An NFL head coach might steal Ben Roethlisberger's two-point idea
Ben Roethlisberger said earlier this week that he'd go for two every time, and a couple notable names in the NFC are jumping on board with the idea
By
John Breech
•
2 min read
Ben Roethlisberger might have started a two-point revolution.
After the Steelers quarterback was asked on Tuesday if he'd like to see his team go for two after every touchdown they score this season, he basically said "yes."
"Put it in our hands. I want the ball," Roethlisberger said. "Any player would relish that opportunity."
Less than 24 hours later, Saints quarterback Drew Brees jumped on the two-point bandwagon. During an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, Brees was asked if he agreed with Roethlisberger.
"I think there's probably something to be said for it," Brees said. "Especially now that they've moved the extra point back. I feel like if we went for two that we could make it work 50 percent of the time."
Of course, if a quarterback wants to go for two, that doesn't really mean anything unless the head coach is also on board, and that might be the case in Green Bay.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy was asked on Wednesday how he felt about Roethlisberger's "go for two every time" idea, and surprisingly, McCarthy seemed to like it.
"Personally, I definitely agree with Ben and Drew," McCarthy said, via ESPN.com.
McCarthy's a fan of going for two because he has the ultimate offensive weapon: Aaron Rodgers.
"I think especially with Aaron being our quarterback, I would have zero issue as an offensive coach going for it every single time," McCarthy said. "Just because of the way we're built ... and the volume of [offensive plays] which you would need to go the entire course of the year, I'm comfortable that we could attain that very easily."
Although McCarthy's a fan of the idea, he does think there are a few drawbacks.
"I think you have to look at the whole picture, too," McCarthy said. "You have to look at the defense, the development of your special teams and so forth. I think there's a little more to the question than, 'Can we score more than 50 percent?' Because I definitely agree with what Ben and Drew are saying, because I would definitely have the confidence to go after a defense and win more than 50 percent of them."
The reason McCarthy's mentioning that magic 50 percent number is because if you hit on 50 percent or more of your two-pointer conversions, that makes them more valuable then an extra point, which don't go in 100 percent of the time.
As far as implementing this new two-point plan in Green Bay, don't bet on it. Remember, McCarthy is the guy who decided not to go for two after Rodgers connected on a Hail Mary at the end of regulation in a January playoff game against the Cardinals.
McCarthy passed up a shot at two points and the win, despite the fact that the Packers went 5-of-7 on two-pointers in 2015.
As things stand now, McCarthy hasn't decided what his team will do in 2016, but he's preparing them for everything.
"Well, we practice [two-pointers] a lot more," McCarthy said. "I think that was evident in training camp, I think it's evident just the way we train our football team. Now, the defense, we've got to make sure they're prepared for it and we're prepared to go for it [on offense]. It's definitely [a larger] part of our training."
