After this weekend's underwhelming playoff football, two things became clear. One, if you go against my picks every week, you could make a small fortune. Secondly, coaches should defer every time they win the opening coin toss.This certainty has never been more obvious than in the Eagles-Giants game. The Eagles made a field goal to end the first half and then received the second-half kickoff, giving them two consecutive possessions. Receiving in the second half is the only way you can get two straight possessions without recovering an onside kick or something similar. Plus, the Eagles had the wind at their backs in the fourth quarter, and the wind was a major factor in that game. I'm still trying to figure out why Giants coach Tom Coughlin chooses to receive every time he wins the opening toss. I suppose you can score first and grab the always fickle momentum, but in my opinion, that's not a good enough reason.
Interestingly, video-game dorks like myself have been deferring for years. When people play Madden, they generally play 5-minute quarters or less, giving both teams about two or three possessions per half. Obviously, the lack of possessions in a standard Madden game magnifies the advantage of getting an extra possession, but it's still an advantage in real football. If you play a random, experienced Madden player online, about 95% of them will defer without fail. This Christmas, I played my 13-year-old cousin Jackson, a smart kid and a good football player, and he defers every time.
Are Madden players really smarter than Tom Coughlin? In this case, yes we are.
