A New OT?

Could the "No Fun League" actually be making a change for the better? Is it possible that the owners, who are turning the NFL from a bruising, crunching, battling game into protect the pansy QB, are actually improving the game?

Kind of...and no.

The NFL owners voted 28-4 to change the overtime rules to allow the teams losing the coin toss to have a possession in OT. Only if the team that won the toss kicks a field goal...and only during the postseason. Fuck the Heck!?!

Only during the postseason? I know that this happened in last season's playoff game between Minnesota and New Orleans when New Orleans won the toss and kicked a field goal to win the game without the Vikings offense having a chance. But you mean to tell me that if this had been the regular season finale with a playoff spot on the line that you'd be hosed? And the reasoning you give is that you are afraid the possibility of extend time could lead to more injuries?!?!?!?!

Fuck the fuck the heck?!?!?! Double fuck the heck! Whatever!!!!

Give me a GD fucking break!!!

If you were so concerned about injuries, then fucking drop two of the retarded preseason games that do nothing but gouge the pockets of season ticket holders. The game on the field is meaningless crap during most of the preseason yet you have to pay full price for the ticket. And how many season-ending or major injuries do we see every year in the preseason. Do you really think that adding a couple of additional series in overtime during the regular season is really going to result in that many more injuries than a meaningless preseason game?

I know some people think a change is not needed or that they should change the rules to mimic college rules. However, statistics do show that something needed to be done. Since 1994, teams that won the coin toss won the game 34.3% of the time without the other team ever having a possession in OT. You played for 60 minutes and forced overtime, but your offense never has a chance to get on the field? I've never liked that rule.

Personally, I prefer the rules from the Arena Football League in that each team is guaranteed one possession. If the game is still tied after each team has had a possession, then it becomes sudden death. It is a more equitable solution and prevents the game being decided essentially by the coin toss.

One caveat to this is that there is possibility for another vote in May during the next set of Owner's Meetings where the owners could vote to include the new rules for the regular season as well. With all of the fall out I've seen so far, I think there is a good chance to get this passed. The only question would be if it would start with the 2010 season or the 2011 season.

Change can be good, but to only change part of a whole that needs to be changed is both short-sighted and chicken shit. But, this is the "No Fun League" so chicken shit is becoming more of the norm any more it seems.

Kravitz's This Old Stat

Listening to the Kravitz and Eddie Show on WFNI 1070 AM [A painful duty, but I was unable to listen to my usual The Zone on XL-950 at the time, but it gives me stuff I can put on here!] I had tuned in as they were discussing the NFL overtime rules and the coin toss. Bob Kravitz feels that since the winner of the coin toss in overtime has only won 52% of the time, that is not a significant enough difference to require any changes.

Well, Bobbo, you are correct (amazingly) that the coin toss winner has only won 52% of the time. However, that covers the time period from the inception of overtime in 1974 through 2003. Since the NFL moved the kickoff back to the 30-yard line in 1994, things have changed, more than just a little.

Looking at the NFL overtime games from 2000 to 2007, the winner of the coin toss has won 60% of the games. In addition to that, out of the 124 overtime games in that time frame, 37 were won on the opening drive in overtime without the opponent touching the ball. That's 30% of the games. So nearly 1 in 3 overtime games end up like the Colts-Chargers playoff game where once you lost the coin toss, you were essentially hosed.

Bob, I think you need to update yourself on some stats...in addition to a few other things. I imagine you are a batting average and wins kind of baseball idiot person and statistics like VORP, OBP and BABIP are just made up stats by geeks like us, huh?

It is definitely time the NFL do something about overtimes. What that should be is a matter of debate. One I'm sure will be represented on this site. Yet, something does need to be done.

Now if we could only do something about Kravitz...

Time for an Overtime Change

The current overtime rules for the NFL suck ass!

Let me begin by saying I have felt this way for quite a while and this is not a result of the Indianapolis Colts loss to the San Diego Charges in overtime on Saturday night. This is just the exclamation point on my rant.

Why do teams get to go for 60 minutes battling each other to a tie just to have only one team get the opportunity to possess the ball in overtime? How is that fair to the team that loses the coin toss? Yes, their defense should have done their job and stopped them, but to not allow the offense to have one chance to even the game is just plain stupid.

I do not want the NFL to implement the NCAA football overtime rules. For NFL teams, that would results in games going into 8 or 9 overtimes unless you disallowed field goals after the third or fourth overtime.

I know the Arena Football League will never compare to the NFL, but I do feel they get it right when it comes to overtimes. Each team gets at least one possession and if the game is still tied after each team has had a possession, then it becomes sudden death. Now the coin toss becomes more strategic because you have to decide whether you want the ball first or wait to see if you might need to score only a field goal to tie or win the game or if you must score a TD to tie the game up.

I'm not asking for an extreme modification of the rules, just to make the rules fair. Of course I would not be as adamant if the Colts had a fucking running game or if they had a defense that can actually tackle someone or quit with the stupid tacky penalties. Let's just do what is right and let each team have a possession before it becomes sudden death.