If I Could Change One Thing in the NFL

By Marcus Jensen



In football, every inch and every second count



I love the NFL. It is one of the most exciting sports to watch, and I almost always find myself wanting more. But if I were asked if there was a rule that I would change, it would be this.

In college football, in the final minutes of each half, the clock is stopped when a first down is achieved, allowing the chain gang to reset their marker and for the referee to spot the ball. In the NFL however, this is not the case.

How many of you have been watching a game, it is in the final seconds, and a team is trying to get in position to kick a field goal? They have no timeouts, and they launch a pass down the middle to an open receiver. The receiver is unable to get out of bounds, the defense is guarding the sideline. So, he is tackled in the middle of the field.

If the clock would have been stopped, the team would have had a field goal try from a reasonable distance. But the team had no chance to run up in time to spike the ball before the clock ran out.

In a league that in recent years has made advances to make football more offensive friendly, this is the next step. Give teams the ability to call a play that can get them into field goal range or in range for a Hail Mary without having to have a timeout. This basically dooms a team trying to make a comeback. The defense can just guard the sideline and the end zone, and as long as one person can tackle, they will win.

The fans would definitely be more excited for this, instead of watching a seemingly endless debacle of laterals to offensive lineman that have never touched a football in their NFL career. The NFL has made great advancements from the college game, but taking this rule from college would be beneficial to the game.

Slap in the Face, Benching Alex Smith

By Marcus Jensen

Coach Jim Harbaugh decides to go with Colin Kaepernick this week

This week on sports radio, I have heard a lot of debate about whether the San Francisco 49ers should start Colin Kaepernick or stick with Alex Smith. Well, the Niners have decided to start Kaepernick, which is a travesty.

Colin Kaepernick or Alex Smith: Who Should Start for the San Francisco 49ers?

Kaepernick had one good game. But Alex Smith led your team to the NFC championship game last year. The Niners defense had enough presence by itself to win the game last week. Kaepernick was unable to lead the Niners to a win over the Rams, who are a less superior team than the Bears.

The radio station went on to say that Alex Smith could not win in a shoot out, that he wasn't able to keep up with teams that can score at will. How quick they forget the NFC divisional game where Alex Smith led his Niners over the Saints in a shoot out, 36-32. This week is a rematch of the game where Alex Smith played his best football. Put him in.

Alex Smith, 49ers bounce sloppy Saints, charge into NFC title game

Jim Harbaugh stayed with Smith last year. Even two weeks ago he defended Smith after he had been struggling. It seems like that was a lot of gobble gobble turkey from a jive turkey gobbler.

Alex Smith deserves better than this. He deserves to start as long as he is able to lead the Niners to victory, which he still can. Don't do this to him again.

Abolish Ties in the NFL

By Marcus Jensen



Couldn't say it better myself

  Something happened this last week that hadn't happened in four years. I'm not talking about the presidential election. I am talking about a tie game in the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams ended 75 minutes of play this past Sunday with the score of 24-24. This is the first tie in the NFL since the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals did it on Nov. 16, 2008.

49ers and Rams play to a bizarre, mistake-filled tie

The NFL is America's game. It has taken over that spot from baseball. Yet nothing could seem less American than ending a game in a tie. Sitting there on Sunday, watching this game end, it left a sour taste in my mouth. Ties just don't sit well with me. Something deep within most of us is the desire to have a winner and a loser.

There are no winners in a tie game, pun intended. Both teams leave the field with disappointment, maybe even more so than if they would have lost. The fans leave the game unsatisfied. The division and playoff standings are thrown all out of whack. I can't think of one good thing.

"I sure don't like it," said Rams defensive end Chris Long. "I think everybody on the field would have liked to have gone back out and just settled it. That's the rule right now, so it is what it is."

