Golden Nuggets: New PAT rules a decent first step

Good morning everyone. I feel absolutely dreadful so I am writing this several hours earlier than I normally would. Because of that, it is possible I miss something that gets posted at night. So as always, feel free to add anything I missed. Anyways, the big news around the league is the changes being made to the PAT, otherwise known as the thing they do while you get more beer and nachos. They are making PAT's essentially a 33 yard field goal and mathematically, the percentage of makes should drop by about two percent. Still, this is a step in the right direction. For one, they are making it a live ball so the defense has the opportunity to return any fumbles or blocks for two points. A 40 yard field goal would have been preferable since at that distance, teams would have a little more to think about in regards to going for two. But I really cannot stress enough, this is a nice first step.

Justin Smith's retirement is a few days old by now but is still in the links so it's fair game as far as I'm concerned. From what I read a few days ago here is sounds like he is making the right call from a medical standpoint, but it is still a huge loss. One thing that cracks me up is the mainstream articles that came out after his decision. "49ers off season from hell continues." What is funny is that those same articles were including Justin Smith's impending retirement as evidence in those same pieces when it was Patrick Willis and Chris Borland that were retiring. So is it continuing, or just in the same place it was months ago? I'm not going to argue that this hasn't been an off season from hell, but a little less double jeopardy would be nice. To the links!

Dawson, 49ers enter new era with rules change (Maiocco)

Justin Smith is gone; so is San Francisco’s 2011 magic (Barrows)

49ers 2015 Draft Profile: DeAndre Smelter (Gin)

Justin Smith: Leadership won't be a problem for 49ers (Maiocco)

Ian Williams May Be Key to 49ers' Defensive Line (NBC)