NFL Week 1 (Sept. 10th-14th)

[chuckywang]

I still don't get how the best professional league in this country has an archaic overtime system to decide games.

 

Great game, though.

 

Completely agree ... the overtime system heavily favors the team that won the coin toss. It's not fair.

 

This isn't college, thisn't is high school, this is the NFL. The Titans had 60 minutes to win the game and they didn't. Just because they didn't win the coin toss, or stop the Steelers when the needed too doesnt mean it's unfair. I truly doubt you'll hear any Titan player complain about th OT rules being unfair. The Titans didn't stop the Steelers in OT and that is ON them, an not the OT rules.

 

The OT rules are fine.

 

Let me ask you this. Are you denying that the coin toss is a factor in determining the winner?

 

The opening coin toss is a factor in determing the winner of any game.

 

This is a very stupid topic that needs to stop being discussed. The people who cry about OT rules every damn time a game goes to OT refuse to acknowledge the simple fact that both teams had 60 minutes to score more than their opponent and that none of their proposals are realistic or better. Football is a long freaking game. The 1:00 games end after 4, the night time games end after midnight on the east coast. Insisting on both teams touching the ball is freaking stupid. They had their chance. Nobody is getting screwed over, nobody is being robbed of anything.

 

Nobody here disagrees that the winner of the OT coin toss has an advantage, and I would argue it is a big advantage. When one team is given an undeserved advantage, that is the very definition of unfair.

 

Baseball is a long freaking game too. Imagine extra innings in baseball ending after the *first* team scores, not the leader after every frame. That would be analogous to the NFL OT rules.

[Flames24Rulz]

Nobody here disagrees that the winner of the OT coin toss has an advantage, and I would argue it is a big advantage. When one team is given an undeserved advantage, that is the very definition of unfair.

 

Baseball is a long freaking game too. Imagine extra innings in baseball ending after the *first* team scores, not the leader after every frame. That would be analogous to the NFL OT rules.

 

Not to mention college football games usually are longer than NFL games even with the breaks due to challenges and the two minute warning.

 

I'd much rather have a 'longer game' where both teams get a fair and equal chance of winning the game than what we currently have right now. I still feel it's bull that a team that wins a coin toss almost always wins the game without the other team even getting the ball. Ties should be eliminated too, but who am I to judge?

[Banedon]

NFL OT is pure sudden death end of game that's it.

 

Can't argue against purists. :)

[SpongeWorthy]

Sometimes I wish college football and the NFL would come to a uniform standard for rules but I guess that gives each game a little cache.

 

I would probably tweak the college OT system so each team starts outside of field goal range and makes it so you can/should use more of its playbook to score (when you start at the 25 it takes away the deep passing game and potential gadget plays) and I do think the NFL OT system needs to be modified somehow.

 

I wish the NFL would do away with making PI a spot foul and change it to a 15 yarder and I think college should adopt down by contact. I hate when some crappy PI call on a near uncatchable ball becomes a 40+ yard play in the NFL and I hate when a college receiver lays out for a ball and can't get up and run with it. The two feet in vs. one foot in difference is fine.

[Banedon]

Eh....college basketball isn't the same as NBA....college baseball has different rules than MLB...etc.

 

That's not really my problem with NFL OT. I just think there's a better way to do it than how it's currently done is all.

[bukie]

I don't completely agree that NFL OT is decided on a coin flip, because it's not like the opposing team gets it on the 50 or anything. Unless the score is 63-all at the end of regulation, it can be expected that the defense can make a stop more often than not. It's not out of the realm of reality that a team's defense can and should be expected to keep the opposing drive under 50 yards to give the offense a chance with the ball.

[David]

I don't completely agree that NFL OT is decided on a coin flip, because it's not like the opposing team gets it on the 50 or anything. Unless the score is 63-all at the end of regulation, it can be expected that the defense can make a stop more often than not. It's not out of the realm of reality that a team's defense can and should be expected to keep the opposing drive under 50 yards to give the offense a chance with the ball.

 

I believe that since the kickoff placement rules were changed in the early 90s, the coin toss winner has won 60% of OT games.

 

Prior to that rule change, it was close to 50/50. Why not just change that rule back?

[chuckywang]

I don't completely agree that NFL OT is decided on a coin flip, because it's not like the opposing team gets it on the 50 or anything. Unless the score is 63-all at the end of regulation, it can be expected that the defense can make a stop more often than not. It's not out of the realm of reality that a team's defense can and should be expected to keep the opposing drive under 50 yards to give the offense a chance with the ball.

 

The winner of the coin flip still has an advantage. You're saying the onus is on the defense to overcome that advantage.

[bukie]

I don't completely agree that NFL OT is decided on a coin flip, because it's not like the opposing team gets it on the 50 or anything. Unless the score is 63-all at the end of regulation, it can be expected that the defense can make a stop more often than not. It's not out of the realm of reality that a team's defense can and should be expected to keep the opposing drive under 50 yards to give the offense a chance with the ball.

