The Cowboys will draft either 16th or 17th in this May’s NFL Draft. If you’ve followed the science and the math of past drafts, you know the premium of selecting higher and the price of moving up one spot in the first round. To move up from 17 to 16, for example, would probably cost a team a 4th-round draft choice.
The difference between 16th and 17th could literally change the direction of a draft and the path of a franchise. Therefore, the crucial tiebreaker that will decide the fate of the pick belonging to the Cowboys is justifiably something as complex as the …
Coin flip?!
Yep, inside an Indianapolis hotel this week NFL officials in town for the Scouting Combine will take the time to flip a coin. The “winner” will get the 16th pick; loser 17th. The Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens both finished 8-8 last season, and somehow — in this era of instant replay and yellow lines and safer helmets and DVRs — we can’t come up with anything better to break a tie than a give-up game we resorted to as 6-year-olds.
As a kid I went to high-school football games that ended in ties, and were decided on “penetrations” (drives inside the opponent’s 20-yard line). We haven't evolved much at all.
Coins should not play a part in sports. Ever.
In baseball the home team bats last. In basketball it’s a jump ball. But in football, who gets the ball first, even in overtime, is just left to chance. Heads or tails. And determining the order of a draft via that archaic “system” is just insane. Deciding the World Series home-field advantage on the outcome of the All-Star Game is ridiculous. So are tennis scoring, points for a tie in hockey and the possession arrow in college basketball.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
How about breaking draft-order ties on … Points scored? Strength of schedule? Most recent head-to-head matchup? Best past drafts? Cheerleaders? Anything but a coin flip?!
Besides, the Cowboys sucked at coin flips in 2013 almost as much as they did on defense. They went 3-13 on pregame coin tosses.
So — based on heads or tails — get ready for the 17th pick?
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently writes a sports/guy stuff blog at DFWSportatorium.com and lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
