Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 17, 1994 TAG: 9403170078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Thirty-six years after it became a fixture in college football, the two-point conversion may be coming to the NFL.
Joe Browne, the NFL's vice president for communications, said Wednesday the league's rules-making competition committee will urge the owners to adopt the two-point rule at their meetings next week in Orlando, Fla. If approved, the new rule would take effect this season.
"If I were going to give you an overall theme of the meetings," Browne said during a conference call, "it would be to re-emphasize touchdowns and de-emphasize field goals."
Last season, 24 percent of the NFL's points came on field goals, the highest percentage in history. Three field goals were kicked for every four touchdowns scored compared with a 1-2 ratio a decade ago.
Colleges adopted the two-point conversion in 1958, and it was used in the old American Football League before it merged with the NFL. It also was used in the U.S. Football League.
The NFL has resisted the change for several reasons: in part because it has overtime; in part because it was a rule in rival leagues; and in large part because coaches didn't want to be faced with additional decisions.
The attitude among coaches, however, has changed, and Browne said the two-point play is backed strongly by such former college coaches as Dennis Green of Minnesota, Jimmy Johnson of Dallas and Bobby Ross of San Diego.
"I didn't like the idea at first," says Miami's Don Shula, co-chairman of the competition committee. "But the more I looked at it, the more I realized how it could help our league. I think it's a way not only to bring excitement to the game, it's also a way to make scoring touchdowns a premium. It can make things look very different to a team that gets down early in a game."
The proposal, which must be approved by 21 of the 28 active NFL teams, will put the ball at the 2-yard line rather than the 3-yard line, where it is placed in college. Browne said the 2-yard line is preferred because that's where the ball is placed for conversion kicks and it will encourage the use of the new play.
Unlike colleges, however, the defensive team will not be able to score on a botched conversion attempt. Under a rule adopted by the colleges in 1988, the defense can get two points by returning an interception or a fumble for a score.
In addition to the two-point rule, the competition committee will try to get more kickoff returns into the game by recommending that kickoffs be moved back to the 30-yard line from the 35. Last season, only 68.5 percent of kickoffs were returned compared with 87 percent in 1978.
Memo: NOTE: Longer version ran in State edition.