Tweet
NFL might experiment with making extra-point attempts longer
The NFL Competition Committee has discussed experimenting this preseason with a longer -- much longer -- extra-point try, Judy Battista of NFL.com reports. According to one member, the committee's meetings this weekend included preliminary talks about placing the ball at the 25-yard line for the extra-point kick -- which would make it a 42-yard attempt -- rather than the 2-yard line, where it is currently placed.
Last season, kickers missed just five of 1,267 extra-point attempts, a conversion rate of 99.6 percent -- so good that the extra point has become almost automatic, leading Commissioner Roger Goodell to recently suggest its demise could be imminent. A longer extra-point try would certainly make things more interesting and require significantly more strategizing. The conversion rate of field goals between 40 and 49 yards last season was 83 percent. The last time the extra-point conversation rate regularly fell below 90 percent was in the 1930s and early 1940s. That would surely give coaches something to ponder when weighing whether to kick for one point or try for two, with the success rate for two-point conversion attempts typically around 50 percent.
"There is no consensus yet," said the committee member. "We could experiment in preseason, but we are not there yet."
The NFL Competition Committee has discussed experimenting this preseason with a longer -- much longer -- extra-point try, Judy Battista of NFL.com reports. According to one member, the committee's meetings this weekend included preliminary talks about placing the ball at the 25-yard line for the extra-point kick -- which would make it a 42-yard attempt -- rather than the 2-yard line, where it is currently placed.
Last season, kickers missed just five of 1,267 extra-point attempts, a conversion rate of 99.6 percent -- so good that the extra point has become almost automatic, leading Commissioner Roger Goodell to recently suggest its demise could be imminent. A longer extra-point try would certainly make things more interesting and require significantly more strategizing. The conversion rate of field goals between 40 and 49 yards last season was 83 percent. The last time the extra-point conversation rate regularly fell below 90 percent was in the 1930s and early 1940s. That would surely give coaches something to ponder when weighing whether to kick for one point or try for two, with the success rate for two-point conversion attempts typically around 50 percent.
"There is no consensus yet," said the committee member. "We could experiment in preseason, but we are not there yet."