Gresh & Zo: Leave The Extra Point Alone
BOSTON (CBS) - The times they are a-changin' in the NFL, and for Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak it's for the worse.
NFL.com columnist Judy Battista wrote yesterday that the NFL might experiment with making extra points longer and that this trial period could come in the preseason.
She writes, "According to one member, the committee's meetings this weekend included preliminary talks about placing the ball at the 25-yard line for the extra-point kick -- which would make it a 43-yard attempt -- rather than the 2-yard line, where it is currently placed."
A 42-yard extra point?
Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak hate the idea -- and so will the coaches.
"Stoppp!" screamed Gresh to open the segment.
"Let's make players take their shoes off, put hockey sticks in their hands and we'll kick field goals for 50 yards and that's how we'll accumulate extra points, but we'll count them as four - what are we doing here?" said Zo.
For the two Sports Hub hosts, this is just another thing the NFL is trying to fix that isn't broken.
If the proposal were to pass, game strategy would be turned upside down on its head - not to mention the confusion for fans.
Some would argue that the system is broken and in need of change. The play is far too automatic from a historical context and even in the past decade the success rate has increased dramatically.
In a sit down interview with Rich Eisen of the NFL Network back in January, commissioner Roger Goodell said the extra point play was no longer exciting, and cited the number that out of 1,261 attempts in the 2013 season there were only five missed kicks.
But some football purists like Gresh and Zolak just want to see the extra point stay the same.
"We know the competition committee is just trying to placate the commissioner, but really? 42 yards? Coaches are never going to go for it," said Gresh.
"Yeah, because it changes everything. It changes the game. Scores are going to be skewed completely if they decide to do it, which they shouldn't because it's one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard of," said Zolak. "I wanna know as a sports fan that seven points is a given on a touchdown and three is a given on a field goal. Seven-three, seven-three - we've been taught to count a certain way all these years."
"One of the reasons coaches will rebel against this is because now you'll have to start paying kickers," concluded Gresh.
Does the NFL extra point need a changing? Listen for the full discussion and vote in our poll below:
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