Offensive shift continues

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The NFL's new overtime rules shouldn't cause many noticeable changes at first.

Since 1994, the NFL has averaged less than one overtime game per week, which means there's less than a 1 in 16 chance a team will go to overtime any given week. Overtime games, as a whole, don't drastically affect the season (Yeah, tell that to the Vikings).

While NFL teams won't necessarily change any strategies in the short-term, it's possible this is another sign in the NFL's effort to make the game more offense-oriented. Allowing teams to match possessions, and thus score more points, creates a feeling that the league is trending toward the offensive side of the ball.

Between the three phases of the game, having an offense that can score touchdowns -- and not necessarily field goals -- will help you more in the league's new overtime set-up.

I think that offensive trend will continue regardless of the overtime changes but the new rules do give that a little more momentum.

By Joel Thorman | March 24, 2010; 12:00 AM ET | Category: Competition Committee , NFL , Overtime Save & Share:
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