OT Coin Flip - am I missing something?

[Ants]

Rams win the coin toss and DEFER????

We just got done dominating the 9ers on the previous drive. Their D was probably gassed.

Why not take the ball, ram it down the field, and force the 9er's to do something special?

help

[Henry VIII]

It was a 100% bad call..and that's 100% on McVay. You always take the ball first under the new OT rules. Did he have another brain fart? It sure seems like it. By not taking the ball first..his hands were pretty much tied at the end by needing to go for 7 instead of the tie..our defense let the niners move the ball between the 20 yard lines way to easy. We had the momentum at the time. Just stupid call. Very disappointing.

[Cornell29]

It was a 100% bad call..and that's 100% on McVay. You always take the ball first under the new OT rules. Did he have another brain fart? It sure seems like it. By not taking the ball first..his hands were pretty much tied at the end by needing to go for 7 instead of the tie..our defense let the niners move the ball between the 20 yard lines way to easy. We had the momentum at the time. Just stupid call. Very disappointing.

Not sure about that. This was debated during the SB Niners vs Chiefs. It was said that it was best to have the ball second bc when you can decide to go for it on 4th down to try to get 7 for the win. When you go 1st, if you get caught in a 4th and short in fg range you feel compelled to just get the 3. Like the niners did in the SB. The chiefs had the ball 2nd knowing they can tie or go for the win, much like the rams had yesterday. Rams just failed to execute.

[Cornell29]

I googled it

No, the San Francisco 49ers should not have taken the ball first in the Super Bowl LVIII overtime; they should have deferred to give their opponent the ball first, because the rules guarantee both teams a possession, and Patrick Mahomes getting the first chance to score in a potential sudden-death situation is a significant disadvantage. Instead, the 49ers should have deferred, which would have given them the chance to know what was needed to win, including the ability to attempt a game-ending two-point conversion after a touchdown. However, a primary reason the 49ers made this choice was that they were reportedly unaware of the playoff overtime rule that guarantees a possession for both teams.

[Ants]

But the rules are different now - even if the 1st team gets a FG, the deferring team can still go for a FG. The rest of the game is then sudden death, if I'm not mistaken

[SoCalRam78]

With each team getting a possession, I agree. Also, Niners D was just on the field. That’s big.

[SoCalRam78]

Both teams guaranteed a possession now. After a TD or FG. The rules in the SB was TD wins on first drive. Obv no one gave the ball up under that scenario.

Still, you need to have a feel for the game and whether a defense is gassed.

[Henry VIII]

We had the momentum at that time..I trust our offense more than our defense during this game. There's an argument either way..but we couldn't stop them in between the 20 yard lines and we were moving the ball pretty good at that point. I'm taking the ball and not giving the 49ers a chance to slow our momentum down. We already pissed away 4 points in this game..so I'm sure as hell not counting on a field goal in OT. We needed to score a TD first and hope the Defense holds them.

[Jacksnow]

It doesn't matter. Rams did not lose because of the flip.

[Ants]

It doesn't matter. Rams did not lose because of the flip.

Yeah, I know...but to me it was just one of the many blunders we witnessed last night. And I really wasn't sure why we would defer.

[Cornell29]

Both teams guaranteed a possession now. After a TD or FG. The rules in the SB was TD wins on first drive. Obv no one gave the ball up under that scenario.

Still, you need to have a feel for the game and whether a defense is gassed.

The rule in the SB was both teams get a possession even if the the team with the 1st possession scored a td first.

Thats why the Shanahan got criticized for taking the ball first. Talking heads and analysts alike said he should have deferred.

[NorCal RF]

I’m actually glad this was brought up. And yes I was yelling what are you doing not taking the ball first. Why?………

JMO you are allowing the other team to possibly run the 10 minute over time clock down to 2-3 minutes if not less before you get the ball. They can possibly take 7/8+ minutes off the clock with a couple of first downs leaving you not a lot of time to do anything………

[Henry VIII]

I’m actually glad this was brought up. And yes I was yelling what are you doing not taking the ball first. Why?………

JMO you are allowing the other team to possibly run the 10 minute over time clock down to 2-3 minutes if not less before you get the ball. They can possibly take 7/8+ minutes off the clock with a couple of first downs leaving you not a lot of time to do anything………

Yes and its a very good opinion.. it's also known as a feel for the game..they dominated us on TOP just dominated us!..that would have definitely killed the momentum that we had. Then you have to feel of where the heck was Karty's mindset at during this game?..he usually kicks a very good dirty knuckleball..but once again poops himself with that kickoff in OT.

