Not a New Topic--The NFL has Been Discussing Changes for Years

As some of the comments posted before demonstrate, there is widespread acknowledgment within the NFL of the shortcomings of the current overtime system. Back in 2003, NFL franchise owners discussed the overtime rules and a possible two-possession format, but came away without a consensus on that format.

Five years later, the issue is still front and center. In January of this year, Roger Goodell delivered his annual state of the league address, in which he addressed the issue of the overtime rules and said the NFL would look into all aspects of the current rules and see if they needed to be changed. As you can see, Mr. Goodell acknowledges the statistics and growing trend of games being won on the first possession. He also shares quite a few viable alternatives he says the committee would look into.



As promised, the competition committee discussed revisions in February. However, the committee decided not to recommend changes, and thus the issue never made it to the league meetings in March. Rich McKay told the press that there was no consensus on what could replace the current system and, furthermore, there was “no strong dissatisfaction with it.” This is the same Rich McKay who would like to see the statistics change without changing the system which creates them.

Mr. Goodell, you yourself recognize and acknowledge the growing problems with the current NFL overtime system. Many others in the league agree this needs to be addressed and replaced by a more appropriate system. By taking a stand and using your influence to push for a serious change, the NFL overtime rules can be changed before more people become disillusioned with the system, and more games are won on a coin toss.

SOURCES:

Youtube Video: NFL Commish to Review Overtime Rule
The Fifth Down: NY Times NFL Blog