NFL Overtime

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,278
AZ
I think the problem with a full quarter OT is that you still have the same problem what to do if the OT ends tied. It's the soccer problem. At some point you make it a war of attrition with no go way to end it except for something that doesn't seem fully satisfying.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,058
Hingham, MA
I think the problem with a full quarter OT is that you still have the same problem what to do if the OT ends tied. It's the soccer problem. At some point you make it a war of attrition with no go way to end it except for something that doesn't seem fully satisfying.
You just continue and it becomes sudden death. Both teams will have had opportunities in the first OT. That eliminates the primary complaint about OT right now.

Only drawback is making these teams play 25%+ more football could have an impact on performance the following week. And of course TV.
 

djbayko

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
25,895
Los Angeles, CA
You just continue and it becomes sudden death. Both teams will have had opportunities in the first OT. That eliminates the primary complaint about OT right now.

Only drawback is making these teams play 25%+ more football could have an impact on performance the following week. And of course TV.
So sudden death is acceptable in 2OT but not 1OT? It's logically inconsistent. Either you want both teams to have possession in each "frame" of the game or you don't. Your logic could be applied to 1OT as well - both teams had scoring opportunities in the first 60 minutes.

Edit: Because 2OT would be rare, I actually agree that people would probably be okay with your proposal...until the Patriots had first possession in 2OT of an elimination game.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
37,058
Hingham, MA
So sudden death is acceptable in 2OT but not 1OT? It's logically inconsistent. Either you want both teams to have possession in each "frame" of the game or you don't. Your logic could be applied to 1OT as well - both teams had scoring opportunities in the first 60 minutes.
I don't think it is inconsistent. Both teams get opportunities in regulation, yes, but you have to have a winner, and you don't want a coin flip to determine that. Ok. So you play an extra quarter and no one can say a coin toss decided it.
 

djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
25,895
Los Angeles, CA
I don't think it is inconsistent. Both teams get opportunities in regulation, yes, but you have to have a winner, and you don't want a coin flip to determine that. Ok. So you play an extra quarter and no one can say a coin toss decided it.
How is possession in the sudden death 2OT decided?
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
37,058
Hingham, MA
Right. So first possession of sudden death is decided by a coin flip in that case. It doesn't matter that the coin flip happened 3-1/2 hours ago. The end result is the same.
Huh? It's not decided by a coinflip. It's decided by who has the ball at the end of OT1. That's not a coinflip.
 

Bellhorn

Lumiere
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Aug 22, 2006
2,328
Brighton, MA
Ladies and gentlemen, I have the solution to the OT problem.

Team A gets the ball at their own 20-yard line. Simultaneously, Team B gets the ball (another ball) at their own 20-yard line. 44 total players on the field. First team to score wins. No downs, no game clock, no play clock, just a straight-up race to see if your offense can beat their defense before their offense beats your defense in the other direction. Things might get a little confusing when the teams are around midfield, but hey, that would be part of the fun.

Lock the fucking thread.
 

Oppo

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 5, 2009
1,576
Team A kicks off to Team B
Team B must immediately punt back to Team A
Team A gets the ball after fielding the punt, TD wins the game, anything else Team B wins
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Ladies and gentlemen, I have the solution to the OT problem.

Team A gets the ball at their own 20-yard line. Simultaneously, Team B gets the ball (another ball) at their own 20-yard line. 44 total players on the field. First team to score wins. No downs, no game clock, no play clock, just a straight-up race to see if your offense can beat their defense before their offense beats your defense in the other direction. Things might get a little confusing when the teams are around midfield, but hey, that would be part of the fun.

Lock the fucking thread.
I can see this in the XFL

Team A kicks off to Team B
Team B must immediately punt back to Team A
Team A gets the ball after fielding the punt, TD wins the game, anything else Team B wins
I have no idea how this helps anything
 

djbayko

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
25,895
Los Angeles, CA
Ladies and gentlemen, I have the solution to the OT problem.

Team A gets the ball at their own 20-yard line. Simultaneously, Team B gets the ball (another ball) at their own 20-yard line. 44 total players on the field. First team to score wins. No downs, no game clock, no play clock, just a straight-up race to see if your offense can beat their defense before their offense beats your defense in the other direction. Things might get a little confusing when the teams are around midfield, but hey, that would be part of the fun.

Lock the fucking thread.
Brilliant. And I have a solution for your mid-filed confusion. We just need to introduce a second parallel field during overtime.
I have no idea how this helps anything
Both teams touch the ball - the main compliant out there right now. Also brilliant.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,058
Hingham, MA
Team A kicks off to Team B
Team B must immediately punt back to Team A
Team A gets the ball after fielding the punt, TD wins the game, anything else Team B wins
I have a variation on this one... the team that wins the toss gets to kick or receive. If they choose to receive, they must score a TD, or else they lose. If they chose to kick, the other team must score a TD, or else they lose. This shortens OT to a single possession and creates an insane level of drama.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,759
Pittsburgh, PA
Ladies and gentlemen, I have the solution to the OT problem.

Team A gets the ball at their own 20-yard line. Simultaneously, Team B gets the ball (another ball) at their own 20-yard line. 44 total players on the field. First team to score wins. No downs, no game clock, no play clock, just a straight-up race to see if your offense can beat their defense before their offense beats your defense in the other direction. Things might get a little confusing when the teams are around midfield, but hey, that would be part of the fun.

Lock the fucking thread.
The severed limbs being ejected periodically from the respective massive pig-piles will make for great television.
 

Al Zarilla

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 8, 2005
58,871
San Andreas Fault
I have a variation on this one... the team that wins the toss gets to kick or receive. If they choose to receive, they must score a TD, or else they lose. If they chose to kick, the other team must score a TD, or else they lose. This shortens OT to a single possession and creates an insane level of drama.
Except for the Patriots (Celebrating what is), how many teams score a TD on the opening possession of OT, or to open games? Seems like with your scheme you’d opt to kick off, unless you’re the Patriots. Intriguing though, and it passes my rule that most fans should be able to remember it.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,058
Hingham, MA
Except for the Patriots (Celebrating what is), how many teams score a TD on the opening possession of OT, or to open games? Seems like with your scheme you’d opt to kick off, unless you’re the Patriots. Intriguing though, and it passes my rule that most fans should be able to remember it.
The equalizer to this is you have 4 downs. That changes the equation. It’d be interesting.
 

edoug

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
6,007
I have a variation on this one... the team that wins the toss gets to kick or receive. If they choose to receive, they must score a TD, or else they lose. If they chose to kick, the other team must score a TD, or else they lose. This shortens OT to a single possession and creates an insane level of drama.
Russian Roulette-style OT? Nah, way to radical for the NFL.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,240
Ladies and gentlemen, I have the solution to the OT problem.

Team A gets the ball at their own 20-yard line. Simultaneously, Team B gets the ball (another ball) at their own 20-yard line. 44 total players on the field. First team to score wins. No downs, no game clock, no play clock, just a straight-up race to see if your offense can beat their defense before their offense beats your defense in the other direction. Things might get a little confusing when the teams are around midfield, but hey, that would be part of the fun.

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Already been tried. Here's what it looked like: