There’s been a bit of a backlash among NFL kickers against the idea that the extra point is too easy -- “easy for you to say it’s easy,” the kickers seem to be telling the rest of us. But one of the greatest kickers in NFL history likes the idea of making extra points harder.
Morten Andersen, who kicked 849 extra points in his NFL career, told Sporting News that he thinks it’s time to consider changes to the extra point.
“Adjusting it could be beneficial for the game,” Andersen said.
The NFL is reportedly considering moving extra points back from the 2-yard line to the 25-yard line in the preseason, and Andersen thinks a preseason trial makes sense.
“They should do it in preseason and see what the responses are and how it affects the flow of the game and outcome of the games,” Andersen said.
Even if the ball were spotted at the 25-yard line, NFL kickers would still likely make extra points more than 90 percent of the time. But they wouldn’t make them more than 99 percent of the time, as they do at the current distance. A longer extra point would make better kickers more valuable, which may be why a great kicker likes Andersen thinks they’re a good idea.