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Results so far:
| Yes | 54% | 202 votes | Total: 375 votes | |
| No | 46% | 173 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesThe storyline is all-too-familiar: Two evenly-matched football teams slug it out for 60 minutes on Sunday. They deliver an exciting finish. And when the smoke clears, the score is tied.
In the case of almost every other sport, fans would be thrilled for the game to continue. An opportunity to see the battle continue into an 'extra session' would bring cheers from all directions.
But when it comes to NFL games, the sound that can be heard from fans when overtime arrives is more like a sigh rather than a cheer.
That's because they know that the 'thrilling extra session' is likely to consist of a coin toss, a kickoff, a few plays from scrimmage, and a field goal.
When the ball sails through the uprights, that's it. The game is over. The other team doesn't even get a chance to fight back. What is exciting about that?
There is definitely a need for a change to the overtime rule, but the change does not need to be as drastic as moving to the rules used in college football. As exciting as that can be, there is just no room in the NFL for an 85-82 contest that lasts seven overtimes.
Instead, the professionals can start out the way they do right now. But there could be three different directions to go, depending on what happens at the end of that first drive.
1) If the team that wins the coin toss (Team A) scores, they would kickoff to Team B, and that team would have one possession to either match or beat the score posted by Team A. If the score from Team B matched Team A's score, then this cycle would start again and continue until a winner was determined or the 15 minute overtime period was complete.
2) If the team that wins the coin toss (Team A) does not score [stopped on fourth down, misses field goal], they would kickoff to Team B, and that team would have one possession to score. If Team B is also unable to score, then the overtime cycle would start again and continue until a winner was determined or the 15 minute period was complete.
3) If the team that wins the coin toss (Team A) does not score because of a turnover, Team B would get the ball at the spot where the turnover occurred. Team B would have one possession to score from that spot. If that team was unable to score, then the overtime cycle would begin again with a kickoff by Team B. The game would continue from there until a winner was determined or the 15 minute period was complete.
It is likely that the guiding forces of the NFL would be resistant to this kind of a change initially. But if they truly want to put their best product out on the field, they would soon see that this plan would give both teams a good chance to win in overtime. At the end of the day, that should be what everyone wants.
Learn more about this author, Ryan Gray.
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No
A major problem that people have with the overtime rules in the NFL is that they think that whoever gets the ball first in an overtime period is going to end up winning the game by marching down the field to get a field goal. The truth is that even though starting possession in overtime is determined by a coin flip the winner of a game that gets into overtime is determined not by one team's offense but also by one team's defense.
A major consideration involving overtime deals with the ability of the defenses of each team to work under a very high amount of pressure. With the knowledge that the defense needs to keep the offense from scoring by all means necessary in overtime it will add to the pressure of that group to work hard enough so that the team can force a punt or turnover. In many cases a defense can even get a turnover that can be returned for a touchdown or at least get the ball close enough to field goal range.
Also, the offense has just as much pressure to perform as the defense does. The offense knows that someone needs to score in the next fifteen minutes or else a tie will occur. Getting into the end zone or at least into field goal range is a challenge in its own right at any time of the game. This challenge is going to be even greater during the overtime period when the defense is going to be working even harder and putting up as much pressure as possible.
Special teams is something to consider too. In many cases the momentum of one team's offense will be determined by how well the kick or punt return goes. When a player gets into the opposing team's zone after a return it can really add to the offense's momentum. The defense will have to stop the return man so that it will be easier to keep the offense out of field goal range.
Punting can even make a difference in overtime. In the event that the offense cannot get through and have to punt during fourth down it will be important to get the punt to work properly so that it will be tougher for the opposing team to get too far down the field on a return. Getting the punt out of bounds within the team's own red zone is also important so that it can guarantee a long distance from one position to field goal range.
Even the skill of the kicker is something to consider. Just because one kicker gets to attempt a field goal first in overtime does not mean that the kicker will succeed.
Overall the NFL overtime rule is fine simply because a game is won in overtime by more than just the offense. It is determined by the way how the defense works and how special teams go on both sides. No matter who wins the coin toss to start the overtime period anyone can win a game under the current overtime rules.
Learn more about this author, Michael Fox.
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