Brett is a big conversation over here in WI. He will be inducted into the pro-hall of fame this year. The inducties of this season all get together and elect who will flip the coin. Brett last played for the Vikings. Will his picture in the museum present him in a Vikings jersey, since that was the last team he played for? Or, if elected, does he actually get to play the game one more final time? Flipping the coin can change the whole outcome of a game.
By
Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel
Minneapolis — Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator
Dom Capers is a numbers guy, but his boss, coach
Mike McCarthy, has been known to play it by instinct once in awhile.
At the Metrodome Sunday, mathematics met gut feeling.
The Packers called heads during the coin toss at midfield and won. Instead of choosing to receive as McCarthy has done most of his coaching life, he deferred, choosing to play defense first.
It's one thing to do that at home as New York Jets coach
Rex Ryan did against the Packers a couple of weeks ago, but it's another to do it on the road and risk being the next
Marty Mornhinweg, the former Detroit coach who infamously took the wind in overtime against the Chicago Bears and lost, despite having one of the best kickers in NFL history.
"I really don't want to get into all of that," McCarthy said of his reasons for deferring on the opening kickoff. "That's something you look at week to week and that's why you study film. It's part of your game plan.
"It's something that I felt on Friday in our game management meeting, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense."
So,
Mason Crosby kicked off to
Percy Harvin, one of the most dangerous kick returners in the game. Harvin returned the ball 24 yards to the Minnesota 27 and then went to the bench with the rest of the offense after losing 6 yards on three plays.
For the season, the Packers' defense has forced three-and-outs to start the game in seven of its 10 games. The only team to score on the Packers was the Miami Dolphins, who went 74 yards for a touchdown on their opening possession.
In the second half, the only opponent to score on its opening drive was the Dolphins, who went 59 yards before kicking a field goal.
"Wisconsin" (originally "Meskonsing") is the English spelling of a French version of a Miami Indian name for a river that runs 430 miles through the center of our state, currently known as the Wisconsin River.
GO DOLPHINS!