I have absolutely no problem with the extra point basically being automatic. And I’m curious, are any of you that upset that PATs have become so easy? Is it really making the game any less awesome for you?
You know what would be less awesome? A great game between two teams that score four touchdowns each that is decided on extra points because the league makes them more of a 50/50 proposition by extending their distance or bringing in the uprights.
I don’t want extra points deciding games, which is why I can tolerate them. Are they a waste of time? Sure, but the solution probably isn’t to eliminate them entirely because that would remove the possibility of teams going for two.
If anything, dropping the success rate from 99 percent to, say, 80 percent would only make fluky misses more common, which in turn would result in more tough-luck losses. Plus, kicking from further back does nothing to cut down on injuries, which is something the league has gone on and on about.
Commissioner Roger Goodell was on the right track with his suggestion last year which would give a team seven points for a touchdown with the option to risk one point in order to gain two. That would essentially work the same way it does now…except without a silly formality of a kick afterwards.
Another simple solution, which came from New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin last year, would be to move extra points to the 1-yard line, thus tempting more teams to gamble with two-point attempts if the scenario called for it. Not only would that prevent us from having fluke misses decide games but it would also add an element of intrigue and entertainment to the game’s most boring play. Football is a chess match as is, and this simple move would add an entirely new element to that mind game.
Instead, the competition committee is focusing on the possibility of making much more extreme changes which could have a tremendously negative impact on the game. Sometimes, the easiest solutions are the simplest ones. Let’s hope the NFL comes to that realization before making changes it’ll regret when fans start bitching that a missed 40-yard extra point robbed them of a victory they otherwise deserved.
