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Hazlet Hacksaw
When the big plays are there good teams and QB's make them - that why they lost against the Pats in the super bowl - two big passes at the goal line weren't completed.

The willingness to take make the throws that need to be completed can t be overlooked either - he found the guy, threw it and completed - no crappy checkdown.

Indeed.

Now, about those "crappy checkdowns."" What makes a short pass a "crappy checkdown?"

I'd say it is a QB unnecessarily turning away from downfield looks.

But short passes can be killers. The play I mentioned was a killer. I can't be sure, but I don't know that it was a checkdown. Stafford read and tossed pretty quickly. I think optimal performance requires quick, decisive short and medium throws mixed in with the downfield shots.