ExiledInIllinois Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Quick question. I can't remember how the rules used to be... Were they different w/deferring etc... Years ago, teams NEVER deferred. I would always get into an argument w/one of my friends about it. This was about 20 years or more ago. I would always say to defer... Everybody thought it was a nuts strategy. Why didn't they years ago? Were the rules different. I see they finally all came around to my thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg F Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Quick question. I can't remember how the rules used to be... Were they different w/deferring etc... Years ago, teams NEVER deferred. I would always get into an argument w/one of my friends about it. This was about 20 years or more ago. I would always say to defer... Everybody thought it was a nuts strategy. Why didn't they years ago? Were the rules different. I see they finally all came around to my thinking. The NFL changed the rule in 2008 so the winner of the coin toss could defer to the second half. Prior to that the team that won the coin toss had the choice to kickoff or receive to start the game. The team that lost the coin toss got the same choices to open up the second half. Prior to the rule change the winner of the coin toss always chose to receive the kickoff as they knew the looser of the coin toss would chose to receive to start the second half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogblitz Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I've always thought if you win the toss you should take the tball. Score points first. Make the other team play from behind. It's an attitude thing. We want the ball because we know we can and will score. However I have varied off that some. On the road I want to defer maybe because as someone else pointed out at the beginning of the second half, the stadium is only about half full and the noise level is a lot less. With a good D, you can kick and hold probably. Used to kill me when our D was horrid and we would defer. Start the game behind 7-0. Not good. That said, I like to get the ball first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrassValleyGreg Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I've thought about this the last couple of weeks. Crowds are so wealthy now, that the seats are often empty a good 5 minutes into the 3rd quarter. As an away team, you should defer just so your offense will have zero 3rd quarter crowd noise to make the very important first drive of the second half. As home team, you should also defer to give your crowd some time to get in its seats for the first defensive stand. Poke holes in that theory! Beat me to it! Well said!! I know that one factor many coaches use to make the determination on deferring is taking advantage of crowd noise on defense. If you defer, you have a strategic advantage in terms of crowd noise. When at home, pretty much every fan is going to be in their seat for opening kickoff, so you have a full crowd in place on the first drive of the game, whereas many fans don't make it back to their seat before the second-half kickoff, creating a more welcoming environment for the visiting team. If you're on the road, you still want to defer for this same reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Cubed Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 (edited) You're close. The Bills kicked off in the first half 15 times. They elected to receive once, against the Saints. I knew it was a lot. And this year thus far they have received to start every game. Edited October 7, 2014 by Wayne Cubed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I hate deferring, goes against the attack mindset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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