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Welp...there goes the neighborhood.


tazinib1
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Say goodbye to the extra point?

 

 

Speaking Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league could eventually abolish the extra point.

"The extra point is almost automatic," Goodell said. "I believe we had five missed extra points this year out of 1,200 some odd. So it's a very small fraction of the play, and you want to add excitement with every play." Goodell said the league is intrigued by a proposal that would automatically grant seven points for every touchdown, but still allow teams to try for an eighth point via a traditional offensive play. The catch is that if you fail to convert, the touchdown then becomes worth only six points. Perhaps the most perfunctory play in sports, extra points serve almost no purpose at the professional level.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000315779/article/nfl-eyeing-proposal-to-abolish-extra-points?campaign=Twitter_atl]

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a proposal that would automatically grant seven points for every touchdown, but still allow teams to try for an eighth point via a traditional offensive play. The catch is that if you fail to convert, the touchdown then becomes worth only six points.

 

 

So in other words you change nothing. You can walk away with your automatic 7 or you can risk 6/8. Such brilliance! All hail the chief.

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I wouldn't mind seeing a change here. Could make games a lot more exciting.

 

How?

 

Like flemingd stated, this essentially changes nothing. They get a TD and decide not to go for it, so they walk away with 7. If they decide to go for the extra point (the same as going for 2 now) then they get either the 6 or the 8. All it does is eliminate one play - the extra point kick. Nothing in the game management situation really changes though.

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I'm (slightly) torn on this one. My first reaction is that nobody would actually miss the extra point, if the change was made (and therefore it's a good idea). After all, what's not to like about eliminating an unnecessary play (and therefore potentially eliminating an injury once in a while), without impacting the game, in terms of strategy and overall outcome (as I'm typing that, it reminds me an awful lot of the argument for eliminating kickoff returns).

 

On the other hand, it's the fact that the extra point is almost automatic that makes it that much more exciting when one is missed/blocked... particularly if it changes the outcome of the game.

 

To me, it's similar to the idea of taking away kickoffs completely (and just starting everybody at their own 20 or whatever line they choose). Ninety-five percent of the time, it's not going to make a difference. But, the other 5% of the time (when there's actually a kickoff return that impacts the game significantly) makes kickoffs worth keeping. Only, in this case (with PAT's), we're talking about less than 1%, which makes it an easier idea/rule change to embrace.

 

I don't know... I've got to go with the numbers on this one. I don't think we would actually ever miss it, BECAUSE misses/blocks are so rare. It's not like, after somebody scores (to win a game by one point), people are going to be talking about how the game could have been different, had they had to kick the XP. Sure, it could have been different. But, the odds against a missed XP changing the outcome of a game have to be somewhere in the vicinity of 1000's to 1 (if only 5-6 are missed on an average season, how many of those even mattered?).

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It also reminds me of the 2-pt conversion change/addition, in a way. Traditionalists are going to argue against it, for a variety of reasons. But, many of those who were originally against it have either changed their opinion, or are indifferent now. In other words, how many people can say that they legitimately miss the days when there was no 2-pt conversion? There might be other things that people miss about that generation of football, but all in all, I think it was a very positive change for the NFL, if for no other reason than it adds strategy, and is therefore one more thing to debate as fans/commentators. Not to mention, it opens the game up to so many more potential outcomes, in terms of scoring. Games that were once out of reach are now somewhat less out of reach (3 scores vs 2 scores with conversions), etc.

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I think that the extra point is just one more example of how a professional sport demands precise execution of every single action on every single play in every single game. Getting rid of it makes the game lazier IMO.

 

It would be like "giving" a pro golfer the put once the ball is inside the grip with the putter head in the cup. That's fine for us weekend hackers, but not for professionals, they have to make the put every time.

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I would be alright with some of the suggestions in the comments of moving it back to make it a little more challenging.

 

But generally, I am against changing the game for the hell of it when the way that it is played works great.

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It also reminds me of the 2-pt conversion change/addition, in a way. Traditionalists are going to argue against it, for a variety of reasons. But, many of those who were originally against it have either changed their opinion, or are indifferent now. In other words, how many people can say that they legitimately miss the days when there was no 2-pt conversion? There might be other things that people miss about that generation of football, but all in all, I think it was a very positive change for the NFL, if for no other reason than it adds strategy, and is therefore one more thing to debate as fans/commentators. Not to mention, it opens the game up to so many more potential outcomes, in terms of scoring. Games that were once out of reach are now somewhat less out of reach (3 scores vs 2 scores with conversions), etc.

 

 

I agree with you on this, but I think that removing the kick for XP would do the opposite, if only marginally so.

