Fourth and 26
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Ed Donatell gives his whistle a toot, glances down at his cheat sheet to see what’s next on the practice agenda, then wades into the middle of the Atlanta Falcons defense to pass along a few even-toned words of instruction and encouragement.
He certainly doesn’t look like someone who’s still haunted by fourth-and-26.
“That’s all such a distant memory for me,” Donatell said. “It couldn’t have worked any better.”
He returns to Philadelphia on Sunday for the NFC championship game, insisting that he’s over the seminal play of his coaching career. No need to look back when you can keep looking forward.
Donatell landed squarely on his feet as Atlanta’s defensive coordinator, overseeing a remarkable turnaround by a unit that surrendered a franchise record for yards in 2003. Now, he’s one victory away from the Super Bowl – with only the Eagles standing in the way.
How appropriate.
It was just more than a year ago that Donatell was running Green Bay’s defense in the playoffs. The Packers held a 17-14 lead at Philadelphia with the clock winding down. Three straight blitzes left the Eagles in a seemingly impossible situation: fourth-and-26 from their own 26.
At that point, Donatell abandoned the blitz and called a four-across zone – two cornerbacks and two safeties spread deep, each responsible for one-fourth of the field. There were two more defensive backs in shorter zones, plus two linebackers.
Donatell still thinks it was the right call, but a confluence of breakdowns gave the Eagles a chance to pull off a miracle.
First, rookie linebacker Nick Barnett made a huge mistake by moving forward instead of backpedaling, which left a gap in the middle of the field. Receiver Freddie Mitchell found the opening and ran past one of the dime backs, Bhawoh Jue. The safeties, Marques Anderson and Darren Sharper, dropped back too far.
Donovan McNabb delivered the pass to Mitchell for a 28-yard gain. The Eagles drove into position for David Akers’ tying field goal, then won 20-17 in overtime with another field goal.
Looking back, McNabb knows the Eagles really didn’t expect to pick up that many yards.
“When you’re in that situation, it’s kind of ‘close your eyes and pick a play,’ ” the quarterback said. “We send guys out in a route and they dropped about five and they kind of let Freddie go down the middle. I just tried to give him the opportunity to make a play. Who would have thought we’d pick up 28 yards on a fourth-and-26?”
The play certainly stunned the Packers. Donatell lost his job five days later, although coach Mike Sherman insisted that it wasn’t because of fourth-and-26. No one believed him.
Green Bay promoted secondary coach Bob Slowik to defensive coordinator, while Donatell quickly landed a job with the Falcons’ new coach, Jim Mora. They didn’t discuss what happened on that one play in Philly. Mora was more impressed with Donatell’s entire body of work, such as the Packers leading the league in takeaways in 2002.
“Ed’s not a guy that lays the blame on anyone’s feet. He said ‘I should have coached it better,’ ” Mora said. “A lot of coaches would have said, ‘The players could have played it better.’ I think you get a real taste of Ed’s integrity when you hear that answer. That’s one of the things that make him special – he’s got integrity.”
Falcons defensive end Patrick Kerney watched the infamous play on television. Still, he wasn’t the least bit concerned when he heard Donatell would be part of the new staff in Atlanta.
“My first reaction was hearing the success they had had up in Green Bay on defense over the long term,” Kerney said. “I knew right away if they were going to let him go over that one play, their loss would be our gain.”
Donatell’s affect on the Atlanta defense was remarkable. With only two new starters, the Falcons led the league in sacks, ranked eighth against the run, cut their yards from the previous season by 901, and allowed 85 fewer points.
Green Bay, on the other hand, surrendered its most points since 1986.
“People are looking to see how you react when you have adversity,” Donatell said. “True leaders take responsibility, they don’t push it away. That’s the only way you’re going to get better.”
Mora couldn’t resist having a little fun at Donatell’s expense heading into another playoff game at Philadelphia.
“If the game comes down to fourth-and-26 in the fourth quarter, then we’ll see how he does,” said Mora, laughing. “But Ed knows without a doubt that I’ve always got his back and support him 100 percent.”