OT: How to Fix NFL (and College?) OT Rules
I've always thought the NFL OT rules were ridiculous, considering it doesn't guarantee equal possessions for both teams, thus meaning that the team that wins the coin toss can score a TD and win, while the other team's offense never gets to touch the ball. Anyone have a good idea for resolving this problem? Or do you think that the NFL OT rule is perfect the way it is?
Here's my proposal (neg away):
First OT: Each team gets one possession, with a kickoff and everything, like a normal game.
Second OT: Then, if the game is still tied after the 1st OT: each team gets a possession, but the kickoffs occur at the team's own 10 yard line, giving the returning team much better field position to open the drive, and thus making for a shorter OT. Also, if a team scores a TD, then they are required to go for 2. (this keeps kickoff special teams as being an important part of the game, and the requirement to go for 2 increases the likelilhood that this "2nd" overtime doesn't end in a tie)
Third OT: If the game is still tied after the 2nd OT, then: College rules, where each team gets a possession starting at the 25 yard line, and must go for 2 after a TD.
4th OT and every OT after that: If the game is still tied after 3 OT, then for each subsequent OT, each team gets a possession starting at the 10 yard line (1st and goal) and they must go for 2 if there is a TD.
Advantages to my proposal:
- 1st and 2nd OTs preserve the importance of kickoffs
- Guarantee of equal possessions for both teams for each OT period
- With each OT period getting shorter, and forcing teams to go for 2 starting with the 2nd OT, this makes it less likely that a game drags on forever
- Having a team start with a 1st and goal from the 10 starting with the 4th OT seems less ridiculous, IMO, than the college rule of a "2 pt shootout" because each team would still have 4 downs to score.
Disadvantages to my proposal:
- Increases length of OT (safety concerns)
- Starting with 3rd OT, kickoffs are removed
- There's always the chance of a really long game, like an LSU/Texas A&M 7 OT game (but I personally love those kinds of games!)
January 24th, 2022 at 1:36 PM ^
I don't hate the NFL's system now...asking for a defensive stop of <75 yards is not unreasonable. That said, if there was a change, I'd love to see the Ravens' "spot and choose" proposal. Basically, one team picks anywhere on the field where the ball is placed. Then the other gets to decide offense or defense...so much strategy and resultant armchair quarterbacking:
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/01/24/look-for-spot-and-choo…
January 24th, 2022 at 1:38 PM ^
If both teams just get a possession and a chance to respond that's all that really matters.
January 24th, 2022 at 1:42 PM ^
Who cares.
Just have ties through the regular season to save wear and tear. It's not like the current NFL system has eliminated tie games as it is..
In the playoffs or college champ game, add an extra quarter.
Solved.
January 24th, 2022 at 1:43 PM ^
Play OT like an inning in baseball.
January 24th, 2022 at 1:45 PM ^
touchdowns only no fg,start at the 50 for pro and college or you could do it like high school and start at the 10 except no fg and you have to go for 2
January 24th, 2022 at 1:46 PM ^
Your proposal is so wacko that it is just fantasy land. To me, a realistic proposal would be to have separate OT rules for the regular season, where 'player safety' and shortening game action is of concern, and for the playoffs, where determining the winner in the most fair way seems to be the biggest concern.
Keep regular season as is. In playoffs the basic rules remain the same with the exception that each team is guaranteed a possession. So if team A goes down and scores a TD, team B will get a chance to go down and score a TD to match. After that it then it goes to sudden death (same as regular OT rules). Still an advantage to get the ball first but at least there is a chance for each side. Also could add intrigue over whether team B, in this scenario, would go for 2 to win it or risk team A going right back down the field for a field goal.
January 24th, 2022 at 1:48 PM ^
Separate rules--agree. And I think the NFL might actually look at something that differentiates the playoffs a bit more.
January 24th, 2022 at 3:46 PM ^
You're a good and prolific poster, but how the f*** did you get 20 million points????
January 24th, 2022 at 1:48 PM ^
the two head coaches meet on the 50 yard line and do Rock, Paper, scissors to see who gets to choose the final challenge.... the winner picks between arm wrestling, bare fisted boxing or a mma match between the coaches to determine the winner.
OR....
Bring out those two big Dr. Pepper cans, put them in the end zone and each team sends their 3rd string QB out.... they each get three passes, starting at the 50 yard line, which ever back up QB is first to pass a ball through the hole wins. If they don't complete a pass from the 50, they move up 5 yards and try again.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:11 PM ^
I can see franchise tags and $8M/year contracts being offered to golden-armed 3rd string QBs that specialize in hitting stationary objects 50 yards downfield...
January 24th, 2022 at 1:52 PM ^
Regular season: ties
Post-season: Just keep playing another quarter until someone wins.
