Although it has been proposed as a one-year rule to see how it plays out in 2015, Smith says the intent from the competition committee is that rule change stays a part of the game for the long haul.
“We tried to add some skill to the play, which is the reason why we moved it back to the 15,” Smith said. “And then the other element is how do we create a more exciting play? And so to give the defense an opportunity to score, it adds an element there, as well as obviously incentivizing teams to go for two.
“So our hope is what we’ve done is we’ve added skill to the play, and then we will also see some increase in the attempts to go for two. We just felt like it was a play that was almost a ceremonial play, the way it has languished here recently.”
And Troy Vincent, the league’s vice president of football operations, noted that placekickers can handle such an alteration.
“The feedback that we got when we adjusted the field goal at the Pro Bowl didn’t go over too well,” Vincent said. “But they understand. The kicker is a skill position now. They are extremely accurate. We are not trying to remove the foot out of the game.”
NFL kickers are not necessarily on board with the change.
“What did the NFL really accomplish?” said kicker Jay Feely, a 14-year NFL veteran, via Twitter. “It’s still nearly automatic (90%vs 99%) but greater risk of injury to Oline.”
Article Appeared @http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12915634/nfl-change-extra-point-kicks-longer-distance