[washingtonismoney]

People tend to be more conservative with bad teams -- they fear the risk more. Shaw was going for it on fourth down, but I suspect that was more effect than cause: he'd already gotten a good offense together and felt comfortable gambling. But early in the season Shaw unleashed some of the worst punts we've seen from any team this year. Why? Well, it's harder to visualize success when you know there might be a botched snap or bogus clipping penalty or something. That makes you conservative.

Pure Matthew Effect, really.

[washingtonismoney]

People tend to be more conservative with bad teams -- they fear the risk more. Shaw was going for it on fourth down, but I suspect that was more effect than cause: he'd already gotten a good offense together and felt comfortable gambling. But early in the season Shaw unleashed some of the worst punts we've seen from any team this year. Why? Well, it's harder to visualize success when you know there might be a botched snap or bogus clipping penalty or something. That makes you conservative.

Pure Matthew Effect, really.