Hurrumph. The NFL shouldn’t mess with the extra point

May 19, 2015 /   /  Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers

When it comes to changes in my favorite sports, I’m an old fuddy duddy. I don’t want change. I want things to stay as they are, exactly what I’m used to.

I was one of those people who didn’t want the wild card introduced in baseball. I also scoffed at the notion of interleague play and instant replay in baseball. Turns out, I’ve actually grown to love all three of those things. I may be an old fuddy duddy who’s reluctant to embrace change, but if something ends up working, I can at least admit when I’m wrong.

In football, I’m still sour about all the rule changes that have turned the NFL into a hyper-passing league. I miss the days when there were just as many superstar running backs and middle linebackers as star quarterbacks and defenses didn’t have to play with one arm tied behind their back.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love football. I’ve accepted the fact that even mediocre quarterbacks can throw for 4,000 yards these days. But unlike the changes made to baseball, I haven’t acknowledged that they’ve made the game better. Because they haven’t.

Hurrumph.

Now the NFL wants to mess with the extra point. What did the extra point ever do to you, NFL? Leave it alone!

SI’s Peter King points out that NFL teams have only missed 26 of their last 4,939 PAT kicks. Some say that makes the PAT predictable. That may be true, but predictability isn’t a reason to overhaul an area of the game.

On those 26 occasions when a PAT kick was missed, it’s cool to see (as long as it’s not the Packers doing the missing). It’s a rare and memorable play. I can’t find the clip online, but I remember having a Vikings game on the radio for some reason about 10 years ago and Paul Allen went bonkers after Minnesota’s kicker missed an extra point.

It was hilarious! Those moments would be gone if the NFL changes the rule.

The odds are good that the PAT does get changed during league meetings later today. I’ll cross my arms, shake my head, sigh, and complain about how the NFL was “so much better back in the day.”

Then I’ll hike up my pants and complain about the government.

We’ll see if I come around to PAT changes in football like I’ve come around to the changes made in baseball over the years. For now, I’m digging in my heels and hoping PATs stay just as they have been.

Now get off my lawn.