Chiefs Attacking kneeldowns: good football or bad sportsmanship? - Page 2

**Rain Man** · 01:23 PM

I was getting annoyed on the Chiefs' last possession, the one where we had the ball on our own five with a minute left and were just doing kneeldowns.

On every kneeldown, the Patriots would create a big pileup by diving into our linemen.

It annoyed me because it's not going to work 999 times out of 1000. The general protocol of football is that if a team is kneeling down you let them do it because the game is essentially over. It's tradition, and it's generally frowned upon to do otherwise. (See Tom Nalen diving into Igor Olshansky's knees as an example.)

The Patriots were crashing hard into our linemen on every one of those kneeldowns even though Patrick was pulling off some of the greatest kneeldowns I've ever seen. Did you notice that? He was down in a split second and moving back. He may be the most talented kneeldown quarterback I've ever seen.

Having said all of that, the game ain't over until the final gun goes off, or Brady's bedtime, whichever comes first. If diving into the line works 1 time out of 1000, that's one extra game you're going to win. So it's good practice to do it from a pure win-loss perspective.

It makes me think that there should be a rule change to automatically take the clock down at the end of the game and the defending team can stop it by taking time outs, since kneeldowns are for the most part boring from a game perspective. Why should the league risk the knees of a Patriots player flying into them on a play that's essentially meaningless.

But back to the point. Was it good football that that Patriots were attacking our kneeldowns or bad sportsmanship?

Poll coming if I can keep Donta Hightower from diving into it.

View Poll Results: Attacking kneeldowns in the victory formation. What's your opinion?
Football is a 60-minute game. If it gives you a chance to win, you obviously do it.	18	15.65%
You should do it to try to win, but the injury risk may outweigh the reward.	6	5.22%
I'm neutral. I'm usually in the bathroom when the kneeldowns occur anyway.	2	1.74%
I'll deal with it if someone does it, because the game's not over. But it's kind of stupid.	20	17.39%
It's poor sportsmanship. Class up and acknowledge that you've lost.	64	55.65%
Kneeldowns shouldn't happen anyway. Keep attacking because scoring is the eighth or ninth tiebreaker for the playoffs.	5	4.35%
Voters: 115. You may not vote on this poll

12-09-2019, 01:18 PM	Topic Starter
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3128491 VARSITY	Attacking kneeldowns: good football or bad sportsmanship? I was getting annoyed on the Chiefs' last possession, the one where we had the ball on our own five with a minute left and were just doing kneeldowns. On every kneeldown, the Patriots would create a big pileup by diving into our linemen. It annoyed me because it's not going to work 999 times out of 1000. The general protocol of football is that if a team is kneeling down you let them do it because the game is essentially over. It's tradition, and it's generally frowned upon to do otherwise. (See Tom Nalen diving into Igor Olshansky's knees as an example.) The Patriots were crashing hard into our linemen on every one of those kneeldowns even though Patrick was pulling off some of the greatest kneeldowns I've ever seen. Did you notice that? He was down in a split second and moving back. He may be the most talented kneeldown quarterback I've ever seen. Having said all of that, the game ain't over until the final gun goes off, or Brady's bedtime, whichever comes first. If diving into the line works 1 time out of 1000, that's one extra game you're going to win. So it's good practice to do it from a pure win-loss perspective. It makes me think that there should be a rule change to automatically take the clock down at the end of the game and the defending team can stop it by taking time outs, since kneeldowns are for the most part boring from a game perspective. Why should the league risk the knees of a Patriots player flying into them on a play that's essentially meaningless. But back to the point. Was it good football that that Patriots were attacking our kneeldowns or bad sportsmanship? Poll coming if I can keep Donta Hightower from diving into it. Last edited by Rain Man; 12-09-2019 at 01:23 PM..
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