NFL Overtime and Sudden Death:

I am a Sports Fanatic, I can't get enough of watching and playing sports, I'll watch almost any sport that has a good entertainment value and I've been known to play almost any one of them, However I'm much better at Watching sports than I am at Playing them. I'm not sure exactly where it all came from, I didn't grow up in a family that loved watching sports, In fact it was quite the opposite, We'd spend a lot of time in Nature fishing, hiking, and backpacking, but Sports wasn't ever really in the Dinner Table conversation, That is.. Unless you were talking about my Utah State University Aggies. Despite all that, somehow a few of us in the family have developed an undying passion for all things sports, I share this mostly I think with my little brother, We'll call him "B". The first thing to come on when I get home from a long day of work is ESPN's Sportscenter. I spend my time looking forward to catching a good game, Especially come Football season. If you don't like College Football, I pose the question "WHY NOT"... The NFL, Certainly enjoyable but I feel like there is more spirit in a college atmosphere, That all being said, Here's my thoughts on the NFL Overtime Sudden Death Rule:

I THINK ITS STUPID!! For starters, They have a Sudden Death Match: (First to score wins, For Sudden Death Click Here) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_Death
The receiving team on the play is chosen by a coin toss called by the visiting teams captain, The typical defensive argument here is that no matter who wins the coin toss, Its up to offense to drive down the field and the defense to stop them from scoring. This is certainly true however it doesn’t justify having sudden death. If the game is still tied upon completion of a 15 minute Overtime 5th quarter because no team has managed to score, The game is ruled a tie: What's wrong with a tie?? I won't bore you with my theory's of why the NFL has a Sudden Death Overtime rule (Possibly injuries resulting from another full 15 minute quarter) However, I firmly believe this:

The game of Football is a game of endurance and a game that ultimately determines who, on any given day is a better team, In a tie situation, the teams are obviously evenly matched. A sudden death overtime does not adequately entangle this question.

The biggest problem I see with sudden death is that it makes it possible that the contest is determined on the basis of 1 component of the game instead of 3. Football is a contest with 3 distinct components: Special Teams, Defense, and Offense. Both sides in a sudden death overtime engage in special teams. But if the game is won on the first possession, the teams only play either defense or offense. A good football game is not won simply by playing offense, or defense alone but by having a good combination of both. Sudden Death Overtime takes away the chances for each team to have an opportunity to play all three and thus makes the competition incomplete.

I LOVE the way that College Football has set up their overtime system, and I think that the NFL should adopt it. In College Football, A coin toss will determine which team should go first, however, each team will receive an opportunity of possession, starting with first-and-10 from the opponents 25 yard line. A team's possession ends when it scores (either a touchdown or field goal), misses a field goal, fails to gain a first down on the final down, or loses the ball by turnover. As usual, a touchdown by the offense is followed by a try for one or two points. This is then followed by an opportunity for the opposing team to score that equal amount of points, if they don't score, The game is called and it's all over, however, if the score remains tied at the end of the overtime procedure, an additional overtime procedure is played. The team with the second possession in one overtime procedure will have the first possession in the next overtime procedure.

This seems to me to be an equal opportunity for both proving at that point a winner for the time being. I bring this up after watching the 2009-10 NFL Season Opener Pittsburgh Steelers VS Tennessee Titans, The game was excellent and both teams were proving to play at an equal level. Upon completion of the game, Pittsburgh won the coin toss, marched down the field and scored a field goal, an otherwise anti-climatic and boring end to what had been an excellent game. Still, I'm stoked that its finally Football Season again!