OPINION: Why Overtime? The Curse Of Over-coaching And Risk Management

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Right now, your ever-critical sports media are preparing to run Nick Saban through the wringer. Given a split second opportunity, he chose to go for the win with a near-impossible 57-yard field goal. But when the field goal came up short, there was Auburn’s Chris Davis waiting to run it out, and after avoiding all of Alabama’s 300-pound men, he managed to take it back 109-yards to score the walk-off touchdown. Immediately, the decision by Saban to go for it in regulation was being picked apart because of the result, a once-in-a-lifetime chance of a returned field goal. Common football practice dictates Saban just wait for overtime, not risk anything on a fluke play.

But Saban’s decision should be praised, not condemned. If anything is to be condemned, it should be the concept of football overtime itself.

The same week that ended on Saban’s loss began with Sunday’s Vikings-Packers 26-26 tie, after both teams scored field goals and never scored again. And while college has used the more effective Kansas-style procedure since 1996 (one possession each, with the ball on the 25-yard line at one end), the NFL’s style has produced 19 draws since 1973, including two in the current one-possession-then-sudden-death scenario.

And to understand the real problem with NFL overtime, one must travel back to the AFC Divisional Playoff between Baltimore and Denver. After a three-and-out by the Ravens, the Broncos started on their own 20, with 31 seconds on the clock, and Peyton Manning under center. And…victory formation. Coach John Fox didn’t even attempt to win the game in regulation, choosing not to risk an interception. In the second overtime, after neither team scored a point, Manning wound up throwing a pick to Corey Graham anyway, and the Ravens were able to kick a field goal to end the 4th-longest NFL game on their way to winning Super Bowl XLVII.

No one criticized Fox for taking a knee to avoid what was the eventual result, even though we should. And no one should criticize Saban for not thinking it was possible for a returned field goal. What are the odds a missed field goal could be catchable, much less returned without much opposition? That line of thinking is ostracized, not appreciated.
There’s a common belief that football coaches play to win, always gambling and risking it all for the “W”. But the unspoken truth is, NFL coaches play not to lose, avoiding risk as much as possible. Go for it on 4th and 1? Rarely, because there’s too much to give up. 4th and Goal on the 1-yard line, down 3, do you chance a touchdown? No, kick the field goal. Hell, they’ll kick the crucial field goal on the third down, just in case they bobble the snap. And God forbid you stray from NFL coaching’s most common conventions. Why do you think they ice the kicker even though it never works? Because it’s the way it’s always been, no one is allowed to think outside the box. If you screw up doing so, it’s hell to pay with the studio shows, who will always use the advantage of 20/20 hindsight to kill your career.

So with this in mind, it’s time to admit to the NFL’s failed experiment. Not just for the past two years, but for the past forty. It may sound unpopular, but it must be done.
End overtime. Bring back the draw.

Sure, it’s a shock to the system. It seems to go against a common convention of American sports, that there’s always a winner and a loser. And the meathead football hierarchy will dismiss it as “something those European soccer-playing fairies do.” But coaches now aren’t playing to win, and with the guaranteed possessions, they’re taking knees even more than they used to. In baseball and basketball they try their best to make sure to win in regulation. But in football, if you’re in your own red zone with over a minute left, take a knee. The AFC Divisional playoff is the best example: the game ended on the pick they tried to avoid in the first place, after Fox and John Harbaugh jerked around for 17 minutes. And Vikes-Pack wasted 15 minutes, which is usually 45-55 minutes in the real world thanks to the NFL’s arcane timing rules. If Saban had taken a knee in the Iron Bowl, it would’ve been a short 15-20 actual minutes with more of a chance to score, and he still gambled for the win.

The football culture will resist, but they will have to adapt and live with the draws. The TV graphic artists, who are no doubt pissed they had to add that third “ties” column on a short Thanksgiving week will already have that third column ready to go. Maybe award points, with one point for a draw, and two or three points like the NHL and soccer. And the narrative media will find their angles. The circus acts that make up the studio shows will have every opportunity to slam both teams, flying from their trapezes to make the cliche “kissing their sister” lines, only to have Bob Costas end the night with a social commentary on how those jokes are offensive to the good folks who practice incest. Or it could go the way of soccer, with the debate of whether THIS draw felt like a win, a loss, or an actual draw. That’s what soccer can teach you: sometimes a true draw feels like a win. Not a parking of the bus, but an actually good team holding down a great team. It’s a new line of debate that can be rehashed from studio show to studio show.

And it probably shouldn’t have changed in the first place. NFL teams have 60 minutes, or three-and-a-half real hours, to win the game. You need another hour of our time? Go pound sand! Why should you get extra credit when you couldn’t finish your assignment in the allotted time? So what if the fans don’t feel like they got their money’s worth? Quit charging $50 for parking, or $75 for a ticket, or $10 for a hot dog! Think the fans in Jerry World are pissed they get a draw? They should be pissed Jerry’s selling a goddamn foot-long sandwich for $12!

But even if we rid ourselves of this overtime albatross, it still doesn’t solve the problem of last year’s AFC Divisional Playoff. It can’t end on a tie, but something must be done about that whole “take a knee” concept. So lets look at the CFL (yes, I’m serious). If a team’s in a middle of a drive, an un-timed down ends each quarter. It’s a tradition from football’s often-denied rugby roots, where they let a final play continue until no progress can be made. So instead of one play, let’s allow an offensive drive to continue after the end of each half, until the team either scores or turns it over. Then maybe John Fox would’ve been more willing to go for the win knowing he would’ve had time for a proper drive, forcing overtime for the reason it was created: to give teams a chance to win when they didn’t have an opportunity in regulation. And even if it comes to an extra period, let’s get this thing over with: go with college’s Kansas system. One possession, at the 25-yard line. It’s still football, unlike the penalty shootouts of hockey and soccer. And it won’t be an hour of our wasted time, with some dumb fluke play ending the game anyway.
It’s a hell of a concept, but we can make it work. Our children will thank us for reminding them of the value of a draw, and for giving them an hour back of their lives every time. As usual, the football culture will have to be dragged kicking and screaming to accept it. Ironic, considering they should approve of a penalty for half-assing it. But until these new rules take effect, proudly display those three-columned division standings: the NFC North right now is the wave of the future. And give Saban the credit he deserves, for displaying the real American sports spirit of going for the win. Go big or go home! Fortune favors the bold! Consider that as ESPN, NBC, and Fox’s circle jerk debate shows rip him to shreds on Monday, crying “take the safe choice!” as if they’ve ever had the option.
Now, about this “icing the kicker” shit….

(Image courtesy ESPN)

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