NFL owners vote and pass wild new kickoff rule

[MightyGiants]

Two impacts of this rule change:


The value of kickoff returners greatly increased

The value of kickers slightly increased with the kickoff ability now being a thing

[uconnjack8]

Accuracy for the kickers will be very important.   

[spiderblue43]

What about kickers than can launched almost in the stands?

[ViewFromSection129]

This rule change will be a major victory for the receiving team in terms of starting position, but will likely cut down on long returns.

First of all, a kicker that puts it into the end zone will almost certainly be downed no matter what.  Even if it is an inch in the end zone, as it goes to the 35.  With the kicking team starting at the 40, why would you ever return a kick.

Secondly, a return man will almost certainly get to the 25 or so before even having a tackle attempted on him.  He will be quicker than most of the kicking team, so if a kicker is reasonably accurate and gets it to the 5, the midpoint would be around the 22 yard line, but that is assuming the kicking players are just as fast (only a few will be) and that there are no blockers, both of which aren't true.

Third, most guys can cover a kick and go 40 yards in an average of what, say 4.5 or so seconds?  So under the old rules, you would be around the opponent 25 before the ball is caught (assuming 4-5 seconds of hang time for the kick), and have a full head of steam.  Now they will be at the 40 and stationary.  So again, big advantage for the receiving team.

This all said, because players aren't scattered all over the field under the old rules, it seems to me that long returns will be harder to make, but starting position will be better.

I also want to see how squib kicks are handled.  No real way to do that and slow down a returner, or to kick it to a slower guy and prevent a return, under the new rules.

[DaveBrown74]

It actually promotes kickoff returns. Kickoff returns are fun. I'm certainly interested in giving the rule a shot this year instead of the new pro forma of every kick go out the back of the endzone.

This was my reaction too.

I don't know if this new format will work well, but the current setup is terrible. Kickoffs are basically meaningless now. I'd love to see returns come back.

[y_so_blu]

One of the few changes to the game in the last 25 years I am actually excited for. As soon as I saw the XFL's kickoff rules in 2020 I said the NFL needed to adopt them too.

[uconnjack8]

I am with the group that is excited to see how this turns out.  Last year there was 4 kickoff returns for TDs for the entire year.  I think it's likely we will at least double that this year.  With all the kicking team players except the kicker all the way  up field, one missed tackle could easily be a TD.  Plus, with a new format there will be new strategies that the receiving teams will use that the kicking team will not be prepared to counter because they have never seen it.

[kartanoman]

What about kickers than can launched almost in the stands?

I agree. But the rule for kickoffs vs. free kicks comes in play. If you have a bionic leg, kick the ball without the tee and put it through the goalposts and you'll earn three points. Figure there will be some offsides early on while players adapt, the ball starts moving up, a free kick is not impossible.

The question becomes, then, can you start a Fame with a free kick?

Talk about a kicker convolution a play he's already involved in!

Peace!