Griff28 Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Why is it that in virtually every NFL game, the winner of the coin toss takes the ball first and in virtually every college game, they defer to the second half - thereby not geetting the ball?
UConn James Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Why is it that in virtually every NFL game, the winner of the coin toss takes the ball first and in virtually every college game, they defer to the second half - thereby not geetting the ball? In the NFL, if you win the toss and 'defer' you would kick to start the game, and the loser of the flip decides what they want to start the 2nd half. Unless you're Baltimore, whose D can score as much as their O, no coach in his right mind would think of defering. Never understood why the NFL does it this way. It pigeonholes the winner of the coin flip, when by logic, the winner should have a better choice --- if they want to receive it to start the first half or to start the second.... as the college flip allows.
Kelly the Dog Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 The real answer is that the NFL gives you four options, and college gives you five. In the NFL you can receive, kick, defend one goal or defend the other. And the other team gets those four choices in the second half. In college they give you those four, plus the defer option. Which then allows the loser to have those four choices in the first half, and your team those four choices in the second.
stuckincincy Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 In the NFL, if you win the toss and 'defer' you would kick to start the game, and the loser of the flip decides what they want to start the 2nd half. Unless you're Baltimore, whose D can score as much as their O, no coach in his right mind would think of defering. Never understood why the NFL does it this way. It pigeonholes the winner of the coin flip, when by logic, the winner should have a better choice --- if they want to receive it to start the first half or to start the second.... as the college flip allows. If there is a strong, prevailing wind that is sure to affect play, and the player making the choice or his coaching staff are smart (both rare occurences) they can decide to eschew 1st possession and instead opt to have the wind at their back in the 2nd and 4th quarters. Granted, they will have to kick off again to start the half - but sometimes it's the correct decision. The coin toss loser can also become the big winner if the coin toss winner insists on receiving to start the game, since the loser then picks which goal to defend - giving him the wind in the 2nd and 4th, and a bonus because they also get to choose to receive the ball at the start of the 2nd half. I have a dim memory of a Bill - Bledsoe? - after losing an O.T. toss, choosing to defend the goal that resulted in the Bills having to go into a stiff wind... Since organized football folks generally are not rocket surgeons, such details are often ignored.
ch19079 Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 The real answer is that the NFL gives you four options, and college gives you five. In the NFL you can receive, kick, defend one goal or defend the other. And the other team gets those four choices in the second half. In college they give you those four, plus the defer option. Which then allows the loser to have those four choices in the first half, and your team those four choices in the second. well said. i would only add that when a team wins the toss and defers, the losing team will almost always choose to recieve. they do this because if they choose to kick it away, then the team who won the toss could elect to recieve in the 2nd half and basically get the ball to start both the 1st and 2nd half.
LynchMob23 Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 In the NFL, if you win the toss and 'defer' you would kick to start the game, and the loser of the flip decides what they want to start the 2nd half. Unless you're Baltimore, whose D can score as much as their O, no coach in his right mind would think of defering. Never understood why the NFL does it this way. It pigeonholes the winner of the coin flip, when by logic, the winner should have a better choice --- if they want to receive it to start the first half or to start the second.... as the college flip allows. It was (if mem serves) the 2004 finale vs the Steelers - the coaches wanted to take it from one direction, and upon getting the choice Bledsoe chose the other because he felt "the wind had died down". That one sticks in my craw to this day.
Recommended Posts