Coin toss

Am I the only one who thinks that choosing to receive the ball first when you win the toss is 100% the wrong decision? Tomlin takes it every single time and it drives me nuts. Don't care if Ben is back there. Getting the ball to start the 2nd half is a huge advantage IMO. Patriots defer every single time. Why? Because it sets up the possibility of having the ball last in the first half and first in the 2nd half which can easily sway the momentum of the entire game if you execute! Coming out cold with the ball to start the game is just dumb. I don't know the actual statistic, but I can probably count on one hand how many times the Steeler shave actually scored a TD on the first drive in the past 3 yrs. Makes no sense to me!

 

When you have a poor Defense then you have to take the ball . Not that our D sucks we just don't have a back end. So the hope is to start fast score and not have to play the run and the pass so much . Anytime this D has to do that they will get gashed ...

 

Quote..."Because it sets up the possibility of having the ball last in the first half and first in the 2nd half which can easily sway the momentum of the entire game if you execute!"

You gotta execute, and that is lacking, sadly.

 

That quote is bizarre to me because you can't foresee how the game will unfold in the first half. Even if you force 3 and outs on D, you can't control if they are passing or running which will effect the clock.

 

unfortunately, recent years have shown that we are slow out of the gate in either half so it doesn't much matter.

 

I'd think starting with the ball in 2nd half makes better sense since you have less crowd noise at the beginning of the second half on the road. It also works at home too since you'd like the fans to be back in the seats before the opponent gets the ball.

 

I think when the Chiefs had the ball to start the 2nd half, they went 3 and out didn't they. One of the few times on the day.

 

When the rule change first came in, I seem to remember us deferring a bit.

I can understand not deferring this season, though - our offense is better than our defense. Get the ball, take the initiative.

 

And always call tails if you want to win the coin toss.. Lol

 

Strangely enough they showed the graphic during the Colts/Pats game where BB always defers if they win the toss because he likes to try and get the final possession of the half and score and the first possession of the second half and score that way you have a potential 14 point swing. As you may have guessed it has happened just that way on 15 straight attempts. So stranger things have happened.

 

BB is very good with clock management also which probably factors in more with regards to having the ball last in the half. Tomlin, not so much.

 

Actually Tomlin has said that he lets Ben decide whether or not to accept or defer. It's not always the case that we take it to start the game. I've even heard some suggest the wisest reason to defer is when you are on the road in a rowdy stadium. It's because a lot of people don't get back to their seats by the start of the second half and the road team has a quieter stadium to work with.

 

"Call it"
"No. I aint gonna call it."
"Call it"
"The coin don't have no say. It's just you."
"I got here the same way the coin did."

 

It may seem like a "cut and dried" decision...

I would normally like to defer, and get the ball after the half...

But there actually are lot more factors to consider...

Is my team clearly stronger on Offense, or Defense?(Than the other team)...


Is there a lot of wind in the stadium, and I want to take advantage of that in the 2nd or 3d, 4th quarter...

Do I think my team can quiet the crowd early in the game, if I`m on the road, by scoring, or stopping them from scoring?...

Do I think I can fire up my home crowd, the same way, if I`m at home???


Most of the time, I want the ball at the beginning of the second half, but I can see where there are situations, that I wouldn`t...

(Either my offense is so bad ass, that I`m certain we score, or my defense is so bad, that I`m afraid we can`t stop the opponent)

GO STEELERS!

 

Different scene. Same spectacular movie! Actually the one you quoted is my very favorite one.

 

Yes there is and his team is terrible this year too!

 

I've heard its because of "momentum".

We have a crappy defense compared to our offense's potential. If the defense plays the first series, the other team is sure to get the early momentum in the game.
If the offense takes the field first, we're most likely to establish the initial momentum building up quick scores we can -hopefully- sit on.

 

If true (and I wouldn't doubt it), it makes me realize even more that Tomlin is not a confident nor smart decision maker, which is becoming more apparent every game. If the players are deciding game management then why not leave it up to the Field goal kicker? They would be more affected after all.

 

The quote had something to do with "how Ben felt" or something like that. It was a year or two ago when that was said.

 

ATTACK ALWAYS, GET YOUR SWINGS IN.