In case you weren’t paying attention, the NFL tried out a new rule before
enacting it (IF they enact it) which takes Extra points for the first two weeks this preseason were and moved them back to the 15 yard line which equaled roughly a 33 yard Extra Point. They used to be on the 2 yard line which made them 19 yard FG attempts.
Last preseason 43 total Kickers were 99.03% accurate in all 4 preseason games, which was 411 attempts. This season, kickers have line up and attempted only 127 shots, making 118 of them. The total number of attempts is way down from a year ago, probably because the 3rd week is when starters play longer, resulting in more offense, more TDs, more PATs.
League-wide, the average last year was 99.6%, 1262 extra points made on 1267 attempts. With the full 2 week numbers in, the NFL needs to decide if 92.9% is low enough.
The NFL felt fans have become apathetic towards the extra point, that the play is so automatic, no one pays attention to it, fans go get a beer, go to the bathroom, anything but watch the game. NOT what the NFL wants, so by making the play harder, it should become more interesting for the fan to pay attention to. Dropping from 99% to 92% could have an effect on outcome of games with critical missed points, teams may be forced to go for 2 point conversions, a play far more exciting.
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