The 42 yard extra point?

[LSN80]

In the near future, teams looking for that extra point after a TD may have to really work for it, as talks are in their preliminary stage to move the extra point to 42 yards.

http://tracking.si.com/2014/03/03/nfl-experiment-extra-point-attempts-longer/

The most discussed topic by the NFL's Competition Committee recently has been lengthening extra points, or doing away with them entirely. The belief that has been floated is that extra points are so automatic that they've become an afterthought, so if teams want that extra point, they're going to have to put in more effort. Right now, the idea has been to try it in the preseason, but no consensus has been reached. Judy Battista, a reporter from NFL Media, spoke to a member of the competition committee, who acknowledged discussions are in place with regards to the extra point:

"There is no consensus yet. We could experiment in preseason, but we are not there yet."

In my mind, it's bound to change, one way or another. Last season, only 5 extra points out of 1,267 were missed, a staggering conversion rate of 99.6%. And while it seems like quite the leap to move the ball from the 1 yard line(equating in an 18 yard attempt) to the 25(equating to a 42 yard attempt), the conversion rate between the 40 and the 49 has been pretty good as well. In 2013, kickers converted on 83% of attempts between the 40 and 49 yard line, a staggering increase from just ten years ago, when the number was around 75%.

As for field goals of 50 yards or longer, the conversion rate in 2013 was 67%. That's even a more drastic rise from just 10 years ago, where in 2003, the conversion rate from 50 or longer was just 48%. Further, all ten of the top kickers in the NFL, percentage wise, were at 90% or better from 40+ yards. Mike Westhoff, a recently retired special teams coach who spent over 20 years doing so for the Jets and Dolphins, had the following to say:

"If you're not a 90 percent field goal kicker under these circumstances, I'm not sure I'd want you."

I'm sure his sentiments are echoed by teams around the NFL, and their fans as well.

Roger Goddell has been looking for even more ways to make the game "exciting", and in January, he discussed doing away with PAT's altogether, and going to a revised scoring system. What that may be hasn't been discussed, and talks are considered preliminary. Serious talks about revising the range from which kickers attempt PAT's are expected to heat up after the draft, according to Judy Battista's source.

Would you be for or against the extra point moving to 42 yards, or something of relative distance?

How do you think such a move would impact two point conversions?

Personally, I would be fine with such a move. This would bring excitement to the games, although the problem I see arising would be with regular field goals. For example, how do you justify making a 27 yard field goal worth 3 points, where an extra point from 42 yards would only be worth 1? I can understand the reasoning-A drive was stalled and kicking is the only option-but it seems off that such a system would be revised so that kicks from such short range- regardless of circumstance- would be worth more then their longer counterparts.

I'm curious to see what other moves Goddell and co. are considering, with regards to extra points, to make the game more "exciting."

If you had a chance to pitch an idea, how would you spice up extra points?

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I think this is a dumb idea. If you kick a 40+ yard field goal for 3 pts, why are you going to have to do that for just 1 pt now?

The idea that I've heard that I like the best is to eliminate the kicking element all together, in terms of the extra point. Make touchdowns worth 7 pts. However, if you want an extra point, you have to run it in or pass it in from the 5 yard line (or even the 3 yard line), after a TD. However, if you don't get it, you lose a point.

Hell, they could even say you'd get 2 pts if you get it but only lose 1 if you don't.

That would make it much, much more entertaining for fans.

Kicking a 43 yard FG for 1 pt seems ridiculous to me.

 

[#tamale]

I'm not against it. It does add drama to the game. Now, the selection of kickers and their importance will be higher among the coaches priorities. Not only that, but now weather conditions will be even more of a factor going into games.

Coaching will now be an even bigger factor. Now coaches will devise more plays for successful 2 point conversions. "Should we go for a 43 yard field goal in 10-15 mph winds to earn 1 point or devise a power run play to earn 2 points?" Anything that adds drama to an NFL game, and I'm all for it.

 

[Randy's_Voices]

considering that a standard extra point is a 19 yarder, i think moving it back is a good idea. but to 42 yards? thats a little over the top. I would propose moving the PAT line of scrimmage to the 10 which puts the kick at 27 yards and keeps the 2 point play more difficult than the 1 but still achievable with the proper play call. It also plays more to progression of the NFL to a passing league. Make sense?

 

[The Butcher]

Fine by me. And narrow the goal posts. And add a top crossbar. Kickers are just too good to leave things as they are, but the point after touchdown should remain.

 

[Megatron]

I'd even go back further to encourage more two point attempts. It's clear they need to change the rule. I'd push it close to a 50 yard attempt (probably to the 30 yard line which would make it 47 yards). That way coaches really consider going for two more often. The rule was made when kicking was much harder. Now it's time to change.

 

[Paul Bunyan's Axe]

I personally think it's a great idea. 42 is around the right spot, for me at least. Maybe 45, or a couple yards back, but I like the idea.

