NFL Owners vote 30-2 to move the PAT back to the 15 yard line as well as a couple other wrinkles

SAN FRANCISCO -- As expected, NFL owners on Tuesday voted 30-2 to approve a change in the rule governing extra points after touchdowns

BREAKING: @NFL PAT kicks have been moved to the 15-yard line & two-point conversions stay at the 2. Defenses can return for two points.

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) May 19, 2015

The owners considered three proposals but ultimately approved a rule change endorsed by the competition committee. The new rule pushes the kick back to the 15-yard line and leaves the two-point conversion at the 2-yard line.

It also makes the play "live," meaning the defense could return a blocked kick or a turnover on a two-point play for two points.

The New England Patriots proposed snapping the ball from the 15 for a one-point kick or placing the ball at the 2-yard line for a two-point try. According to the Patriots' proposal, a team's choice was not final and was subject to change following a timeout or penalty.

The Philadelphia Eagles proposed snapping from the 15 for the kick but moving the ball to the 1 for a two-point conversion. The Eagles also wanted the defense to be able to score points if it returned a turnover on the two-point conversion to the other end zone.

Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith pointed to the high rate of success of extra points as a reason for the change.

Washington and Oakland were the only teams to vote no. The rule change will be reviewed after one year.

NFL to move extra point tries to the 15-yard line in 2015 http://t.co/7bErrBCJ71

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 19, 2015

NFL place-kickers have converted at least 98 percent of their extra points since 2000. That figure has hovered above 99 percent since 2010, providing little incentive to go for two-point plays. Coaches attempted them after just 4.9 percent of touchdowns last season; they were converted at a rate of 47.5 percent.

There were 41 field goal attempts last season from 33 yards. Only two were missed. The conversion rate for 33-yard field goals over the past five seasons is 92.8 percent (154-of-166). Extra-point kicks are currently from the 2-yard line.

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, in charge of NFL football operations, noted that placekickers can handle such an alteration. "The kicker's a skill position now,'' Vincent said. "We're not trying to take 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."

I thought NFL was concerned about player safety? Those 60 plays will be much more dangerous for OLine now. https://t.co/IEQfEA3CXQ

— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) May 19, 2015

NFL vice president of football operations Troy Vincent acknowledged their concerns.

"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 officiating chief Dean Blandino said if conversion rate for PATs from 15 doesn't fall much below 99 percent, may move kicks back further

— Bob Glauber (@BobGlauber) May 19, 2015

LET'S GO BRONCOS! IT IS A MILE HIGH ORANGE SEASON!!

Denver Broncos predicted to finish with best record

Andrew L. John, The Desert Sun

Photo: +The Associated Press 

With the 2014 +NFL draft complete and mini-camps set to begin, the countdown to the upcoming season is under way. And now we have our very first look at projected win totals for all 32 teams, according to Football Outsiders.

The statistic-based analytical website has been projecting win totals for several years now, and has a track record of mixed success. Last season, the website correctly predicted five of the eight division winners and eight of the 12 playoff teams.

RELATED: DVOA predictions | Strength of Schedule | 2015 NFL mock draft

Using advanced statistics, Football Outsiders also predicted the +Washington Redskins and the +Houston Texans, the two worst teams in the league record-wise, would both win their respective divisions. Injuries ravaged what could have been a good season for both teams but, in hindsight, it’s hard to imagine either of those teams making the playoffs with a healthy roster, let alone winning their division.

So who is Football Outsiders projecting success for this year? Let’s take a look.

It’s no surprise that the website is projecting the +Denver Broncos to have the best record (12-4) in the league this year. The team fell just short of a Super Bowl victory and returns Peyton Manning, Von Miller and a host of other elite players.

The top team in the NFC? The +New Orleans Saints, with an 11-5 record. Drew Brees, Sean Payton and Co. won 11 games a year ago and lost at Seattle in the divisional round of the playoffs.

The other two division winners are projected to be the Super Bowl winning +Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers, who should have a healthy Aaron Rodgers ready to go. Both teams are each projected to win 10 games, as are the +New England Patriots, the +Philadelphia Eagles and the +Indianapolis Colts.

Here is where I start to get a little skeptical. Football Outsiders has the +San Francisco 49ers only winning nine games, the same amount as the +New York Giants. I understand the uncertainty of +Colin Kaepernick, and that he perhaps could miss games following a sexual assault investigation, and that the Niners have a top 5 strength of schedule. Still, nine games is a hit for a team that talented. After all, the Broncos and Seahawks also have one of the tougher schedules in 2014.

On a personal note, I’m surprised the Bears — after the offseason they’ve had — are only projected to win eight games. Full disclosure: I’m a Bears fan. call me partial and even biased, but Chicago’s roster is too talented to not improve upon last year’s record. The +Chicago Bears’ SOS is average.

+ESPN.com NFL draft insider Todd McShay has released his early 2015 mock draft based on Football Outsiders’ projections. Check out the first round of his mock draft to see where every team is expected to finish this year. 

5 Headline NFL 2014 Preseason Games at First Glance

Seahawks - Broncos to rematch in Broncos first NFL preseason game (despite slated in regular season as well)

Nate Irving (#56 of Denver) breaks up pass intended for J. Kearse (#15 of Seattle) in 1st quarter of Super Bowl.

