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The worst rule in football may be finally be getting a much-needed makeover.
An NFL spokesman said that the league will discuss changing the league’s overtime format at a competition committee meeting next month.
The new format would call for both teams to get the ball at least once unless the first team scores a touchdown.
The proposal will be discussed and then a vote would take place, with two-thirds of teams needing to approve of the changes for them to be implemented.
The overtime discussion has been one of much debate among fans, but has never been given serious consideration from the league. According to the AP report, the debate steamed form this year’s NFC championship game, where the Vikings lost to the Saints 31-28 in overtime while the Vikings never touched the ball in overtime.
It’s good the league is discussing changes now before we see a coin toss in overtime decide a Super Bowl. We were close the past two years, but Santonio Holmes and Tracy Porter ended any possibility of that.
In current system, 158 games have gone into overtime since the NFL changed the kickoff line from the 35 to the 30 yard line in 1994. In those 158 games the winner of the coin toss has won 96 of those games, or 61%, giving them an alarming advantage over the loser of the coin toss.
While it’s clear that this proposal is better than the current one, it still isn’t perfect. Continue reading
Filed under: NFL | Tagged: nfl change overtime, nfl overtime rules, nfl playoff overtime | Leave a comment »
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