Joe Judge Claims He Doesn't Live in Fear After Punting on Fourth-and-Three While Down One Point

Joe Judge's New York Giants are 0-3 for the third season in a row. The latest loss was perhaps the most egregious, a last-second defeat at the hands of fellow cellar-dweller Atlanta Falcons.

The turning point in that game may have come late in the third quarter with the Falcons up on the Giants, 7-6. New York had the ball on the Falcons' 39-yard line. On fourth-and-three, Judge elected to punt. Let me reiterate: down one point, Joe Judge chose to punt from the opposing 39 yard-line. While needing only three yards for a first down and a shot at the lead, with plenty of time to recover if it went wrong.

It's the sort of decision coaches have been hammered for in the past and exactly the type of scenario where the numbers of the risk-reward balance strongly suggest a team should go for it. Judge was asked by reporters about his call and said he isn't afraid to go for it in that scenario because he doesn't live in a "world of fear", but still chose not do go for it.

This inevitably led to a question about the value of analytics in Judge's eyes, and his response very well could have come from the mouth of his boss, GM Dave Gettleman.

Kind of tough to use Bill Gates as an example for why numbers don't always win! He's only one of the richest men in the world, after all.

Giants fans are stuck in hell with Judge and Gettleman running the show. You don't need numbers to understand the situation the Giants were in and the benefit to be gained from going for it far outweighed the detriments of coming up short. It's basic football acumen, not a matter of grasping what the Excel sheet tells you.

Anyone hoping for a turnaround better hope it doesn't hinge on simple decisions, because it doesn't seem like Judge is capable of making the right one.