The NFL found some of their senses. Only some. But baby steps are good. Progress is welcome. In a 28-4 vote Tuesday, the NFL owners elected to change the overtime format. Yes. Good job, ol' boys. However, it's only for the playoffs and, naturally, Mike Brown was one of four that voted against it, saying of the current system:
“I’ve looked at it for many years and I like it the way it is,” Brown said. “I think it’s dramatic. Everything is on the line from the start. That’s exciting and I don’t think it needs tinkering.”
For Christ sake. Who cares about excitement? Let's just give each team at least one possession of the football and let 'em hammer it out. I've never been a fan of the current overtime system. I understand the argument for sudden death. For example, I understand that it's the other team's job to stop the offense from scoring and allow your offense to have at least one possession. This doesn't include suspect pass interference calls that are, for the most part, irreversible with referees in bad positions making terrible judgment calls that they shouldn't make.
The change is simple. The team that receives the opening kickoff in overtime is forced to score a touchdown if they want to prevent the other team from having a possession. If that team only scores a field goal, the other team will get a chance at a possession. This will only apply to overtime with a chance to discuss the overtime rule for the regular season in May.
We're sure there's more subtle differences that'll need to be addressed and discussed. But we do applaud the NFL for actually voting for change.