After we got the extra point, if the Lions scored another touchdown, we’re down by eight again. By your logic, we again go for the extra point…. and remain behind.

If you have the chance to tie, you need to go for it. That’s all there is to it.

Childress was correct about it not being the right time to go for two. He was thinking ahead.

Lou W, I don’t know where you get your ideas from, but they are wrong. Sure, if we were down by 15, then I say go for it. However, we were down by 8, with lots of time left. Childress showed some faith in his offense with this move. He showed faith by trusting that they will make it down the field again to win the game. His offense rewarded his faith by doing just what he entrusted them to do.

You do not go for the two points with over 19 minutes to play. Here is why Brad Childress is an NFL head coach and Sludge and Lake find themselves at work talking to ninnies on the radio:

If going for two points were commonly the better choice, NFL teams would always go for two, but in the long run, if you go for two, you score fewer points.

The head coach knows going for two with another quarter to go would be a sign of desperation. It would say to his team: with over a quarter left in the game, I have no confidence that we can beat the lowly Lions with some kid at quarterback who is not even familiar with how deep the end zone is.

No, the head coach sees this in his eyes: my defense is fired up. They have the pride to be offended that the Lions have scored a touchdown on them, and they will knock the crap out of the Lion offense for the rest of this game, especially if the Lions think they can cling to a one-point lead. We have AD and Chester Taylor, and if we can’t get at least a field goal with 19 minutes left, how do we expect to win in OT?

Ok so we won on a last second FG to win by 2 points.

A last second FG, meaning for over a quarter we were still down a point with honestly pretty grim looking outcomes, then suddenly we manage to get into FG range. EVEN after we missed that 1 FG.

I’m sorry but I completely think that call was wrong. It doesn’t show you don’t have faith in your team, if anything it shows you can get the job done when it counts. Its sooooooooooooo much easier to lineup and kick the extra point, its alot harder to go for 2 and make it. Thats the problem in itself though isn’t it? Childress does what is easy and what is going to mean that he still has a job with us.

That call along with the punt during the Titans game are pretty much horrible in my eyes. I have no idea why someone would think you are quitting on your team when you go for 2 in the 3rd quarter only down by 2 and the worst that can happen is you don’t make it and are still down 2. We had over 4 minutes in the 3rd and the 4th to come back, its really not even a question.

If you had faith in your team you would know that they had the tools to get the 2 and that they had the tools to stop the Lions. He choose to go with whats easiest, to keep people from questioning why for the entire game our offense looked like a high school team.

Look at it this way, IF ,and i say IF, the vikings had lost because of that 2 point conversion call, I don’t think anyone in thier right mind would be here saying he made the right call given the time we had remaining. Its completely insane!

Perhaps Chilly and I have fundamental differences over game plans but ultimately that was a bad move. Even if DET goes down and scores, your still down a TD and 2 points, so regardless you put yourself in a position where you might have to go for 2 at a much more crucial point in the game. Given the way our O was working I would be wayyyyyy more likely that we were going to have another shot of making a TD or even a FG than the Lions coming down and doing it to us, so if they have a better shot, why wouldn’t we take our shots when they come?

Lastly, I want to say that I agree Lou W. I would rather know the odds I am looking at straight up rather than be strung along only to be punched in the balls down the line. And isn’t this what happens in most Childress games? Hangs in there until he finds out a way for us to lose?

I love the vikings to death but we are seriously getting no where with Childress. These wins only prolong someone who is not in touch with our football team. He doesn’t even know when to use a screen for christ sake!!!! Seriously, it seems that this season we have steadily gotten worse only for us to somehow win games, must say alot about our opponents…

Well done describing all the possible scenarios Gonzo, but my position is that you always go for 1 until the 4th quarter*. There’s simply too much time left and too many scoring scenarios where a slightly less than 50/50 chance of a 2-point conversion (I believe the NFL average for 2-point conversions is just under 50%) can come back to hurt you instead of taking the sure thing.

• = The only scenario where I would maybe go for 2 before the 4th quarter is if we were down big by some multiple of 8—such as 16, 24, or 32. Something where you’d need to go for 2 every time to reduce the number of scores needed.

funny, i didn’t think of that at the time but you’re totally right about that one. Way to go, Brad.

…but I’ve got to say you are wrong here. As they say on “Law and Order”, you’re assuming facts not in evidence. Yes, if we’re down 10-9 and the Lions score a touchdown, it’s still a one possesion game and so on. But what are the chances of those three events (Lions TD, Vikes TD, Vikes 2-pt conversion) happening? You have to give consideration to way the game was going – low scoring, inconsistent Vikings offense – as you make your decision. The most likely scenario was what happened: that any remaining scores would be field goals. And, with that in mind, being down 2 was no different than being down one. Finally, this is a classic case of “paralysis by analysis”. You’re overthinking it. If you have a chance to tie it, you try to tie it.

I agree with you, but there is no way Childress went through all that by himself. He had a 50/50 chance to gain approval from the fans…so he took a wild guess.

This decision HAS to be circumstantial. You have to look at how the game has been played and how it is most likely to be played out. In a high scoring game where its 26-28 with four minutes left in the third its a No-brainer, you kick the extra point, take that point and play on. But….

Up to that point in the game the vikings scored ZERO points offensively. ZERO. Then gus throws a seven/eight yard pass to Berrian who makes a little move, a lion completey misses a tackle, a little burst from BB, and he scores a long TD. One good/lucky play. Besides that a ‘Defensive’ battle(slash another great KickAssOffense production)… Seriously, play the situation… and go for the tie. I know you don’t wanna be looking at a 9 point deficit, but if thats gonna happen and you kick the XP you would be looking at a 8 point deficit, and then you would still have to make the two pointer later on in the game (and if you miss it, you have little or no time to make up for it)…

Conventional wisdom is to take the XP, but it has to be situational, and no matter how many arguments you can come up with, in that situation, with our Defense (and their offense), and our “offense”, we should have gone for the tie. Period.

…this was a game against the DETROIT FREAKING LIONS, people!!! Not the Barry Sanders Lions. Not even The Great Jon Kitna Lions! This game was against the Dan Orwhosky? Lions. Childress chose to kick the PAT for fear of falling one or more touchdowns behind the LIONS!!!

Even if Childress can be credited with making the right move, it is only proof that that KAO is too lame to kick anything in the NFL. It was proof that he had zero faith in his more talented team and system and coordinators.

Without a doubt, this is the most dubious, softest, ugliest, and least meaningful 3-3 team record I have ever seen. It sort of reminds me of when this very same team was 4-2 a couple years ago.