Rams-49ers tie likely not enough to alter NFL rule

Most professional sports don't allow ties in a game. The NHL just recently changed its rules about ties in the 2005 season. Now games have shootouts to determine the winner. The longest NBA game ever played was on Jan. 6, 1951, where the Indianapolis Olympians won in 6 OT against the Rochester Royals. The longest professional baseball game was played in 1981, with the Minor League Pawtucket Red Sox beating the Rochester Red Wings 3-2 in 33 innings. The game lasted a staggering 8 hours, 25 minutes. Major League Soccer is the only other major sport in the U.S. to allow ties.

So what is the solution? That is the tricky part. You could adapt the college format, but most experts agree that it would not work well in professional football. You could go to a second 15 minute period, keeping sudden death. Or, one that I read a few days ago, a kickout, the equivalent of a shootout with field goals. The truth is, I don't know what would work best. I would assume that going to another overtime and the first to score wins would be the best policy. Do what you do to decide a playoff game.

A legitimate concern is player safety. Football is a very grueling sport, and player safety should be taken into account. But keeping things the way they are is frustrating, both to the fans and the players and coaches. Mind you, it doesn't happen very often, only 5 times in the last 15 years.

Please, NFL, get rid of ties. Oh, I just thought of something good. Although it frustrates us to see a tie, it saves us the frustration of watching yet another quarter after one team couldn't score a single point in 15 minutes of overtime.

                              49ers-Rams highlights, or are they lowlights?

The Power of Sport

By Marcus Jensen

Sports have the power to bring people together. Just look at the Olympics and you can see the evidence of that. I was glued to my television every night of the summer Olympics and was left wanting more. Just seeing athletes competing with everything they’ve got and wearing their home colors is truly inspiring.

Sports can help us forget our problems. For a few hours we can see a battle fought on a field or a court, and rest from our own troubles and cares. They can bring families and communities together.

One of the many examples came this last Sunday in the Meadowlands. New York City and the surrounding areas were flooded by the effects of Hurricane Sandy. Many people were without power and had their homes flooded. They came to get some relief, at least for a few hours.

“We need this,” said Giants fan Courtney Davis before the game against the Pittsburg Steelers.

Although the game ended in a loss for the home team, it provided some excitement in dire circumstances.

Steelers-Giants provide relief in Sandy aftermath

We can take a look back to the effects the New Orleans Saints had on the morale of its citizens after the devastating Hurricane Katrina. It gave the displaced and maybe even homeless people of that city something to cheer for.

This is one of the many reasons that I love sports. It can unite people almost better than anything I have seen. As we saw this Tuesday, America is very divided on what direction they want the country to go. But one thing that most agree on is that sports are awesome.

Although we can’t always agree on which team to root for, we can always agree on the game. This is more than we can say about election results.

So, be a sports fan. You don't have to understand the game. You don't have to have a team. Just enjoy watching athletes giving their all and enjoy the comradery that comes with cheering for human achievement.

Throw Those Back

 By Marcus Jensen

Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to victory this week.

Is it just me, or did it feel like we were watching the Longest Yard this Sunday in Pittsburg? The Steelers looked like they were dressed in prison uniforms.

I just don’t understand why teams use the throwback uniforms. Most times there was a reason why the jerseys were changed in the first place. Yet, each year, it is a tradition. I don’t know if it is because they want to sell more jerseys or if it is a tribute to older teams. Or it might be to disorient the opposing team. The latter worked against me this Sunday.

"There's a reason these jerseys were from 1932..... it's 2012 now though, so send them back!!! lol," tweeted James Harrison, linebacker for the Steelers.

To list some of the worst, you have the Steelers’ bumblebee jersey, the Tampa Bay creamsicle orange, and the blue Green Bay Packer jerseys with brown pants.

Yet there are some that work, the powder blue Chargers uniform, and the old Patriots uniform. These are better than either of their current uniforms.

If it works, use them. Even change the jersey. But if it doesn’t work, spare the eyes of the players and the fans. If they want to bring them out again, thrown them back.

See all the current NFL throwback jerseys