Overtime in the NFL is going to look drastically different in 2017, or at least is expected to, with NFL owners expected to pass a ruling that will shorten the length of overtime from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees, appearing on the "Dan Patrick Show," said he doesn't like the idea because it's going to end up in more ties than ever before.
"I'm not sure what the thought process was going into it, but just from what I see I would disagree with it because more games are going to end in ties now," Brees said. "That additional five minutes, especially where the rules changed, to where in essence both teams get a possession, unless someone goes down and scores a touchdown right away. So I think what we already saw with the new rules of, a field goal can't win it on the first possession, we've seen more ties.
"I can think of at least three or four off the top of my head that resulted in ties based on that new rule. So now make it to where it's just 10 minutes as opposed to 15 and I think that changes things. Probably see more ties."
Brees is right: the rule change should end up with a lot more games being tied. Of the 83 games that went into overtime since 2012, when the NFL adopted the policy of allowing each team an opportunity to possess the football in overtime, 22 of them ended in a score that occurred after the 10-minute mark, according to NFL research. That's more than four additional ties per year over a five-year period.
So what would Brees like to see? How about college overtime rules instead? Brees thinks that it would interest more fans and reduce the number of plays that teams have to run.
"I like [college overtime rules]. I like it. It's exciting, right? You're limiting the number of plays as well when you give the team the ball at the 20, 25-yard line," Brees said. "They're already in the red zone, they're already in scoring position, whether it's a field goal or a touchdown. I think you're reducing the numbers of plays, it's exciting for fans, it's situational football. So I wouldn't be opposed to us doing something like that."
Brees isn't the first NFL player to suggest moving to college overtime rules. After the Packers lost to the Cardinals in overtime during the 2016 NFL playoffs, Clay Matthews suggested that the league should shift to college overtime rules as well. That was the second straight season where the Packers' playoff hopes ended without the offense touching the ball in overtime.
The suggestion makes a lot more sense than Russell Wilson's wacky idea of giving one team an immediate field goal attempt from the 35-yard line after winning the coin toss.
The league is doing this in the name of player safety, but unless teams start to get a lot more aggressive in overtime -- and they probably won't, because NFL coaches are inherently conservative -- it could result in hurting the product on the field. No one likes ties, or even the coin toss that comes before them.