Those short angle kicks we used to do on purpose and then go tackle the guy, can’t do it anymore. They can just fair catch the ball at the 1 or 2 yard line and get the ball on the 25. Might as well just kill the kickoff.
I hated this concept when I first heard it. I am starting to come around on it. Not ready to advocate for it yet, but it is no longer a simple dismissal for me .
I agree if you’re gonna get rid of kickoffs(for the most part) then no way should they be able to start on the 25 after fair catching. These guys get paid way too much f***ing money to automatically start at the 25. Earn the yardage.
For now! - The NFL in 10-15 years, do special teams even still exist. I’m not so sure about that. Maybe just field goals. On 4th down, you just tell the ref we are punting and the zebras just march off 40 yards and give the other team the ball. Sounds ridiculous, but that’s where this is headed.
Go with what the XFL uses. The kicking team’s front line gets to start at the other team’s 35, with the returning team’s line at the 30, so there’s no 50-yard head of steam to destroy a guy.
What the XFL is doing actually makes a lot of sense. And yes I come from the old school football days, and I loved to run 50 yards at full speed trying to decapitate someone on kickoff, but I get it now. That was fun, but real stupid.
The XFL rules are far safer and should prolong careers and allow players to still have a functioning brain post football.
The point of making the changes is to get LESS returns. So to do that they have to incentivize the receiving team to call fair catches. Only getting the ball at the 10 or 15 yard line isn’t enough of an incentive for teams to fair catch the ball.
What’s interesting is that this is a response to how one of the last rule changes panned out. Touchbacks were brought out to the 25 instead of the 20 X number of years ago. This was to incentivize teams to just let the ball be a touchback rather than try for a return out of the endzone. It backfired because kicking teams were now incentivized to kick less touchbacks. That’s when the super high kick that is supposed to land inside the 5 started becoming the norm. This next step is to turn those kicks into touchbacks as well. So the next evolution of the kickoff will be some kind of squib kick, or kick that hits the ground first and springs into the air. That way it can’t be fair caught. Which will lead to “any kick landing inside the 25 yard line can be downed for a touchback.” The chess match will continue until teams are basically kicking onsides kicks after every score. Which is the opposite of what the league wanted to accomplish.
I haven’t looked at the rules but honestly I would squib it every time. there are mandates to how many have to be on the line, etc. You’re not as accurate kicking it that way but good lord talk about pressure on whoever the ball is near.
I think it should be the 10 yard line, I mean %$#@! it’s only 90 yards to pay dirt and scores then and not 75, and face it there was some good returns last season where teams returned it to like the 50 and that…WTF !?