Polian sold on overtime proposal

The statistics have swayed Indianapolis Colts team president Bill Polian.

Polian said that he's in favor of the modified overtime proposal that will be voted on this week.

"No matter where you came down on the subject, whether you were a pure two-possession guy or a status quo guy, as I was going in, when you saw the statistics broken down from 1994-2009, and you saw the team winning the toss winning 60 percent of the time, and then you saw the accuracy of field-goal kickers, both in distance and accuracy over that period of time, it’s obvious that it’s game that from 1994 on is very different than what we had prior to 1994," Polian told the Boston Globe. "(Before that), essentially, there was no difference between team winning the toss and losing it."

Polian noted that 59.8 percent of the teams that have won the coin toss heading into overtime have won the game since 1994.

He also pointed out that 34.4 percent of the games were won on the first possession of overtime with 26.8 percent decided on the first possesion with a field goal.

Plus, kickers' accuracy has improved markedly over the years.

"This rule allows the defense to play defense, because if you hold them to a field goal, you’ve got a shot," Polian said. "So it does allow you to play defense – It actually forces you to play defense. As opposed to long kickoff return, first down, no yardage; second down, short yardage; third down, long pass, pass interference; Field goal, game over. This forces you to play defense. If you can’t play defense, you’re going to get scored upon."

Polian also pointed out that the alteration of the overtime rule is being confined to the postseason because of NFL Players Association feedback.

"We listened to the players a great deal," he said. "There was a concern [about lengthening games], and we recognized it."

The proposed rule change needs 24 votes, a 3/4 majority, to be passed.

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