The Baltimore Ravens have often been at the forefront of rule changes, regularly suggesting tweaks to the current rule set for what is an ever-changing game. But their latest proposal might just be the best one yet, even if it sounds a little complicated.
You’ll rarely get fans to agree on anything in the NFL but most would say the league’s overtime rules are neither fair nor fun. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Baltimore is looking to change that, coming up with the “spot and choose” proposal for overtime. In short, one team picks the spot of the ball while the other team chooses whether to play offense or defense.
Steven Ruiz of FTW gave a great breakdown of how it would work and add more strategy to overtime:
“So, let’s say Team 1 wins the toss. It could then choose to spot the ball on the offense’s own one-yard line. Now, Team 2 has a decision to make: Is it confident it can drive 99 yards for a score? If so, it would probably choose to start on offense. If not, it would choose defense and try to play the field position game.”
It’s an interesting idea that adds more excitement to overtime and creates an opportunity for coaches and players to make highlight-reel finishes. At the least, it would take a little of the randomness out of the mix as, currently, the team that wins the coin toss is more likely to win the game.
While the rule is set to be proposed, it will still have to be voted on before turning into an actual rule we’ll see on Sundays. For that to happen, 23 other teams will have to agree with the Ravens’ idea.