 

The winner of the coin flip still has an advantage. You're saying the onus is on the defense to overcome that advantage.

It's an advantage, but the game isn't over.

[RedFlash]

Let me ask you this. Are you denying that the coin toss is a factor in determining the winner?

 

 

29% of the time the team that wins the toss drives down and scores without the other team touching the ball. Overall, however, the coin toss winner only wins 52% of the time. It seems fair but these numbers are somewhat misleading because in 1994 a rule changed moved the kickoff back 5 yards to the 30 yard line (those numbers were based on data from 1973-2003). Since then, it's been about 60%. Prior to the rule change, the coin toss had no predictive value for deciding who would eventually win the game. Since 1994, the coin flip winner has a clear advantage.

 

Is it an advantage to win the coin toss? Sure. Is it a "major" advantage? No.

[NCCubFan]

Nobody here disagrees that the winner of the OT coin toss has an advantage, and I would argue it is a big advantage. When one team is given an undeserved advantage, that is the very definition of unfair.

 

Baseball is a long freaking game too. Imagine extra innings in baseball ending after the *first* team scores, not the leader after every frame. That would be analogous to the NFL OT rules.

If the first team to bat in extra innings were determined by a coin flip instead of who is the home team I think that would be a good analogy.

[NCCubFan]

NFL OT is pure sudden death end of game that's it.

 

Can't argue against purists. :)

From a purist perspective, I remember in my own lifetime when there was no OT in the first place and ties were ties (except for postseason).

[David]

Let me ask you this. Are you denying that the coin toss is a factor in determining the winner?

 

 

29% of the time the team that wins the toss drives down and scores without the other team touching the ball. Overall, however, the coin toss winner only wins 52% of the time. It seems fair but these numbers are somewhat misleading because in 1994 a rule changed moved the kickoff back 5 yards to the 30 yard line (those numbers were based on data from 1973-2003). Since then, it's been about 60%. Prior to the rule change, the coin toss had no predictive value for deciding who would eventually win the game. Since 1994, the coin flip winner has a clear advantage.

 

Is it an advantage to win the coin toss? Sure. Is it a "major" advantage? No.

 

 

60-40 is a major advantage....

[Andy]

I think college OT rules are absurd. Would it be so difficult to have one possession for each team, starting with a kickoff for both? Regardless of the outcome of the 'first' possession, both teams kick to the other. They go until one team has more points than the other after an exchange. Seems simple.

[RedFlash]

Let me ask you this. Are you denying that the coin toss is a factor in determining the winner?

 

 

29% of the time the team that wins the toss drives down and scores without the other team touching the ball. Overall, however, the coin toss winner only wins 52% of the time. It seems fair but these numbers are somewhat misleading because in 1994 a rule changed moved the kickoff back 5 yards to the 30 yard line (those numbers were based on data from 1973-2003). Since then, it's been about 60%. Prior to the rule change, the coin toss had no predictive value for deciding who would eventually win the game. Since 1994, the coin flip winner has a clear advantage.

 

Is it an advantage to win the coin toss? Sure. Is it a "major" advantage? No.

 

 

60-40 is a major advantage....

 

It would only be a "major advantage" if the team that losses the coin flip can't stop the team that won it. Contrary to popular belief more times then not OT games are not decided on the first drive.

[CubbieBum]

Just guarantee each team one possession. Its a simple and easy solution. It won't extend the length of the game that much and it makes it a lot more fair.

 

It already is fair and yes it absolutely would extend the game much. It's sudden death for a reason.

 

Uhh one possession guarantee is going to extend the game one possession a large majority of the time. That is not a long time. An extra 10 minutes to give each team an equal chance to win in overtime seems like an obvious thing to do.

[CubbieBum]

Let me ask you this. Are you denying that the coin toss is a factor in determining the winner?

 

 

29% of the time the team that wins the toss drives down and scores without the other team touching the ball. Overall, however, the coin toss winner only wins 52% of the time. It seems fair but these numbers are somewhat misleading because in 1994 a rule changed moved the kickoff back 5 yards to the 30 yard line (those numbers were based on data from 1973-2003). Since then, it's been about 60%. Prior to the rule change, the coin toss had no predictive value for deciding who would eventually win the game. Since 1994, the coin flip winner has a clear advantage.

 

Is it an advantage to win the coin toss? Sure. Is it a "major" advantage? No.

 

 

60-40 is a major advantage....

 

It would only be a "major advantage" if the team that losses the coin flip can't stop the team that won it. Contrary to popular belief more times then not OT games are not decided on the first drive.

