OT Rules of Engagement

Dear Mr. Simmons,
Billy IIIIIICE!!  I'm back!  And it only took a week this time.  If I keep this up, I think I have a restraining order coming my way.

Alright, there's been a lot of discussion lately about NFL OT rules.  News that the league passed a rule change to shorten OT to 10 minutes made everyone shrug.  What exactly are they trying to accomplish?  Does 5 minutes really move the needle on player safety?

First of all, from a pure game experience standpoint there's nothing wrong with the current overtime rules.  The drama of sudden death is preserved while taking away the ability to win on a first possession field goal knocks the importance of the coin toss down a few pegs.  Some people champion the college system.  I don't get it.  For one thing, they'd have to figure out where they are going to start each possession so the scores and stats don't balloon like do in college OT periods.  Just imagine the carnage of heads spontaneously exploding between the fantasy stats nerds, gamblers, and GM's worried about contract incentives as a 3-possession OT racks up 5 touchdowns in 20 minutes. It would be slightly humorous,
 but cruel.  Even if we decide to ignore the practical debate, the concept still doesn't sit right with me. It's like eating fake butter.  It's just not natural.

Here's what I would do:
Keep the same rules for the playoffs, but limit regular season overtime periods to two possessions. Each team gets the ball once at their own 20 yard line.  Whichever team advances the ball farther on their drive wins the game.  Field goals are off the table, and two TD's ends the game in a tie.  Purists will whine that you should have to score to win the game.  I get that to some extent, but if you look past the stigma of it, two-possession OT actually serves up the best of both worlds:

1. There will still be some drama.  Imagine having that red line on the field on the T.V. broadcast that delineates the line to gain to win the game.  Essentially, they already do that with the field goal range line, but this would be a little more intense.

2. If they really want to limit the amount of extra play for player safety, is there any better solution than this?

3. We avoid the nonsensical stat buildup.

I think that's it.  Chalk it up as the best solution.  Let me know if the Sports Czar approves then we can go ahead and tell the owners to trash their 10 minute overtime gaffe.

That's all for now. Long live Bill Simmons.
later- a fan