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42-yard extra point feels like a red herring

kick

At a time when the NFL wants to make the extra point more relevant (the bar is low), the NFL leaked to, um, the NFL on Monday the possibility of moving the snap from the two yard line to the 25.

It would turn the no-brainer extra point into a 42-yard try, which in today’s game is still mainly a chip shot. It also would remove the possibility of a fake from kick formation -- but maybe that would work because the defense definitely wouldn’t anticipate that one. (It also would remove the drop kick from the potential bag of extra-point tricks, to the chagrin of our pal Doug Flutie.)

This one doesn’t pass the smell test. It would create a clunky, two-pronged approach to the extra-point process, with the team that scored going to the two (and going for two) or to the 25 (and going for one). More importantly, it wouldn’t advance the objective that ultimately underpins Commissioner Roger Goodell’s proposal to make the extra point automatic for teams content to take the seven -- further removing contact that isn’t necessary to the game.

While the chances of blocking an extra point remain slim, the defense still tries. And the effort puts a lot of physical stress on the offensive line.

As a result, injuries happen. Just ask Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who first broke his arm in 2012 on an extra-point play.

Moving the extra point back by 23 yards won’t make the play any less intense. If anything, defenses will push even harder because they realize there’s a better chance of blocking the kick or inducing a shank.

So this feels like a way to rally support for eliminating the extra point via the introduction of impractical alternatives. After enough impractical alternatives are introduced, it will become a given that the play needs to change -- and the best (and safest) option will be to get rid of the play altogether.