From: ericbegins@gmail.com   
      
   On Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 7:47:56 AM UTC-6, j...@mich.com wrote:   
   > On Fri, 12 Jan 2024 11:35:37 -0800 (PST), JE Corbett    
   wrote:    
   >    
   > >If I ruled the world (and I think I should) overtime in both pro and   
   college would    
   > >use the same format. However, I would eliminate the coin toss. There is too    
   > >much of an advantage to the team that wins the toss. In the pros, the team    
   > >winning the toss can end the game by scoring a TD on their first   
   possession.    
   > >In the postseason, both teams are assured a possession, but the team that    
   > >wins the toss will get the third possession and the chance to win the game    
   > >with a FG.    
   > >    
   > >In college, going on defense first is huge advantage because that team   
   knows    
   > >whether it needs a TD or can play for the FG. In essence, it tells them   
   whether    
   > >they have 3 downs or 4 downs to get a first down.    
   > >    
   > >I would like to see both pro and college go to a true sudden death format.    
   > >First team to score wins. However, instead of the first possession decided    
   > >by the luck of the coin toss, just continue the game from where the fourth    
   > >quarter ended. Change ends of the field just like is done between the    
   > >third and fourth quarter and continue playing with the same down and    
   > >distance. If a team tied the game on the last play of regulation, that team    
   > >kicks off to start the overtime. First possession would still be a big    
   > >advantage, but that advantage would be dictated by the flow of the game,    
   > >not the luck of the coin toss.    
   > >    
   > >I'm old enough to remember watching the very first sudden death overtime    
   > >game, the 1958 NFL championship game between the Baltimore Colts and    
   > >the New York Giants. Johnny Unitas drove the Colts the length of the field    
   > >to set up the game tying FG on the last play of regulation. The Colts won    
   > >the overtime toss, took possession and again drove the length of the field    
   > >and score on a plunge by Alan Ameche. Had my proposal been in effect    
   > >back then, the Giants would have received to start overtime. Would it have    
   > >changed the outcome? We'll never know. I had just turned 7 years old a    
   > >month earlier and it was the first game I ever remember watching and still    
   > >one of the best.   
   > I saw that game too, I was watching it with my dad and was about the same   
   age.    
   > I became a Unitas fan on the spot.Many years later I was in the Melbourne   
   (FL) airport    
   > waiting for my wife to come off the plane, and lo and behold, Johnny Unitas   
   was coming    
   > off the plane. I stopped him and told him I was a fan. We chatted for a few   
   minutes    
   > and shook hands, very pleasant guy, and I was excited to have met him and   
   talked to him.    
   > The NFL could do with more players with his class and honesty. Too bad those   
   attributes hurt him    
   > financially.   
      
   A minor change they could make that could improve the current rules - there is   
   no reason to wait until OT is needed to determine who gets the ball first.    
   There are a million fair ways to determine it - flip 2 coins at the start of   
   the game;  flip one,    
   but the loser chooses either which goal to defend or OT possession; or maybe   
   it's always the visiting team to help offset HFA - whatever.  As long as it's   
   known in the 4th quarter, you can factor that into your end-of-regulation   
   decisions.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)