These aren't your dad's extra points.
PAT attempts (kicks) in 2015 and beyond will be snapped from the 15-yard line, while two-point conversion tries will still be snapped from the 2-yard line. Further, defenses can now score on returns of any kind. The rule change, submitted by the the league's competition committee, was approved at the NFL owners meetings in San Francisco on Tuesday.
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Many believed extra points had become too automatic. The idea is a 33-yard PAT try will make the two-point try more attractive. Some specifics and technicalities:
If team lines up for 2 points and is penalized, can move back to kick for 1 point. Back to 20 after 5-yard penalty, back to 25 for holding.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) May 19, 2015 Dean Blandino: If a PAT is blocked and the ball falls behind the line of scrimmage, the offense can take it in for two points.
— Bart Hubbuch (@BartHubbuch) May 19, 2015 The NFL doesn't expect an enormous drop-off in the rate of successful PAT tries, but enough to make a difference.
Last year, teams were successful on 99.5% of extra points. The NFL expects there to be a 93-to-94% success rate on one-point kicks in ’15.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) May 19, 2015 The rule change comes with mixed opinions and unforeseeable results. Former kicker Jay Feely thinks the league solved nothing; that the insignificant distance change does nothing but put offensive lines in danger. An angle change makes blocking the longer PATs a little easier, and defenses may rush harder with a higher chance of getting a hand on the football.
Former running back Jamal Anderson, on the other hand, thinks it was time to "spice up" extra points, claiming they had become the time for a "bathroom break."
Label Broncos kicker Connor Barth an opponent of the rule change (as most kickers will be). There's no doubt it affects teams that play in outdoor stadiums more so than others.
"If they want to make it more exciting, narrowing the uprights would make it a lot more challenging than moving the extra point," Barth told The Denver Post. "Most guys can hit 33-yarders in their sleep."
Barth does see one positive, and it pertains to the value of his position.
"It would weed out the strong-legged kickers who aren't that accurate," he told The Post. "It would benefit guys who are accurate and can hit a good ball every time. It would make our value go up."