Field Goal Rule Change

[stag hunter]

I was reading some of my old NFL books and was looking through the history of the rulebook and the way its changed over the years, I was wondering what people here thought of a potential rule change regarding field goals. When goalposts were moved back for the first time in the 40s it was to reduce the number of games being decided by field goals. Ever since the specialization of kickers, field goals have become a more attractive scoring option. With the league as big as it is now, the kicking talent has suffered the most from "watering down" of talent. If you believe that football is a game of blocking, tackling, running, and passing, then why should so many games come down to the performance of a player who does none of those? With the parity of salary-cap era pro football, more and more games are being decided by less points.

Regardless of whether or not its realistic, do you think a rule change regarding field goals is in order? Should they move the goalposts back another 5 yards? What can or should be done to prevent kickers from ruling the game? Or is this just part of the natural evolution of football, and legislative response is not necessary? Remember, there was a time when a talented punter was arguably a team's most important weapon...

 

[trickblue]

I was reading some of my old NFL books and was looking through the history of the rulebook and the way its changed over the years, I was wondering what people here thought of a potential rule change regarding field goals. When goalposts were moved back for the first time in the 40s it was to reduce the number of games being decided by field goals. Ever since the specialization of kickers, field goals have become a more attractive scoring option. With the league as big as it is now, the kicking talent has suffered the most from "watering down" of talent. If you believe that football is a game of blocking, tackling, running, and passing, then why should so many games come down to the performance of a player who does none of those? With the parity of salary-cap era pro football, more and more games are being decided by less points.

Regardless of whether or not its realistic, do you think a rule change regarding field goals is in order? Should they move the goalposts back another 5 yards? What can or should be done to prevent kickers from ruling the game? Or is this just part of the natural evolution of football, and legislative response is not necessary? Remember, there was a time when a talented punter was arguably a team's most important weapon...

If any changes are made, I would rather see them narrow the goalposts as opposed to moving them back... it would make the field look funny...

 

[THUMPER]

This has been an issue many times in the NFL and I for one could do without kickers but the league doesn't want to partly because it remove the "foot" from "football" and partly because it adds another dimension to the game.

I wouldn't mind seeing the goalposts moved back a bit or narrowed (as TrickBlue suggested) or the FG dropped to only 2 points but I don't see it happening.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Hos says get rid of them. They aren't real football players anyways

 

[HoustonSucks]

Er, it was Tex Schramm who moved the Goal posts back. And if I'm not mistaken, a big part of the reason was so that players wouldn't knock themselves silly against the post while trying to score. It was right on the goal line.

No, it is the way it is. I think, if anything, Kicking coaches should become more valued and bring along young kickers from college instead of relying on the usual round of 40 year old suspects that circulate the league.

 

[Doomsday101]

If any changes are made, I would rather see them narrow the goalposts as opposed to moving them back... it would make the field look funny...

I remember when the goal post was at the front line of the endzone, which is why Larry Csonka nose is all messed up from hitting it face 1st.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

No, if you want to de-emphasis the field goal kickers, then put defense back into the game. I remember when the 2:00 minute warning meant something. Now, it only signals the race to start. How many points can each team score before the 2:00 minutes runs out? Let defenses play defense again. Give them back the arm that they had to play with tied behind there backs for some 20 years now. That will solve much of the problem IMO.

 

[Doomsday101]

Er, it was Tex Schramm who moved the Goal posts back. And if I'm not mistaken, a big part of the reason was so that players wouldn't knock themselves silly against the post while trying to score. It was right on the goal line.

No, it is the way it is. I think, if anything, Kicking coaches should become more valued and bring along young kickers from college instead of relying on the usual round of 40 year old suspects that circulate the league.

You got it, players also used the goal post to help shield off defenders like running a pick but many players were wiped out by the goal post.

 

[stag hunter]

Er, it was Tex Schramm who moved the Goal posts back. And if I'm not mistaken, a big part of the reason was so that players wouldn't knock themselves silly against the post while trying to score. It was right on the goal line.

Incorrect.

"The goal posts were on the goal line when the NFL began in 1920. In 1927 the NCAA moved them to the end line at the back of the end zone, and the NFL followed suit. This resulted in a reduction in field goals and an increase in tie games."

