Tebow Revelations: Playoff Overtime Sucks
Posted on January 9, 2012 by Stu in NFL, Rantcentric
It took longer for the ref to explain the new playoff rules of overtime than it did for Tebow to throw an 80-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas, which in turn led the Broncos to another unbelievable win. An overtime win, mind you, where the opposing team still was unable to possess the ball. So after my initial reaction of “Holy, shit. Did that just happen?” I began to think about how, during the premiere of this new, “equitable” overtime rule, Tim Tebow not only inexplicably won again, but he managed to make the NFL look like fucking morons all in the same 15 second span. So, no, this isn’t one of ten million views on how Tebow is the next savior/hellraiser, but rather a look at how the new playoff overtime rules are still terrible.
Wasn’t one of the main reasons for the new overtime rule to give the opposing team another chance on offense? Wasn’t this rule supposed to eliminate the randomness of a coin toss during the most important games of the season? I’ll be honest, the way it was sold to me on television, the radio, and on the internet, I was fucking convinced it was. Now, I all of a sudden have to rethink this one, and it’s all Tebow’s fault. I’ve come to this conclusion:
The new overtime rule is just as shitty as the old one.
Instead of sudden death, it’s more like “most-of-the-time sudden death.” Am I supposed to be happy that it’s better than “full sudden death?” I mean, I get it, trust me. There’s nothing entertaining or fair about a random coin-toss win, a decent kick-off return, a few first downs, and a chip-in field goal to end a playoff game during overtime. Sudden death sucked. Still does. But c’mon NFL, don’t change the fucking rule and make it seem like you’ve “greatly improved” overtime play. You’ve altered ONE scenario where a team scores and play can then continue…and when both teams have traded identical field goals only once, it goes right back to sudden death!
Here’s a list of scoring plays: field goal, touchdown, defensive touchdown, safety. Only one, the field goal, allows the ball to return to the other team in overtime. Granted, it happens more often, but why exclude the other plays if you’re truly trying to create the most balanced overtime scenario. The fucking funniest part to me is that if each team’s score happens to fall into that 25% range of scoring plays (the good ol’ field goal), then the old sudden death rule rears it’s ugly fucking head, leaving us right back where we started.
I hear the rationale: “Well, by then each team will have a chance to match a field goal or win with a touchdown or defensive play.” Not if the first team hits the end zone first. “Well, the defense should be able to hold them.” Isn’t that an argument for sudden death?
I also hear this: “Listen, asshat, if it sucks so bad, what do you suggest?” And I’ll be honest: I have no idea, but I have thought about it. Aside from baseball, football plays like most other sports, time-wise. And what do they do? Allow a set amount of time to play it out until the overtime clock expires. It seems like the most logical solution to me. Though I do understand that every play has season-ending-injury potential – so does hockey and they add a full overtime period – but I also grasp the fact that if your team’s on the losing side, the season is over regardless of injury. So why not play in the fairest way possible?
Though taking that overtime stance puts me in company with Bob Costas. And that alone is worth questioning my own fucking sanity.
It’s as embarassing as a Shootout determining the outcome of a hockey game. “Let’s play 60 min of 5-on-5 and 5 min of 4-on-4 as a team, but then let the game be decided by the team’s best offensive scorers against the goalie.