Seahawks View on Possible Extra Point Changes

[Seanhawk]

Here's my new suggestion: Automatic touchdown at one yard line.

Too soon

 

[themunn]

I like the PAT. It's automatic until you miss. And rarely does it change a game when you do, but when it does it makes it a lot more exciting.
And it also makes the 2pt conversion attempt that much more exciting generally.

If you really want to change it, you could change it with a fix to the overtime rules - the team that last had the lead gets the ball in OT.
So you're 7 points down, 13-20. You drive up the field and score a TD with 10 seconds left. You can tie the game with the easy PAT and take it to overtime, but you KNOW that you will start the game without the ball. Or you can go for the 2pts and either win the game or lose it in regular time. That would change the thinking of a lot of coaches.

 

[hawkfan68]

If it isn't broke don't fix it. In my opinion, current way of doing things isn't broken. Honestly, the focus on this is alarming. The NFL has bigger problems than attempting to wipe out kickers and return specialists from the game. Which essentially these dumb rules and ideas are doing. First kickoffs and now extra points.

 

[timmat]

I like that after earning a TD the extra point is pretty automatic. An option already exists if you want to do something not as traditional and be rewarded with 2 pts if successful. This is SO LAME of the NFL. Is anyone really complaining that NFL games aren't exciting? Please don't mess with the game.

 

[RiverDog]

If it isn't broke don't fix it. In my opinion, current way of doing things isn't broken. Honestly, the focus on this is alarming. The NFL has bigger problems than attempting to wipe out kickers and return specialists from the game. Which essentially these dumb rules and ideas are doing. First kickoffs and now extra points.

Ditto.

The game is fantastic as it is. Quit messing with it, all they're doing with this constant tinkering is making it more difficult for casual fans to understand. I can understand rule changes that are dictated by safety concerns, but I don't see the demand for this proposed change. They are not going to enhance my enjoyment of the game one iota.

 

[Popeyejones]

While this solves the problem of the boring and pointless extra point kicks, it needlessly goes beyond that. Why not just have a TD be worth six and you can try to score again from the 2 for two pts or opt out for one point. That does it. Finito. We're done. Problem solved.

That is essentially (exactly?) what Pete is proposing.

Nah, he wants 7 points for the touchdown and a MANDATORY 2 point try after the touchdown, meaning that (if historical rates hold) a touchdown would be worth 7 pts about 47% of the time, and 9 pts about 53 % of the time.

It's actually a really big change to the game, and IMO, in ramifications needlessly goes WAY BEYOND what the problem is (boring and stupid extra points) when a much simpler solution to that problem exists without changing anything else (TD is 6, and you get one point for forgoing your option to go for two points -- it ends up being the exact same thing without bothering to actually kick the extra points).

 

[Popeyejones]

While this solves the problem of the boring and pointless extra point kicks, it needlessly goes beyond that. Why not just have a TD be worth six and you can try to score again from the 2 for two pts or opt out for one point. That does it. Finito. We're done. Problem solved.
.

I can't recall right now but is there advertisment between the touchdown (since they are reviewed now) and the extra point?

If so that would be why you don't go with your proposed solution - you would lose advertisment time. I do agree with the proposal you have and wrote something similiar somewhere last week

No advertisement between the TD and extra point. They fill the time showing replays of the touchdown and talking. They never even bother showing anyone line up for the extra point really, and often the broadcasters don't even acknowledge that it's happening for the two or three seconds that they show it.

If anything, if they got rid of the extra point they could sneak an extra advertisement in.

Maybe you're thinking of the advertisements between the extra point and kickoff and then the next block of advertisements between the kickoff and the first play of the next series? That's gotta be the most annoying advertising block in sports, particularly since they've futzed with kickoffs to decrease the number of run backs. You watch three minutes of ads, then come back to the game, watch three seconds of a ball flying through the air only to be fair caught in the endzone, and then another three minutes of ads. Ughhh.

 

[Scottemojo]

The worst thing that can happen is any variation where 7 points is not near automatic or an 8th point is somewhat difficult. Yes, the EP is boring, but keeping games within a single score is not boring.

Lets use the recent SB as an example. NE scored 4 TDs, if they had been successful on all four tries they have 32 points. If Seattle had been unsuccessful on just one try, it's a 9 point gap and one of the most exciting finishes in SB history is a 9 point spread, not a 4 point spread.

The way it is now is boring most of the time, true, but no one was talking about how boring EP tries were after Wilson threw that rainbow to Willson for two points and a 3 point lead vs the Pack, were they? Just one failed or converted EP after a single TD in that game with Pete's proposal and Seattle fans might not get one of the most classic NFL game finishes of all time.

Besides, Pete's idea is sunk simply because it would increase, not decrease the number of contact plays in games. Anything that smacks of more contact has the NFL shaking in it's CTE paranoid boots. Lets face it, if more exciting football was truly the goal, the kickoff would still be from the 30.

 

[Popeyejones]

^^^^ Totally agreed with your sentiment, but there IS a way to get rid of the extra points without changing a single thing about the game itself beyond the kicking of the extra point.

And absolutely agreed too about the NFL's desire to not increase contact plays. More scoring options and combinations would likely reduce overtime games though, which would take out a whole mess of contact plays too (enough to balance the 2 pt contact plays introduced? I have no idea).