In 1933 they were moved back to the goal line, which reduced the number of tie games and doubled the number of field goal tries.

The only measure the NFL adopted in response to players running into the goalposts were to mandate that all goalposts should be of the "sling-shot" construction, not the "H" shape seen often on high school fields. This was adopted in 1967, with the intention of reducing the number of poles that a player could potentially collide with.

What you might be referring to is the decision in 1974 to move the goalposts all the way back, but Tex Schramm didn't make that decision and it had nothing to do with players running into them. The NFL's competition committee, headed by Paul Brown, decided to move them back to make field goals more difficult because, according to Brown, "Some people were upset that so many games were being controlled by field goals."

 

[RCowboyFan]

Hos says get rid of them. They aren't real football players anyways

Yeah, Hos probably knock himself silly with giddiness he will feel if that happens

 

[Ashwynn]

I dunno, never thought about it. Its always been a part of the game and that would be weird with no FG's. Sorta like Football without the forward pass. It adds a demension to the game.

 

[ravidubey]

1) Get rid of the bloody extra point. Make it a conversion or nothing.

2) Reduce Value of FGs. Award 3 points for 50+ yard field goals and 1 point for anything less.

3) Put the game in the hands of real players. Allow teams with goal-to-go to trade in each remaining down for a point-- to a maximum of three points. So if it's second and goal a team can trade in their three remaining downs for three points.

These rules would add drama to the game and drive coaches crazy, but I'd love to see all but the best kickers removed as factors and coaches going back to making decisions with hearts, not charts.

 

[trickblue]

Er, it was Tex Schramm who moved the Goal posts back. And if I'm not mistaken, a big part of the reason was so that players wouldn't knock themselves silly against the post while trying to score. It was right on the goal line.

No, it is the way it is. I think, if anything, Kicking coaches should become more valued and bring along young kickers from college instead of relying on the usual round of 40 year old suspects that circulate the league.

Tex is the one that came up with the wind direction streamers on the goal-post...

 

[HDC]

Raise the bar and narrow the posts.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

This has been an issue many times in the NFL and I for one could do without kickers but the league doesn't want to partly because it remove the "foot" from "football" and partly because it adds another dimension to the game.

I wouldn't mind seeing the goalposts moved back a bit or narrowed (as TrickBlue suggested) or the FG dropped to only 2 points but I don't see it happening.

There is an idea. Make FG's 2 points and the 2pt conversion to 3pt conversion.

 

[AdamJT13]

2) Reduce Value of FGs. Award 3 points for 50+ yard field goals and 1 point for anything less.

No, no, no. The last thing the NFL needs is teams going backward to try a longer field goal.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

LOL!!!!!


Lets just be done with this crap and get rid of the whole goal post all together. We can change it to a 4 ft circle with a 3 ft diameter. We can say that the team who is able to kick, punt, dunk or pass the football through this hole the most times wins the game. To the victors, the spoiles. Money, fame, you know, the whole live like rock stars thing. To the losers, off with there heads.

That way everybody is happy. You got more opportunity to bring in watered down players, you can keep the cap numbers down because nobody will be around long enough to reach the high salaries, the kickers will be good or else and the rating will be through the roof because everybody likes to see blood on TV.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

I would say, no FG inside the 30 Yard line. No FG in overtime at all. That way, teams aren't sitting on the ball the last minute of a half/game to kick a chip shot from 20 yards out to tie or win. This would make teams play football in the redzone and not give everyone an easy out. I like the idea of no xtra point, so lets make td=7 and a conversion worth 1 or 2. hey with no fg and 9 pts a td, i might hit some of the pool numbers i get lol.

 

[Kevlee06]

Why dont they put a small and fast mechanical little ball on the field and whichever team is able to catch up to it and capture it wins the game. Sort of like they do in Harry Potter?

Or how bout they leave it alone because its really not that serious.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Raise the cross-bar, narrow the distance between the poles, elminate extra points and make teams go for the extra point, reduce the value of a FG to 2 points are all idea I could go for to reduce the importance of kickers. If all of those ideas were implemented, wow that would change the game.