2 be or not 2 be, that is the Shakespearean question for the Broncos.
It is Dec. 20 in the quagmire that is Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field, and the Broncos are playing catch-up. The temperature at 7:30 p.m. is 22 degrees; winds are swirling at 13 miles per hour; snow is falling, and the Steelers are leading 28-21 with 57 seconds left.
The Broncos score.
Do they try for the tie with a 33-yard extra point in tricky conditions, or do they go for the victory with a risky, two-point conversion?
New Broncos coach Gary Kubiak will have some difficult dilemmas and delicate decisions during the 2015 season.
Kick, run, pass? Tie, win or lose?
“It’ll be interesting, because I don’t really think things are going to change, except the fact that percentages go down” for kicks from 32 or 33 yards, Kubiak said at a local event the other night. “So the minute you miss an extra point, the two-point play comes into effect.”
The coach did acknowledge that the Broncos will do additional research and spend more preparation on the two-point option.
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A two-point play or two usually are wedged into Friday special-teams practice and only used by most teams in dire circumstances — like a 19-point deficit in the final four minutes. Most teams rely on a version of “the extra point chart” devised by Dick Vermeil in the 1970s when he was UCLA’s offensive coordinator. Of 40 possible situations, the chart recommends choosing “two” 14 times. (Examples: Up by five, down by 12.)
Certainly, other issues — weather and field conditions, time, confidence in kicker, significance of game and opponent — must be considered.
Kubiak’s Houston Texans were successful on two-point conversions nine times in eight seasons.
With Peyton Manning, the Broncos are 4-of-6 (including one in the Super Bowl). Since 2009, the Broncos are 0-2, 0-1, 3-6, 1-2, 1-2, 2-2 (46.7 percent).
The overall percentage for NFL kickers with the ball in the middle of the field from 30-35 yards out is .976.
Guess who holds the Broncos’ record for most two-point runs — two — in a season. Yes, you’re right — Timmy Tebow in 2011.
Those were two of the Broncos’ most famous two-point efforts. In his first start at Miami, Tebow was horrendous for 57 minutes as the Dolphins constructed a 15-0 lead. But Timmy frantically brought the Broncos back with two touchdowns and a two-point run. The Broncos won in overtime, and Tebowing became a national fad. Later in the season, in Minneapolis, Tebow ran for two in the fourth quarter to tie the game with the Vikings, and the Broncos eventually won.
Manning rallied the Broncos at Seattle last year in the Super Bowl rematch, and his two-point, pinpoint pass to Demaryius Thomas tied the game at 20. The Seahawks, though, won in overtime.
And, of course, there was the 2008 Broncos-Chargers game in Denver when San Diego got “Ed Hochuli’ed” when Jay Cutler fumbled. The Broncos would score at the end to pull within a point, and Mike Shanahan, in one of the most aggressive calls in Broncos history, ordered a two-point pass play that worked.
Will two conservative coaches — Kubiak and John Fox — ask Manning or Cutler to go for two when the four meet in Chicago on Nov. 22? Will the division and the playoffs be determined by a two-pointer when Denver and San Diego play here Jan. 3?
Should the Broncos have re-signed Timmy as the T-for-Two Whiz? Will Chip Kelly keep Tebow as the DRP2 (Designated Runner-Passer for twos)?
How about Kubiak inserting Brock Osweiler, at 6-foot-7, for two-point conversions? He can do the rollouts and run or pass, or just fall over the goal from the 2-yard line with 7 inches to spare.
Do the Broncos put a 319-pound nose tackle (Darius Kilgo) as The Refrigerator II at fullback for two-point situations? Should they think about the versatile rookie (fullback, tight end, blocker, long snapper) Joe Don Duncan, who is 6-4, 270 pounds, as a Twofer Specialist?
What we really do know is that Manning won’t be leaving the game if there’s a two-point try. He can’t be expected to run (as he did for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in 2013), but he will be passing (because he completes about three-quarters from the 10 and in), or C.J. Anderson will be running.
2 be 2 be 2, that is the Sinatra solution.
Woody Paige: woody@woodypaige.com or twitter.com/woodypaige
