Overtime Proposal Doesn't Pass
PHOENIX, Ariz.--The NFL's team owners today failed to pass a proposal to move the kickoff in overtime from the 30- to the 35-yard line.
The competition committee recommended the change to try to offset the advantage of the team that wins the coin toss in overtime, citing a statistic that the club winning the toss has come to win more than 60 percent of overtime games. By having that team begin its opening drive of overtime five yards further back, the committee reasoned, the team that loses the coin toss would have a better chance of winning.
But not enough owners agreed with that and the measure didn't have the 24 votes among the 32 clubs necessary for approval. The proposal was tabled rather than defeated, and discussions likely will resume at the next owners' meeting in May. But Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay, the co-chairman of the competition committee, said he doesn't think a rule change related to overtime will be made before the 2007 season.
The owners did approve a recommendation by the competition committee to assess a five-yard penalty on any player who throws or spikes the ball on the field following a play that doesn't result in a touchdown.
By Mark Maske |
March 28, 2007; 2:32 PM ET
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Posted by: mart | March 29, 2007 12:06 PM
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I'm all for the 5 yard penalty for needlessly spiking a ball. A runner gets tackled after a short gain up the middle, the ref reaches out to get the ball and the dopey runner spikes it simply because he can. Or the wide receiver gets tackled after making a nice catch for a first down and gets up in the middle of the field and spikes the ball for the sake of showing some attitude. Good penalty.