Coin Toss question.

[FlyingGunHawk]

Maybe some of you gurus can explain this to me:

So, when the team that wins the coin flip chooses to either receive the ball or defer to the 2nd half, the other team chooses to either receive or kick the ball off.

Why is kicking the ball off even an option if the other team defers? Isn't it just expected that the team that loses the toss will take the ball?

You would essentially be sacrificing your team a possession by giving the other team's offence the ball to start the game AND kicking off to the in the 2nd half. I honestly can't remember a team ever choosing to kick the ball off when the other team defers. Maybe it has happened, but I've never seen it. Especially not in the NFL and especially not in modern times. Is this just a really old football option that's been around forever and they've just kept it around?

Am I missing something? I guess an argument could be that you have such EXTREME confidence in your defense to make a 3 and out and get the ball for your offence at midfield, but even the greatest defenses in history have never done that to my recollection.

 

[Threedee]

Maybe some of you gurus can explain this to me:

So, when the team that wins the coin flip chooses to either receive the ball or defer to the 2nd half, the other team chooses to either receive or kick the ball off.

Why is kicking the ball off even an option if the other team defers? Isn't it just expected that the team that loses the toss will take the ball?

You would essentially be sacrificing your team a possession by giving the other team's offence the ball to start the game AND kicking off to the in the 2nd half. I honestly can't remember a team ever choosing to kick the ball off when the other team defers. Maybe it has happened, but I've never seen it. Especially not in the NFL and especially not in modern times. Is this just a really old football option that's been around forever and they've just kept it around?

Am I missing something? I guess an argument could be that you have such EXTREME confidence in your defense to make a 3 and out and get the ball for your offence at midfield, but even the greatest defenses in history have never done that to my recollection.

I think Bellichick won a coin toss in OT during extreme conditions (gusting winds, etc), and opted to kick-off rather than receive. The typical sort of nonsense you'd expect from him.

 

[Jegpeg]

There was a Cowboys Rams game that the Cowboys elect to kick but afterwards aparenty did also say defer. At half time they, somewhat contraversally, decided the Cowboys did in fact defer