The NFL is stupid for messing with an already proven product.
After more than 106 million people watched the New Orleans Saints upset the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV – making it the most watched television program in U.S. history – the NFL decided it needed to change its postseason overtime rules.
Prior to the rule change on March 24, when a NFL game was tied after four quarters of play, the league used sudden death overtime to decide the winner of the game, where possession of the football was awarded to the winner of a coin toss and the first team to score won. That meant that a team could lose a game without their offense ever touching the ball in the extra period.
Now with the rule change, both teams get the opportunity to have the ball, except if the first team scores a touchdown on their opening drive. Previously all a team had to do to win in overtime was kick a field goal.
The reason for the rule change was due to the increased accuracy of NFL place kickers, according to an article on ESPN.com. Inside that article, there is a statistic that said teams that win the overtime coin toss have won the game 59.8 percent of the time, since the 1994 season.
I disagree with the league’s decision to change the rule because I think sudden death overtime adds extra excitement because you know on any play the game can be won or lost and also because it cuts down on player injuries. Entering the playoffs, there were a total of 297 players on injured reserve and I think that number will only go up if they are forced to play a prolonged overtime after giving everything they’ve got the four previous quarters.
Another reason I dislike the change is because it’s too similar to the NCAA rule where both teams get the ball no matter what. I really like the contrasting styles of pro and amateur football, as opposed to basketball where the only meaningful difference is the length of the 3-point line.
With this change, and the NCAA’s decision a couple years ago to use start using instant replay, the line dividing these two respective styles of football is starting to fade.
Remember in elementary school when our teachers gave us the “If everybody looked the same the world would be so boring” speech?
The NFL should take that into consideration the next time they want to change the rules.