 

[AgentDib]

That's not quite right; what Pete wants is a mandatory try for 1 point so you'd end up with 8 points 53% of the time. It's a small boost in scoring but not a huge change.

An automatic seven points followed by the option to 'gamble' a point is interesting but has a major downside. The potential to lose points would lead to poor decisions as people behave differently when gambling for gains vs. gamblings for losses (Loss Aversion).

The best options are to either make the extra point more difficult (narrow goal posts, further away) or to make it automatic. I would prefer to make it more difficult because that will still leave in the potential for trick plays. Leaving the potential for surprises in would keep the NFL as entertaining as possible.

 

[Anonymous]

The worst thing that can happen is any variation where 7 points is not near automatic or an 8th point is somewhat difficult. Yes, the EP is boring, but keeping games within a single score is not boring.

Lets use the recent SB as an example. NE scored 4 TDs, if they had been successful on all four tries they have 32 points. If Seattle had been unsuccessful on just one try, it's a 9 point gap and one of the most exciting finishes in SB history is a 9 point spread, not a 4 point spread.

The way it is now is boring most of the time, true, but no one was talking about how boring EP tries were after Wilson threw that rainbow to Willson for two points and a 3 point lead vs the Pack, were they? Just one failed or converted EP after a single TD in that game with Pete's proposal and Seattle fans might not get one of the most classic NFL game finishes of all time.

Besides, Pete's idea is sunk simply because it would increase, not decrease the number of contact plays in games. Anything that smacks of more contact has the NFL shaking in it's CTE paranoid boots. Lets face it, if more exciting football was truly the goal, the kickoff would still be from the 30.

Coffee hasn't soaked in yet...

CTE?

 

[Popeyejones]

CTE?

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

It's the $5 way to say concussions.

(really, more accurate to talk about what the problem is, but in popular parlance, concussions).

 

[Popeyejones]

That's not quite right; what Pete wants is a mandatory try for 1 point so you'd end up with 8 points 53% of the time. It's a small boost in scoring but not a huge change.

Oh yeah, you're right. Good call. I somehow convinced myself he had said two pts instead of one. Thanks.

IIRC though two point conversions are converted 47% of the time, not 53% (why it's good strategy to only go for them towards the end of games if you absolutely need them).

FWIW though I still think it's a pretty big change. More to follow on that below.

The best options are to either make the extra point more difficult (narrow goal posts, further away) or to make it automatic. I would prefer to make it more difficult because that will still leave in the potential for trick plays. Leaving the potential for surprises in would keep the NFL as entertaining as possible.

It's all a matter of preference of course, but I'd MUCH prefer just the automatic 1 for not going for 2.

Making the extra more difficult (say, an extra point that is only converted 47% of the time) has roughly the same effect on the game as the mandatory 1 pt try that P.C. is proposing.

The thing that I don't like about this is it puts more emphasis on the scoring AFTER the scoring, rather than the scoring itself; I like that driving down the field and scoring a touchdown is its own reward, as is getting close but not quite there for a lesser reward (a FG). Having a bonus round after touchdowns ultimately cheapens the importance of touchdowns, as with a more difficult extra point or bonus one point try a lot of games will come down to these bonus score plays, rather than the touchdowns which are what I think most fans actually care about.


Likewise, if you make the extra point more difficult (narrow the goalposts, or move it farther back), in addition to cheapening the value of touchdowns you're making kickers have a bigger impact on the game, which I have yet to really hear NFL fans clamoring for.

Just my 2 cents, though.

 

[Anonymous]

CTE?

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

It's the $5 way to say concussions.

(really, more accurate to talk about what the problem is, but in popular parlance, concussions).

Thanks.

I'm going to have to agree with the leave-it-alone folks on this issue.

For no other reason than maintaining the continuity of the establishment. I mean, removing another reason for a kicker to be on the field is counterproductive to the complexity and strategy that makes the game so interesting. Having a mixture of player talents and different types of action happening is a big aspect of it all to me.

I'm still not recovered from the kickoffs rule change.

 

[Scottemojo]

Don't get me wrong about loving it the way it is, if somebody comes up with something awesome I will dig it, I don't give a crap about tradition. I would love anything that got rid of kicks. PAT is a finesse play that has no place in the game.

 

[Popeyejones]

Don't get me wrong about loving it the way it is, if somebody comes up with something awesome I will dig it, I don't give a crap about tradition. I would love anything that got rid of kicks. PAT is a finesse play that has no place in the game.

Well said, and same here. I don't care about the tradition part of it at all either, and also think the pro forma finesse play of the EP is a total waste. I just find bonus round scoring to be kinda corny and to ultimately take away some importance from the parts of the game that I really like.

 

[ivotuk]

I like the "Extra Point try shall be from the 1 yard line where a team can either kick the extra point, or fake it for a 2 point attempt."

Who would do that better than the Seahawks with the Read Option and Jon "Touchdown Thrower" Ryan?

 

[hawkfannj]

God this league is becoming a joke more and more every day . Just shorten the uprights and you will get your drama

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Just waiting for Rock, Paper, Scissors to be a part of scoring :roll:

 

[randomation]

Meh I'm still fan of automatic 7 points you can either try for 1 extra or take the 7; but if you fail on the try you lose a point and only get 6.