Breaking Down the Two-Point Conversion Proposals
UPDATE: ON MAY 19TH, THE LEAGUE SELECTED THE COMPETITION COMMITTEE’S PROPOSAL FOR A ONE SEASON TRIAL RUN
As the NFL Owners meet in San Francisco this week, the ever developing discussion to enhance what might be the dullest play in all of sports is in the spotlight. As anticipated by both the media and NFL teams, the NFL Competition Committee and the NFL Owners will meet to discus the possibilities of changing the after-score play, whether that be the point-after attempt kick or the two-point conversion. There are currently three proposed rule changes to the extra point: one from the Patriots, Eagles and the Competition Committee. Any rule changes will have to be approved by 24 of the 32 NFL teams in order to be implemented.
“There’s a clear movement to wanting to change and change it this year,” said Rich McKay, who co-chairs the competition committee, but is currently suspended for his role in the Falcons crowd-noise scandal.
In a study done by Sporting Charts “from the 1990 to 2011 seasons, 22 seasons in total, there were 23,684 extra point attempts during the regular season. Of these, a total of 23,325 were successfully made for a league wide extra point efficiency rating of 98.48%. In total, only 359 times has a kicker missed the point after touchdowns. Breaking this number down further, we found that 103 were blocked while kickers missed 256 straight out.” Here is a simple breakdown of each of the proposed rule changes by the two teams and the Competition Committee:
- Patriots Proposal – On the extra-point attempt, the ball will be snapped at the 15-yard line, thus making an extra-point kick 33 yards.
- Eagles Proposal – On the extra-point attempt, the ball will be snapped at the 15-yard line, similar to the Patriots proposal. The Eagles take it an extra step though with the two-point conversion. The two-point conversion would be moved from the two yard line to the one yard line. Also, defenses would be able to score on a blocked kick or a turnover during a two point conversion. If a defense scores on a turnover, they will be awarded a safety (two points)
- Competition Committee Proposal – As with the previous proposal, the extra-point attempt will be snapped from the 15-yard line. The two-point conversion will remain at the two yard line, but the defense can still score on a turnover. A safety will only be worth one point in the event of a score off a turnover.
What is almost unanimous in these proposals is moving the snap back to the 15-yard line on extra-point attempts. Now what’s interesting with the Eagles proposal is the one guy everyone is talking about: Tim Tebow. Many believe Tebow is in Philadelphia specifically for an adjusted two-point conversion. While Tebow hasn’t had much success during his NFL tenure, his red-zone effectiveness has impressed both coaches and fans at times.