Should the NFL adopt a college style overtime system?

[Maynerd]

First team to score 6 points wins.

You can get the same effect by saying whoever scores twice first wins. TD and an Extra point...you win. Two field goals...win. But, if you only make one FG, and can keep your opponent from scoring, you win at the end of 15:00.

[BroadwayBomber55]

I like using the Arena Football style of Overtime.

Overtime periods are 15 minutes during the regular season and the playoffs. Each team gets one possession to score. If, after each team has had one possession and one team is ahead, that team wins. If the teams are tied after each has had a possession, the next team to score wins.

[jeterdaman]

In the playoffs, keep playing 10 minute quarters until one team leads at the end of one of those quarters.

In the regular season, I'd say two 10 minute quarters (which would equal 20 minutes of time on the clock, only 5 minutes above the current 15 minutes provided for in one overtime quarter), and then call it a tie if its tied at the end of two ten minute quarters.

So in the playoffs, where there can't be a tie, you suggest that teams potentially play over 100 minutes of football. That is one of the worst suggestions I have heard.

[MTYankee23]

Those two sports couldn't be any more different. It's not a good comparison. The current system has its warts but to come up with some contrived gimmickry that has just as many issues is not good.

Alternating equal possessions is much, much less gimmicky than "sudden death" in a sport with set possessions.

In hockey there's a face-off, so each team has roughly the same chance, based on a skill employed at various points during the game.

In baseball each team is guaranteed the same number of outs with which to work with.

Sudden Death OT in football is only not considered a gimmick because it has always been stupidly formatted. Put it this way, if they started with the college rules, nobody would be calling for them to go to sudden death.

[Yankee Tripper]

Bottom line, if you lose the coin toss (completely arbitrary method of deciding who gets the advantage), stop the other team and get the ball back (something the team who won the completely arbitrary method of deciding who gets the advantage).

Sudden Death only works in the NHL where when you start the extra period with an equal chance of gaining possession.

Otherwise, figure out a way where both teams need to use their offense AND defense AND special teams to win.

You could always go for the surprise onsides kick. Wonder if anyone's ever tried that in the pros?

[Yankee Tripper]

What was the OT game that ended on a safety? That was so cool.

[Seth]

What was the OT game that ended on a safety? That was so cool.

Only two regular-season NFL games have ever ended in overtime with a safety: in 1989 when the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Los Angeles Rams 23–21 when Mike Merriweather blocked a punt into the end zone, and in 2004 when the Chicago Bears defeated the Tennessee Titans 19–17 when Billy Volek fumbled in his own end zone and a teammate recovered it but was unable to get out of the end zone. A 1989 pre-season game also ended in an overtime safety.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_...score)#Records

[dabomb2045]

Keep it the way it is. Lose the toss? Go out there and play defense. Stop them, force a punt. Or have your defense step up and make a play for you (ala Corey Webster 2007 NFC Title game, or Dansby in the GB-Arizona playoff game this year)

[NYYRules#1]

So in the playoffs, where there can't be a tie, you suggest that teams potentially play over 100 minutes of football. That is one of the worst suggestions I have heard.

It almost certainly wouldn't happen though. The longest overtime in NFL history is 22 minutes or so. Almost every game would be resolved after 2 OT quarters at most. That's 80 minutes of football tops, except in the most extenuating of circumstances.

Even now, there's no limit on how long teams can play. Also, in hockey, playoff games often go to multiple OTs, and that's an extremely physical sport as well.

[MTYankee23]

Keep it the way it is. Lose the toss? Go out there and play defense. Stop them, force a punt. Or have your defense step up and make a play for you (ala Corey Webster 2007 NFC Title game, or Dansby in the GB-Arizona playoff game this year)

Again, why should only one team NEED to go out and play defense when there are so many more practical, equitable ways of deciding it that involve the offenses and defenses of both teams.

[dabomb2045]

Again, why should only one team NEED to go out and play defense when there are so many more practical, equitable ways of deciding it that involve the offenses and defenses of both teams.

There are two sides in football. You lost the toss....oh well. Then your defense needs to do its job. If they dont---then you lose. Blame your defense, not the fact you lost a coin toss.

[MTYankee23]

There are two sides in football. You lost the toss....oh well. Then your defense needs to do its job. If they dont---then you lose. Blame your defense, not the fact you lost a coin toss.

You said yourself there are two sides in football, why should winning a coin toss give you the opportunity to not have one of those sides do its job?

At least in college OT, if your defense "doesn't do it's job" and allows 3 points, (Which depending on the offense you're facing could very well be doing just that), now your offense gets to come on the field and has the opportunity to it's job a little better and get 6.

