MMQB Review: OT Changes Edition

I often whine when Peter King posts his MMQB later on Monday mornings and this week is going to be no different. He's had all week to compile and begin writing his MMQB and there are no football games for him to cover, so why can't he get it posted earlier than 10am on Monday? Doesn't he understand the later he posts MMQB the less time I have to cover it? What about me and my need to mock him in a timely fashion, doesn't he care about this at all? Apparently he does not.

Today, Peter talks about overtime and other NFL "insider" things like how uncomfortable it is to see a person breastfeed in public. You know, the important NFL stuff.

The Saints had some fun with Jerry Jones' favorite wine Friday night.

Now I am riveted! Peter, please tell me more about Jerry Jones' favorite bottle of wine and exactly what the Saints did with it. This is the voice I have when I care about something...which is the voice I am using here, because I really care about this.

On Friday night, the Saints' staff at the combine gathered in a private room at St. Elmo Steakhouse, an 108-year-old Indy landmark, for a final celebratory nod to the Super Bowl win over the Colts. This is a group that likes its wine, and likes to have fun.

The Saints are the epitome of unfocused after that Super Bowl win. I am going to go ahead and put the Saints down for a 7-9 record next year. Has any NFL team ever celebrated so much after winning the Super Bowl that you can remember?

It's fine to celebrate a little bit after you win a Super Bowl, but there comes a point when the celebrating stop and the preparing for the next season begins. Most Super Bowl teams say the reason they don't repeat is because it is so hard to focus after the Super Bowl. I wonder if that will happen to the Saints?

At the restaurant, word passed that Dallas owner Jerry Jones would have his Dallas group in this exact room Saturday night for a team dinner. Jones had even phoned ahead, according to a waiter, to make sure a magnum of a wine he loved, Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon, was ready to be served at dinner.

Sean Payton told the waiter he'd like to have that wine, too. The waiter told him: Sorry, sir. We have only one bottle left, and it's reserved for Mr. Jones.

Let me guess, Sean Payton threw a temper tantrum and wouldn't allow the waiter to ever watch Saints games in the Superdome ever again? Then he tried to kick the cook out of the building while Payton's group was there because he didn't like his attitude?

Payton said he'd like to have the bottle nonetheless. I assume there was much angst on the part of the wait staff at that point. My God! Who do we piss off? One of the most powerful owners in the NFL, or the coach who's the toast of the NFL, the coach who just won the Super Bowl?

Piss off the coach. It's no contest. Jerry Jones will buy your children and force them into slavery. Then he will hire your children (the ones he sold in slavery) to work Cowboys games in cages above the field while wearing signs that say, "Don't fuck with Jerry Jones." PISS OFF SEAN PAYTON, NOT JERRY JONES!

But drinking Jones' wine wasn't enough. Payton gave the waiter some instructions, took out his pen ... and, well, the Cowboys party found at the middle of their table the next evening an empty magnum of Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon, with these words hand-written on the fancy label:

WHO DAT!
World Champions XLIV
Sean Payton

To which the Cowboys sent a bottle of wine to the Saints that said:

Tired Old Motto
Cowboys Have 5 Super Bowls
Talk to Us When You Get There

That's the kind of thing Jones will get a big laugh out of. And remember.

Yeah, I am sure knowing Jerry Jones he was laughing really hard at this. The bottle of wine he especially called ahead to make sure was there was drunk by one of his ex-assistant coaches. I know Jones and Payton are buddies, but this was still a pretty dick move by Payton. I don't hate the Saints but doesn't anyone else get the feeling they are getting a little too proud of this Super Bowl win? It's one thing to win the Super Bowl, kudos to you, but to feel the need to piss around and remind everyone whenever given the opportunity your team just won the Super Bowl is a bit annoying. Act like you have been there before. Sean Payton doesn't seem to be doing this.

I know I've gotten this reputation as a fan (maybe haranguer is a better word) of overtime reform, but I just know that so much has changed since the NFL adopted a sudden-death system in 1974 that it deserves a second look.

But Peter only decided to advocate the OT change when Peyton Manning lost a playoff game when he didn't touch the ball.

The committee will likely unanimously endorse a plan to be introduced for the 2010 playoffs, one that will ensure both teams will get at least one possession in overtime, unless one team scores a touchdown on the first possession of overtime. A touchdown (either on special teams, offense or defense) on the first possession ends the game. No touchdown means the game goes to sudden death on the second possession. There would still be a coin flip to start overtime, and the winner would still choose whether to take the ball or play defense on the first possession of the extra period.

