't be playing. Coaches - all of them - do not have every scenario drawn out in their heads for every situation that may arise - that's freaking ridiculous.

[BigOrange Maniac]

I am not kidding you and it's not nearly as ridiculous as you make it out to be. How often do you see other coaches (other than Les Miles) display indecisiveness like that during a game? Knowing whether your QB can throw a hail mary if relied upon to do so is just part of planning. It's simple.

It's not the end of the world or a sign that our coach can't coach, but it's a bigger deal than you make it out to be. We can agree to disagree if you like.

[VinnieVOL]

Also, Dooley didn't call a timeout immediately.  He wasted about 12 seconds trying to figure out what he wanted to do.

Thankfully it turned out to not be that big of a deal, but under different circumstances indicision like that could cost you the game.

[ReVOLver]

Not a great decision but it only deserves really close inspection if it doesn't work. Not a big deal in hindsight IMHO.

[BigOrange Maniac]

Not a great decision but it only deserves really close inspection if it doesn't work. Not a big deal in hindsight IMHO.

Nonsense. We must vet these decisions on message boards so that Dooley will see we disapprove and not try it again in the future. Preemptiveness.

[ReVOLver]

Nonsense. We must vet these decisions on message boards so that Dooley will see we disapprove and not try it again in the future. Preemptiveness.

I texted him your opinion and he just replied "Who the fizzle are you?"

[BigOrange Maniac]

I texted him your opinion and he just replied "Who the fizzle are you?"

You didn't tell him that you run VTTW, the Internet's finest Big Orange powwow? Let me talk to him for you...

[ReVOLver]

You didn't tell him that you run VTTW, the Internet's finest Big Orange powwow? Let me talk to him for you...

Maybe that's the problem, I used my real name... If I said ReVOLver I bet he'd know. 

[BanditVol]

I didn't see it realtime, I was distracted by the poker game I was in.   

But on the replay, it didn't seem like a big deal to me.   We had exactly one timeout left, why not take it and talk it over?  That's all it was.  It's not like losing that timeout really changed anything, is it?

The only other option was to line up and do the Hail Mary without the timeout, right?  Because by the time we got lined up, maybe we are out of time.

Letting 10 seconds run off before calling the TO does bother me, but think about it this way.  With 12 seconds, say we throw a strike for a first down and that stops the clock.  I seriously doubt that leaves us time for (a) spiking the balls and certainly not (b) lining up a FG attempt (with a possibly injured kicker).

So I am okay with it.  Would like to see him have some idea what he wants to do ahead of time, but I supsect Bray was almost not supposed to throw the ball less than 10 yards.      So it's Bray's fault, IYAM.   

[BigOrange Maniac]

Maybe that's the problem, I used my real name... If I said ReVOLver I bet he'd know. 

Ah. That makes sense.

[3beans]

Much ado about nothing. 

[PirateVOL]

and then taking a knee - per Hubbs....

paraphrasing, basically they wanted a 10 yard gain and then throw another one for FG range. When they did not get the 10 yard gain, they called timeout to see if they could do a hail mary. After talking with Bray about it and thinking it over, he decided not to take the risk of injury and downed the ball.

Some have made a big deal out of this - it wasn't.

Exactly as I thought was the deal real time. 
Dooley played the clock till there was only one play, checked with his QB on how the thumb was and made a decision.

Not a big deal IMO.  Dooley gets paid to make those decisions and we don't get paid to second guess him.

My only 2nd guess, given the condition of Bray's thumb, would have been to have Woorley warmed up to run the last two plays as he has demonstrated his ability on the long ball IMO (he doesn't have Bray's pure arm strength but he did appear to be accurate on the long balls he threw).

[BanditVol]

would have been to have Woorley warmed up to run the last two plays as he has demonstrated his ability on the long ball IMO (he doesn't have Bray's pure arm strength but he did appear to be accurate on the long balls he threw).

Uh, I haven't seen him throw one WELL yet.  It seems at least one was a pick, and a couple others should have been.    Others were just misses.   I didn't even think the one that Da'Rick famously missed vs. USCe was that well thrown.  It seemed like Da'Rick had to adjust to it.

[PirateVOL]

Uh, I haven't seen him throw one WELL yet.  It seems at least one was a pick, and a couple others should have been.    Others were just misses.   I didn't even think the one that Da'Rick famously missed vs. USCe was that well thrown.  It seemed like Da'Rick had to adjust to it.

He put the ball on Da'Rick's hands from 50+ yards away, that was a well thrown ball.

[BanditVol]

He put the ball on Da'Rick's hands from 50+ yards away, that was a well thrown ball.

Maybe.  Watching it live and on the replay in the stadium it was underthrown and Da'Rick had to wait for it.  I did not DVR that game, so have not seen a televised replay.

But regardless...other than that one throw, all his long throws have pretty much suxed.  IMO.