It’s no secret that people go to games to watch Tom Brady and Russell Wilson— not Stephen Gostkowski and Steven Hauschka.
NFL kickers’ jobs are boring: When 99.5 percent of the extra point kicks are successful in NFL games, the extra point is basically a foregone conclusion. Fans don’t even need to watch— they expect the seventh point. From 2011 to 2013 kickers only missed 18 of 3,709 attempts for the extra point.
And the NFL sees this as a problem too. With the competition committee meeting this week in Phoenix, ESPN deemed extra points the second-hottest discussion between the owners and coaches, only behind expanding instant replays.
To freshen the game and boost interest after touchdowns, the NFL needs to narrow goal posts from 18 feet to 14 feet and move the two-point conversion attempt up to the 1-yard line.
Narrowing the goal post will change the nature of fourth downs by adding variety to their current predictableness. Under the current rules, if their team is still 25 to 30 yards out from the end zone, offensive coordinators will almost always elect to go for the field goal. Narrowing the goal posts would change this. The assurance of three points will not be as secure because it will be substantially harder to make a 47-yard field goal from the 30-yard line when the goal posts are only 14 feet apart rather than 18. This is tried and true: At the 2015 Pro Bowl the NFL narrowed the goal posts to 14 feet and Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri missed two extra points and a field goal.
Instead of automatically going to punt or kick, running an offensive play on fourth down will become a viable option.
But with narrower goal posts, any decision the coaches make will add excitement— the kicker having riskier odds would peek interest, and if the field goal was converted it would be more impressive. Running another play is also more exciting than falling back on the safety net of an easy three points.
Additionally, if a team decides to go for it on fourth down and fails to convert the first down, the opposing team will have better field position which could lead to an increase in touchdowns per game—what the fans want to see.
Running plays is naturally more exciting than kicking for obvious reasons. More action is happening on the field, more players are involved, and there’s generally more room for improvising and trick plays. Moving the two-point conversion line up to the 1-yard line from where it traditionally sits at the 2-yard line will add incentive for teams to go for two.
Fans rarely get to watch two-point conversions. They are only used when teams are in a bind and need the points. Coaches usually don’t want to risk losing the virtually automatic extra point.
Moving the two-point conversion has started to gain momentum among coaches, according to ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, who estimated that the frequency of two-point attempts during games would increase from 47.5 percent (reported for 2014) up to 60-65 percent.
Former NFL head coach Herm Edwards speculated that 95 percent of head coaches will go for the two-point conversion if this change was made. Edwards noted that kicks would become reserved for when teams only need a single point at the end of games.
Also, attempts at the 1-yard line will allow for more play options. At the 2-yard line, coaches almost always opt to pass the ball. At the 1-yard line, coordinators will open their playbook for a wider variety of plays rather than just looking to pass.
These suggestions were both made at the committee, but implementing them together would surely make the difference the game needs. Narrowing the field goal posts will make kicking more exciting if teams still choose to do so, and moving the two-point conversion up to the 1-yard line will incentivise teams to go for two points. Kicking would no longer seem like a technicality teams need to run through after touchdowns.
These changes will ultimately create more opportunities for teams to make exciting plays on fourth downs and on two-point conversion attempts, and by doing so, will improve an already thrilling game.
