NEWS » rst pole.It is pole position at Bath

Fourth-and-no is becoming fourth-and-go in the NFL.More coaches are going for it in situations that used to be automatic punts or field-goal attempts. Through Week 13, teams went on fourth down 350 times and converted 181 or 51.7 percent.Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden made perhaps the boldest call when Washington faced fourth-and-inches from its 41-yard line with a 29-24 lead and 6:12 remaining against the Green Packers on Nov. 20.Going for it meant risking the possibility that Aaron Rodgers would get the ball close enough for a short field with the game on the line. It defied conventional coaching logic, but Gruden kept his offense on the field, quarterback Kirk Cousins sneaked for the first down and the Redskins went on to score and secure the win.I think its confidence in the offense, No. 1 and, quite frankly, the defense if you dont get it, that if you do give away a short field that theyll get the ball back for us, Gruden said this week. But mainly, its confidence in the offense. We have a big, physical offensive line, we have got a big back, and we have a quarterback where if we want to do a bootleg or if we want to drop back and throw it, we have confidence that he can make an accurate throw.Confidence in the offensive line that can get movement, we can get a foot or a yard or 2 yards, and confidence in the quarterback to get it done.For Cousins, it was an easy decision, even if teams holding leads late in the fourth quarter usually punt in that situation.I think you had to do it, Cousins said. Its just a matter of which play to call and how do we execute it versus the front or blitz that they will bring.No team has more fourth-down attempts than Philadelphias 19. But coach Doug Pedersons aggressive playcalling cost the Eagles (5-7) a win against the New York Giants in November.Pederson passed up two chip-shot field goals to go on fourth downs in the first half. Both attempts failed. The Eagles lost 28-23 after failing to score a touchdown on four tries from the Giants 17 in the final minute.Obviously, six points wouldve made a difference. But Pederson had no regrets and stuck by decisions that backfired.It shows confidence and belief in the guys, Pederson said. At that time, I felt like we were moving the ball.Last week, teams were 17 for 30 on fourth down. Several of those attempts came at odd times during games, including a few in the Texans-Packers game played in snow.The Texans went on fourth-and-1 from the Packers 49 early in the second quarter in a scoreless game. Alfred Blue got stopped and Green Bay turned the short field into a touchdown.Houston later passed up a 23-yard field goal and went on fourth-and-1 from the Packers 6 midway through the third quarter. Brock Osweiler tossed a TD pass to tie it 7-7.But coach Bill OBrien got conservative after that conversion.He chose to punt on fourth-and-5 at Green Bays 36 in a 7-7 game late in the third. He decided to punt again on fourth-and-7 from the Packers 44 with 8:59 left and trailing 14-7.Its just where we were on the field, said OBrien, offering no explanation for the inconsistent decisions.The Packers converted on fourth-and-2 from the Texans 42 when Cristine Michael ran for 5 yards on their first scoring drive. But they failed on fourth-and-2 at the Texans 48 later in the game.OBrien also had some interesting fourth-down calls against Oakland in the Monday night game in Mexico on Nov. 21.He went on fourth-and-inches from the Raiders 15 with the score tied and 6:15 left in the game. Akeem Hunt got stopped short on what appeared to be a poor spot by the officials.I felt like we needed a touchdown there, said OBrien, even though a field goal wouldve given Houston the lead.After Oakland went up 27-20, the Texans faced fourth-and-5 from their own 44 with only 3:13 to go and one time-out remaining. Yet, OBrien chose to punt. The Texans never got the ball back.If I had it back, Id go for it, OBrien said afterward.Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn passed up a short field goal down 27-16 in the third quarter against Kansas City last Sunday. He went on fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs 10. Atlanta didnt convert and eventually lost 29-28 because Eric Berry picked off a 2-point conversion and returned it the other way. Quinns decision to go for it earlier instead of kicking a 23-yard field goal also proved costly.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddiMiranda Brazil Jersey . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Willian Jersey . 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George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up.Some may say the omens arent good for Jamie Whincup winning Sundays Bathurst 1000 after claiming pole position at Mount Panorama.However, few could argue Holdens Whincup is the man to beat for the Great Race after Saturdays top 10 shootout.The four-time Bathurst winner showed his class to finish 0.06 of a second ahead of Volvos Scott McLaughlin, with Fords Chaz Mostert third.But even six-time series champ Whincup has heard the rumours that pole position is a poisoned chalice on the mountain, with the last pole sitter to claim Bathurst honours being Holdens Garth Tander and Will Davison back in 2009.The one before that was in 2003 by Holdens Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly.Whincup himself couldnt do it the last time he finished qualifying on top in 2013.Theres this myth going around that you dont want to be on pole, its bad luck and you dont want to be there, said Whincup, who will partner co-driver Paul Dumbrell on Sunday.But we will try and turn the tide tomorrow.Its just nice to be starting on the front row.Whincup has not won at Bathurst since 2012.Coupled with the supposed omen of pole position, Whincup is also looking for a reversal of fortunes after his past two disastrous Bathurst campaigns.Last year he sensationally ignored team orders to pit before passing a safety car, relegating him from second to the back of the field and finish 18th.And in 2014 the Holden gun also defied a team directive and ran out oof fuel on the 161st and final lap while leading.ddddddddddddBut Whincup is now feeling lucky after somehow avoiding slamming into The Dipper wall in his scorching shootout lap to emerge as the man to beat.He clocked two minutes, 05.426 seconds to pip McLaughlin in the last run of the shootout which decides the front of the grid.McLaughlin - who will partner David Wall - was gutted to have been denied his first Bathurst pole.It is pole position at Bathurst - it means everything, he said.I gave it my all. One day it will happen.Mostert may have not finished with top spot but he still felt like a winner.He finally completed Bathurst qualifying for the first time in his fourth Great Race campaign after a string of disasters.The worst happened last year when Mosterts Bathurst title defence was shattered - along with his leg - when he spectacularly crashed in qualifying, ruling him out for the rest of the season.During the shootout, Mostert was cheered on by rabid Ford fans between The Dipper and Forrests Elbow where he suffered last years horror accident.Its special to have that great support from the fans in my comeback from last year, said Mostert, who will partner Steve Owen.Even the marshalls up there gave me the thumbs up during the warm-up.Thats what makes this place so special. ' ' '