Overtime in the NFL

[4and12to12and4]

This subject was talked a bit in the World Cup thread in the romper room, and I thought it would be a good thread. Do you think the OT rules in the NFL are fine, and if not, what would you suggest the NFL do for it's overtime games?

I personally like the college rules better, giving each team at least one shot at offense.

[Tony Oday]

NFL rules are fine but each team should get a chance to score. Kickoff then both teams get the chance to score no sudden death.

OR hehe

Field Goal kicks start at the 10 and keep moving back!

[BigDmoney]

I love this topic. College rules are so much better than pro rules here. I can't stand the fact that two teams kill each other for over 2 hours and leave it all on the field and the overtime is decided almost always by a damn kicker. It's anti-climactic and a boring compared to the competing possesions that college implemented. Kickers are fine to determine the outcome at the end of games with 3 seconds on the clock, but when the game ends i want to see the offenses and defenses determine the game.

[MadtownPacker]

I love this topic. College rules are so much better than pro rules here. I can't stand the fact that two teams kill each other for over 2 hours and leave it all on the field and the overtime is decided almost always by a damn kicker. It's anti-climactic and a boring compared to the competing possesions that college implemented. Kickers are fine to determine the outcome at the end of games with 3 seconds on the clock, but when the game ends i want to see the offenses and defenses determine the game.

100% agree. Me and a buddy where talking about this yesterday in regard to the World Cup final and how it came down to penalties kicks or whatever they are called. Bottom lin eis both teams where given a fair shot at winning the game which the NFL does not. The college rules are cool and make the OT much more interesting instead of just the OT coin toss which for the most part decides the game.

The only thing I dont like about the NCAA style is that they get the ball so close to the endzone. I think it should be played like regulation with kickoffs.

[Harlan Huckleby]

NFL sudden death is really bad. Play 10 minute periods until somebody wins. Or hell, I'd rather have games end in a tie! It is more fair than sudden death.

[Fosco33]

I think a vast majority of fans would like to see changes to the OT format but the competition committee and owners see it differently.

Here's an article from USA Today before the '04-'05 season....

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2004-08-29-10-changes-nfl-ot_x.htm

Overtime rule unique to NFL
By Skip Wood, USA TODAY
The moniker is as uniquely NFL as it is politically incorrect: Sudden-death overtime. For many fans, though, as well as a handful of decision-makers in the NFL — including, a couple of years ago, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue — it's a bit too sudden.

That's because, of course, both teams don't necessarily get a chance to score. Correctly call the coin flip, take the ball first and score, game over.

And for yet another season, there is no sudden life for any chance of even tweaking a methodology that began in 1941 for the playoffs, was expanded in 1974 to include regular-season affairs and, during that span, produced a drumroll-worthy NFL classic for the ages, "The Greatest Game Ever Played."

Sure, if the New York Giants hadn't gone three-and-out on their first possession, the Baltimore Colts might never have received their turn to drive 80 yards behind Johnny Unitas and win on a run from the 1 by Alan Ameche.

As it is, however, fewer than half the teams that win the toss win on the first possession — about 40% historically and closer to 30% last season. And 20 of last season's 26 overtime games saw both teams have at least one possession, compared with 16 of 25 in 2002.

Just three of the 20 overtime postseason games since 1958 were won on the first possession, including one during the playoffs for the 2002 season. The Tennessee Titans won without the Pittsburgh Steelers offense returning to the field. That's a big reason Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher has been a proponent of tilting the system toward equity, and he recently pointed to February's Super Bowl.


That game, one of the best Super Bowls, included 37 fourth-quarter points (61 after the game was tied 0-0 with three minutes left in the first half) and seven lead changes before the New England Patriots won 32-29 on a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left.

It was a classic duel of "top this!" Yet it also was one that could have been affected by the mere flip of a coin.

"I was really hoping for overtime," Cowher said. "I think that would have been interesting to see how much that may have prompted our overtime rules that we have in place right now. Someday it will change. I predict that."

This season's attempt indicates otherwise.

After the league's eight-person competition committee delivered an 8-0 decision against making changes, the revived proposal was defeated 25-7 by owners in Palm Beach, Fla., at the annual league meetings — with 10 fewer votes in support of a rule change compared to the previous year's tally.

Save for a dramatic surge in one-possession winners, changes in the near future aren't likely.

After all, as Tagliabue said more than a year ago after a closer look at the numbers showed no such trend, "There's a lot of excitement."

That's why they call it sudden-death overtime.

"People do like in our league that it is true sudden-death," says Atlanta Falcons general manager Rich McKay, co-chairman with Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher of the competition committee. "One play can end the game, and that's unique to our league."

[BigDmoney]

But almost every game ends in friggin kicker ending the game. My point is that let the men that battled the whole game to put their team in position to win determine the final outcome, not a 145 pound soccer wimp.

[Partial]

I just think the college system is much more fair.

[Fosco33]

BigD/Partial/etc.-

I'm in the agreement of the fans. I like the suggestion of treating it like college but having kickoffs/etc. If both teams don't score, kickoff again. If teams both get a field goal/TD on the first 3 tries, then make them go for 2pt convos.

I wonder why the owners/competition committee is so against changing this rule...

[wist43]

Sorry fella's... I'm old school - Sudden Death. Hate the college format.

[Rastak]

Sorry fella's... I'm old school - Sudden Death. Hate the college format.

Old school is a plain old tie. That's how it was when I grew up.

[Zool]

College rules are better IMO. If your D sucks but you have a stellar offense, then you lose the coin toss....game.

[CaliforniaCheez]

If you can't handle sudden death then get job done during regulation play.
The teams did not play well enough to win the game in regulation and neither team warrants any special consideration. Sudden Death is sudden death.

The coin flip is as fair as it gets!!

The stakes are higher on every play and there is none of this nambie pambie wimpy take forever to be fair junk that just runs up scoring stats in college football.

By God you play to win the game.

I hope you don't think there should be extra innings, 500 NBA timeouts a game, the Super Bowl should be the best 4 of 7 games, or other gutless concepts.

I sure as heck don't want to miss the first quarter of a great west coast game because stupid east coast teams are horsing around with some politically correct indecision to a game.

Real men can handle the current rules just fine win or lose.
They don't whine and demand a recount.
They don't play for participation trophies.

[Fosco33]

[quote="CaliforniaCheez"]I sure as heck don't want to miss the first quarter of a great west coast game because stupid east coast teams are horsing around with some politically correct indecision to a game. [quote]

It's time to get NFL Sunday Ticket. This will be my third year - it's changed football from the best thing about the Fall to the best thing about the whole Year.

[Willard]

Considering how TV revenue drives today's NFL I am shocked they haven't gone back to the days when a tie game after 4 quarters ended in a tie. That format, although anticlimatic for a fan, is by far the most TV friendly (regarding scheduling).

It wouldn't shock me if this change was made in the future. It is all about the money (TV revenue). The committee doesn't give a packerrats' ass what the fans want to see.