So the solution to the overtime situation is to only change it to where a team has to score a touchdown to win the game? It's an improvement, but not a huge improvement. The coin flip still plays a big part and teams are still going to choose to be on offense first. Maybe this idea will work better, but I don't see how this really changes too much. Peyton Manning would still have never touched the ball in OT in the 2008 playoffs and it doesn't fix the core problem that one team's offense may never touch the ball.

Except for the lousy performances of kickers in the playoffs this year, you can see why teams play for the field goal in overtime. Teams surely do: Since 1994, 73 percent of overtime games have been won by a field goal.

So this change might actually prevent this from happening? I don't know how much I actually like this OT change, but at least it is an idea. I am not sure if this idea will pass. This seems like a bigger change than NFL teams have been willing to make in the past. I could be wrong.

More balls returned instead of touchbacks, essentially. In overtime, teams are tired, mistakes are made. Instead of the offense taking over at the 20, now there's more of a chance to get a big edge on the opening kick and make a short drive for a field goal.

Apparently Peter thinks in overtime when mistakes are made because the teams are tired, it is only the kicking team that makes the mistakes and not the receiving team. Of course this logically doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense. If the players are tired, both the kicking and receiving team would be tired. While the kicking team may not tackle as well, the receiving team may not block as well.

Do you realize that Peyton Manning, Jeff Saturday and Reggie Wayne, the vets the Colts want to uber-protect from injury, have not played an overtime snap in the past 88 Indianapolis games? The Colt D had to play a series in the overtime playoff loss at San Diego in the 2008 season, but the offense hasn't played a fifth quarter since Dec. 26, 2004.

Do you realize I don't care about obscure statistics concerning the Colts?

I always hear players don't want to change the rule. I talked with three who attended the meeting in Indianapolis, and none seemed bothered by the change that could extend overtime a few plays. "I'm super in favor of it,'' Winston said. "I'd like to see the game not be so dependent on the coin flip.''

Overtime will still be dependent on the coin flip. Teams are still going to try and get the ball first in overtime so they can try and score a touchdown. The coin flip still plays a big part, it's just teams have to score touchdowns now instead of just kicking field goals in overtime to automatically win the game.

If Team A scores a field goal on the first possession, Team B would never punt, thus increasing its chance to score and extend the game. As the football analyst Brian Burke wrote in an email this weekend: "The second team with possession will have 33 percent more downs available to them on every series, without being concerned about the clock, and scoring becomes much more likely.''

Of course Team A doesn't HAVE to kick the field goal, they could go for it, thereby giving them the same amount of downs as Team B. This could happen if a team was bold...and we all know fortune favors the bold.

Of course a drawback to this system is that OT could last for a while if teams are just exchanging field goals.

Now for the network story. NFL Network and ESPN will have the built-in tease of all time for day two of the draft -- provided, of course, that Tim Tebow is not chosen in the first round. I'd say it looks unlikely he goes in round one, but you never know how his stock will rise and fall in the next seven weeks.

But I thought Peter said Tebow was going in the 1st round and a really smart team like the Patriots would nab him then? This is what Peter has told us, I can't believe it is not true. As great as Tebow was in college, you are telling me a team doesn't want to spend a 1st round pick on a quarterback who is completely redoing his throwing motion? I don't believe it.

Tebow's going to be in a tough position -- as will his agent, Jimmy Sexton. How much access does he give the networks to the vulnerable Tebow at that point? They'll be frothing over Tebow. Not that this is going to help Tebow in the eyes of the public. My e-mail and Twitter followers seems to feel about Tebow the same way they feel about Brett Favre: They're sick of him.

That would be a Brett Favre mention and Peter King starts a new streak of talking about Brett Favre in every MMQB beginning today, March 1, 2010. I like how Peter is assuming Tebow won't be taken in the 1st round and creates a fake hypothetical situation where networks want to speak to him as the guy who "fell" in the draft. Peter has created a whole fake situation and is asking tough questions about a situation that may never happen.

Let's slow down a little bit and let Tebow not get picked in the 1st round before we start worrying about whether Tim Tebow will be in demand by the networks on the 2nd day of the NFL Draft.

With the draft beginning at 4:30 p.m. West Coast time Thursday and continuing Friday at 3:30 PST, I understand the anger of left-coasters at the NFL. But if the ratings sing -- as is the case with so much in the NFL -- this format will become permanent.

