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There is a lot being made of the NFL's overtime rule these days, especially this past week with a couple games going into overtime.Many people would like to see the overtime rule changed from the traditional sudden death setting the league has now to a more collegiate style where both teams get the ball at least once. However, changing the overtime real would only be treating a symptom, and not the disease.
The biggest problem with the sudden death setting is that about 65 percent of the time the team that wins the coin toss also wins the game. They're able to march down the field, get into field goal range, and easily win the game.
With the way kickers are these days, it's not out of the question for a 50 yard field goal to routinely end the game.
But people are only seeing the fever, and not the infection causing it.
The real problem with overtime, and the NFL in general, are the rules that hinder the defense's ability to actually play defense. With all this nonsense of attempting to attract the "casual" football fan, the NFL has made an attempt to see to it that offenses are more successful, which means scoring more points.
This is why you have offenses like the Saints this year, or the Patriots in 2007. Defenses are basically forced to play with a hand tied behind their back, while the offense is essentially given a third.
Preposterous penalties such as illegal contact, roughing the passer, and pass interference are forcing defenses to play scared. Teams become afraid of drawing the yellow laundry, and therefore don't play as fast or as hard as they could, or should.
I of course understand the reasoning for penalties like roughing the pass and pass interference, but the way in which they are enforced are a disgusting perversion of their intended effect and has diluted what was once a great brand of football.
Defense is where games are won and lost, and it's where teams win or lose championships -- or, at least, it used to be. Now, however, is essentially just a supplement to the offense. If a defense can keep the opposing team under 20 points, it's a feat that demands an applause.
A defense pitching a shutout is few and far between, and when it does happen, more often than not it's because of incompetent offense and not a stifling defense.
The idea that a defender should not tackle the quarterback too hard, or in certain areas, or that a cornerback should not be able to touch a receiver at all is absolute lunacy. There's no two ways around it and it ruins what should be a terrific game.
So how does this affect overtime directly? Well, it's quite obvious. Were it not for the asinine rules to handicap the defense, the team getting the ball would not win the game 65 percent of the time, but would more than likely drop it to around 50-50.
If the defense was able to perform at its full potential it would be able to stop the opposing offense and get the ball back, giving their team an opportunity to win.
If you have a weed, you don't cut it off at the stem. Pull it out by its roots and solve the problem once and for all. Overtime is the stem here, people.
Let's focus on killing the roots.
