Photo via Fanway

The NFL owners are meeting in Orlando this week and among the agenda items are the rules that govern overtime.  We’ve heard about this for years, how it’s so unfair to basically have a coin toss decide the winner of a hard-fought and hotly contested game.  This issue came front and center during the NFC Championship game when the New Orleans Saints bested Brett Favre and the Mnnesota Vikings to advance to the Super Bowl.  The Saints won the OT toss and promptly marched down the field to kick a field goal and punch their tickets to Miami.

The numbers back up the notion that the current overtime system needs some fixing.  From 1974 (when the league implemented sudden death) until 1993, OT winners were a 50-50 split between who won and who lost the toss.  After the ’93 season, when kickoffs were pushed back 5 yards, the percentages took a a sharp turn.  Now teams the lose the toss win less than 40% of the time. (more…)