2009-02-16T09:21:36-05:00 <div class="photo_container image_center" style="width: 615px;"> <div class="photo"><img title="Tie" src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/tie-score.jpg" alt="Tie" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">The Eagles and Bengals played to a 13-13 tie on Sunday, just the 15th time an NFL game has ended in a draw since '78. <br /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Scott Boehm/Getty Images</div> </div> <p><br />When my editor suggested I write an opinion this morning on why the NFL should abolish ties, his argument was convincing. None of the other American sports have allowed ties since the NHL adopted shootouts in 2005. Even the MLS uses penalty kicks to settle non-elimination matches, deviating from international rules.</p> <p>In short, Americans hate ties and football is our favorite sport.</p> <p>There's a lot I agree with there. Our cultural aversion to the draw is well-documented, tracing back to former Navy coach <strong>Eddie Erdelatz</strong>, who first juxtaposed a tie game with casual incest. Sure, ties in the NFL may be ugly results. But there's something poetic about their ugliness. A tie is like a scarlet letter of mediocrity. Even typographically, it's an eyesore, an aberration spilling over from the record column into the margin like a less attractive-looking asterisk, a permanent reminder of a season's ordinariness. On the field, a tie is simply a euphemism for a mercy kill: No two competent teams should be able to play 15 minutes of sudden-death overtime without scoring -- and no fans should be held hostage on the premises any longer if they can't.</p> <p>The only other mainstream team sport with ties is soccer, where the rule actually plays an integral role in strategy and tactics. A hopelessly overmatched team can pack 10 men in the box, playing for a draw and a point in the standings. This frequently compels the favored team, unwilling to settle for a point, to alter their strategy -- whether it's committing more players to attack, changing their formation or otherwise taking bolder risks. A lesser team's decision to play for a tie demands creativity and imagination from the opponent -- one of the many games within the game that makes soccer the world's most popular sport.</p> <p>But that's the difference. While a draw is often a favorable result in soccer, no one <em>ever </em>plays for a tie in the NFL. A tie is always a mistake.</p> <p>In other words, stalemates are football's most unenviable result. But the teams who tie get what they deserve.</p> <p>No truly great team has played in a tie game in the 30 seasons since the NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Just 14 games have ended in a tie over that span. Of the 28 teams who finished with a tie on their record, only nine ended up making the playoffs. Five of those nine made the postseason by winning uncompetitive divisions, with none winning more than 10 games. Most tellingly, only two of those nine teams made it past the divisional round.</p> 2008-11-17T11:35:20-05:00 16 2008-11-17T11:58:12-05:00 1 2 10 2008-11-18T14:17:52-05:00 66 XX r-tard No City 185096 19 philly needs to wake up and realize you arent winning a superbowl with mcnabb 3373173 2008-11-18T13:00:30-05:00 2 VA markm1 Meadowview 606463 18 Leave the NFL system the way it is, but don't make it end with one quarter. Keep playing until some scores so points!!! 3372035 2008-11-18T00:11:46-05:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/170/245/thumb/clef_blue_field.jpg 4311 NM Clef - TAFNaB out in B. F. E. 170545 All i have to say is McNabb is a **** idiot, not knowing the game could end in a tie. Maybe Rush L. was right. 13 I've thought that since before Rush said it. Over-rated. 3367239 2008-11-18T10:02:32-05:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/879/92/thumb/447.jpg 5974 NY Anthony Verna New York 88292 I've thought that since before Rush said it. Over-rated. 16 What Rush said was offensive because he brought race into the matter, saying that the media was itching for a black quarterback to do well, so the media overhyped McNabb. I disagree on both points, honestly. McNabb was a good quarterback. He won games for the Eagles many times with his (cannon) arm and his legs. He has played hurt - remember beating the Cardinals throwing four touchdowns while on a broken foot. But I think his injuries have caught up to him. I think the lack of talent around him has caught up to him. His career is on that unfortunate downside. I take offense to Husker's comment about Rush Limbaugh being right because he did his typical race-baiting in his comments on ESPN's airwaves those years ago. 3369278 2008-11-18T09:58:37-05:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/879/92/thumb/447.jpg 5974 NY Anthony Verna New York 88292 15 It's so rare, why wring hands over it? (And the college system is terrible. College overtime no longer resembles football.) 