How would you change the overtime rules?

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

In a system in which each team is guaranteed one possession you would see that flip, as teams would see a much greater advantage to going second. By electing to kick you would have the massive advantage of knowing whether you need a fieldgoal or TD to win, something that completely changes offensive strategy, and something which the first offense would not know. Big advantage.

I still think most teams would choose to receive though because if one possession for each team can't decide it, it becomes sudden death, but now they have the ball.

I tend to like this idea simply because it takes a lot of the meaning out of the coin toss, which is the only real problem. Because let's face it: the overtime rules are very, very fair before the coin toss occurs. It's just that the toss decides a fair amount of games, a few more than we would like in overtime. It's not an omnipresent issue obviously, but if we can de-emphasize the coin toss in OT, I'm all for a change.

[djnemo65]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I still think most teams would choose to receive though because if one possession for each team can't decide it, it becomes sudden death, but now they have the ball.

I tend to like this idea simply because it takes a lot of the meaning out of the coin toss, which is the only real problem. Because let's face it: the overtime rules are very, very fair before the coin toss occurs. It's just that the toss decides a fair amount of games, a few more than we would like in overtime. It's not an omnipresent issue obviously, but if we can de-emphasize the coin toss in OT, I'm all for a change.

I don't agree that teams would elect to receive, because by kicking you are getting all of the potential field-position advantages of going on defense first, being able to make a stop or turnover to force a shortfield, while removing all of the risk of getting scored on. It's a win/win.

And just because a team scores on their first possession I don't think you can say the toss decided the game. I think the defense that got whipped has a little bit to do with it as well.