When Seconds Count
They say the game comes down to inches,
it also breaks down to seconds.
During the off-season a franchise's
front office staff will spend hours upon
hours into researching every detail
before making a personnel decision. How
does the player perform in the West
Coast offense when playing against
opposing 4-3 defenses? Will this kid
respond when given the ball in crucial
3rd down scenarios? Has this kid
performed well in high-pressure games
before? How does his 4th quarter output
compare to his 1st quarter output?
One thing about research ... there isn't
one thing. Research is a black hole. You
could spend a lifetime in it. You could
spend just a few seconds in it. It all
comes down to results. Does your
research produce results?
In professional football, a regulation
game lasts 60 minutes. An additional 15
minutes for every overtime. Sixty
minutes is 3,600 seconds. And the
outcome of the game could hinge on any
one of those seconds.
A good head coach will prepare his team
for every second that they're on the
field of play. Every second.
The New England Patriots could have used
10 extra seconds in the 2079 Super Bowl.
Just enough time to give Kurt Holohan
the shot at placing his name in the
records books. But the game clock didn't
play out that way. The clock benefited a
kicker who was 3rd worst in the league
in field goal kicking.
So with all those seconds in a game,
what are we really talking about here?
Some seconds are more crucial than
others, right?
Let's take a look ...
SCENARIO |
SECONDS |
The
amount of time it takes for an
average USAFL play to run |
5.00 |
The
average amount of time it takes a
QB to perform a 2 step drop |
2.70 |
The
average amount of time it takes a
QB to perform a 5 step drop |
3.30 |
The
average amount of time it takes a
QB to perform a 7 step drop |
3.70 |
The
total time a Punter has to get the
ball off |
1.78 |
The
average hang-time for a punt |
4.85-5.40 |
The
total time a Kicker has to get a
FG try off |
0.75 |
The
average hang-time for a kickoff |
3.75 |
Thanks
to
ESPN The Magazine for this data
|