I like how the NFL is following MLB's standard of "let's set up the draft or playoffs to where the fewest people possible can watch the entire thing." (Of course if unemployment stays like it does, maybe more people can watch than I think would be able to) Just like baseball insists on starting games at 8:30pm and then having 4 hour playoff games, the NFL has decided they don't give a shit if the West Coast gets to see their team draft or not.

I was encouraged to see a guy I like a lot, Stanford's big back, Toby Gerhart, run a 4.53, a little better than people thought he would. Anyone who watched Gerhart play last season and who would think he can't play in this league and play at a high level just doesn't know football.

Remember Peter last week talking about how the Combine doesn't mean much? Well he says he doesn't put much stock in it again this week, then he starts talking about players being good or bad based on how fast they ran at the Combine. The Combine means jack shit, except when Peter needs something to talk about or prove a point he has of course.

Disappointing runner: all-purpose back Dexter McCluster of Ole Miss. He ran in the 4.5s. Not good for a guy who weighs 171. He sure plays better (and looks faster) than that.

Of course as Peter said last week, this means nothing. So McCluster's disappointing showing shouldn't really matter should it?

He told me he'd examined lots of offensive linemen in his years coming to the combine, but Maryland tackle Bruce Campbell was the best physical specimen he'd ever seen. And when he ran a 4.78 40, one of the fastest by a lineman ever, Campbell's stock shot up all over town.

Except for the unnamed team architect whose draft board is 90% set. He isn't impressed with Bruce Campbell. By the way, the Raiders 1st round pick has just been decided.

I'm not saying the sculpted 6-foot-6, 314-pound Campbell won't be a good player, but he's sounding like a Raider pick to me.

I swear to God I wrote what I wrote above before I read what Peter just wrote here. I don't have to read the entire MMQB every week before I start writing, I know I am going to cover it. Either way, Bruce Campbell just sounds like a Raiders offensive lineman.

The game had it all, with one thing no other game of this magnitude in another sport has: The Americans and Canadians were playing for free, essentially, in the Olympic gold medal game.

I have a minor quibble with this statement. I know the World Baseball Classic isn't huge but I am pretty sure some countries take it very seriously and the baseball players play it for free. There are also other baseball tournaments where the players are playing for their home country for free and many countries take these tournaments seriously.

I do see what Peter is saying though.

Tweet of the Week

"Watching in airport bar. Even Charlie Weis, seated across from me, was screaming like he was named newly crowed prom queen.''
--@RickMaese, Washington Post football writer Rick Maese, tweeting from the Indianapolis International Airport at the moment when Zach Parise's goal in the final minute of the third period tied the USA-Canada game at 2 and forced overtime.

That gave me a disgusting mental image. It was like the movie "Carrie" except with Kristie Alley. Can we agree never to say "prom queen" and "Charlie Weis" in the same sentence again?

Quote of the Week II

"I'm 6-1 and a quarter, 217 [pounds]. I'd like to say I'm 6-4, but this is what God gave me. I did my absolute best in college. I played for four years. I started 53 games in a row ... We won more games in college than anyone else. So I don't know what more anybody can ask of me.''
-- Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, who drew the inevitable comparisons to another 6-1 (maybe) quarterback, Drew Brees, at the Scouting Combine.

To which every University of Texas football fan responds, "we could have used a National Championship from you. That is what else we could ask of you."

Quote of the Week IV

"I am not going to put him in a box ... Would it be nice to know sooner than later? Yeah, but you have to be able to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity in this business, whether you're a player, whether you're a coach, and you have to deal with it.''
-- Minnesota coach Brad Childress, on the will-he-or-won't-he drama of 40-year-old quarterback Brett Favre. The team awaits Favre's decision on whether he'll play or retire.

Translation: "Brett Favre does whatever the fuck he wants to do. I have no control over him. I call the plays he tells me to call and I do what he tells me to do. If he wants to decide the night before the first game of the 2010 NFL season he is playing the entire season and he wants to be the starter, I will let him do that. I will never question him. He is the coa---I mean he is a great player."

3. Had my head buried in my MacBook Air on an AirTran flight home to Boston for 15 or 20 minutes Sunday, and I paid no attention to the woman and baby across the aisle until I heard the sound of a baby struggling a bit. I turned to see the woman positioning the tot for some breast-feeding. No blanket, no clothing covering anything. Just a breast.