The NFL isn't going to change this rule until one of its darlings with a GM on the competition committee loses an OT game without touching the ball (i.e. the Colts and Bill Polian). At that point, every person in the media will scream from the heavens that although the Saints scored 3, Peyton should have been allowed to come back for the opportunity to match or better and that a coin flip shouldn't help decide a game.

http://views.washingtonpost.com/thel...ostseason.html

According to this article from 1974 to 2008, 53.7 percent of the teams that won the toss won the game and only 42.4 percent of the teams that loss the toss won the game. (3.9 percent finish in ties). So why should a completely arbitrary thing like winning a coin flip which has nothing to do with football, improve your chances by 10% when you're tied after regulation.

http://www.maa.org/mathland/mathtrek_11_08_04.html

[PlsDontTearDownY.S.]

Alternating equal possessions is much, much less gimmicky than "sudden death" in a sport with set possessions.

In hockey there's a face-off, so each team has roughly the same chance, based on a skill employed at various points during the game.

In baseball each team is guaranteed the same number of outs with which to work with.

Sudden Death OT in football is only not considered a gimmick because it has always been stupidly formatted. Put it this way, if they started with the college rules, nobody would be calling for them to go to sudden death.

You keep equating it to other sports. The gimmick is giving the offense the ball at the 20 yard line without a kickoff. Total contrivance.

[MTYankee23]

You keep equating it to other sports. The gimmick is giving the offense the ball at the 20 yard line without a kickoff. Total contrivance.

I'm not necessarily advocating for that, although I think it's better than sudden death, you could have both team's start at the 40, you could even back the kickoff spot back (they've already done this in regulation, and do so for penalties, so it's not as though making teams kick off from the say 10 or 15 in OT makes the game not work).

So if you didn't want games to drag on forever, but you wanted (as they should) to give both teams' offense, defense, and special teams a guaranteed opportunity to have a say in the OT outcome, you could say for the OT period that kickoffs come from the 15, and there are no extra point attemps for TD's (i.e. you need to go for 2 every time). This is much less of a gimmick than a coin flip.

I'm actually not at all equating football to other sports. I'm doing the opposite. I'm saying, the only sport that should have sudden death is hockey, and hockey has a unique setup that lends itself to having sudden death.

[jeterdaman]

It almost certainly wouldn't happen though. The longest overtime in NFL history is 22 minutes or so. Almost every game would be resolved after 2 OT quarters at most. That's 80 minutes of football tops, except in the most extenuating of circumstances.

Even now, there's no limit on how long teams can play. Also, in hockey, playoff games often go to multiple OTs, and that's an extremely physical sport as well.

Hockey? With players playing 30 second shifts.

[5OClockLighting]

Why not have separate OT rules for the Playoffs, if the TV side is threaten in the regular season. Hockey dosen't do the shootout in the playoffs.

[BRNXBMRS]

If the home team loses the coin flip, they should have a fresh set of downs to score if the visitors score first. Similar to the home team in baseball getting last licks.

[ojo]

i think they should play an additional 8-10 minutes.

[5OClockLighting]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

The NFL is considering a proposal to change the rules for overtime games in the playoffs.
The change would be subtle and wouldn’t necessarily require that both teams get possession. Any touchdown would still result in a sudden-death result.

However, if the team that got the first possession of overtime scored only a field goal, the other team would get a possession. If the second team scored a touchdown, it would win. If it scored a field goal, the game would continue, whereupon it would revert to simple sudden death.

Also, if the first team to get the ball didn’t score but the second team did, the game would be over immediately.

[5OClockLighting]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5022064

• Both teams must have the opportunity to possess the ball once during the extra period, unless the team that receives the opening kickoff scores a touchdown on its initial possession, in which case it is the winner.

• If the team that possesses the ball first scores a field goal on its initial possession, the other team shall have the opportunity to possess the ball. If [that team] scores a touchdown on its possession, it is the winner. If the score is tied after [both teams have a] possession, the team next scoring by any method shall be the winner.

• If the score is tied at the end of a 15-minute overtime period, or if [the overtime period's] initial possession has not ended, another overtime period will begin, and play will continue until a score is made, regardless of how many 15-minute periods are necessary.

Interestingly Minnesota was in the dissenting minority.

[PlsDontTearDownY.S.]

Change was inevitable...I'm just happy they didn't go with that ridiculous college shootout system.

[DiMaggio5CF]

I think they should have just made the coin-flip determine the winner.