Ari Meirov @MySportsUpdate
NFL owners have approved a proposal to spot the ball at the 25-yard line on a fair catch of a kickoff made inside the 25. It's a 1-year trial for now.
Special teams coordinators and players around the league were against this. It's happening, anyway.
@RapSheet
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4m
The NFL has passed a new rule instituting all fair catches and touchbacks come out to the 25-yard line on kickoffs, source said. Now the same as the college rule, the thought is that this should make it safer, though special teams coaches around the league oppose the change.
Brilliant!
@AlbertBreer
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17m
Kickoff rule approved. So Roger Goodell was able to get the votes needed despite aggressive pushback from special teams coaches and players.
@PLeonardNYDN
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17m
Madness. A coach told me: “For the 1st time I can remember, you have coaches & players unanimously agreeing against a rule & it is being completely ignored. They’re making a rule w/ no one in the room to actually speak for the game: coaches, GMs. Anybody.”
@PLeonardNYDN
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7m
NFL doctors’ evidence that this kickoff change had improved player safety in college was based on … wait for this … one season of Pac-12 data, per sources
Players & coaches foresee unintended consequences with a rule that completely misunderstands 🏈
Your team scores.
Commercial.
Kickoff that is fair caught and comes out to 25 yard line.
Commercial.
Really, what's the difference? kick into the end zone it comes out to the 25. Fair catch inside the 25 and it comes out to the 25. Might as well eliminate the kickoff altogether.
What will happen is special teams coordinators will now teach kickers to squib it so you can't fair catch it. So instead of high short kicks to pin inside the 15, you'll see squibs trying to create the same effect.
As mentioned earlier, if it doesn't completely eliminate the kickoff, it certainly is turning into more of a ceremonial activity.
If the ball is kicked and fielded at the 5 yard line, does the average return make it past the 25 yard line?
In other words, do we expect returns to actually fair catch fieldable balls, or not?
With kickoffs being meaningless, do you instruct you punter to drop it out of bounds, and make those backend special team only players not worth a roster spot?
With kickoffs being meaningless, do you instruct you punter to drop it out of bounds, and make those backend special team only players not worth a roster spot?
and will teams really need to pay special team coordinators anymore. seems like an assistant coach could cover extra point kicks and punts.
I get why some people are frustrated but at the same time, as quoted in the article, pop-up kicks came with a price. And yes, we know the NFL cares more about money than about player safety etc. But eliminating pop-up kicks isn't going to dramatically change the game either
Link - ( New Window )
Your team scores.
Commercial.
Kickoff that is fair caught and comes out to 25 yard line.
Commercial.
As opposed to the far more common:
Your team scores.
Commercial.
Kickoff into the end zone and comes out to 25 yard line.
Commercial.
The game has been completely ruined by this one relatively inconsequential change! I'm never watching again! /s
Quote:
will really help the fan experience...
Your team scores.
Commercial.
Kickoff that is fair caught and comes out to 25 yard line.
Commercial.
As opposed to the far more common:
Your team scores.
Commercial.
Kickoff into the end zone and comes out to 25 yard line.
Commercial.
The game has been completely ruined by this one relatively inconsequential change! I'm never watching again! /s
I don't tend to watch other games anymore. I used to watch all the ones I could.
Between moving the kickoff forward and now this, yes it has an impact. They are legislation the elimination of the kickoff return.
Brilliant!
Don't call Goodell if you have rats in your barn.
Your team scores.
Commercial.
Kickoff that is fair caught and comes out to 25 yard line.
Commercial.
They will certainly never implement a rule that decreases commercials.
Exactly. This is really about nothing.
Non-ref opinion, the ball is live until the ref blows the whistle. We have all seen them blow the whistle for kick-offs into the end-zone that aren't caught but I have never seen a whistle blown for a fair catch that hits the ground.
A short kickoff really encourages players to run the ball back because there is a good chance they can make it past the 25 yard line so this really becomes a non-rule, until some kickers can kick off with the trajectory of a punt high enough so it can’t be run back.
Punts are a different issue. This probably will encourage players to fair catch balls that were intended to die on the 5 yard line but I’m not sure this decreases the risk of injury. The greater risk may be when a player who drops a fair catch and the ensuing scramble.
Is there an incentive to running it out? Wouldn't you want your team to take it at the 25? Maybe a last ditch effort at the end of the game I could see it. I always looked at special teams as an equalizer between teams.
Hell make everyone wear them. I'd rather a goofy look than goofy rules.
Yes it's a live ball but as long as no return team member touches it, the only thing the kicking team can do is down it, they can't pick it up and try to score unless someone touches it.
It sounds like the "fair catch" comes into play only if the kick is inside the 25 yard line which would mean that it won't impact onsides kicks at all.
A touchback the ball is placed at the 25 yard line (just like now)
A kick through the endzone the ball is placed at the 20 yard line. (returner will need to stop balls that are rolling to keep them to 25 instead of 20)
A kick through the uprights the other team starts at the 15 yard line
If this is the rule, the strategy is almost always going to be trying to get it through the uprights. The high kick to pin them would no longer be the best strategy. Plus, The play has meaning again, and it's based on the talent of the kicker.
Just thought of this too...If you really want to make it interesting, if the ball hits the uprights or crossbar, the ball is placed at the 5 yard line!?? Wonder what the probabilities are? Maybe that's going too far!
I think it will be fairly common for kicks inside the 5 to be fair caught.
Reminds of how Bettman thought minimizing fighting would help with the popularity of the game.
Idiots
I know it's been a few hours but I would like to +1 this thank you.
Which players? I'm guessing not the ones that are specifically employed to be on special teams.
Quote:
story short, the NFL (and much of corporate America) is now run by retards.
I know it's been a few hours but I would like to +1 this thank you.
The players sued the NFL over concussions and got a big settlement. I'm no lawyer, but NFL needs to make game safer to avoid more lawsuits.
Quote:
In comment 16121738 Eric from BBI said:
Quote:
story short, the NFL (and much of corporate America) is now run by retards.
I know it's been a few hours but I would like to +1 this thank you.
The players sued the NFL over concussions and got a big settlement. I'm no lawyer, but NFL needs to make game safer to avoid more lawsuits.
Then why flex TNF if player safety is of primary importance?
Quote:
it was inevitable
Which players? I'm guessing not the ones that are specifically employed to be on special teams.
[Url]https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-ex-players-agree-to-765m-settlement-in-concussions-suit-0ap1000000235494[/url]
Quote:
In comment 16122068 uther99 said:
Quote:
it was inevitable
Which players? I'm guessing not the ones that are specifically employed to be on special teams.
[Url]https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-ex-players-agree-to-765m-settlement-in-concussions-suit-0ap1000000235494[/url]
sorry but you're going to have a hard time convincing me that a lawsuit from 2013 is going to placate the worries of players who are currently being employed specifically for special teams roles.