3369197 2008-11-18T07:32:44-05:00 1 NC Steeler D Gastonia 605277 14 The NFL overtime system is fine. I hate the college system. It's biased in favor of the offense. No team should be given possession at the opposition 25-yard line. Mount a decent drive and earn your points. I also like the urgency of sudden-death. Leave the NFL system as it is. 3367800 2008-11-17T15:07:48-05:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/375/011/thumb/7558340237792_1_.jpg 1300 NE Husker Pride Lincoln 375451 5 All i have to say is McNabb is a **** idiot, not knowing the game could end in a tie. Maybe Rush L. was right. 3362106 2008-11-18T00:11:46-05:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/170/245/thumb/clef_blue_field.jpg 4311 NM Clef - TAFNaB out in B. F. E. 170545 All i have to say is McNabb is a **** idiot, not knowing the game could end in a tie. Maybe Rush L. was right. 13 I've thought that since before Rush said it. Over-rated. 3367239 2008-11-17T18:09:20-05:00 59 GA 666_generalissimo Atlanta 583760 11 Ties are fine in soccer. Not in football, or in any of the four major North American sports. The NFL should adopt college rules with some changes. Maybe you get the ball at the 45, or 50 instead of the 25 so you at least have to get a 1st down to get in field goal range. 3364623 2008-11-17T15:37:55-05:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/448/880/thumb/sampdoria.png 849 WC De[10]Rossi L'Aquila 449320 Really, both teams should be credited with a loss for that crap. 6 GREAT...BOTH teams should get LOSSES especially the eagles....werent they hyped to be superbowl bound as well as the vikings...if your going to have that hype dont tie a 1-8 team at the bottom of the league 2nd to last. btw, how are all the superbowl favorites doing for the NFC- dallas, minnesota and eagles.....oh yea.....yikess..... 3362577 2008-11-17T18:06:48-05:00 59 GA 666_generalissimo Atlanta 583760 GREAT...BOTH teams should get LOSSESespecially the eagles....werent they hyped to be superbowl bound as well as the vikings...if your going to have that hype dont tie a 1-8 team at the bottom of the league 2nd to last. btw, how are all the superbowl favorites doing for the NFC- dallas, minnesota and eagles.....oh yea.....yikess..... 10 How are the Packers doing for the season? Oh yeah, .500 with losses to Minnesota (5-5) and Dallas (6-4). The season's far from over, and how often does the team with the best record in the regular season win the Super Bowl, anyway? 3364601 2008-11-17T16:56:22-05:00 174 IL Maddux Chicago 33875 9 nothing should ever end in a tie, you play games to get a winner and a loser...go to the college OT and settle the game, fans don't go to see a tie and they are the ones paying to see a win or loss...although your article was interesting, your argument is baseless...the real issue is the NFL rarely wants to admit that college has something better, it took the USFL to get the NFL to admit two point conversions are good for the game. It will take some rich owner like Jones to get screwed on a tie before the NFL ever rethinks its lame policy 3363763 2008-11-17T13:47:34-05:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/408/705/thumb/yankee.jpe.jpg 1759 PA Lallybone Ya Motha 409145 2 this wasnt an issue the last 6 years. so why is it now? its only happened 14 times since the beginning of the league? then who cares, if your team sucks that much to not score in 15mins. then pound sand! you should be credited a tie 3360754 2008-11-17T16:52:54-05:00 174 IL Maddux Chicago 33875 this wasnt an issue the last 6 years. so why is it now? its only happened 14 times since the beginning of the league? then who cares, if your team sucks that much to not score in 15mins. then pound sand! you should be credited a tie 8 Um that is not what he really said...he said since 1978 3363670 16 <div class="photo_container image_center" style="width: 615px;"> <div class="photo"><img title="Tie" src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/tie-score.jpg" alt="Tie" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">The Eagles and Bengals played to a 13-13 tie on Sunday, just the 15th time an NFL game has ended in a draw since '78. <br /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Scott Boehm/Getty Images</div> </div> <p><br />When my editor suggested I write an opinion this morning on why the NFL should abolish ties, his argument was convincing. None of the other American sports have allowed ties since the NHL adopted shootouts in 2005. Even the MLS uses penalty kicks to settle non-elimination matches, deviating from international rules.