They'll rematch in the 2014 regular season as well. Photo Courtesy +Denver Broncos (AP)

The Five Most Intriguing Games On The 2014 NFL Preseason Schedule

Are you ready for some (pre-season) football? With the release of the NFL Preseason schedule earlier today, football-starved fans across the Internet finally have something concrete to look forward to, and talk about. While the games will be meaningless come December, there will be position battles to be won and lost and, of course, the longer extra point experiment. For the first two weeks of the preseason, the ball will be spotted at the 20-yard line for extra point kicks, which will turn extra points from 20-yard chip shots into something slightly more interesting. Last year, close to 99% of extra points were converted, which created little incentive for fans to stay in front of their televisions after the first six points. With that in mind, we've broken down the five most interesting preseason games, starting with the Chargers opener against the Cowboys.

Broncos to break in Levi's Stadium (49ers Pristine New Home) in Preseason

Week 1: Cowboys at Chargers: Last season Chargers PK Nick Novak had the worst success rate for kicks between 30-39 yards, going 13-16, or 81%. At the equivalent of a 38-yard field goal, the extended extra point could be an adventure for Novak. The game may also be as expensive some of the games on the Chargers schedule for the regular season, as the Cowboys almost always drive up prices on the road, even for their preseason games.

Week 4: Jets at Eagles: Week 4 is typically the week when starters take a seat. If Geno Smith beats out Michael Vick for the Jets starting job, this game could be a match-up of Michael Vick vs.Mark Sanchez, two once-franchise QBs. While not exactly the return of Andy Reid last year, it will be the most interesting pre-season game on Eagles schedule for reasons that have nothing to do with football. Vick spent five years in Philadelphia and he has the franchise to thank for giving him a second chance and a deal worth $100 million. In return, he delivered two wild-card playoff losses, and it will be interesting to see how the ever-honest fans at Lincoln Financial Field greet Vick in his return.

Week 2: Broncos at 49ers: If not for Richard Sherman, this could have been a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl. It will be the second year in a row the Broncos Schedule sets up a pre-season visit to San Francisco. While last year was Peyton’s final visit to Candlestick Park, this year will be his first to Levis Field. It will also be the first football game played in the $1.2 billion stadium, aka, the Field of Jeans. Given that novelty element, it will likely be sold out or close to sold out. Levis has a capacity of 68,500, which makes it on the small side for a football stadium. As a point of reference, the first ever game at Metlife Stadium brought in 67,511 fans for a game against the Jets and the Giants. The game was technically a home game on the Jets schedule, which may have been part of the reason almost 20,000 seats went unfilled.

August 3rd, Hall Of Fame Game: Giants Vs. Bills: While this would have been a potential Super-Bowl Matchup in the early 90s, in 2014, it’s a match-up of two teams just looking to compete. It is, however, the first snap of the football, and therefore, exciting.

Week 1: Seahawks at Broncos: While the preseason is often meaningless, this rematch of Super Bowl XLVIII should have a lot of meaning for the +Denver Broncos. After getting demolished by the Seahawks in the SuperBowl, a win in the rematch could allow the Broncos to shake some of the nightmares that they've surely lived with since February. For Broncos fans, a close game will give them a chance to imagine what could have been. A win would likely give them confidence about success for the Broncos schedule that’s ahead. Another blowout loss could lead to some serious soul searching, even if Peyton manning only takes a quarter of the snaps. (This statement should put any sports, football casual journalist on suspension for its miraculous attempt at making keyboard millennial trolls jump all over this and ride it for what it is worth, nothing) Something we see on +Bleacher Report and others horrifying articulation of pointless things. Sports CR3W would like to hope that we admit when we are following the lead of such a fuss on anything and will delineate what is worth keeping up in the brain for future use, reference. 

Broncos and Seahawks square off in Week 1 of Preseason

We say, "In what way is this even feasible?? Soul searching from ONE quarter in the "bleep,,, bleeping,, bleeeping" PREASEASON!! You're 'bleeeeep!ng' joking, right?"

+SPORTS CR3W will have to disagree with this statement or any other 'pundit' and/or 'analysis / insight' about a PRESEASON match whether it is a rematch or not. The same will be said of the +Seattle Seahawks and Broncos regular season matchup in Seattle that has all sorts of variables in it that weigh no significance regarding the Super Bowl debacle. 

To say and buy into ANY hype of a preseason game and its results is just plain misleading, ignorant, and naive. Sorry to all those expert journalists that will make so much of this matchup and the writers that are actually qualified to vote on matter of Hall of Fame inductees to MVP awards, etc. If qualifications pass for them on the latter matter's mentioned, they should know better than to say the result of this preseason game merits a single ioda towards a possible meeting about 5 months from then. Sorry preseason, John Fox and the Broncos use base defense, do not gameplan on offense and the point of the preseason is to give fringe players (especially the 1st and 2nd preseason games) a look at how they mesh or play with starters and players that are deeper on the depth chart. Mainly to see if they can make the cut or not, of course.

Especially, in special teams analysis of who could/should make the team for defense/special teams and hone their other skills at the perspective position. Simply said, do not give a damn about the result here, it has no relevance as to how the regular season will unfold for either club. Broncos will be using a lot of new faces on defense as well as old that were not on the team's Super Bowl roster. A reminder to all those that forget. 8 turnovers, the Broncos would have lost to the Canadian Football League champs to put it lightly. Suffice it to say, the Seahawks did not beat the Broncos "A" team as we've written before.

h/t +Forbes