NFL overtime rules proposal

I haven't heard this idea floated around, but I think it may be a better way to determine the opening possession than a coin toss. Instead of starting the overtime period with a kickoff in the sense of the beginning of a half, we could have overtime be a direct continuation of the fourth quarter, the same way the second and fourth quarters begin. This way, there is no arbitrary coin toss that often determines who wins in overtime, and teams that couldn't put together a game-tying drive until the end of regulation would be penalized*, since the other team gets the ball to open the overtime period.

UPDATE AS I WRITE THIS–I just realized that the following situation would arise eventually: during a tie game, a team would advance the ball slowly enough that their drive could continue seamlessly to the overtime period. This would take eliminate the drama from some game-winning drives, e.g. the Patriots three Super Bowls were ended with field goals to break a tie. My proposed format ultimately reduces the need for a "two-minute drill" offense.

I welcome comments on this half-baked idea. I would rather have an NFL-style overtime over college football's format, but the opening possession needs to be better resolved. Home field advantage, or some concessions to the team that starts on defense?

*This idea came to me when thinking about the Bears weak but successful comeback against the Saints today.

What's Salieri's take on Idaho high school football?

After reading anecdotes from the celebration on Broad Street after the Phillies won yesterday, this was the most appalling thing I read today.

Why did I root for the Patriots?

Last week, I kept hearing the same thing from people: "I'm rooting for the Giants." The reasons fell along the same line, from the Patriots' (and Boston's) recent success to the videotaping scandal. I found a litany of reasons to explain my support of the Patriots. I knew I would be the only one supporting them, but I did it anyway. I truly wanted to see an undefeated season; I can't expect my favorite team to achieve that.

With some retrospection, at least I can take two things from this: Tiki Barber looks like a complete jackass, and with the muse of heartbreak, maybe Bill Simmons's (the inspiration for the third G in the name of the blog) columns will improve in quality.

Am I the only who finds this neat?

Take a look at this map, which shows what NFL game will air on CBS this Sunday at 3 PM CST. Note that the only place in America showing the other game (Hou-Oak) is Houston. Apparently, the Bay Area is using the flimsy excuse of the Raiders not selling out to show the Greatest Regular Season American Football Contest Ever.

I, for one, applaud this action. I would hate to be in SF, not caring about the Raiders, not have DirecTV, and not being able to see Pats-Colts.

Ah, Monday.

I feel like I have something to say, but I can't remember what, so I'm going to ramble on.

I was behind my car's steering wheel for fourteen hours this weekend. It was troubling to learn that I REALLY need sunglasses to drive in a sunny sky. Lousy blue eyes. Lousy missing lens screw in my sunglasses.

On a happier note, Ragstock was chock full of great things to wear for my Halloween costume. I'm the Mad Hatter. There will be photos this weekend.

My first trip to Ray-Town (Racine to outsiders) went off without a hitch. It was nice to see Paul and Emily for the first time in a long while.

The Bears ran the Two-Minute-Drill successfully yesterday! When did that last happen? Was Erik Kramer under center? I think a Two-Minute-Drill must begin with two minutes (or less) left on the game clock, so things like Griese-to-Hester last week or the fourteen point comeback in 2001 with Shane Matthews don't really count.

Correction: both of these drives follow that rule, as they started with 1:53 and 1:52 remaining, respectively. I guess they just don't have that John Elway panache.

Sticking with football, the weekends can be quite agonising when both of your favorite teams' offenses are so bad, they tire out the defenses, causing them injuries and making them even worse. Friggin' time of possession.

Ah, I remembered one thing I wanted to say! Family Guy, ugh. They have been running short on jokes lately, so they think it's funny to extend a non sequitur for 30 seconds. It isn't.

Plus, they ran a non sequitur sequence where they showed a Simpsons advertisement chyron with Marge, who was quickly attacked by Quagmire. This degraded into Glen sexually assaulting her, and she ran off screen. They returned a few minutes later, very satisfied. Great message. They then went over to her place, and with only the Simpsons' domicile visible, Homer eventually walks in on the infidelitous acts. As the scene continues off-camera, Quagmire proceeds to shoot the entire family to solve his dilemma.

Who would find the shooting of children of funny? Who would find accepted rape funny? I think the show finally crossed the line with me. I'm almost sad to see there is a line with me.