NFL Tweaks OT Rule, Still Far Short of NCAA's Great Approach
Starting in the post-season to the 2011 season, NFL overtime games will be decided slightly differently. Sudden death becomes sudden-sort-of-almost-death.The new rule specifies that if the team that wins the coin toss scores a field goal on that possession, the other team has a single possession in which to either re-tie the game with a three-pointer or win it with a TD. The rule applies only to post-season, at least for now, and only to the first possession, but it's a step in the right direction. Almost 60% of all OT games were decided by the coin flip and won by a field goal. That has always seemed like a dumb way to decide a game, particularly one that can end a team's season. I've never been able to figure out why the NFL doesn't adopt the NCAA overtime rule. In college ball, the teams effectively play mini-games of one possession each. If Team A scores a TD in its first possession, Team B gets a shot at tying the game. If Team A scores a field goal, Team B gets a shot at tying or winning. But Team B always gets a final shot before losing the game. They also remove the kickoff from the mix, allowing each team to start on the opponents' 25-yard line. It just seems like a much fairer way of deciding a game between two obviously equally matched teams. Still, I'll take the new NFL rule. I hope they extend it to regular-season play soon and that they keep tweaking the OT rules to introduce more fairness into the game.