[Utah Rams Fan]

I think McVay out-thinks himself which generally turns out to be the wrong decision. The whiners had just gotten off the field and it would have helped the Rams if their D had to trot right back out there in the 5th qtr.

[Truth]

I think the analytics still say it’s slightly better to go on defense first because then you would have the knowledge of knowing exactly what you need once you get the ball back and have potentially 4 downs to work your way down the field.

However, I’d still want the advantage of having the 3rd possession with the ball in a sudden death situation so in this regard I would always take the ball first.

McVay probably felt forced to go for it on 4th down instead of tie it up bc if he kicks the FG it’s gonna be a loss/tie bc he won’t get the ball back again before the OT period is over.

I’d tweak the rule in the playoffs to where each team gets a possession and it keeps going till one team scores and the other team doesn’t match or exceed. Sudden death based on who wins the coin toss after each team has had one possession is too big of advantage for the coin toss winner

[DelMar]

I’m actually glad this was brought up. And yes I was yelling what are you doing not taking the ball first. Why?………

JMO you are allowing the other team to possibly run the 10 minute over time clock down to 2-3 minutes if not less before you get the ball. They can possibly take 7/8+ minutes off the clock with a couple of first downs leaving you not a lot of time to do anything………

^ This

[malibu]

Rams win the coin toss and DEFER????

We just got done dominating the 9ers on the previous drive. Their D was probably gassed.

Why not take the ball, ram it down the field, and force the 9er's to do something special?

help

Ants got to totally agree I thought the same thing. SF defense was on the field and now will need to go back on defense after a hard fought game they had to be tired, good timing to strike them when somewhat gassed i was yelling at the TV to Stafford to take the ball. By letting them take the ball their defense had time to recover. Not to mention the other OT game between GB and Dallas. GB used up most of the 10 minutes it still ended in a tie but my point is the team that possess the ball first can be slow and methodical in their drive basically chewing up most of the time and then if you net a TD or FG the opposing team will feel rushed and to a degree desparate similar to the Rams did because SF scored a FG.

[Cornell29]

Packers coach Lafleur did the same thing. Packers won coin toss and Packers deferred (chose to kicked off). Cowboys got the ball first.

Many said Shanahan should have deferred in the SB vs the chiefs. Many feel the advantage is to the team that defer.

[DelMar]

Packers coach Lafleur did the same thing. Packers won coin toss and Packers deferred (chose to kicked off). Cowboys got the ball first.

Many said Shanahan should have deferred in the SB vs the chiefs. Many feel the advantage is to the team that defer.

Speaking of the Packers and totally off subject... but have you ever heard about the waiting list in GB to get season tickets?

NUTS

(if only the Rams could have this problem and verify its first party season ticket sales instead of greedy 3rd party brokers)

[Cornell29]

Packers coach Lafleur did the same thing. Packers won coin toss and Packers deferred (chose to kicked off). Cowboys got the ball first.

Many said Shanahan should have deferred in the SB vs the chiefs. Many feel the advantage is to the team that defer.

Speaking of the Packers and totally off subject... but have you ever heard about the waiting list in GB to get season tickets?

NUTS

(if only the Rams could have this problem and verify its first party season ticket sales instead of greedy 3rd party brokers)

How long before the Rams have a true home field advantage? I live in the Philly area, and no one takes over Philadelphia Stadium. Even before they won their first SB in 2017, no one took over Philly stadium. Philly doesn't just appreciate their team, they create a true home field for their team at home and they travel to see their team when they are on the road. Philadelphians are getting the winning that they deserved. Through all the losing elseasons, up and downs, multiple disappointments, they always showed up and supported their team. Too bad LA doesn't do the same.

[Ramsfan08ny]

It doesn't matter. Rams did not lose because of the flip.

But.....they could have "won" because of the flip.