January 24th, 2022 at 1:53 PM ^
Everyone knows you’re supposed to ‘take the wind’ in NFL OT. No idea what Andy Reid was thinking last night - wayne fontes
January 24th, 2022 at 2:01 PM ^
hey I thought that was Marty Mornhinweg
January 24th, 2022 at 2:14 PM ^
You are entirely right. I’ll accept the negs as Wayne deserves better. .
January 24th, 2022 at 1:58 PM ^
No overtime except in playoffs. Ties are fine. Better than losses, even!
January 24th, 2022 at 2:28 PM ^
Agreed. College football's adoption of regular season OT fixed a problem that wasn't a problem. I always thought it was interesting, in fact, to see coaches have to decide whether to preserve ties or play to win.
January 24th, 2022 at 4:19 PM ^
unless you end up in a tie with the lions, the entire league considers that a loss.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:00 PM ^
This really seems easy to me. Play the 5th quarter as a full quarter (15 min). Whichever team has more points at the conclusion wins. If it's tied, you play sudden rules into the following quarter(s).
What am I missing?
January 24th, 2022 at 3:21 PM ^
Even in this situation though, there's still a huge advantage to winning the coin toss, since it gives you a good chance of having an extra possession, whereas the team that loses the toss can only hope that the number of possessions are even. It's why the team that gets the ball to start the game has to kick to start the second half; that's the only way to make it fair.
Sure, playing a full quarter gives less of an advantage than sudden death, but under either system the fact remains that in a game where neither defense can stop the opposing offense, the team that wins the toss will always win. Therein lies the heart of most of these complaints.
The college system isn't perfect, and yes there's an advantage to going second (although that alternates each OT period), but by taking sudden death and the clock out of the equation, alternating possessions ensure the fairest system you can get. From there, it's only a question of how to structure those possessions (where do the teams get the ball, when do they have to go for 2pts, etc.)
January 24th, 2022 at 3:37 PM ^
Most games will see a minimum of 2 possessions per team/per quarter. We all want a system of fairness. To me, when both teams will possess the ball at least once and more likely twice, I'm not sure what more you could ask for. Some of the other ideas are simply too gimmicky.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:02 PM ^
Does anyone else find it ironic that this board that has a pretty clear preference for ball control, defense, and manball simultaneously assume that NFL defenses couldn't possibly be expected to get a single stop*?
* Even if there's only 13 seconds on the clock?
January 24th, 2022 at 2:07 PM ^
The basic idea is to have each team getting a chance to score. I like the start at the 25 yd line, either by TD or FG. If TD, then must go for 2 pt conversion. Repeat until either team fails to score a TD, FG or 2 pt conversion. It would be unlikely to get much past 3 OT periods.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:27 PM ^
Starting an NFL offense at the 25 yard line is a sure way to get a lot of TD's.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:37 PM ^
That’s not remotely true.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:12 PM ^
I like how the NFL plays to a tie if no one scores in OT. Of course, the NFL OT is only 10 minutes and can be stopped by sudden death as we saw yesterday. I would eliminate the sudden death. The game would be played an extra 10 minutes and the game decided by the final score, even if it's a tie.
For the playoffs, the 1st OT would be the same as above. If a 2nd OT is warranted, then I would have each team begin 1st and goal from the 10, a variation from college where it's not simply the 2 point attempt but also not the several plays that can occur from the 25 and also makes settling for a FG that much scarier.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:18 PM ^
In OT, if the first team scores on their first possession, the other team gets a possession, however, they are not allowed to tie the game. If the second team is down by 6 and scores a TD, they must convert the XP or they lose.
If both teams had a possession, it's sudden death. First team scores wins.
Yes, there is still an advantage of winning the coin flip, but this gets around the players' union's reluctance to have long overtimes.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:19 PM ^
In the way back when there was a study which indicated NFL overtime had an almost even split (51/49) between first team to receive the ball vs second team to receive the ball. And keep in mind, that was when a field goal was enough to end it.
However, rules have slid to favor the offense a bit more...and, perhaps most over-looked, changes in the kicking game have provided better starting field position.
Sometimes, I think the simplest solution would just be this: the game ends after sixty minutes, unless the game is tied, in which case it continues, uninterrupted, until the next score.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:25 PM ^
But then the team that valiantly ties it on the last play, has to kick off and forfeit possession and probability. Seems better to flip a coin than punish a team that tied it near the finish. How about this: follow your rules. If the team that possesses the ball at the end (and thus continues on with the ball) scores, then however long they took in OT to get that score is how long the other team gets it to score? No that sucks.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:26 PM ^
Yeah it's a disadvantage to the team that ties it at the end, but I don't think that's that bad, and no less arbitrary than a coin toss. It also invites different end of regulation strategies.