</p> <p>In short, Americans hate ties and football is our favorite sport.</p> <p>There's a lot I agree with there. Our cultural aversion to the draw is well-documented, tracing back to former Navy coach <strong>Eddie Erdelatz</strong>, who first juxtaposed a tie game with casual incest. Sure, ties in the NFL may be ugly results. But there's something poetic about their ugliness. A tie is like a scarlet letter of mediocrity. Even typographically, it's an eyesore, an aberration spilling over from the record column into the margin like a less attractive-looking asterisk, a permanent reminder of a season's ordinariness. On the field, a tie is simply a euphemism for a mercy kill: No two competent teams should be able to play 15 minutes of sudden-death overtime without scoring -- and no fans should be held hostage on the premises any longer if they can't.</p> <p>The only other mainstream team sport with ties is soccer, where the rule actually plays an integral role in strategy and tactics. A hopelessly overmatched team can pack 10 men in the box, playing for a draw and a point in the standings. This frequently compels the favored team, unwilling to settle for a point, to alter their strategy -- whether it's committing more players to attack, changing their formation or otherwise taking bolder risks. A lesser team's decision to play for a tie demands creativity and imagination from the opponent -- one of the many games within the game that makes soccer the world's most popular sport.</p> <p>But that's the difference. While a draw is often a favorable result in soccer, no one <em>ever </em>plays for a tie in the NFL. A tie is always a mistake.</p> <p>In other words, stalemates are football's most unenviable result. But the teams who tie get what they deserve.</p> <p>No truly great team has played in a tie game in the 30 seasons since the NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Just 14 games have ended in a tie over that span. Of the 28 teams who finished with a tie on their record, only nine ended up making the playoffs. Five of those nine made the postseason by winning uncompetitive divisions, with none winning more than 10 games. Most tellingly, only two of those nine teams made it past the divisional round.</p> <p>What they <em>have </em>done is make for plenty of colorful anecdotes:</p> <p>* Minnesota and Green Bay played to a 10-10 tie on Nov. 26, 1978. The teams would finish the season tied atop the NFC Central standings with identical 8-7-1 records, but the Vikings won the division on, ironically, the head-to-head tiebreaker -- thanks to their 1-0-1 advantage in the season series.</p> <p>* The Dolphins and Jets played to a 28-28 standoff on Oct. 4, 1981. A victory would have ended up propelling the New Yorkers (10-5-1) to a division title. Instead, they finished one game behind the Dolphins (11-4-1). Miami's overtime experience didn't end up helping much in the playoffs, where the Dolphins endured <em>another </em>scoreless overtime period before dropping their famous 41-38 clash with the Chargers in two extra frames.</p> <p>* The Eagles and Ravens played to a soporific 10-10 stalemate on Nov. 16, 1997. But the biggest losers were the Baltimore-area Pizza Hut owners, whose season-long gimmick promising $1 off a large pizza on Monday for each Baltimore sack on Sunday backfired when the Ravens got to quarterback <strong>Bobby Hoying</strong> a franchise-record nine times. The area's 52 outlets ended up marking down pies to $1.69, creating multiple-hour waits and lines around the block.</p> <p>Since tie games happen so infrequently -- and so seldom involve teams with any stake in the championship picture -- I see no reason to get rid of them. Instead, the NFL should keep them in the rules for those afternoons, like yesterday's snoozer in Cincinnati, when neither team rightfully deserves the satisfaction of a victory.</p> 24021 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/976/38/thumb/bryan_armen_graham_b.jpg 103 NY Bryan Armen Graham New York 97938