For this week’s Turning Point, we’ll break down the coin flip. Only kidding of course, but more on that in a moment.
Last Thursday night’s contest was full of momentum shifts. The Jets scored on their first four possessions (one of them a kickoff return touchdown) to jump out to an early 24-6 lead. Afterwards the Patriot defense/special teams adjusted, allowing New York nothing on their next five non-kneeldown drives. Meanwhile, New England’s offense gradually chipped away at the deficit, finally tying the game early in the 4th quarter. The Jets subsequently rattled off a sustained, clock-killing drive (14 plays, 63 yards, 7:06 elapsed) that ended with a go-ahead touchdown. The teams traded three-and-outs, with the Patriots using their time outs, the two minute warning and a stout defensive effort to give them one last shot with 1:04 remaining. It took Cassel only 1:03 to erase any lingering doubts about his clutchness as he delivered an on-the-run game-tying TD to a perfectly-covered Moss in the corner of the end zone (time index; 4:44). Cassel led his team on two game-tying 4th quarter drives, although officially it only counts as one comeback.
Due to sudden death overtime rules, however, he was unable to build on it, making the eventual overtime loss all the more bitter. Ranting about overtime invites hypocrisy given New England’s 7-0 record under Belichick & Brady (with plenty of fortunate bounces and breaks) prior to Thursday night. And griping about rules that have been in place for 34 years may ring hollow compared to the NFL’s other glaring problems, among them horrific, consequence-free officiating and a humorless, dictatorial commissioner. Therefore the author begs your indulgence.
This season we’ve witnessed the greatest amount of parity, Tennessee and the defending champs aside, since 2002. Former commissioner Pete Rozelle’s dying legacy was to establish an even economic playing field, the idea being that the talent level would likewise equilibrate and give every team a chance to succeed. What does parity have to do with overtime? If the spirit of the former is to promote competitiveness, why not do the same for the latter by giving each team at least one possession? Under the current archaic system, the winner of the overtime coin toss prevails 60% of the time. In a league of parity, the stakes are too high for the outcome of games to be determined at random; as the PD editor pointed out yesterday, the overtime loss dropped the Patriots from the #3 AFC seed to being out of the playoff picture entirely.
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