 

Correct but nearly 30% of the time it does and that is a very high percentage in my mind. One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that not all teams are built the same. Some teams are built around offense, some defense and some both. The Colts are very likely to win a game if they win the coin toss because they have such a great offense. They are however likely to lose a game if they lose the toss because their defense isn't very good.

[RedFlash]

Correct but nearly 30% of the time it does and that is a very high percentage in my mind. One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that not all teams are built the same. Some teams are built around offense, some defense and some both. The Colts are very likely to win a game if they win the coin toss because they have such a great offense. They are however likely to lose a game if they lose the toss because their defense isn't very good.

 

The bottomline is this....these are men. If they can't "cowboy up", "man up", or whatever cliche macho statement that can come up with then they don't deserve to win the game. I could live with the NFL changing the OT rules to that if team A scores then team B has one last possession to tie or win the game. But if they don't chose to change the rules, then so be it.

[Banedon]

Correct but nearly 30% of the time it does and that is a very high percentage in my mind. One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that not all teams are built the same. Some teams are built around offense, some defense and some both. The Colts are very likely to win a game if they win the coin toss because they have such a great offense. They are however likely to lose a game if they lose the toss because their defense isn't very good.

 

The bottomline is this....these are men. If they can't "cowboy up", "man up", or whatever cliche macho statement that can come up with then they don't deserve to win the game. I could live with the NFL changing the OT rules to that if team A scores then team B has one last possession to tie or win the game. But if they don't chose to change the rules, then so be it.

 

That's possibly the worst argument ever.

 

They should do away with the roughing the QB and roughing the kicker penalties too. And the horsecollar penalties. And crackback blocks. These guys should just man up.

[David]

Let me ask you this. Are you denying that the coin toss is a factor in determining the winner?

 

 

29% of the time the team that wins the toss drives down and scores without the other team touching the ball. Overall, however, the coin toss winner only wins 52% of the time. It seems fair but these numbers are somewhat misleading because in 1994 a rule changed moved the kickoff back 5 yards to the 30 yard line (those numbers were based on data from 1973-2003). Since then, it's been about 60%. Prior to the rule change, the coin toss had no predictive value for deciding who would eventually win the game. Since 1994, the coin flip winner has a clear advantage.

 

Is it an advantage to win the coin toss? Sure. Is it a "major" advantage? No.

 

 

60-40 is a major advantage....

 

It would only be a "major advantage" if the team that losses the coin flip can't stop the team that won it. Contrary to popular belief more times then not OT games are not decided on the first drive.

 

 

It's 60-40 overall... 60% of the time the team that has won the flip has won. That's a fact. There's no qualifier to it. Not on the first drive. On whatever drive. Period.

[chuckywang]

Correct but nearly 30% of the time it does and that is a very high percentage in my mind. One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that not all teams are built the same. Some teams are built around offense, some defense and some both. The Colts are very likely to win a game if they win the coin toss because they have such a great offense. They are however likely to lose a game if they lose the toss because their defense isn't very good.

 

The bottomline is this....these are men. If they can't "cowboy up", "man up", or whatever cliche macho statement that can come up with then they don't deserve to win the game. I could live with the NFL changing the OT rules to that if team A scores then team B has one last possession to tie or win the game. But if they don't chose to change the rules, then so be it.

 

And here you perfectly summarize the only argument I ever hear in favor of NFL OT rules. Never mind the OT rules are inherently unfair. These are men, they need to suck it up and get over it. Never mind that the winner of the coin toss has a significant advantage. The defense needs to overcome that advantage, or else they are not worthy of winning the game. Equality and fair play in the rules is less important than the need for the NFL to keep up the appearance that their players are the closest thing to an ubermensch.

[RedFlash]

And here you perfectly summarize the only argument I ever hear in favor of NFL OT rules. Never mind the OT rules are inherently unfair. These are men, they need to suck it up and get over it. Never mind that the winner of the coin toss has a significant advantage. The defense needs to overcome that advantage, or else they are not worthy of winning the game. Equality and fair play in the rules is less important than the need for the NFL to keep up the appearance that their players are the closest thing to an ubermensch.

 

And the only people who think the OT rules are unfair are fans. I haven't heard one football player come out and say he thinks the rules are unfair. I know McNabb didn't know there could be ties in the NFL. And we all know about the whole Jerome Bettis contreversy in Detroit. But I haven't seen or heard one player complain about the rules. So why is that? Because even the players don't have complaints about the rules. So unless the bring complaints to whatever committee they need to, the rules won't change nor should they change just because the fans think it is "unfair."

[JonJayCutler]

Man, I'm so pumped. Not sure there is any better day all year than opening Sunday in the NFL. Although I like baseball slightly more than football, I don't get the same feeling for Opening Day in the MLB.

[ELCABALLO45]

Lets play!

 

Im so pumped.

[Keener98]

Any word on Berrians status for the Vikings? Trying to decide to play him or not