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Every offseason, the NFL's competition committee reviews the league's rules and regulations and often proposes changes that they feel better the quality of the league. This year, one of the items up for discussion is the extra point attempt. According to NFL comssioner Roger Goodell said the NFL's competition committee may decide to eliminate extra points. From ESPN:
"The extra point is almost automatic," Goodell told NFL Network. "I believe we had five missed extra points this year out of 1,200 some odd [attempts]. So it's a very small fraction of the play, and you want to add excitement with every play."
Some media members have been vocal in their support of eliminating the extra point. Others have been less receptive. As you may have expected, kickers and holders aren't too thrilled with this proposition. Kickers feel as if they're being punished for being good at their craft.
And what have the kickers received in return, for all their success? A league hell-bent on tinkering with their craft. Think of the unforgiving K-balls, for instance, or of the ever wandering kickoff line, which moved back to the 30-yard line in 1994, because the NFL wanted fewer touchbacks and more returns, and then moved forward to the 35-yard line in 2011, because the NFL wanted more touchbacks and fewer returns. (TIME’s Sean Gregory reported in 2012 that Goodell was considering ending kickoffs altogether.) And now here comes the possible sunset of extra points — which provide kickers rare opportunities to get on the field — simply because kickers have gotten too good at them. Fun gig!
Fans witnessed a game with no made extra point kicks in 2013 during the Eagles-Lions snow game. Save for a David Akers PAT that was blocked, both teams lined up for two point conversions after every touchdown. The result, I thought, made for a more interesting game. PAT kicks are, as Brent Cohen phrased it, the most boring play in sports. Instead of extra point kicks, what would happen after a touchdown is scored? Goodell offered a potential solution:
Goodell said one suggested proposal involved a touchdown being worth seven points instead of six, with the potential for an extra play from scrimmage that would yield an eighth point. However, "if you fail, you go back to six [points]."
So, I want to hear your thoughts on this issue. Is eliminating the extra point too radical? Or is the extra point too boring and needs to be eliminated? How would you handle a potentially new extra point system? Vote in the poll below and discuss.
