Why Are Kickers Missing So Many Extra-Points?

That was the question put to me yesterday.

Experts, including the kickers themselves, have been asked that question a lot lately.  The answers are varied but it boils down to this. Short kicks are a lot harder to make than people think, because of the angle most are kicked from.

Those hashmark angles are killer.

AND, there are no athletes in sports who are bigger head-cases than place kickers. Their sole job is to kick it as hard as they can, STRAIGHT. And their very existence depends on them doing that every single time they come on the field. ANYTHING that disrupts that makes them bigger head-cases, and they start over-thinking every single aspect of what they do.

Kevin Seifert proposed a new idea for extra-points at ESPN yesterday, and I really like it. Primarily because it's the same exact thing I proposed when they came up with the stupid idea of those longer extra-points in the first place.

IF they want to keep messing with a place-kickers heads by forcing them to kick longer extra points, give the head coach a real alternative for the two-point conversion. Instead of placing the ball at the TWO yard line, place it at the ONE.

Coaches are just like fans. They know the two yard line on third and goal makes everyone nervous. Those two yards, that deep in enemy territory, make for difficult sledding. Very rarely does any offense score a touchdown consistently from that distance. Defenses have gotten real good at stopping the score from there.

But from the one yard line?  THAT is a totally different story. That one extra yard gives offenses way more confidence. It also gives them way more options. Most quarterbacks can run a sneak from there.

IF you gave head coaches a two-point conversion option from the one, you would see more coaches going for two points on a consistent basis. Especially with the rash of blocked or outright missed kicks we are now seeing. (18 in the last 2 weeks. Two seasons ago, before the rule change, there were only FOUR missed extra-points the entire season).

From my perspective, those missed kicks don't make for a more exciting game. They just make the game more frustrating to watch. And frustration leads to fans turning the game off. Viewership is down across the board the last two seasons. I think the extra-point fiasco contributes to those missing viewers. I know I turn the TV off every time we miss an extra-point. I just don't want to see that kind of incompetence.

More two-point attempts would get me more interested.  Isn't that the whole point? I can forgive a failed two-point attempt. But I can't stomach a missed extra-point.