Should the NFL overtime rules be changed?

[Deberg_1990]

Forehead did not seem pleased.....


http://seattletimes.com/html/seahawk...post22xml.html


The winner of a classic football game should never be determined by pure, dumb luck.
Unlike the Super Bowl, the only difference Sunday between the Broncos and Seattle was a flip of the coin. “We felt like we were the better team,” Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton said.

Not to take anything away from the Seahawks’ 26-20 overtime victory against Denver, but if there’s anything we’ve learned from the NFL of late, it’s this: What’s fair got to do with anything in this league? And the more the rules change, the less we trust that justice is truly being served.

After Denver rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter on the road in the NFL’s rowdiest stadium, the silence of stunned Seahawks fans was deafening as quarterback Peyton Manning represented the Broncos on the coin flip to determine which team would get the football to begin overtime.
Manning called tails.
The Seahawks won.
NFL overtime rules are stupid.

“It puts a premium on the coin toss,” Manning said. “I called tails at the beginning of the game, and went with it again in overtime. It was heads, and it proved to be a significant call. But that’s the way it is. And you’d like to not leave it to that, leave it to get to that situation.”
Manning was forced to stand and watch as Seattle marched 80 yards for a touchdown on the opening possession of overtime. No doubt, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was fantastic on the game-winning drive. When a fierce 6-yard run by Marshawn Lynch gave sudden death to Denver’s remarkable comeback, Broncos linebacker Nate Irving and his defensive teammates were so emotionally stunned their feet no longer seemed to work. They stood near the goal line, nobody wanting to go home.
Did this qualify as a moral victory after the 43-8 blowout in the Super Bowl? Knighton certainly didn’t want a juice box and a condescending pat on the head. “You either win or you lose ... We’re not saying, ‘At least the score is better than the Super Bowl’ or anything like that,” Knighton insisted.

Manning has become known in Denver, thanks to imaginative T-shirt makers and excitable fans, as PFM. Maybe I’ve finally figured out what those three letters mean: Pray for miracles.
In the hands of Manning, miracles happen.
While the NFL’s most beautiful mind was stumped by the Seahawks for the vast majority of four quarters and Denver’s offensive game plan appeared so simplistic you might have wondered if it had been written in crayon, Manning willed the Broncos 80 yards in the final 59 seconds of the fourth quarter to tie the game, despite the hindrance of no timeouts to stop the clock.

Manning hit a wide-open Jacob Tamme with a 26-yard pass for the touchdown, then found Demaryius Thomas against Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman to convert the essential two points after the TD.
Prayer answered.

“That’s what makes him Peyton Manning,” said Wilson, with obvious respect for one of the NFL’s elder statesmen. “That’s what makes him one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game.”

Then, however, Manning was forced to sit and watch overtime. Maybe NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should have bought Manning a pretzel and beer. In 2012, the league amended its overtime rules to allow each team to possess the ball at least once in the extra period, unless a touchdown is scored on the opening drive by the lucky bums who win the coin flip.
That’s stupid. Let’s simplify the rules: If the teams have fought into an overtime, haven’t both teams earned the right to touch the football at least once?

Yes, Tim Tebow gave Denver fans one of the biggest playoff thrills in franchise history by beating Pittsburgh in overtime on an 80-yard bolt from the blue.
But has Hollywood ever required Denzel Washington or Harrison Ford to sit out the last reel when things got dicey and the audience prayed for a miracle from the movie’s hero?
“We’re not going to change the rules,” said Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. “But I would’ve liked our chances if we got our ‘O’ back out there.”
Fade to black.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Again the BETTER TEAM WON

[The_Hound]

Originally Posted by Pasta Giant Meatball

Again the BETTER TEAM WON

agreed

[kcpasco]

Goodell will change the rules so both teams get 1 possession unless the first TD is from a Manning.

[OldSchool]

Hilarious. I bet that they change the rules during this coming off-season just to coddle Manning some more. Don't want the game to be decided by a "lucky flip" in overtime? Then win the ****ing game in regulation.

[Demonpenz]

the over and under has to be somewhat managable to vegas

[Iconic]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

It's not an advantage if the other team's defense is stronger than your offense, or if your defense is stronger than the other team's offense.

Granted, though, that the modern rules give offenses all sorts of advantages over defenses, so that's a factor.

Yes, and the easiest way to nullify these advantages is to simply have two possessions.

I just don't understand why everyone is so butt hurt over adding one extra possession. It's like I'm advocating genocide over here, what in the **** is getting everyone so riled up for? Fairer results are some how frowned upon?

[tk13]

Originally Posted by Iconic

Your argument was if you can ram it down the oppositions throat and score a touchdown while the game is on the line, you deserve another possession.

I'm saying the Broncos technically did just that.

Yeah, but it still doesn't make sense. One happened during regulation, the other happened during OT. I never said if you allow a TD during regulation you deserve to lose the game.

You are never going to make it 100% fair. A team with a great offense can win the coin flip at the beginning of the game, go down and score and take the lead, and be playing from an advantageous position for the rest of the game. I've always argued as much as we argue about stuff on here, sometimes things come down to flat luck.

[GoChargers]

Originally Posted by Iconic

Yes, and the easiest way to nullify these advantages is to simply have two possessions.

I just don't understand why everyone is so butt hurt over adding one extra possession. It's like I'm advocating genocide over here, what in the **** is getting everyone so riled up for? Fairer results are some how frowned upon?

How were the results unfair in any way? Did the Donks not have the opportunity to try to stop Seattle's offense? Hell, they didn't even need to get a stop, they could have even just forced them to settle for 3. Instead they let Seattle drive 80 yards for a touchdown. They deserved to lose.

[Baby Lee]

****ing ESPN saying 'new rules put extra emphasis on coin toss,' then go to forehead presser where he puts the OT loss on choosing the coin toss poorly.


Transparent.

[eDave]

Manning choked the coin toss.

/sorry if Q

[Buck]

Originally Posted by TimBone

I thought the last time they changed it was because this happened to him...or maybe it was Favre. Can't remember.

Yep. The Manning Rule was created because of this game.

[kcpasco]

Instead of guaranteed possessions why not just play a 10 minute quarter.

[The_Hound]

why not just let payton have the ball, or get 2 flips. That way errbody happy.

[Mama Hip Rockets]

seattletimes.com doesn't sound like a satire site, but in all honesty, are they serious?

People whined (rightfully so) about the overtime rules for years and years, and the league finally got it right. Now we're going to whine some more? Was Denver's defense not aware of the overtime rules going in?

[Mama Hip Rockets]

Originally Posted by kcpasco

Instead of guaranteed possessions why not just play a 10 minute quarter.

Or why not just leave the rules like they are now, since they're perfect?