NEW NFL KICKOFF PROPOSAL.
*Kicking Team: The 10 players cannot move until the ball hits the ground or player in the landing zone or the end zone.
*Receiving Team: All players in the setup zone cannot move until the kick has hit the ground or a player in the landing zone or the end zone.
*Any kick that hits in the Landing Zone (goal line to 20 yard line) must be returned.
*Any kick hits before the landing zone: Touchback to the 40 (as if it went out of bounds).
*Kick hits the Landing Zone, rolls into end zone and is downed: Touchback to the 20.
*Kick lands in end zone or goes out the back: Touchback to the 35.
*Onside Kick: 4th quarter begins, the team trailing has the opportunity to declare an onside kick to the officials. Current onside kickoff rules would apply.
*No fair catch or signal is allowed.
This proposal is just for one year only.
I don't see this changing much. Any ball in the endzone will still likely be a touchback because they get it at the 30. Most kickers put the ball into or out of the endzone. Maybe there is 10% more returns (which is better than nothing).
The article posted in the OP said a TB in the end zone was brought out to the 30 yd line. Is that wrong?that's likely going to be consistently better than a touchback which comes out to the 35.
A ball that lands in the endzone through the air is brought out to the 30. A ball that hits the ground before the end zone and goes into it is brought out to the 20.The article posted in the OP said a TB in the end zone was brought out to the 30 yd line. Is that wrong?that's likely going to be consistently better than a touchback which comes out to the 35.
The method to the madness is that neither the coverage team nor the runner will have enough time to generate a head of steam, so theoretically, there would be fewer injuries. I'm not sure I buy that, but kickoffs had become pretty irrelevant with all the touchbacks and the newly added fair catch rule.is it just me or don't I remember them changing the rule so that there were less returns....because.....you know....they were the most dangerous play in football.....but now we are changing them so there are more returns......
A ball that lands in the endzone through the air is brought out to the 30. A ball that hits the ground before the end zone and goes into it is brought out to the 20.The article posted in the OP said a TB in the end zone was brought out to the 30 yd line. Is that wrong?that's likely going to be consistently better than a touchback which comes out to the 35.
That was my first thought.I don't see this changing much. Any ball in the endzone will still likely be a touchback because they get it at the 30. Most kickers put the ball into or out of the endzone. Maybe there is 10% more returns (which is better than nothing).
is it just me or don't I remember them changing the rule so that there were less returns....because.....you know....they were the most dangerous play in football.....but now we are changing them so there are more returns......
I don't see this changing much. Any ball in the endzone will still likely be a touchback because they get it at the 30. Most kickers put the ball into or out of the endzone. Maybe there is 10% more returns (which is better than nothing).
Not sure what happens if the kicking team chips it over the mob of people at midfield or if they can't do that in the new rules.
I meant for an onside kick. With the new rules, the kicking team has to tell the refs and the receiving team they are trying an onside kick and then lineup up like they have been doing in recent years. But since the receiving team knows it is coming, why bother putting anyone way back to receive a normal kickoff? Just pull everyone up to the 40- and 50- yard lines. That's where I was wondering if the kicking team can get a sand wedge out and kick over all the players near the landing zone for the onside kick and then have a race to have someone recover the bounding ball.Not sure what happens if the kicking team chips it over the mob of people at midfield or if they can't do that in the new rules.
From the Schefter tweet it looks like the ball has to land inside the 20 or it is a penalty similar to kicking the ball out of bounds. So you can't just pooch it right over the blockers but if it bounces inside the 20 it's a live ball.
Not nearly as stupid as banning the hip drop tackle.Sounds really stupid
Right, my understanding is that the most recent rules led to much more touchbacks, which were boring, but didn’t make the plays where there were returns any safer. This is an effort to actually increase safety while still generating interesting plays.is it just me or don't I remember them changing the rule so that there were less returns....because.....you know....they were the most dangerous play in football.....but now we are changing them so there are more returns......
From the NFL's perspective the thing that made it dangerous was that the kicking team was sprinting down the field at full speed and then crashing into a blocker or return man with tons of speed/force.
The quick solution was just to eliminate the play by making most kicks a touchback.
