Posted on 01/21/2014 10:03:45 AM PST by nikos1121
Earlier this season, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters that extra points in football were boring because they have become so automatic, and now it appears commissioner Roger Goodell might agree.
In fact, on Monday, Goodell appeared on NFL Network’s “Total Access,” and took things a step further than Belichick, indicating that the league’s competition committee could consider eliminating the PAT altogether.
“One of the things the committee does besides looking first at the safety issues … (is) looking to see, ‘Are there any plays in the game that, really, are not consequential?’” Goodell told host Rich Eisen. “And one of the issues that has happened is that the extra point is almost automatic.”
Goodell is right enough there. The NFL only saw five missed extra points this regular season — one each from Green Bay, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Philadelphia — in 1,267 tries. And the active kicker with the worst PAT conversion rate is Graham Gano, who has made 97.6 percent of his regular-season kicks since coming into the league four seasons ago.
But if football actually did do away with the extra point, then what would happen after a touchdown?
“You want to add excitement with every play,” Goodell said. “So there have been some proposals. Some are still going through the process of creativity, but there’s one proposal in particular that I’ve heard about (where) it’s automatic that you get seven points when you score a touchdown, but you could potentially go for an eighth point, either by running or passing the ball. But if you fail, you’d go back to six.”
It’s certainly an interesting idea that would force coaches to rethink the way they approach certain game situations, but before you start thinking about how such a rule might impact the 17th round of your fantasy draft next year, take a breath — because Goodell, in his interview, also made it clear that the proposal he discussed is just that.
“We often get a lot of ideas that are thrown out,” Goodell said. “The committee will look at all of them and decide what is worthy of further consideration.
“There’s some issues, and it goes back to … unintended consequences,” he continued. “You want to be careful there; is that going to discourage people from going for two? We want to make sure we look at some of that, and that’s what the committee does. They’ll make, obviously, some focus on this in the committee and see where they come out.”
Give them 4 pts if they hit the goal posts...They would actually try and hit them!
I recall in my High School playing days, 2 point conversions were the norm. Very few teams had anyone who would kick PATs.
Our team was a powerhouse and we went undefeated and went to the High School Super Bowl that year.
We lost 7 to 6 to a team that had a PAT kicker and we failed to score our 2 point conversion. These days the ratio of PAT kicks vs. 2 point conversions in HS football is about the same as the NFL.
How about FGs that are longer than 55 yards are worth 4 points?
I agree with dumping the PAT. I liked the idea of a 7pt TD with the possibility of 8 points if the team does a 2pt conversion-style play, but if it’s not successful, it drops back to 6 points. That could make things interesting.
Although Alabama and Auburn players are paid, he was talking about the NFL.
Make the PAT a drop kick.
Now there...Is a great idea!
This would be fun. Get rid of the punt. 4th and 25? Too freaking bad. Shouldnt have played graba$$ with the linebacker.
There you go.
I think linemen should be armed with clubs, shields and brass knuckles.
The biggest change I would make is that the game cannot end with a victory formation. If the offense does not try to advance the ball, it is delay of game and no time is run off the clock.
Block rate on field goals is pretty low, and gets worse as it gets closer and the kicker can kick at a higher angle. “Encouraging” block attempts on the PAT probably wouldn’t even double the misses.
I thoroughly reject what you claim. A person who inherits properties worth billions of dollars, which are increasing in price, a great billionaire.
I didn’t say it was solely because of extra points. He’s making wholesale changes all around.
he doesn’t own anything
They could make the goal posts adjustable so that their width would narrow relative to the ball’s location to the goal line. The further from the goal line, the wider the goal opening. PAT should have to be tried with the posts narrowed to 15 inches.
All that would do is change the victory formation into giving the ball to their 4th string running back with the instructions to run into the line and go down on first contact. When you have the ball and the points you’ve earned the right to call it a day, just like the second half of the 9th inning.
One year my high school senior class got to see something they had never seen before; our team lost a football game. That's what happens when you have a future Heisman Trophy winner on your team and he goes off to college.
Move the ball back to the 20. Kick or go for 2. Any miss or block gets run back. If you make the 2 point you get the ball back on a free kick.
So you don’t think football is interesting now?
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