Alternatives to the NFL’s Boring OT Rule Change
So the NFL owners passed a change to the sudden death overtime for 2010 playoff games so each team gets a possession if the team winning the toss kicks a field goal on the first possession. BO-RING!!! Let’s kick around some alternatives that would really spice things up:
Line ’em up
Tired of OT being decided by a coin toss? Then change it! To open OT, set the ball at the 50 yard line and allow one person from each team to sprint to retrieve the ball. Whoever gets it claims the ball for their team at the spot of the recovery. It’s a bit of a spinoff from the old XFL opening scramble rule. Somewhere Vince McMahon is laughing.
Imagine the Bears and Vikings tied at 17 with a division title on the line. Devin Hester on one goal line, Percy Harvin on the other. It’s a mad dash for the ball to establish possession. Who wouldn’t be on the edge of their seat for that???
Better yet, line up your best 11 against my best 11 at opposing goal lines and let them go ape-shit charging for the ball Braveheart-style.
College Rules
In college football, each team gets possessions, but they start at the 25 yard line. That’s lame too. Let’s go back to how we used to settle things in college – beer chugging. Line up your captains at the 50 and have a race to down 4 beers. First team to finish claims possession. Damn, I wish we hadn’t gotten rid of Orton, but Cutler can hold his own.
Change point values for field goals
3 points for a field goal? How old is that rule?? If you want to spice up the game, change the point values for field goals based on the distance. How does this change the overtime rules? Directly, it doesn’t. But by changing the points, it would reduce the reduce the likelihood to end in a tie.
If you’re tired of your team marching down the field but stalling on the goal line, only to settle for a field goal, this rule would definitely
Here’s my proposed scoring:
0-9 yards – 1 point
10-19 yards – 2 points
20-35 yards – 3 points
36-49 yards – 4 points
50+ – 5 points
Think about how the strategy would change throughout the game and especially at the end. Down 3 with the clock winding down, do you try a 30-yarder to tie or do you back yourself up 6 yards to go for the win? Plus, think about how all those square pools would change.
Auction
I read this one on The ShutDown Corner and it’s pretty radical. Check it out:
"The sudden death system stays in place, and the first team to score still wins the game. If that happens on the first possession, so be it. That’s still the same.However, we throw out the coin toss, and in its place, to determine which team gets the football first, we have a silent auction.Each coach writes down the yard-line at which they’d be willing to accept the ball, and they put their bid in a sealed envelope. Both coaches hand the envelopes to an official at midfield, and the coach who’s written down the least advantageous yard-line gets the ball, at the yard-line he’s written down."
Whip em out
Coaches meet at midfield and decide which is the manliest. You know what I’m getting at, so don’t make me spell it out. And if what they say is true, this could help eliminate the Rooney Rule while we’re at it.
Nothing Beats Rock
Solve it the old fashioned way – rock, paper, scissors!
What else ya got? Give me your crazy proposal for overtime or any new rule changes in the Comments.