Jake Delhomme gets his whole body into that interception.

I know the NFL has bigger issues than fixing overtime. The players have non-guaranteed contracts, concussion syndrome has thankfully become a subject du jour and one very geeky journalist is fairly questioning the moral justification for the sport’s existence. But I like trying to solve problems, so I’ll have a go at fixing the inequitable system of NFL overtime.

The problem. In the current system, which started 35 years ago, a coin flip determines which team gets the ball first in OT. Since it”s sudden death, that first possession is key and the team that gets the ball first wins more games by a few percentage points. Chance shouldn’t determine the first and potentially only possession.

The changes I’d make. In order to favor merit over luck, there’d be no more coin toss. If there is a tie at the end of regulation, a 10-minute overtime period would begin from exactly where the action stands at the end of regulation. Even if one team scores, the ten minutes will be played to completion. If the game is tied at the end of this period, a horn will sound and a five-minute sudden-death period will commence from where the action stands. The first team that scores in this period wins. If neither team scores, the game is a tie. In playoffs, the five-minute sudden-death portion continues until there is a winner.

The ass kissing. That pretty boy NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell needn’t thank me if he’s busy. It would be nice, sure.