CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In his first game back from a left shoulder injury, Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander ran out with the captains to toss the coin when he shouldn’t have, causing confusion when he didn’t say the coin. word “postpone.” ” after winning the toss and had an up-and-down day covering Carolina Panthers receivers as the Packers cruised to a 33-30 victory over one of the worst teams in the league.
It may not be a typical day for most cornerbacks, but it’s not exactly a surprising day for him either.
Alexander, who grew up in Charlotte and attended high school in suburban Mint Hill, had extra motivation to return to this game.
When asked what led him to be available this week after practicing the last five weeks and not playing, Alexander was unclear what the difference was. However, he said people didn’t know the severity of the injury and then refused to say what it was.
“I mean, honestly, it took a collective effort to get me out there because what a lot of people were going through puts it out of the season,” he said. “I don’t like to talk about my injuries, but, you know, it took the entire Packers organization, everyone, to get me back out there and feel comfortable enough to move forward.”
When asked if he would surely play next week, he said: “Maybe.”
Before even playing a shot, Alexander almost cost his team the coin toss.
The regular captains were Aaron Jones, Quay Walker and Eric Wilson, one for offense, one for defense and one for special teams. The Packers rotate game captains, but never choose a fourth, so it was unusual for Alexander to hang out with the group.
Coach Matt LaFleur did not say whether Alexander had permission to be there.
As the visiting team, the Packers called the toss and Alexander yelled “Tails.” It was a cross.
LaFleur wanted to postpone his pick to the second half and have the Panthers pick in the first half. The winner of the coin toss is supposed to tell the referee that his team has decided to “postpone.”
But that’s not what Alexander told referee Alex Kemp. He told him the Packers want to get on defense.
If that’s what the Packers declare, then that’s their choice: be on defense and take the kickoff to start the game, and Carolina would have the option in the second half. In that scenario, Carolina would receive kickoffs in both the first and second half.
Alexander wasn’t sure what he did wrong. When he was told, he didn’t say defer, he said, “I told him I wanted our defense to be out there. And everyone looked at me like I was crazy. I mean, it’s pretty simple when I say I want the defense to be there.”
But Kemp made sure he knew her name.
“He said, ‘Defer?’” Alexander said. “‘Yeah.’ I was like. Everyone was like, ‘Yeah.’ Everyone was laughing. I’m like, ‘What are you laughing at?’
LaFleur said the players who come out to make the draw have very specific instructions.
“That’s a big mistake,” LaFleur said. “That’s something you go over with the guys before you go out every time, like, ‘Hey, we won the giveaway that we’re going to postpone.’
“I went to the referees before the game to make sure they knew what we were going to do. We had a case earlier this season where we had a similar situation, so we were just trying to be proactive in that approach.”
He said it was not unusual for the umpire to double check whether he understood what the team that won the toss wanted.
“I don’t think they ever want to understand that (wrong),” he said. “I’ve seen it in other games, they don’t want it.”
Alexander said he thought it was appropriate for him to come out and toss the coin given his background and didn’t think twice. He did not say whether LaFleur gave him permission to be there.
“I don’t think the coach knew I was from Charlotte,” Alexander said. “They were, I mean, the guys had my back. “They knew I was from here.”
Alexander started at his usual right cornerback position and ended up playing a heavy dose of man coverage, which is his preference. He allowed a few first-down completions, including a 16-yard pass to receiver DJ Chark on a 60-yard Carolina drive that cut Green Bay’s lead to 30-22.
He was also part of a zone coverage in which Chark caught a 20-yard pass on the 70-yard drive that tied the game 30-30.
But he also broke up a touchdown pass on a deep ball in the third quarter in which he ran down the field and caught tight end Stephen Sullivan long enough for the ball to hit him in the back. The Panthers ended up scoring on the drive after inside linebacker Isaiah McDuffie was penalized for roughing the passer on the play.
Alexander had four tackles and a forced fumble that Carolina recovered.
This article originally appeared in the Green Bay Press-Gazette: Jaire Alexander misses coin toss and nearly costs Packers vs. Panthers
