Originally posted by yello1
Were they nervous and afraid?
Or just not able to work out the change in the opponents game plan and uncertain of what to do defensively to counter it?
And did their nervousness make the run slower?
And - again - you neglect the magic fairy dust angle (the large plusses from promotions and salary). This is not a team that was going in tentative and skittish like a virgin. This was a team bolstered by its coach to be resilient and tough. Giving up two TDs after scoring two of their own before that should not suddenly make them unable to defend the field by undermining their performance by 25%. My point in all of this is that
merely being in the lead is not enough to make a team feel confident. A team that jumps out to a lead is going to feel confident. If that same team then lets that lead start to fritter away, that confidence is going to wane. It's not the only determining factor in a team's performance (see Michigan State-Notre Dame in 2005, where Michigan State was clearly playing with shaken confidence after letting Notre Dame back in but still held on to win), but it is a factor.
Also, let's go back to your Subject, shall we?
"GIVE more points to morale when your team does well"
I assume you're talking about this game?
http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=2220150When a team gives up 20 points in a span of 10 minutes, they are not "doing well." Period.
Go fix your 4th Quarter defense.