After they started talking about it during last year's owner's meetings and certain owners refused to let it go, it seemed inevitable that the NFL was going to make some sort of rules change regarding extra points. Especially after they experimented with different things during the preseason and in the Pro Bowl last year. So it came as no surprise today when they announced that they will, indeed, be changing the PAT rule for the 2015 season.
Starting next season, the ball will be spotted at the 15 for extra points, but remain at the 2 for two-point conversions. That makes the extra point attempt 33 yards, roughly the same distance as a typical field goal. Most people think that won't change much. The success rate for 30-35 yard field goals isn't that much lower than the success rate for extra points. But that doesn't make the rule change any less unnecessary. So what if extra points are easy? Isn't that the point?
The argument for the rule change is that the PAT from the 2-yard line has become almost automatic. Kickers' success rate on extra points since the start of 2010 is over 99 percent. And for some reason, the owners think this is a bad thing. So they decided something needed to be done about it. Which is unfair to the kickers. They're being singled out for being too good at doing their jobs.
Nobody watches a football game to watch the kickers. Everybody knows that. But this isn't the answer. The owners said that they're not trying to take the kicking element, which is still important, out of the game. I do believe them. If they wanted to eliminate kicks completely they could've.
They could've implemented a rule where you automatically get 7 for a touchdown unless you decide to go for 2, where you'll get 8 if you make it and 6 if you don't. (I'm not advocating such a rule, I'm just using it to illustrate my point.) And who needs kickoffs, either? Just let the other team take the ball at the 20 after a score. While you're at it, get rid of special teams entirely. Who needs punters? Just like in the arena league, you have to go for it on fourth down no matter what. If you don't make it, the other team gets the ball right there. And with no special teams, that frees up like five roster spots. You wouldn't have to worry about return men getting hurt, either.
But you know what, people weren't NOT watching because the extra point was virtually automatic. On the rare occasion it actually did happen, it affected coaching moves later in the game. I remember one game a couple years ago that a team lost 20-19 or 17-16 (something like that) because of a missed extra point. And who can forget that playoff game where Tony Romo was holding for the extra point and bobbled the snap, resulting in Dallas losing 21-20.
There is one element of the new PAT rule that I like. It's no longer a dead ball on a failed attempt. If the defense blocks the extra point or intercepts a two-point attempt, they can return it for two points. This has been a rule in college football for years and it'll definitely add something to the NFL game. It's already a rule that you can return a missed field goal, and that leads to some of the most exciting plays you could ever hope to see (Auburn-Alabama anybody?).
Teams might be more inclined to go for the block on an extra point or try and intercept a two-point conversion instead of just knocking it down now. Imagine, one team is down 21-13 in the fourth quarter and scores to make it 21-19, but the two point-conversion is intercepted and returned for a safety. Instead of being tied or, at worst, down by two, now they're trailing 23-19 and need another touchdown. That's a huge difference.
Blocking an extra point just became a whole lot easier, too. It used to be something most teams wouldn't even try because really, what difference did it make? But now with a potential three-point swing at stake, there's actually incentive to defend the extra point. Especially because blocking a field goal isn't unheard of, and that's essentially what they've turned the extra point into.
Ultimately, moving the extra point back to the 15-yard line probably won't make that much of a difference. Just like we'll probably all get used to it pretty quickly and, five years from now, forget that the old rule worked just fine for the NFL for 95 years. 95 years. That's how long the previous extra point rule lasted.
As the old saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The extra point rule wasn't broken. But the NFL "fixed" it anyway. Why?
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