On NBC's Sunday night coverage of the Bears-Eagles game, Bob Costas took some minutes during halftime, as well as after the game, to rail against the NFL's overtime rules. He even asked fellow NBC deskmate Tony Dungy about it, transitioning from the actual game at hand.
"The coin flip is too random... doesn't seem fair to me," Costas summarized, even noting to Dungy that the last game he ever coached was an overtime loss in the playoffs, perhaps because the other team won the toss. But the former Colts coach didn't bite, ultimately saying he liked the rule the way it is.
On this week's Treehouse Fort I mentioned how the opposition to the BCS was strong, yet their detractors don't have much agreement of their own. How many teams should get in? Do you take four? Eight? 16? And how do you select them — via a poll, or do you invite each conference winner? There are many great choices, but a single solution doesn't rise above the rest. In fact, I'm pretty sure the BCS is sneaky enough to float so many new playoff ideas out there that it confuses the masses. This also supports my unsubstantiated theory that the Ralph Nader campaign was a product of the Republican Party.
Likewise, you could tweak the NFL overtime rules ... but how? Do you eliminate field goals? What about playing a complete 5-minute or 10-minute bonus period? Or how about adopting the college football rules? People seem to like those. Or just turn it into a Punt, Pass & Kick competition. That way, when kids participate in those, they can pretend they're beating Tony Dungy in the playoffs.
Aside: How did the NFL decide on those three skills for children? Passing I understand, but punters and kickers are the runts of any NFL team. What about catching? How about running the ball through a tire course? The punting and kicking makes sense because there's a low chance of injury, plus even scrawny 11-year-olds and girls can do it. So why not just make it a kicking competition? Practice kickoffs, free kicks, and drop kicks. Then practice standing around during most of the game and hopping on a larger kid to celebrate.
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