Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri doesn’t like the idea of eliminating extra points — which is one rule change being discussed by the NFL — but he is in favor of making another tweak to the scoring system.
“I don’t think any of us are above the ability to change football from what it is,” Vinatieri told Dan Hanzus of NFL.com. “I mean, it’s been the way it has been for 100 years. I don’t know if we should start changing that stuff up.”
“If anything, make a 50-yard field goal worth four points instead of three,” he said. “Now all of a sudden we become more valuable rather than less valuable.”
Vinatieri’s proposal isn’t outlandish by any means, especially since 50-yard field goals are not that common.
No team attempted more than seven field goals from 50 yards or longer during the regular season, and just four teams (Baltimore, Carolina, Dallas, Denver) made six field goals from that distance. There were 10 teams that converted on 50 percent or less of their field goals from 50 yards out.
In the playoffs, only two teams have attempted a field goal of 50 yards or more. San Francisco was 1-for-1 and San Diego missed its only attempt.
