Get Herald RSSEnough is enough.
I could stand the blatant pandering of the recent bombardment of NFL rules to increase offensive production, the dishonor of the timeout-to-ice-the-kicker rule, even the Patriots' illegitimate playoff victory by means of the "tuck rule," but now it has hit home. This past weekend, my beloved Eagles tied a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, just the latest in a long list of atrocities associated with awful NFL rules, especially those related to overtime.
I don't have to go into the details about why the "tuck rule" was especially moronic, or exactly how there is an incredibly blatant double standard between offensive and defensive players in the NFL, but I must attack the NFL's current overtime system.
In order to fix this critical system, we must first diagnose the problem. A sudden-death system is completely unacceptable. The fact that a team, even in single-elimination playoffs, can lose in overtime without even touching the ball, is ridiculous. The outcome of far too many important games literally comes down to a coin toss. Of course, it is not a foregone conclusion that the team with the ball first will win, but in today's offense-heavy game, it is a huge advantage to start with possession of the ball.
The game must also continue until one team prevails - none of this tie nonsense. One of the main arguments for the current system is that it is unfair to subject players to more than 75 minutes of physical play and increased risk of injury. To this I have only one response: They are professional athletes. Playing football is their profession.
If collegiate athletes, who are younger, less fit, less highly trained and more vulnerable, can finish off an overtime game the right way (the Giants' Eli Manning once played in a seven-overtime game while at Ole Miss), then professionals should be able to too. No doubt it is tiring, but a victor must be decided.
Football is the only game of the four major sports in which you can tie. Even the NHL changed its rules to incorporate a shootout at the end of regular season games, and hockey is every bit as physical as football. The NFL should embrace the inherent drama and excitement of games during which two teams play a full game to a dead-even score, and as such should add to the excitement by allowing the competitors to ultimately decide a winner.
So now that we have assessed the problem, a solution is in order. Clearly some version of the current NCAA overtime system is the most prudent option. For those who do not know, the college overtime system allows each team one possession to score, either with a touchdown or field goal. Basically, the team that scores more points on its drive wins the game. If the teams score an equal amount, then they are permitted another possession until one team emerges victorious. In this way, each team is allowed an opportunity to play both sides of the ball, and thus the system allows for a more equal overtime contest. However, in the current NCAA system, each team starts with the ball at the opposing team's 25-yard line, which would lead to overly conservative play in the NFL. No NFL head coach would decline a sure field goal (it's not nearly as sure a thing in college) to go for a touchdown. So, in the NFL system, each possession will start with a kickoff, thus involving the third phase of the game, special teams, and ensuring that the opposing team will not automatically start within field goal range.
This past Tuesday, Hines Ward, who played in a tie game just six years ago, said he was unaware that two teams could tie in the NFL. I guess he just assumed the league had changed it. But therein lies his mistake: assuming the NFL would do something rational. I know it won't change.
The NFL emphasizes tradition too much, the NFL Players Association will never allow players to be subjected to higher risk of injury and the television networks would have too difficult of a time dealing with substantially extended games to ever let this change happen.
But at least I can sleep soundly tonight knowing I did my part in trying to prevent the awful history of this past Sunday from repeating itself.
