The NFL
Owners meeting is coming up and, as always, rule changes are going to be
discussed. One topic of
conversation that keeps being brought up is how the NFL can change the extra
point after a touchdown. While
teams can always go for two, NFL head coaches are averse to doing so unless
their little 2-point conversion chart tells them to do so. While recent statistics note that
kickers made 99.6% of extra points last year, some of the proposed rule changes
seem, well, ridiculous.
Bill
Belichick’s Proposal:
This idea
was officially proposed by the Patriot’s front man/czar but seems to be a
favorite amongst league official.
The idea here is to move the extra-point to the 25-yardline. This is a drastic change going from
roughly a 17-yard field goal attempt to roughly a 42-yard field goal
attempt. While kickers this past
season made a little over 90% of their kicks from this distance, this rule will
end up taking points off the board.
Then there’s the issue of if a coach wants to go for two. I haven’t heard where the ball would be
spotted if a coach decided to forgo a kick for a 2-point attempt, but it would
eliminate any fake field goal tries.
Basically, this idea is stupid.
Mike
Tomlin’s Proposal:
Tomlin goes
in the opposite direction from Belichick and wants to move the point after
attempt closer to the goal line.
He wants to move the spot of the ball after a touchdown from the 2-yard
line to the 1-yard line. The idea
here is that it would lead to more coaches going for two. However, I tend to believe that if you
can get one yard than you should be able to get two. This also creates a little less space for players to run
routes if a team wants to pass on a two-point conversion, again limiting
options on this type of play. This
idea also seems stupid and pointless.
My proposal –
not that anyone in the NFL gives two shits about my thoughts:
Place the
ball at the five-yard line for the point after play. As an added twist, mark the ball like you would for any
other play. If a touchdown is
scored on the left then place the ball on the left hash mark. If scored on the right side of the
field then place the ball on the right hash mark. If the touchdown is scored between the hash marks then place
the ball accordingly. This would
add a little degree of difficulty to an extra-point kick. If a coach wanted to go for two, the
ball would be close enough to the endzone where a team could still try to run
the ball or allow a little more room for receivers to run routes on passing
plays.
The
extra-point play does not need to be tampered with but the NFL Owners seem
intent on doing something in the name of improving the game. This seems like a silly topic for them
to tackle and there are certainly bigger issues in the game that need to be
dealt with. While my proposal
probably needs some tweaks, I still think it’s better than anything else that’s
been offered up. Please share your
thoughts below.
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