OT In Playoffs: Ball first or second?

Thavoice said:
No. We are not over rating that extra down. By going second you know for a fact if you need to go for it and the decision is made.

That whole drive they knew they had 4 Plays to get a first down and you use that to your advantage.

You ain't gonna wiggle yourself out of being on the wrong side of this one.

You always go second when you have rhe chance to match.

Always.
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It also changes the play call mindset for 3rd down if one knows they are going for it on 4th down.

It’s basically the same rule as Ohio High School football overtime. Games I’ve been to that go into OT, the team who wins the toss typically defers/takes the ball second. If there is a strong wind maybe a team would want to go w/ the wind if they are a spread team. Still, I think the majority of coaches choose to play D first.
 
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I want to add a few thoughts. Weather conditions can play an important role. In bad weather, it may be advantageous to take the ball first to control the game and avoid risking losing it due to a mistake. Also, if a team is determined and confident, it may be advantageous for them to take the ball first and immediately try to score a touchdown. Experienced coaches can better predict the opponent's actions and choose the optimal strategy.
 
Thavoice said:
No. We are not over rating that extra down. By going second you know for a fact if you need to go for it and the decision is made.

That whole drive they knew they had 4 Plays to get a first down and you use that to your advantage.

You ain't gonna wiggle yourself out of being on the wrong side of this one.

You always go second when you have rhe chance to match.

Always.
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This is your opinion … the math says you’re wrong … but I understand you can’t comprehend that so we will have to agree to disagree
 
WJ-OSU-STEELERS said:
It also changes the play call mindset for 3rd down if one knows they are going for it on 4th down.

It’s basically the same rule as Ohio High School football overtime. Games I’ve been to that go into OT, the team who wins the toss typically defers/takes the ball second. If there is a strong wind maybe a team would want to go w/ the wind if they weee a spread team. Still, I think the majority of coaches choose to play D first.
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Not the same thing … in HS each team gets the ball … in the NFL the third possession is sudden death … changes things … but you guys can’t understand this so we will have to just disagree
 
joesports said:
Not the same thing … in HS each team gets the ball … in the NFL the third possession is sudden death … changes things … but you guys can’t understand this so we will have to just disagree
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But you still defer if you win the toss, period! You want that extra down!
 
joesports said:
Not the same thing … in HS each team gets the ball … in the NFL the third possession is sudden death … changes things … but you guys can’t understand this so we will have to just disagree
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In the NFL the OT rules are different than regular season. In the NFL playoffs each team gets the ball once regardless of the team who gets it first scores (fg or td). For this reason in the playoffs I would prefer to play D first - again so I know if we need only a fg or td to win. During the NFL regular season if the team that gets the ball first scores a touchdown on the opening possession, they win. In this case, teams typically want the ball first to keep it out of the hands of a Mahomes, Burrow or Allen. Plus a defense is tired after 4 quarters, it gives the offense a better chance.

Your 52/48 stat, do you know if that was for the NFL regular season or post season? Did you know the OT rules were different?
 
here's the argument that DOESN'T work for taking the ball 2nd in OT:

what if you actually STOP the team on their first possession and make them punt? then you've actually LOST the advantage of having 4 downs to make a first down because if you're in your own territory and have 3rd and more than a yard, you're certainly punting that away and not taking the chance of getting stopped.

NOW, the team who got the ball first gets the first chance to score and WIN the game.

there's the advantage of going first.

if you're a coach and think you have a good enough offense to go down and score first, then go ahead and take the ball first but don't put your defense in "prevent" mode like you would at end of regulation if you were up. you know what you need to do on defense and for the 49ers, it was stop them from scoring a TD and only give up a FG. they couldn't do it.

the Chiefs had scored ONE TD on the Niners D the entire game and it was because of a muffed punt on the 15 yard line. Shanahan decided to go down and get points and hope that his D got rested enough at that time to be able to hold the Chiefs to a FG. they didn't.

doesn't mean he was wrong in his decision.

doesn't mean you HAVE to take the ball 2nd.
 
Kansas City has 12 possessions in the game, 2 TD's, 3 FG's, 1 INT, and 6 punts. I think it's very much of a reach, or our romantic ways to think that Mahomes is ALWASYS to score a TD when he has to. It's simply not true. We forget so many times the failures of these folks, especially the media. Remember the commercial where Michael Jordan talked about all the shots he MISSED with the game on the line? Normal folks have to shoot these narrative down.
 
