kidhawk
Well-known member
Something I hadn’t considered was how the rules would take away the squib kick towards the end of a half or the game. I liked using squib kicks to eat time and make returns difficult in those situations.
New Kickoff Rules
- Thread starter kidhawk
- Start date
Threedee
Well-known member
Certainly, no one needs to get overly excited about getting back into view in time to see the kickoff.
Maelstrom787
Well-known member
They're infinitely better than the precious iteration of the kickoff, which was a pointless waste-of-time touchback 80% of the time.
Now it's an actual play again, where players have to play actual football while STILL reducing injury from the previous version.
Not only that, but there's significantly more room to scheme kickoff returns and different blocking methods with this version of the kickoff, bringing more of a coaching and creativity element into the equation.
This is way, way, way better. It's just different. Everyone will get used to it, including NFL teams which will learn to defend it better.
I could criticize Goodell for a lot, but this is just a no-brainer.
OP
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kidhawk
Well-known member
I disagree with the fewer injuries part. Maybe more backups on special teams are spared injuries but now they are putting more risk on the kicker where there is no backup. This will bite a few teams in the butt this season. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put in a designated tackler to stay with the kicker next year.
Maelstrom787
Well-known member
That's a good point. On the scale of raw numbers, this method almost totally eliminates concussions and the like from the kickoffs, but we've already seen the kickers getting put in some nasty spots.
I think a rule change that may make sense is to have 12 men on the field for the team kicking off, including the kicker. Kicker kicks the ball and then gets off the field, and should he not be off the field in time, any attempt by the kicker to touch or impede the ballcarrier would be considered a penalty.
In fact, hell, make the 12th player be the holder. Just make a holder mandatory on kickoffs.
Replacing the kicker with another bona fide ST player will also help balance the results, as it seems that returning teams have the upper hand in a big way so far in terms of average starting field position.
