Nfl overtime ?

[jkrdevil]

No.... Why should the other team get a shot if their defense couldn't hold?

There's two sides of the ball, it's a team sport. Not defense versus the offense. It's not fair to ride the entire game on the defense for one series, especially if the D get's burned deep for the game winning touchdown because the conerback slipped and fell while covering a reciever.

I don't think you can put the College Overtime in the NFL, you'd have to adapt it, giving pro teams the ball on the opponent's 25 yard line wouldn't work, you'd have some of the highest scoring games in league history if you do that.

Your right there is 2 sides to the football, and it's team game so if one part of the team fails the whole team fails.

[STL FANATIC]

The solution in my opinion: play a full fifth period with the following exception - if either team goes up by 9 or more points at any point during the '5th quarter,' the game immediately ends. Otherwise, the fans get an extra period of play for the price of their ticket, both teams are guaranteed one possession (I've never seen an NFL team kill an entire quarter on one drive), and a coin toss would never, ever so greatly influence the outcome of a game.

Actually, the Niners had a possesion for either 14 or 16 minutes (a little under or over a quarter) last year in the final game of the year, vs. the Rams. That was the first quarter. The Rams won anyway.

Anyway, the current NFL OT sucks. Their are 3 parts to a team. Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. You could argue 4. Offense, Defense, Offensive Special Teams, and Defensive Special Teams.

Somehow each team needs to have a possesion starting with a kickoff. This way, each Special Teams gets tested, and both defenses and offenses get tested. Saying you have a shot with a coin toss cuz your defense should hold is crap. We all know a team can have a much superior offense and not a great defense. That doesn't mean they should lose a game. Let's say both teams have a great O and poor D. Well, the winner of the coin toss is pretty much handed a win even though if the other team won the coin toss they could have one.

[JQK]

The solution in my opinion: play a full fifth period with the following exception - if either team goes up by 9 or more points at any point during the '5th quarter,' the game immediately ends. Otherwise, the fans get an extra period of play for the price of their ticket, both teams are guaranteed one possession (I've never seen an NFL team kill an entire quarter on one drive), and a coin toss would never, ever so greatly influence the outcome of a game.

Actually, the Niners had a possesion for either 14 or 16 minutes (a little under or over a quarter) last year in the final game of the year, vs. the Rams. That was the first quarter. The Rams won anyway.

Anyway, the current NFL OT sucks. Their are 3 parts to a team. Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. You could argue 4. Offense, Defense, Offensive Special Teams, and Defensive Special Teams.

Somehow each team needs to have a possesion starting with a kickoff. This way, each Special Teams gets tested, and both defenses and offenses get tested. Saying you have a shot with a coin toss cuz your defense should hold is crap. We all know a team can have a much superior offense and not a great defense. That doesn't mean they should lose a game. Let's say both teams have a great O and poor D. Well, the winner of the coin toss is pretty much handed a win even though if the other team won the coin toss they could have one.

Each team getting a guarenteed possesion sucks. It's against everything competition stands for. Special teams are tested on the kickoff. If your Special teams can't stop a runback, you lose. If your defense can't stop the opponents, you lose.

You play to win the game. It's not fair to do everything to win the game, only to have the other team get a free shot.

The NFL system is the best one there is.

[NJTank]

Seeing thsi topic discussed here has inspired me to make this my weekly poll. So if you have some time drop by the Sports E-Cyclopedia and check the poll in the upper left corner.

Sports E-Cyclopedia

[jkrdevil]

Football is different from Basketball and Baseball.

First in basketball, there's no such thing as defense so that wouldn't work.

Now baseball, your suggestion would be interesting, though I don't think it would work. As in football you if you stop the team you can get good field position, in baseball you don't get a runner on second base.

[Mac the Knife]

why not extend your logic to basketball. make OT sudden-death. let one team take the ball under their own basket and the first team to score wins. if you have a good defense, you should be able to keep that team from scoring.

or baseball? only play the top of the 10th. if the home team cant stop the away team from getting a run, they lose, right there. after all, pitching is very important in baseball. with good pitching and defense you shouldn't be able to win.

