Tag: NFL Overtime

Will NFL Sudden Death Finally Receive a Pardon?

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Three things are guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and a team the Patriots beat in the playoffs pushing for rule changes in the offseason. Andy Reid would have been better served drawing up a defense that would have guaranteed HIS team a possession five weeks ago, but in his defense the NFL overtime rules are the worst in sports. Pure sudden death definitely had its drawbacks but at least it was simple. The fact that the NFL has to flash the overtime rules on the screen every time a game is tied with less than four minutes to go is how you know it’s too complicated for its own good.

I’m in favor of the NFL adopting the college football overtime rules. Short of that, I think I have an easy fix for the current overtime mess. Give each team the opportunity to possess the ball at least once. No questions asked. Team that had the ball first scored a TD? Cool. Now the other team gets its shot. If it’s tied after that, then go to sudden death. The team that gets the ball a second time in overtime could win on a field goal at that point, but at least the other team could’ve gone for two after scoring their touchdown.

In other rule book news, we may not see any changes to Instant Replay next year. While replay certainly helped the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs were by no means robbed the way the Saints were. Maybe we’d see changes to Instant Replay if the Patriots benefited from a (non-)call the way the Rams did. Or if Belichick didn’t support expanding it.

My first choice would be to eliminate replay all together. My second choice would be to take coach’s challenges out of the process and install a neutral observer in the press box. to handle all replays. If we’re going to keep the system the way it is right now, though, why not allow coaches to challenge everything? Pandora’s box has already opened.

John Harbaugh made some great points on this topic earlier this week. Watching football at field level is tough. Oftentimes fans in the crowd and fans at home have a better view of the play, in real time, than the on-field official. Why not use all the technology available to make sure the game is officiated properly and fairly?

Whatever happens, at least credit the NFL for being the league most willing to continually tweak its product and give the fans what they want.

What’s the Matter with the Kansas Plan?

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Image result for football overtime coin toss

The NFL overtime system is broken and it’s easy to see why. I’m not talking about two ties in two weeks, though. The fact that the league has to put its overtime rules on the screen every time a game goes to overtime is all you need to know. I’ve never seen Fox or ESPN have to explain how extra innings or basketball overtime works. Even the NHL with its loser point, 4-on-4, 3-on-3, and shootout formats over the last 20 years is still pretty simple – play five minutes and if no one wins we go to a three-round shootout.

The fact that the NFL has to explain the rules every time a game goes to overtime is ridiculous. That’s arena league stuff. Fortunately, the solution is easy. The NFL will eventually adopt the college football overtime system, the Kansas Plan.

The Kansas Plan won’t be coming to the NFL next year, but it probably will be in the next decade or so. A criticism of the Kansas Plan is that it takes special teams out of the game, with no kickoffs or punts. Pretty soon, though, that’s what regular football could look like. With the NFL moving kickoffs up to the 35-yard line and moving touchbacks out to the 25-yard line, it’s clear that they want fewer kickoffs returned. Same in college football, which now treats any fair catch of a kickoff inside the 25-yard line as a touchback. It may be a while before the kickoff is eliminated entirely but it could happen in our lifetimes, and eliminating it in overtime would be an easy way to start.

The NFL said it shortened regular season overtime from 15 to 10 minutes for player safety reasons. Making the switch to the college football overtime system could easily be justified for that same reason.

And all due respect to punters, but if a game can’t be decided in 60 minutes I don’t mind taking the option to punt off the table for OT. Overtime is intended to force an outcome, one way or another. To force an outcome, game play has to be tweaked a little bit. I don’t mind telling a team they lose the right to punt after 60 minutes of play.

While I don’t believe the current NFL overtime system is unfair, the college overtime system is undoubtedly fairer. The Kansas Plan obviously gives each team an opportunity to possess the football. This eliminates the possibility of another Super Bowl (or any game, really) ending without one side getting an opportunity on offense. If I were a Falcons fan, I’d still be upset that Matt Ryan never got to touch the football in overtime in Super Bowl 51.

Unless the NFL wants to play full 15-minute quarters until the deadlock is broken, which it most certainly does not, it’s time they go back to college and adopt the Kansas Plan. College football overtime isn’t prefect, but it’s simpler, safer and fairer. You could do a lot worse than an overtime system that’s simple, fair and safe.