Don't expect a lot of rule changes at next week's NFL owners meetings in Phoenix.

The NFL Competition Committee, which concluded an eight-day meeting in Naples, Fla., isn't in favor of expanding the playoffs from 12 to 14 teams. The committee is split on whether to alter the overtime rules. It would be the committee's preference to wait until the 2004 season to make any adjustments to instant replay.

Here are some of the proposals being considered:

-- The Chiefs and Patriots submitted a proposal to add a wild-card playoff team in each conference. It should be noted that the Patriots would have made the playoffs had the tie-breakers extended to seven teams. The proposal wouldn't change the seeding formula. What it would change is the bye system in the first-round of the playoffs. The team with the best record would get a bye if the proposal passes. The division winner with the second-best record would play the seventh seed.

Unless the proposal is taken off the table by next Wednesday, it will be voted upon.

-- The most debated discussion will be altering the overtime rule, but there may be eight votes to kill any change. The eight-member Competition Committee is split in its support. A Chiefs' proposal to give each team a possession will be presented.

Last year, the NFL had a record 25 overtime games. Ten of those games were decided in one possession. Competition Committee co-chairman Rich McKay, general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said there has been a clear trend since 1994 that teams that win the coin tosses have had an advantage in winning the game.

"Since 1994, 59.9 percent of the teams that won the coin toss have won the games,'' McKay said. "Since 1997, 37.5 percent of the teams won the game on first possessions."

The committee theorized the biggest reasons for the trend have been the kicking game. Kickoffs have been moved back to the 30-yard line. Kickers are no longer allowed to doctor the footballs, so kickoffs aren't as consistently long as before. The combination of those two factors allowed the receiving team to get good field possession after winning the toss.

The negative side of making an overtime change is that there will be more ties. Game times would also be longer. Coaches in overtime will use different strategies. In a two-possession overtime, the coach who wins the coin toss will most likely kick off because his offense would know if it needed a field goal or touchdown to win.

-- The Browns submitted a proposal to give head coaches extra instant replay challenges if their challenges were correct. Under the current replay rules, which run out at the end of the season, each team is allowed two coaching challenges.

The Competition Committee is against such a change at this time.

"This is the final year of replay, and we aren't comfortable in tinkering with the rules,'' McKay said. "Any modification should be done next year."

In other league-related matters to be discussed in the meeting that officially gets underway Monday: