Last season Joe Philbin and the Dolphins went for it on 4th down 19 times, which was the most 4th down attempts that the Dolphins have gone for since 2009. It was also the 3rd most attempts in the entire league behind only the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. The Dolphins have continued this trend of going for it on 4th down by going for two 4th and goals in each of the first two preseason games – and having scored on both occasions, they added 4 extra points in each game.
There is a popular “4th Down Bot” blog that the New York Times runs, and based on their decade worth of statistical analysis, they argue that teams should always run an offensive play on 4th and 1 and 4th and 2 – even when the team is on their own side of the field. The reason they say that is because teams average more than 4 yards a play, statistically the betting odds are on the offense’s side.
I am all for going on it on 4th and short, because it could be the difference between punting the ball, or extended a drive that ends in points, and you need to score points if you want to win. I remember the days of coach Sparano, a.k.a “3pt. Fist Pump”, where he would always punt the ball, never having the balls to go for it. It was very depressing watching him coach scared – always the safe way – like he was petrified by the specter of a loss. Going for it on 4th down is the complete opposite. When the coach does opt to go for it, he is showing the players and the fans that he is looking to be aggressive and wants to win the game; both players and fans get excited about that. Sure, sometimes it comes back to hurt you, but I’d rather go down swinging instead of sitting on my heels, afraid to lose.
I know a lot of Miami Dolphins fans are not entirely fans of Philbin, and there are a lot of fans that downright do not like him. However, I will say that his penchant for being aggressive and not being afraid to take a risk by going for it on 4th down is something I truly do like about him. The old saying is that in order to get high rewards you need to take high risks. Philbin is definitely using a gambling strategy when he chooses to go for it on 4th down, and I am all for it – especially in an upcoming season where it’s playoff or bust year. What does the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans think about Philbin and the Dolphins taking risks and going for it on 4th downs?