The NFL's extra point attempt has turned into more of a guarantee than just an attempt in recent years. Now NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is considering getting rid of it in favor of something more exciting.
In an interview with the NFL Network, Goodell said officials are looking at a few alternatives to change the extra point format in the future. He said: "There's one proposal in particular that I've heard about. ... It's automatic that you get seven points when you score a touchdown, but you could potentially go for an eighth point, either by running or passing the ball, so if you fail, you go back to six." (Via The Washington Post)
That's just one idea about how to replace the point after touchdown.
A writer for Deadspin has some others, including having a player kick it from the place on the field where they scored — creating some sharp angles, moving back where the attempts are taken from, or having the player who scored the touchdown take the kick. It's unclear if these, or any variation of these, are being considered by the NFL.
Goodell says the idea of eliminating the PAT comes from the play becoming too automatic. This season, kickers have missed just five PAT attempts out of 1,261. That means 99.6 percent of tries were good. (Via Sports Illustrated)
"It really is an outdated play. ... Back in the day when they did the rules, guys kicking those extra points were like playing fullback, too, and so it was a little bit of a lower percentage play. And now these guys are specialists training year-round." (Via ESPN)
And Goodell has considered reducing the kickers' role before — floating the idea of eliminating kickoffs in December 2012 during an interview. (Via USA Today)
Goodell didn't give a timeline as to when the the NFL might move away from the extra point, but any proposed changes would need to be approved by the NFL Competition Committee — a committee comprised of current NFL owners, GMs, front-office execs and coaches who review rule changes. (Via The Washington Post, Time)
From there, NBC Sports points out, it would need approval from 24 of the 32 NFL teams to go into effect.