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If kicks are almost automatic, then why don't they propose to move the kick back 10, 15, or 20 yards to give the kicker some challenge?

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How?

 

Like flemingd stated, this essentially changes nothing. They get a TD and decide not to go for it, so they walk away with 7. If they decide to go for the extra point (the same as going for 2 now) then they get either the 6 or the 8. All it does is eliminate one play - the extra point kick. Nothing in the game management situation really changes though.

 

I'm pretty sure this isn't the only option.
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I agree with you on this, but I think that removing the kick for XP would do the opposite, if only marginally so.

 

 

My comparison was only in the sense that people were/are originally opposed to the change, not that both changes would make the game more interesting. Adding the 2-pt conversion opened doors that weren't there before, and therefore made the game more compelling to watch. You're right... eliminating the XP could arguably do the exact opposite, but like you said, the amount in which it would do so is marginal. Actually, it's beyond marginal... Like I said earlier, you can count the number of missed PAT's (in a year) on one hand (roughly), and less than half of those are going to impact the final outcome of the game. Maybe none at all. So, we're talking about (maybe) a couple of plays, per year, that have any bearing on who wins what.

 

Honestly, I could take it or leave it, but it's one of the most meaningless plays in all of sports. I'm not adamantly saying it should go away, but changing it somehow makes sense.

 

If kicks are almost automatic, then why don't they propose to move the kick back 10, 15, or 20 yards to give the kicker some challenge?

 

 

That's not a bad idea, either.

Edited by Gopher
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Little by little these changes make the game unfamiliar to what we are used to. Moving up the kick off spot has practically eliminated kick off returns. You can barely hit a qb anymore. You can barely touch a receiver anymore. "Going across the middle" was once a badge of courage for guys like Michael Irvin, Christ Carter, Keyshawn Johnson, now you can dance there and barely get hit (unless your Vernon Davis against chancellor . Dang ! )

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I think that the extra point is just one more example of how a professional sport demands precise execution of every single action on every single play in every single game. Getting rid of it makes the game lazier IMO.

 

It would be like "giving" a pro golfer the put once the ball is inside the grip with the putter head in the cup. That's fine for us weekend hackers, but not for professionals, they have to make the put every time.

 

Except for the fact that nobody gets hurt tapping in a 2-foot putt. And, for every missed XP in the NFL, there are several "gimmes" missed on the PGA tour. Every week. So, no, it's not exactly the same. Not to mention, golf is the least progressive sport there is, in terms of rule changes.

 

The only reason I'm playing devil's advocate is because the XP is really nothing more than a formality. The numbers show that. If you want to make the golf comparison, in terms of a percentage/frequency missed, we're probably talking about a putt in the 15-18 inch range. The kind that don't get missed regularly, but somebody (on the tour) somehow shanks one every blue moon. Those putts add no time (very little, anyway) to the game, and even if they did, that's not a concern (in comparison to other time-related concerns on the PGA). And, again, there's no health concerns involved.

 

Meanwhile, in the NFL, two of the biggest "hot topics" are player safety, and the length of the games (with instant replay, etc.). Potentially removing one of the most meaningless plays in sports helps both of those issues, even if it's only slightly. In other words, it might only help a little bit, but it still helps more than it hurts.

 

I actually like the idea of lengthening the XP more, though. Make them kick a 35-yarder. Not only does that increase the chances that teams would at least consider going for 2, it also makes a good kicker that much more valuable.

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First off before people go ape honda, Goodell proposes, the owners vote. He doesn't get to decide, just bring up stupid stuff.

 

Second I think this is a bad idea as several others have pointed out. Nearly automatic is not automatic. Someting like 5 of 1200 PAT were missed this year. Yes that is a very small number, and no I have no idea if any of those affected games.

 

One discussion I read mentioned a NO-JAX game some years ago (06?) where the Saints scored at TD late on a 75 yard play with multiple latters to cut the lead to 1. Then missed the XP (believe DMD had this in his trivia post recently). Remove that and you have OT instead. If the field is sloppy you may think about going for 2 instead of risking the missed PAT, but no more just take the point.

 

As for the 2PT conversion I didn't have a strong opinion when it was added, but considering it exists in other forms of football (college, maybe HS) I thought it was ok and does make for more excitement. Removing the PAT does not add anything, it subtracts.

 

What's next? Average punt distance is X, so on 4th down you can just declare "PUNT" and the ball is placed. No return, no punter, no need for all that extra ST practice. (No fake punt, etc.)

 

One more thing, though this doesn't happen you can line up to kick the PAT, and then throw/run it. But if it is eliminated that too is gone.

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