You can’t do an onside kick when all the players are lined up 30 yards or more away from the kicker. It’s a sacrifice they’ve made for more returns and honestly I’m fine with it. Onside kicks have been utterly pointless for a few years now. The new rules made it essentially impossible.
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Are the kicking team players going to have to be looking back at the kicker to know when to start? What happens for early movement?
Can somebody get Dave Fip to join this thread.
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Here I am…
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So has this rule been enacted or just a proposal? I like it but I think we might want to put somebody back there with a little more juice than Reynolds or Bam.
I actually think juice is gonna matter less than like, RB vision skills. If you watch some of the XFL kickoffs, everything’s a lot more condensed like it is at the line of scrimmage, guys are moving much slower as they don’t have a running start, and that whole get the return team moving one direction then beat them to the other side is basically impossible.
Now obviously speed kills in all facets of the game so in that respect it would be great to have juice AND RB visions skills, but I think the latter will be more important than the former.
One of the only return TDs required a trick play and some bad tackling and terrible angles by the defense:
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This looks like a perfect fit for Malachi Corley.
Yes, he would be an excellent option.
I think Bam Knight, if healthy, would be very good too.
He wouldn’t even have to run a route to get the ball.
I do think returner will become more important, but the skill set will be different from traditional, for sure. I think you’ll see more RBs doing it than the typical WR/CB.
So has this become the rule or just a proposal?
Just a proposal I think, but it seems most people expect it to pass.
Dr. Evil has taken over the NFL.
I think Bam and Netflix are too straight ahead and get whats there. I think they have the right build. Bam can break a tackle but can’t make anyone miss. Reynolds can do neither. Give me MarShawn Lloyd.
In a playoff game I would not hesitate to put Gibbs back there.
“To many concussions. We need a change.”
“Yep. Agreed.”
…
“There were unforeseen complications that affected our pocket books.”
“Well, kind of have to accept that’s going to happen when you drastically change something.”
“Let’s keep drastically changing so we get our money.”
…
Safety was deemed necessary. That meant the kickoff had to almost go away. Now we need algebraic scientists to complicate the matter to a an astrological formula.
Good luck.
This would take out the 40 yard running start into a collision.
Zero injuries in the XFL last year during kickoffs.
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Lloyd is my #1 back this year so I definitely like him, but I can’t see us bringing anyone in with a pick high enough to get him.
I don’t think Netflix is a great option, not because he couldn’t bounce off a few tacklers but because he’s slow as molasses. I don’t think you need the elite juice guys back there like Agnew anymore, but there is a bare minimum you have to hit, and Reynolds doesn’t.
Bam is different imo. He’s a little straight line like you said, but he’s got a lot more juice than Netflix. I also think he’s got great vision and good contact balance, both of which will matter in the new return world.
Pat McAfee was all over this, and interviewed the Saints special teams coach who is at the front end of the proposal. It was an interesting conversation since Pat was on the Colts team that got surprised onside kicked vs the Saints in the Super Bowl. That’s what people remember. But that was nearly 15 years ago. And while it was an initial concern that needed to be discussed, their research led them to realize there are only an average of 5 surprise onside kicks per year. Pat McAfee said he attempted 4 in his entire 8 year career as a kickoff man. He made a comment that most of those happened in the same season.
One thing to note is that the current touchback rules would be modified under the proposal. Right now a ball can land at the 5 yard line and bounce into the endzone and become a touchback. Under the new rule the fact that it landed short of the endzone means that it is not a touchback. The only touchbacks would be balls that literally carry thru the air into the endzone.
Good luck.
Can’t wait for the unforeseen consequences that cost the Lions a game, and then they change the rule again the next season.
Getting older, realizing these changes aren’t intended for me.
I liked the idea of comparing Devin Hester to Mel Gray.
The next guy who puts up 6-7 return TD’s a season really can’t be compared historically. Move on I guess.