How To Win Big

(Given the title, this will probably be my most-read blog post, but this article is not about what you think it is about.)

We won this morning 31-0. So when you're up 25-0 late in the 4th, what do you do? We played our subs, our MPP’s (minimum play players); we let players who do not usually carry the ball carry it more. And we still scored a late touchdown. We were not trying to embarrass the other team, but you can't give the ball to a player who does not often get it and tell him not to try; he's needs to impress the coaches to give him more playing time and more carries.

After the touchdown late in the 4th to go up by 31 points, do you try for two? (In our league, you are awarded 2 points for a successful PAT by passing.) Certainly not. But if not, do you go for 1 at least, or is that unsporting? As it was, we took a knee, something I would never have thought of, but it’s a decent thought.

So if I ever have a team of my own, I’ll need to formulate a victory plan. At what point do I start pulling in my MPP’s for more than the minimum? What plays do we run/not run, bearing in mind we want to give our backups experience, but we also do not want to appear to be running up the score. One of the lessons for your players is how to be a gracious winner. You might think of running low-percentage plays (e.g., pass plays) to get your players game experience, but if they’re successful, it looks like you're running up the score. I think, rather than getting your better players practice on your more difficult plays, you are better served getting your subs more game experience with your basic plays.