This puts a lot more value on having a good kicker, which is something I like, and plus, it just adds a new thing to think about. The current extra point is basically automatic, so it doesn't typically require much thought from the coach, but this is something that will make a coach think more, which is good. It adds more drama to the game, as someone said earlier, which is another interesting aspect of it for the fans.

 

[Big Sexy]

I'm a football traditionalist so I'm not huge on major rule changes like this (I still hate the fact that they moved the kickoff closer) but I would actually be ok with this one. I would really hate to see them get rid of extra points all together so this is a nice middle ground. I also like the length of the kick as well. Too much longer and coaches would always go for two, too much shorter and it would still be too much of a chip shot for today's kickers. At this length, with the innovative offensive minds currently in the coaching ranks, I think we would see a decent amount of 2 point attempts. The extra point would still be used more often but this would add a nice wrinkle to the game.

 

[Akhilleus]

It is definitely better than what they originally suggested as far as just automatically getting the extra point, or choosing to go for two and risking the possibility of having that extra point taken away. Though still it's fine where it is to me, so what if it's really automatic? That's why it's called "the extra point".

Like I said it's better than the alternative, but another user brought up a good point that if you get three points kicking it that far back, it doesn't make sense for it to then only be one. And by 42 yards does that mean the ball will be spotted at the 25, making it a 42 yard kick, or does that mean that it will be spotted at the 42? Because that's a 60 yard kick and that's crazy.

Another alternative, although I do like this 42 yard one better, is to be what we do in my flag football league and just have the option to go for one or two. If you go for one you have to do a play from 5 yards out and must pass, and if you go for two it must be from 10 yards out and you can pass or run. Of course with flag football there's no kicking in general so it has to be like this. But I still dislike the idea of eliminating the kicking aspect of the extra point, because that's another job that the kicking position doesn't do. And when you're paying a guy millions of dollars to kick a football, at least make sure he kicks the damn thing often.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I'd even go back further to encourage more two point attempts. It's clear they need to change the rule. I'd push it close to a 50 yard attempt (probably to the 30 yard line which would make it 47 yards). That way coaches really consider going for two more often. The rule was made when kicking was much harder. Now it's time to change.

I like the idea of teams going for two more often but I'm not crazy about the kick being moved. I don't know if y'all heard but Robert Kraft was proposing that they move the 2point convo to the 25 to make it more interesting. Personally if you're going to change it id go with the exact opposite, Mike Tomlin suggested going for 2 from the one yard line. I like that idea, then you'll have teams going for two way more often and making things very exciting. If I were running things i wouldn't change a thing though, I'm of the mindset of,"if it ain't broke don't fix it" and unless its causing a problem I like the tradition of the game and want to keep it the way it is as long as possible.

 

[LSN80]

I like the idea of teams going for two more often but I'm not crazy about the kick being moved. I don't know if y'all heard but Robert Kraft was proposing that they move the 2point convo to the 25 to make it more interesting. Personally if you're going to change it id go with the exact opposite, Mike Tomlin suggested going for 2 from the one yard line. I like that idea, then you'll have teams going for two way more often and making things very exciting. If I were running things i wouldn't change a thing though, I'm of the mindset of,"if it ain't broke don't fix it" and unless its causing a problem I like the tradition of the game and want to keep it the way it is as long as possible.

Both Kraft and Tomlin are waaaaay off here.

The idea behind a two point conversion is that it be hard, not impossible. If 2 point conversions were moved to the 25 yard line, no team would ever go for it- unless their hand was absolutely forced- score wise. Kraft's suggestion essentially makes it a 4th and 25 from the 25, and removes the running game from the option altogether. I understand that coaches and owners desperately want to spice up the league, but this isn't the way to go here.

The idea behind the 2 point conversion was to keep the running game in play, but more difficult. It puts the passing game solidly into play, and leaves the running game as a veritable option as well.

I love me some Mike Tomlin, but he's off as well here. The two point conversion to be snapped from the same place that the current Extra Point is? What's to keep a team from faking, and running(or throwing) the ball in for two? That option would now be in play as well, along with the extra point.

And if you move the 2 pt conversion into play from the 1, and make fg's 42, I'd imagine that most coaches would be going for them far more then then they would be kicking. Why? It's easier.

The idea behind any rule change that's going to actually be implemented is two-fold:

1. It makes the game more exciting
2. It makes sense.

In Kraft's scenario, it takes all the excitement out of a two point conversion, essentially making it a Hail Mary or a jump ball. Further, it makes no sense. Why even keep the two-point conversion going if it's going in such a fashion?

As for Tomlin's scenario, just cut all XP's, as everyone will be lining up to go for 2. At a high conversion rate as well. It will be just as easy the XP, essentially rendering kickers useless save for extra points.

As for the 42 yard XP I'm all for it. As the stats show, kickers were successful on 83% of field goals from between that range. Why would it be different with XP's? And has already been stated, who wants a kickerr on their team if he's only making 6 or 7?

 

[Caldwell205]

Id rather they just line up from the 2 yard line and go for it each time, hell a lot of us did that in high school to an extent. Save the kicking for Field Goals.