Oh my God! Just a breast! How dare this woman attempt to feed her infant in public! If you are on an airplane, at least go out on the wing or to the engine room and feed your baby.

You don't want to jerk your head away or you're a prude. You don't want to focus on it too long or you're a perv. So I, uh, moved my head deliberately back to the computer and MADE ABSOLUTELY SURE I DIDN'T LOOK THAT WAY FOR THE REST OF THE FLIGHT. See how open-minded I am?

You aren't a prude if you jerk your head away and I don't think this lady was concerned Peter was a prude. I am pretty sure the woman wouldn't have been worried the slightly overweight guy in the aisle seat in 15A looked away too quickly as she pulled out her breast to feed her baby. She isn't going to yell at Peter for being a prude if he didn't stare at her. That being said, not looking at the woman was the best move.

d. Like what Ross Tucker said on Twitter about Tebow after his terrific workout at nearly tight-end size. Tucker thinks teams will look harder at him now at a tight end or H-back type.

Yes, but then comes the inevitable question of where you draft a guy as a tight end or H-back when he has never played that position in college or high school. Usually those types of guys go undrafted or are drafted later, while Tebow is going to be taken earlier in the draft. He can be successful in the NFL, but I really think we need to decide on a position for him first.

g. Scouts think Jimmy Clausen's too cocky.

You mean the guy who called a press conference to announce his college choice and the same guy who had a ESPN do a feature on him while he was still in high school? No way. He may be too cocky?

5. I think I wouldn't be surprised if the union got some help from Capitol Hill in forcing the owners to open their books, so players could get a full accounting of exactly how much they're making.

I think the players should be able to get a good look at the books. If Congress has given the NFL an anti-trust exemption, they sure as hell have the authority to force the owners to open up their books and show their income...at least in my opinion. Of course the owners don't want the players to do this because how much money they are making would be revealed.

6. I think the Saints are close to a long-term deal with guard Jahri Evans, which would be a coup. They don't want to keep having to tag him and paying him a high guaranteed salary; they'd like to finalize a long-term deal with the most valuable player on their line.

I am not sure how re-signing their own free agent is a coup, but I guess we are at the point where anything the New Orleans Saints do is noteworthy.

9. I think Mike Holmgren looked and sounded like a man with a sense of urgency to pick a quarterback, put him under center, and let him play 16 games -- without the pressure of looking over his shoulder at the backup. "A quarterback needs two full seasons before you can judge him. What's Brady Quinn started? Twelve games? How can we know if he's the guy?'' Just from listening to him, it sounds like the Browns will give the job to Quinn, draft a passer sometime after the first round, and groom him in case Quinn's not The Man.

I don't necessarily think Brady Quinn will be a good NFL quarterback, but he hasn't played that much as the starter for the team. I say give him a chance and hire a coaching staff that will actually give him a chance to succeed. It's not fair to rip young quarterbacks in and out of the starting lineup when they don't have coaches around them to help them succeed. Sadly, giving a young quarterback the opportunity to start a game without the pressure of being pulled and getting good coaching seems to be a novel idea in Cleveland.

b. Loved what Conan O'Brien Tweeted, about interviewing a squirrel in the backyard the other day and threw to a commercial. "Somebody help me,'' he pleaded.

Look for Peter King's book coming out next week "Twitter Cliffs Notes." He will break down 140 letter Tweets into 140 letter explanations of that Tweet.

d. Bring on baseball. Lots of it. I've got to get ready for my Rotisserie Draft, and I have no idea who's closing for Tampa Bay.

Rafael Soriano? He's never played for Boston, I can see how Peter wouldn't know this.

Speaking of Boston, Peter wonders who this Mike Cameron guy is for the Red Sox? He's pretty good at centerfield...did he just get called up from Pawtucket?

i. Conrad Hotel, you can't be beat.

The Conrad Hotel is not a living object, it can't read or hear what Peter has just typed here. Why he typed it as if he were communicating with the hotel, I will never know.

j. I just don't think the Super Bowl should be schedule to be played outdoors in February in New Jersey. So shoot me.

Is that an open invitation?

Also, nice grammar by Peter here, "should be schedule." Even when he has a few extra hours (or days) to work on and turn in his MMQB he can't seem to avoid a few mistakes.

I look forward to next week when Peter has a few more interesting facts about the Combine and how it affects each player's draft status...even though it doesn't matter of course since the Combine is overrated, because Peter is still going to base his opinion of players on how they perform at the Combine.