Was the coin toss botched at SB?

Obviously this is a moot point but I noticed when watching NFL Replay on DVR (still not ready to move on). It appears we lose the toss and Seattle defers...but also chooses the direction they kick to start the game. Why do they get to choose on both possession and direction? Does NE technically have to elect to receive the ball after Seattle defers or else Seattle gets it to start both halves (seems odd but only explanation)? Has Madden been doing coin tosses wrong this whole time? Did Butler really pick that pass??

YouTube weighs in:

Obviously this is a moot point but I noticed when watching NFL Replay on DVR (still not ready to move on). It appears we lose the toss and Seattle defers...but also chooses the direction they kick to start the game. Why do they get to choose on both possession and direction? Does NE technically have to elect to receive the ball after Seattle defers or else Seattle gets it to start both halves (seems odd but only explanation)? Has Madden been doing coin tosses wrong this whole time? Did Butler really pick that pass??

YouTube weighs in:

Winner get to chose the goal they want to defend also

Then why did Belichick "take the wind" and not the ball last year in reg season OT comeback against the Broncos. If he won toss couldn't he have taken ball and still chosen which goal to defend?

Time to start an investigation of flipgate.

If it was botched...glad it was. WAnt to change nothing about that game.

The Seahawks didn't say "they want to kick" or "they want to receive". They deferred giving the Patriots the offer to kick or receive and the Pats chose to receive (notice how the Ref turns towards the Patriots and asks them if they want the ball). The Seahawks then got to decide which goal to defend.

I don't know why the Pats did not choose to kick but, apparently, if they had done so they would have kicked at the start of the second half as well (from what I have read somewhere).

I actually remember reading about a college game recently where a team deferred and the other team chose to kick (I think this is how it went down). The team that chose to kick also had to kick in the second half as well so they lost both possessions.

I'm just really confused on this whole coin toss/deferring thing. Hopefully someone here has more knowledge and can better explain and possibly correct anything I've said that is wrong.


EDIT: Here is a small article on the College game where the team had to kick in both the first and second halfs....

http://deadspin.com/texas-botched-the-coin-toss-has-to-kick-off-to-ucla-bo-1634479396

vince shouldve called tails...tails never fails baby

Tail is fail.

An Indy reporter has it on good authority that Kraft, Belichick and Brady tampered with the coin...

billdog3484 said:

vince shouldve called tails...tails never fails baby

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That's so funny because this is what I think. I never call heads and was mad at Vince when he did so!

TheBostonStraggler said:

An Indy reporter has it on good authority that Kraft, Belichick and Brady tampered with the coin...

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MAGNETS

FrodoBagginz said:

I don't know why the Pats did not choose to kick but, apparently, if they had done so they would have kicked at the start of the second half as well (from what I have read somewhere).

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When you defer you are deferring the choice.

Seattle deferred the choice to the second half at which time they would, obviously, choose the ball.

You don't defer the ball, you defer the choice so if the other team defers you have to take the ball unless you want to kick off both halves.

BelichickFan said:

When you defer you are deferring the choice.

Seattle deferred the choice to the second half at which time they would, obviously, choose the ball.

You don't defer the ball, you defer the choice so if the other team defers you have to take the ball unless you want to kick off both halves.

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Just beat me to it. How much you wanna bet, BB has "win a game in which you kickoff to start both halves" on his bucket list?

Can you imagine beating a team handily, having 40 mph winds from one end to the other, and Bill chooses wind direction both times?

No, you don't understand deferring. Deferring doesn't necessarily mean you kick at the beginning of the game and receive after half-time. Deferring meant the Patriots got to choose to kick/receive or direction in the first half, and the Seahawks got to choose kick/receive or direction in the second half. If the Patriots had chosen to kick, the Seahawks could still choose to receive in the second half. Because of this, every team chooses to receive in almost every circumstance.

For what it's worth, we have now LOST the coin toss in all 4 SB victories (Rams, Panthers, Eagles, Seahawks).

Out of the 8 SB's played, we actually only won it twice (both losses--Packers/Giants 2nd time).

http://www.casinoanswers.com/sports...is-the-history-of-the-superbowl-coin-toss.php

PatsDeb said:

That's so funny because this is what I think. I never call heads and was mad at Vince when he did so!

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PATS16N0 said:

Tail is fail.

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You're both wrong (even though I personally always have favored heads). According to the below study, a coin more often lands on the side on which it starts before the flip. So the visiting team should check which side is "up" on the ref's hand before making its call.

http://www.mercurynews.com/49ers-headlines/ci_13579962

More information than I ever needed to know about coin flips.. my life has been enriched.

I prefer the golf tee method...

supafly said:

For what it's worth, we have now LOST the coin toss in all 4 SB victories (Rams, Panthers, Eagles, Seahawks).

Out of the 8 SB's played, we actually only won it twice (both losses--Packers/Giants 2nd time).

http://www.casinoanswers.com/sports-betting/sports-trivia/what-is-the-history-of-the-superbowl-coin-toss.php

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Also, the Belichick Pats have not scored in the 1st quarter of all 6 Super Bowls.

PatsDeb said:

That's so funny because this is what I think. I never call heads and was mad at Vince when he did so!

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Heads was the Lombardi trophy and tails was the University of Phoenix Stadium. I'm glad we chose heads