The time has come for the NFL to swallow their pride and do what most fans have been calling for, for years. Adopt the college rules for Overtime! The NFL made a half-assed attempt to change the rules in 2012 by at least giving the non-receiving team a chance to possess the ball if the receiving team only scored a field goal. It’s made things a little fairer but still gives the team that wins the coin flip a huge advantage (unless your coach is Marty Mornhinweg and he chooses the wind instead of the ball). The flip of a coin should not have any major impact on the outcome of a football game. The one at the beginning of the game is fine although I’m all for implementing the XFL “scramble” as a replacement.
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So, maybe a few guys were injured in the process but at least their team earned the right to choose whether to kick or receive to start the game. There’s plenty of borderline practice squad players that are looking for a chance to shine.
Getting back on track here before this turns into a XFL blog (idea for a future article though…).
Quick breakdown on college football OT. They take the coin flip out of the mix and give each team an equal shot. They also make it more exciting by taking away the middle of the field by starting each team at the opponents 25-yard line ensuring at least a shot at a FG attempt unless they turn the ball over. To keep things interesting and not let the games get too carried away with overtimes, beginning in the 3rd OT, teams that score a TD must go for a 2-point conversion.
Now wouldn’t that have been a much more climatic way for both games to end Sunday? At least with New Orleans, they had their shot with the ball and blew it by throwing a pick. But in KC, after such an exciting back and forth 4th Quarter, New England wins the coin flip in OT, marches down the field and scores a TD. Game Over. Mahomes doesn't even touch the ball in OT. Don’t get me wrong, the Patriots earned and deserved the win. KC’s defense didn’t get the job done. But, if that coin flip goes the other way, chances are strong that the Chiefs do the same exact thing the Patriots did, and they march down and score. Then suddenly KC is Super Bowl bound instead. There’s a lot of what ifs in sports but one of them should not be, “what if it was heads instead of tails?”
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