Remember back in January when Bill Belichick said extra points lacked any sense of drama? Apparently, he was on trend as The League is now looking at ways to moderate the 99.6%
return on investment professional kickers enjoy when attempting extra points.
As pigskin problems go, the devaluation of the PAT
is pretty far down my list. I take advantage of the almost automatic nature of
the PAT for additional time for bathroom breaks, hitting up the fridge for a
cold one or putting a frozen pizza in the oven. All three if you leave right
after the touchdown dance is ending. Moving the attempt out to the 42-yard line
is going to mean actually watching PAT’s. It will probably mean coaches that
pay attention to advance metrics will simply go for two after every touchdown.
You know you’re going to have to watch those plays.
I mean, I get it. Back in the days of leather
helmets, there wasn’t a roster spot for a kicking specialist. Playing 60
minutes actually meant playing 60 minutes. Offense, defense, special teams.
Once upon a time, Sammy
Baugh led the NFL in passing, interceptions and
punting. Extra points were kicked by your right tackle. The US hadn’t gone all soft and European. Kickers kicked the ball like
men; straight on with round-toed shoes.
Let’s be clear, though; those were not the good old days.
So extra points are easy. Doesn’t that make the
rare miss that much more remarkable?
(I wanted to use the John Carney miss but couldn't find a good quality video of that.)
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