But now they're looking for a better solution where kickoffs aren't a dead play, but you don't have guys crashing into each other at full speed. So in this setup the kicking team and blockers are only a few yards apart at the start of the play so they're engaging at a much more reasonable speed and not slamming into each other at 100mph.
So if a team scores to take the lead with three seconds left, they have to do a regular kickoff and hope they can stop the return?So no squibs either
Or kick it out of the end zone and prevent for the hail mary, pitch plays, etc.So if a team scores to take the lead with three seconds left, they have to do a regular kickoff and hope they can stop the return?So no squibs either
Not nearly as stupid as banning the hip drop tackle.Sounds really stupid
IMO this year will go down in history as a huge blunder like the replacement ref year, or the review PI year, but at several orders of magnitude greater.
There were 1,970 touchbacks on kickoffs last season that now could be returns. There were 92 fair catches last season that are no longer allowed. Any ball caught in the field of play must be returned.
That's not true anymore.... it gives the owners an 4 extra minutes of commercials each score to pay for Kraft's next massage yacht.
I couldn't disagree more. This is going to lead to poorer defensive performance, and very controversial, game-changing calls by the refs.Not nearly as stupid as banning the hip drop tackle.Sounds really stupid
IMO this year will go down in history as a huge blunder like the replacement ref year, or the review PI year, but at several orders of magnitude greater.
My prediction is that the hip drop rule change will be negligible
The NFL clearly thought that there was a problem, namely that kickoffs were producing concussions at a much higher rate than any other type of playAlways silly when a rule is changed to fix another change that was dumb to begin with. Kickoffs should have always just stayed from the 30. There were never any problems with that. Classic example of fixing something until it breaks.
There were absolutely problems with that. Tell Kevin Everett there was nothing wrong with the old style of kickoffs. He did nothing wrong and damn near died.Always silly when a rule is changed to fix another change that was dumb to begin with. Kickoffs should have always just stayed from the 30. There were never any problems with that. Classic example of fixing something until it breaks.
I typically use the commerical-kickoff-commercial television break to take care of business,
I thought they didn't go to commercial after a kickoff or maybe I'm not remembering correctly.The only reason they don't get rid of kickoffs is almighty greed ... it gives the owners an 4 extra minutes of commercials each score to pay for Kraft's next massage yacht.
Totally agree. There's going to be a ton of big returns in this rule-set, until teams decide to just give the other team the ball at the 30.Ha, and the Steelers sign Cordarelle, same day.
Well done.
Just seeing this within like a minute of posting in the Steelers thread that his signing was probably good with this move.Ha, and the Steelers sign Cordarelle, same day.
Well done.
No, what is stupid is a touchback on 98% of the kickoffsSounds really stupid
So move the kickoff spot back 5 yardsNo, what is stupid is a touchback on 98% of the kickoffsSounds really stupid
No, it was the the change a few years ago that rendered kickoffs meaningless. It wasn’t like that before back in the day, so yes, anything to improve what they have now. I was at the point of saying remove kickoffs and just start at the 25, because that’s what they were basically doing anyway.Damn, @JohnnyU being the voice of the youth and change. Never thought I'd see the day! hahaNo, what is stupid is a touchback on 98% of the kickoffsSounds really stupid
“Fixing something until it breaks” sounds like a good title for the eventual documentary on Goddell’s texture.Always silly when a rule is changed to fix another change that was dumb to begin with. Kickoffs should have always just stayed from the 30. There were never any problems with that. Classic example of fixing something until it breaks.
It was already broken. They did that a few years ago.“Fixing something until it breaks” sounds like a good title for the eventual documentary on Goddell’s texture.Always silly when a rule is changed to fix another change that was dumb to begin with. Kickoffs should have always just stayed from the 30. There were never any problems with that. Classic example of fixing something until it breaks.
Right. The main kickoff change was in 2011 when Goddell was also commish.It was already broken. They did that a few years ago.“Fixing something until it breaks” sounds like a good title for the eventual documentary on Goddell’s texture.Always silly when a rule is changed to fix another change that was dumb to begin with. Kickoffs should have always just stayed from the 30. There were never any problems with that. Classic example of fixing something until it breaks.
By far the worst thing about kickoffs.commerical-kickoff-commercial television break
This was more due to Arthur Smith than the rule changeHa, and the Steelers sign Cordarelle, same day.
Well done.