Considering that I don't care much for basketball, I actually kinda like that idea.  But JKR gets the point across exactly - the logic that an offensive unit shouldn't get the opportunity to tie or win a game is ludicrous.

Actually the CBA tried something similar to my OT idea once.  They played a full period except that, if either team at any point lead by 3 or more points, it was "Good Night, and Drive Home Safely!"

Another idea I heard today that's almost as bad as sudden death:  Say the Cardinals come from a 21-14 deficit to tie the Seahawks in the last minute of a game, taking it to OT.  Rather than have a coin toss, automatically give the Seahawks the ball in OT, since the Cards had to score to come from behind and send it into OT in the first place.  From there, sudden death prevails.

[jkrdevil]

I didn't say that, I'm in favor of sudden death. I feel it's a team sport if one part fails the whole team fails. There's no I in team.

I said sudden death wouldn't work in B-ball because there is no defense in b-ball.

[Roger Clemente]

Here's an idea:

If a team has to come from behind to tie the game, they must tie the game before 0:00 of the 4th quarter or lights out.  But, if the game is tied when the clock reaches zero of the 4th quarter (including if they tie on the last play of the quarter), the play still continues as normal (play clock rules still follow) until someone scores.  Give the teams one extra timeout just for the hell of it.

If you still want to maintain ties, allow no more than three drives per team in the excess time (beginning with the drive that began on or before 0:00).  After the fourth down of the defensive teams third drive, the game is over.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[random]

roger, thats actually the best OT proposal i've heard. if only the nfl would listen.

personally of the ideas the nfl has proposed, i like the first to 6 rule. see, the thing that sucks in pro OT is when a team gets a couple crappy first downs and boots a FG to win it. at least make em score a TD.

now if only soccer would get rid of those darn PKs

by the way, to the person who said theres no Defense in basketball. just because there isn't any designated defenders doesnt mean theres no D. each player must be responsible for offense and defense. i'd actually like to see sudden death in b-ball tried once in like an exhibiton. i think it'd be exciting every play would be like a buzzer beater.

[jkrdevil]

by the way, to the person who said theres no Defense in basketball. just because there isn't any designated defenders doesnt mean theres no D. each player must be responsible for offense and defense. i'd actually like to see sudden death in b-ball tried once in like an exhibiton. i think it'd be exciting every play would be like a buzzer beater.

I didn't say that because ther's no designated defenders, I siad that because there 50 something baskets a game per team. It's really boring to watch.

[Saintsfan]

I still think you Americans really ought to learn that a draw is actually a noble result- admitting you and your opponents are equally matched is a brave and honourable thing to do!

That said, I think if you are gonna have OT I agree with the idea that you give the first possesion, or the choice of first possesion to the team that was ahead last.

In basketball I agree that a tie seems wrong, their is so much scoring that you would have thought someone should win. So OT is fine.

[umlegend]

How about each team gets a kickoff.  If the first team with the ball can't convert on 4th down in their own zone, instead of punting they set up for a kickoff.  Or, each team gets the ball on their own 20 (no punts).  Then it's a drive, not 3 failed plays and a field goal like you could have in college.  

I like the idea of the kickoff, though.  Special teams are exciting.  The reason I say no punts is both teams need to start off with the same chance-either from the 20 or from a kickoff.

[-kj]

Better yet, quarterback breakdancing.

[yh]

I propose that each team get once chance with the ball from the 50.  If it's tied after the first go around, each team must take 3 players off of the field.  If it's still tied after the 8-man go around, take another 3 off.  If it's still tied take another 3 off.  If it's still tied the kickers will meet at the 50 yard line and must remove their cups.  The kickers will then alternate kicking each other in the family jewels and the team whose kicker falls first loses.  

The order of who gets to kick first will be decided, of course, by a coin toss.