Bballer05 said:
here's the argument that DOESN'T work for taking the ball 2nd in OT:

what if you actually STOP the team on their first possession and make them punt? then you've actually LOST the advantage of having 4 downs to make a first down because if you're in your own territory and have 3rd and more than a yard, you're certainly punting that away and not taking the chance of getting stopped.

NOW, the team who got the ball first gets the first chance to score and WIN the game.

there's the advantage of going first.

if you're a coach and think you have a good enough offense to go down and score first, then go ahead and take the ball first but don't put your defense in "prevent" mode like you would at end of regulation if you were up. you know what you need to do on defense and for the 49ers, it was stop them from scoring a TD and only give up a FG. they couldn't do it.

the Chiefs had scored ONE TD on the Niners D the entire game and it was because of a muffed punt on the 15 yard line. Shanahan decided to go down and get points and hope that his D got rested enough at that time to be able to hold the Chiefs to a FG. they didn't.

doesn't mean he was wrong in his decision.

doesn't mean you HAVE to take the ball 2nd.
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Ok, you stop them on their 1st possession. Assuming they got the ball at the 25 and go 3 & out:
* punting from the 30
* 45 yard punt, 5 yard return (net of 40)
* this puts you 1st & 10 at your own 30.

Give me Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, 1 & 10 at the 30 with only needing 35 yards to get into fg range to win the game every time.
 
WJ-OSU-STEELERS said:
Ok, you stop them on their 1st possession. Assuming they got the ball at the 25 and go 3 & out:
* punting from the 30
* 45 yard punt, 5 yard return (net of 40)
* this puts you 1st & 10 at your own 30.

Give me Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, 1 & 10 at the 30 with only needing 35 yards to get into fg range to win the game every time.
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I am not saying in some instances you shouldn’t take the ball second … my entire argument is that it is not an always thing as some of you have been saying … the percentage are so close that it is a choice … giving them the ball first takes away the extra downs for them but it also gives the an extra (first) possession if score is still tied after the first two drives … and your “Give me Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, 1 & 10 at the 30 with only needing 35 yards to get into fg range to win the game every time.” … is not in your favor … you would look pretty dumb giving them the first shot.
 
joesports said:
I am not saying in some instances you shouldn’t take the ball second … my entire argument is that it is not an always thing as some of you have been saying … the percentage are so close that it is a choice … giving them the ball first takes away the extra downs for them but it also gives the an extra (first) possession if score is still tied after the first two drives … and your “Give me Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, 1 & 10 at the 30 with only needing 35 yards to get into fg range to win the game every time.” … is not in your favor … you would look pretty dumb giving them the first shot.
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In the NFL regular season I would just give Mahomes, Burriw or Allen the ball first because if they score a TD, they win the game without you even roughing the ball. Remember the KC-Buffalo OT playoff game where Mahomes took KC 30 some yards in 20 or so seconds to get the tying fg? KC won the toss, took the ball and scored a td on their first possession in OT to win it without Allen ever getting on the field? That is why this new ot rule is in place.

With the new/current OT rule I would take the ball last and if you hold the team to 3 & out, I’d love my chances with a 1st & 10 at my 30 to pick up 35 or so yards for the game winning fg.

Again, there are different NFL OT rules for regular season and playoffs and each should be handled differently by the Head Coach.
 
I have watched this debate for a few days - very amusing. There is no definitive answer that is always right.

I would lean towards taking the ball second most of the time, especially in games that have had two good defenses making it tough on the offense, like this Super Bowl was. As many have said, having the knowledge of exactly what you need to do is the key thing. I can use 4 downs to get a first down. If a FG is all I need to win, I can play towards that. If the other team scored 7, I can even make the decision to go for 2 after I score. So many advantages to going second.

The times that I might want the ball first:
- If we got to overtime and it was 35-35, with neither defense really stopping the other team. I'm expecting both teams will score and that the 3rd possession might be the winner. But then again, if the opposing coach is a "go for two" kind of guy, I still might take the ball second.

- If my defense just was on the field for a long drive (5+ minutes) that let the opponents tie the game, I might want to get them some rest.

- If it was super sloppy weather conditions that make offense difficult, I might take the ball first. Again, 3rd possession might be key.

Either way, coaches get second guessed when it doesn't work out. But using words like "always" and "never" for decisions like this is not correct. Always a few grey areas...
 
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