Think back to 2011 UTL vs Notre Dame. Michigan needed a FG to tie on the last drive. But in a world where they have to kick off following a tying FG, maybe they push harder for a TD and the win (like they did anyway, thanks Denard and Roy).
Or the SNF game to end the season this year: LA Chargers tied it on a last second TD and PAT. If they know OT will start with a kickoff, maybe they go for two and the win instead (put aside the playoff implications of the tie for sake of argument).
Who knows, perhaps you end up with fewer games going to OT and more ending on the last plays of regulation.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:24 PM ^
Simple..both teams get at least 1 possession and both teams must go for 2
January 24th, 2022 at 2:28 PM ^
I'm glad you brought this up. I kept thinking last night...
1. This OT is gonna be over soon because Buffalo's defense is gassed and Allen was on fire. And that seems stupid since whoever wins the coin toss is likely to win.
2. But, it seems like a reasonable thing to say a team wins if they score a TD.
3. There are no great options and this semi-sudden death thing isnt the worst. As said above, if you make it a real period of play (time), teams don't have to "go for the win" because they can always extend the game.
College rules work for college, but i dont like a version of that in the NFL.
Also, holy hell is Tyreek Hill fast. That catch last night to go back ahead on a crossing route was almost as impressive as Erick All's run against PSU. He looked nearly as fast!
January 24th, 2022 at 3:14 PM ^
When in doubt, copy soccer?
- Play 2 periods that are 7:30 in length with 4th quarter clock rules. Each team gets 3 time-outs per period (to allow for a 3rd drive in the period if the first drives are short) Have team A kick off to begin OT#1 and team B kick off to begin OT#2. Declare a winner here if the score is not tied.
- Each team gets 5 two-point conversion attempts, alternating back and forth. Declare a winner here if the score is not tied.
- Repeat step 2 until the tie is broken.
I don't know, it's kind of like the current college system (at least in step 2), but has the benefit of being regular football (Special Teams are still important) for the first phase rather than the red-zone fiesta implemented in CFB.
NFL rules are a tad anti-climactic to put it mildly. The team winning the coin toss wins far too much - The team winning the coin toss is 10-1 in playoff overtime games since 2010 when the current rules were put in place. Even if we eliminate the 7 games where the first team won by scoring a TD on the opening drive, that's still a 3-1 record for the team winning the coin toss.
January 24th, 2022 at 3:31 PM ^
something definitely needs to be done about the postseason OT rules. maybe not so important to change regular season.
January 24th, 2022 at 3:33 PM ^
Its "sudden death" First team that scores should win .no extra stuff at all !!! They say they are worried about safety. yet they add more plays and games .... this way is 100% fair .each team gets 50/50 chance on coin toss ... and you still get to play defense if you lose the coin toss..
January 24th, 2022 at 3:37 PM ^
Put the ball at the 10 yard line, you get 4 downs to score a TD, no FG. Extra point is up to the team.
January 24th, 2022 at 3:39 PM ^
It's a little hypocritical for NFL and fans say special teams, kickoffs are important and then spend the last 10 years trying to eliminate them.
My proposal. College- NFL hybrid
OT - 12 minutes
Teams alternate possession at their own 40 yard line. Just like college. After 1st exchange of possessions 2 pt conversions mandatory.
Team winning the coin toss has a real decision to make.. Take the ball and the chance of an extra posession or take the ball 2nd and having the advantage knowing what to match.
Teams have to move the ball a decent 25 yards before FG range. Also makes 4th down decisions outside fg range much more interesting.. Because if a team fails to score and fails to convert on 4th down, the opposing team can choose to take the ball at the dead ball spot or their own 40. So yes punting is still on the table.
Might change the playoffs to unlimited time.
January 24th, 2022 at 3:48 PM ^
It's not like the team that loses the overtime coin toss automatically loses the game.
-Marty Mornhinweg
January 24th, 2022 at 3:57 PM ^
HOW can the NFL be operating under these RIDICULOUS OT rules.....its simply UNFAIR to the team that doesnt win the coin flip...PERIOD
January 24th, 2022 at 4:37 PM ^
Soccer penalty shootout format, but with 2-point conversions instead. i.e. each team gets 5 chances to go for 2 (teams alternating attempts), winner has the most conversions out of 5. You can cut short if the outcome is determined before all 5 are played. If still tied after 5, then each team goes for 2 until one team converts and the other doesn't.
January 24th, 2022 at 6:26 PM ^
College OT original style except start at the 50.
January 25th, 2022 at 10:50 AM ^
I like your idea for OT. At the very least, since the game ended tied in regulation, neither team is given an advantage.