Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 23, 1994< TAG: 9403230016
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ORLANDO, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
The two-point conversion became a part of the NFL on Tuesday in a move designed to liven a game that last year often seemed to be a duel between field-goal kickers.
"I really think its time has come," said general manager George Young of the New York Giants, co-chairman of the rules-making competition committee. "There was an image out there that we weren't doing enough to score touchdowns. Right or wrong, we had to do something about it."
The two-point conversion will be run from the 2-yard line rather than the 3, as in college football. The rule comes after a season in which there were three field goals kicked for every touchdown and field goals accounted for 24 percent of the points.
A decade ago, the ratio was two touchdowns to one field goal.
The rule was passed, along with two other changes designed to add offense, without much input from the coaches, many of whom were opposed.
The others:
Kickoffs will come from the 30-yard line rather than the 35 and will be from a 1-inch tee to prevent kicks that hang in the air almost as long as punts. Kickers had been allowed to use tees that hold the ball 1 to 3 inches off the ground.
Failed field-goal attempts will be placed at the spot from where the kick was attempted rather than the line of scrimmage. That means the kicking team will be penalized 7 to 8 yards for a miss.
The biggest change is the two-point conversion, which has been used by colleges since 1958 and was used by all of the NFL's old rivals, the American Football League, World Football League and U.S. Football League. But it had always been rejected by NFL coaches, who saw it as one more decision on which they could be second-guessed.
This year, the coaches seemed less concerned, although Dan Reeves of the Giants was the angriest, in part because the kickoff rule would negate his use of two kickers - Brad Daluiso is on the roster primarily to kick off out of the end zone. Reeves also was upset because the coaches had no voice in the debate over the rule change - they were told to arrive for the meeting at 2 p.m., and by then the owners and general managers had approved the change.
"What was the greatest comeback in history? Buffalo over Houston in the playoffs two years ago," Reeves said, referring to the Bills' overtime victory after trailing 35-3 in the third quarter. "They didn't need a two-point conversion to do that."
But the Giants were one of the 23 teams that voted for the change following the lead of Young, whose committee recommended the two-pointer by an 8-0 vote.
"I don't think it's that big a factor," said Young, who opposed the rule until this year. "I don't think teams will try to win with a two-pointer. The time it will come into play is when you're behind by eight points or 11 points."
But most coaches didn't think the two-pointer would have much impact on the game.
"I was against it two days ago, I was for it yesterday and I don't know what I think today," said Mike Holmgren, Green Bay's coach. "Overall, I don't know how much effect it will really have."
"Maybe once in every four years or so I'd use it in the middle of a game," said Marv Levy, Buffalo's coach.
There will be some subtle effects.
Holmgren noted that it probably will discourage teams playing a prevent defense with an eight-point lead. "You're not going to let a team score so easily if you know they can tie the game with a two-pointer," he said.
Other coaches noted teams could use receivers or backs as option quarterbacks on two-pointers, particularly those who played quarterback in high school or college.
Sam Wyche of Tampa Bay noted how Alabama used wide receiver David Palmer at quarterback during the 1993 season. NFL players who might do the same include Deion Sanders of Atlanta; Vernon Turner of Tampa Bay; Sterling Sharpe of the Packers; Dave Meggett of the Giants; Brian Mitchell of Washington; and Tony Martin and Mark Ingram of Miami.
There's precedent for that.
In the late 1980s, the Indianapolis Colts signed a wishbone quarterback, Ricky Turner, simply for short-yardage plays and plays near the goal line.
Still, it seemed likely there would be relatively few two-point attempts.
In Division I-A college games, which do not have overtime, the two-pointer was used after 9 percent of touchdowns in 1993. In the NFL, few teams that cut a deficit to a point late in a game would risk losing rather than try a kick that almost certainly would force overtime.
But Wyche and Houston's Jack Pardee said they might try to win, particularly if their team was on the road and getting tired. And Jimmy Johnson of Dallas, always innovative, said, "I might try it after the first touchdown."
by CNB