01-23-2023, 04:34 PM
(01-23-2023, 04:15 PM)Tomkat Wrote: Statistically, it's always better to DEFER as that's the ONLY way you can possibly get 2 consecutive possessions (barring an onside kick recovery.)
Scoring to end the 1st half, then scoring again to start the 2nd half is a HUGE momentum booster, and has resulted in MANY wins for teams, over the years.
What you are saying is that it's an emotional boost to score at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half. Of course.
But what is not being counted is the emotional boost to score at the beginning of a game and putting a team in the hole. That momentum booster. And putting a damper on the opposing fans in their stadium right off the bat.
Or yourself being the team to score at the end of the first half. Or stopping the team at the end of the first half. Or having a defense that makes adjustments and shuts down the other team at the start of the second half. Or flipping the field position on the first possession. One doesn't need only to get momentum by possessing the ball twice in a row. One can get it by the way they start the game, or by stopping the other team's plan to get the ball on two consecutive possessions, or by just shutting down the other team at the start of the second half.
I think the Bengals have been starting with the ball as a kind of "we're confident enough in our offense to take the ball first." A kind of "we're not scared by the bright lights or crowd."
I don't know what the statistics are. But the Bengals are sending a message by taking the ball first that they are not going to follow the status quo and are a confident bunch. "Give us the damn ball" mentality.
And now when there is a coin toss, the opposing team feels like the Bengals are getting their way no matter the outcome.
