The NFL is saying for player safety... Kickoffs will get very boring this season and hurt teams that have premier returners - see Josh Cribbs for example.
When I was a kid, we used to play "touch and pass anywhere". There were only four to five kids on each side. When the ball was snapped to the quarterback, he could start running or pass in any direction. Whoever caught the ball could then try to run with it or he could pass it to a team member, etc., etc. If an opposing player made contact, by touching the person with the ball, then the ball was downed at that point. Perhaps the NFL could both avoid injuries and, at the same time, be more exciting if they adopted these rules. Maybe I should contact them.
maybe they should ban tackling altogether for red & black velcro "flags" if thats the case? or maybe, "tag you're it!"
Another brick in the wall, the game is almost unwatchable already with all the tv timeouts, stoppages, you can't touch the quarterback's helmet even incidentally, can't play defense without getting flagged for some bs. I've gone to a lot of games and spent a lot of time watching on tv over the years but I've had about enough. Think I'm going to watch more hockey this fall / winter, it's really refreshing to see a game where there are nice long stretches of uninterrupted play.
I thought I heard them say during a game that as of now about 80% of kickoffs are not being returned vs. about 62% previously. If it stays too high they might take a look at it again and change the rule back. Who knows. But right now, the new rule sucks, that's for sure.
If this rule existed back in the day, there would have been no Deion Sanders. Today, no more Devin Hesters. And just who has gotten seriously injured during a return anyways?
I don't know what to think about the rule change. The kickoff is at the 35 now, exactly where it was from 1973 to 1993, back when the game was considered...uh...less violent? Who can guess where kickoffs were placed before 1973? If you said the 40-yard line, damn you're old. Special teams must have worn skirts back then, or maybe they sent the cheerleaders in for kickoff coverage.
i completely agree..now every TD has mandatory game stopping camera review blah blah..the coaches running out throwing their little flags..blah the game used to have flow and momentum ..but with all the game stopping camera reviews and penalties ..it's a bag of shit now. like playing chess now..a play every ten minutes. next thing they'll do is to replace all the refs with computerized refereeing ..the game is played by humans..bring back the human element!
I was very disappointed with this rule change. I was also disappointed with the changes to the OT rules last year. Kickoffs are the most exciting play in the game. Why they would want to take them out of it is a mystery, except for the injury angle. Some coaches no doubt also don't care for the game-changing nature of kickoffs. If you're a team with a great defense, the last thing you want is the other side taking a kickoff back for a score or a long return. The NFL seems to want to emulate NASCAR, which took an exciting product and made it almost unwatchable with interminable yellow flag caution periods for stuff like a candy wrapper on the track. Somehow Formula One manages to stage races with almost no cautions, even when cars wreck, but not NASCAR.