Coin Toss what do we do?

[bigE79]

Do we want to put our offense out there first, or our defense?? Please give your thoughts....

Always defer

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Do we want to put our offense out there first, or our defense?? Please give your thoughts....

Easy. Yes. Yountake the ball

 

[KJJ]

The best way to get off to a good start is to put our offense out there and put up some points. Force the Packers to play from behind. I don’t want to risk them driving down the field on their opening possession and putting six on the board. Last week against Washington they almost scored on a long TD pass on their opening drive had Gilmore not batted the ball down. The receiver was wide open. I have a tough time trusting our defense in the playoffs.

 

[TheKey]

From what I recall hearing, Packers are a VERY good 3rd quarter team. For that reason, I think defer and try to have a good long drive to start the second half.

I think I’d receive for the following reason.

Last two playoff games we’ve gone down early. Granted, against the Niners, but 0-7 with offense getting the ball and potentially punting back to the packers would put us back behind the eight ball.

I’d take the ball and have a damn good plan to go up 7-0. Jump on them and don’t look back.

 

[JD_KaPow]

I remember reading in Landry's book that he liked to start the game on defense because he felt at the start of the game both teams are fired up but defenses were likely to have more success at that point in the game. I can't argue with Landry, so I say defer and get the ball at the start of the second half. It is always good to score to end the first half, then get the ball back and score to start the second half.

All due respect to Landry, but that doesn't match with what we've seen on the field this year. Opponents on their opening drives this year:

4 Touchdowns
5 Field Goals
5 drives ending in punts (-7, -2, 4, 31, 41 yards)
1 drive ending in a fumble after 54 yards
1 drive ending in a blocked FG after 48 yards
1 drive ending in a turnover on downs after 42 yards

That works out to:
2.52 points per drive, which would be a top-5 offense.
47 yards per drive, which would lead the league by a mile. (Opening drives have longer fields than average, because half of them always follow kickoffs which are usually touchbacks.)

Overall, our defense has been at its worst at the beginning of games. Note that it didn't matter if we kicked or received: the defensive performance on the opponents' opening drives was basically identical.

Again, it really really doesn't matter if you choose to receive or defer. Unless there are factors like the sun that make you prefer one side of the field early or late.

 

[Hawkeye19]

Normally I would defer. However, for this game— I like the offense setting the tone and putting GB in an early hole and getting the crowd into a frenzy.

Got a feeling AT &T will be the loudest it’s ever been. That will make things incredibly tough for the youngest team in the NFL to function

 

[RodeoJake]

I hope they cross their fingers and toes, and hope GB calls out neither.

 

[Whirlwin]

The best way to get off to a good start is to put our offense out there and put up some points. Force the Packers to play from behind. I don’t want to risk them driving down the field on their opening possession and putting six on the board. Last week against Washington they almost scored on a long TD pass on their opening drive had Gilmore not batted the ball down. The receiver was wide open. I have a tough time trusting our defense in the playoffs.

That’s what I was thinking. Just get the ball and score put them in catch up mode right off the bat.

 

[shabazz]

Defer and onsides kick

 

[Surfguy]

Deter

Ref be like, “you want to ‘deter’”?

You heard me!

 

[5Stars]

I am but I’m just a nervous fan with trauma.

Try some booger sugar, it'll clear it all up and you will be good to go.

 

[CCBoy]

This is not specific to the Packers, but I would prefer defense first.

That way you get a chance to get good field position (if you stop them of course) for your first series and you get a chance to reset the game if needed comnig out of the half with the ball first.

As a bonus, you have a chance to score at the end of the half and get the ball right back to start the second half, which could swing or add 6-14 points to the score if you score on both.

Starting the 2nd half can seperate a lot of games, receiving the kickoff.

 

[Praxit]

This is not specific to the Packers, but I would prefer defense first.

That way you get a chance to get good field position (if you stop them of course) for your first series and you get a chance to reset the game if needed comnig out of the half with the ball first.

As a bonus, you have a chance to score at the end of the half and get the ball right back to start the second half, which could swing or add 6-14 points to the score if you score on both.

....it payed off, taken that extra Pr-Calculus course.. ..

 

[Chuck 54]

On the road, I want the offense out there first to settle the crowd noise even if only with a few first downs.
At home, I defer.

 

[unionjack8]

Show me some stats on first drive scoring, both for our offence and our defence.

Tbh I trust the offence more

 

[Kwyn]

Do we want to put our offense out there first, or our defense?? Please give your thoughts....

I think most teams defer these days

 

[visionary]

Take the ball and score

 

[noshame]

Seems to me like it should be a gut feeling of the head coach. How prepared is your team? Are they chomping at the bit to get out there? Then let them go.

 

[JD_KaPow]

I think most teams defer these days

They do. When the rule was first put in place that allowed teams the option, everyone took the ball. Then Belichick started deferring, and before long everyone followed his lead. But it really makes no difference which you choose, it's all just vibes.

As I've said earlier here, there are probably situations where deferring and picking your end of the field makes sense. If the sun is setting and is going to cause glare in one direction for the first half hour, by all means defer and face your offense away from that for the first quarter. If you notice that their lead running back is frantically searching for his lost helmet on their sideline, make them start on offense. That sort of thing.

 

[JD_KaPow]

Seems to me like it should be a gut feeling of the head coach. How prepared is your team? Are they chomping at the bit to get out there? Then let them go.

If my team's not prepared or isn't chomping at the bit to get out there, my gut feeling as a coach is to polish up my resume.