New Kickoff Rule

The fair catch has always been an option when a kickoff is in the field of play.

I do not like this rule because when a coach asks his kicker to kick a shorter, higher kickoff down to the 5 yard line that is a skill and a good way to try to pin your opponent down closer to their defensive goal line,.

This rule is for safety but it takes away a strategic play by coaches.
Agree
 


Where do you think conservative KF will side on this one?

I would say he's against it. It pretty much negates a good kicker that can place the ball high in the air inside the 10 yard line. It gives a decided advantage to the offense and Kirk's always been more about the defense than the offense.
 


i don't understand what the point is. if your kicker can't end zone it, why the hell would you fair catch it in the field of play (inside the 25 yard line?) I mean, even at end of game you just catch it and down it. I just don't see what the purpose is. Would you want your KR to fair catch a kick off at the 5, 10, 15 or 20 yard lines?

Yes. No time runs off the clock when a fair catch is made, just like when a kickoff goes out of the end zone. At the end of the game it gives our offense valuable seconds to use.
 


They're heading towards doing away with kickoffs entirely and just starting at the 25. Should have never messed with the kickoff and just left the 20 yardline.
This. The kick-off is being phased out and will be eliminated within 3 years.
 


I’m actually ok with that.
I would tend to agree, though I have mixed feelings about it.

What we are seeing basically is a veiled attempt to do that anyway, so why not just be above-board and eliminate the kick-offs altogether? Watching a kick-off go through the end zone or players fair catch everything doesn't exactly add a lot of excitement anyway.

The only problem is that it would eliminate the concept of the on-side kick, something that I would hate to see go away. Also, it would eliminate the possibility of a muffed kick, which does add to the game somewhat.
 


This. The kick-off is being phased out and will be eliminated within 3 years.

Have to look at the big picture here. Football has no choice as a sport but to address the concussion issue to keep the sport viable beyond the current generation. Many of us won't like tweaks like this but we will feel happy if the game can survive in the coming years or for me if it survives for the generations behind me.

I had a severe concussion three years ago and now very likely have had a light stroke triggered by brain trauma. Efforts to tweak and preserve the game ain't going away folks.
 


The next step is punt returns. The player has the option to fair catch it with no contact or let the ball roll but any punt coming to rest inside the 10 will be place at the 10. That would be a serious destruction of the game and it's fundamental structure.
 
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i don't understand what the point is. if your kicker can't end zone it, why the hell would you fair catch it in the field of play (inside the 25 yard line?) I mean, even at end of game you just catch it and down it. I just don't see what the purpose is. Would you want your KR to fair catch a kick off at the 5, 10, 15 or 20 yard lines?

You do realize that catching it at those locations still results in the ball being downed at the 25, right?

The rule takes away the pressure on the returner to have to advance the ball close to the 25. The only reason to catch the ball normally would be if you were confident that you could get the ball well beyond the 25.
 


You do realize that catching it at those locations still results in the ball being downed at the 25, right?

The rule takes away the pressure on the returner to have to advance the ball close to the 25. The only reason to catch the ball normally would be if you were confident that you could get the ball well beyond the 25.

Yep, eventually they'll give the return team the option to just "wave off" the kickoff.. similar to how MLB is moving to the "dugout signal" intentional walk. Ultimately the kick off will go away and the offense will just take over at the 25.

If coaches are good at numbers, we'll start to see more onside kicks. A receiving team's average start position improves dramatically with a 25 yard line minimum...so the relative risk (loss of field position) for an onside kick is lessened for the kicking team.

Then concern will shift back to collisions during an on-side kick play. The law of unintended consequences (actually it's a principle, but people usually refer to it as a "law") always kicks in.
 
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Akrum had some game changing kickoff returns last season so I wouldn't just automatically assume KF is going to take the 25 yard line every time
 




You do realize that catching it at those locations still results in the ball being downed at the 25, right?

The rule takes away the pressure on the returner to have to advance the ball close to the 25. The only reason to catch the ball normally would be if you were confident that you could get the ball well beyond the 25.

Yes, i sure do. but if you catch the ball at the 5, 10, 15, 20, 24 yard lines, wouldn't you agree your chances of crossing the 25 yard line by returning it, get incrementally better? I would.
 


Yep, eventually they'll give the return team the option to just "wave off" the kickoff.. similar to how MLB is moving to the "dugout signal" intentional walk. Ultimately the kick off will go away and the offense will just take over at the 25.

If coaches are good at numbers, we'll start to see more onside kicks. A receiving team's average start position improves dramatically with a 25 yard line minimum...so the relative risk (loss of field position) for an onside kick is lessened for the kicking team.

Then concern will shift back to collisions during an on-side kick play. The law of unintended consequences (actually it's a principle, but people usually refer to it as a "law") always kicks in.

I am not sure I follow. In college, the kickoff yard line is the kicking teams 35. That is 40 yards away from the receiving teams 25. An onside kick not recovered by the kicking team would give the receiving team the ball at mid-field or better (an onside kick must travel 10 yards to the kicking teams 45 before the kicking team is eligible to recover). That means that you are risking spotting the receiving team 30 yards of field position. Those aren't good numbers to me.

If I misunderstood what you are saying, I apologize. But as I read your post, I disagree.
 


I would say he's against it. It pretty much negates a good kicker that can place the ball high in the air inside the 10 yard line. It gives a decided advantage to the offense and Kirk's always been more about the defense than the offense.
He's always been about field position but at the same time would rather have the other team's offense take time off the clock to get where they need to go. Bend but don't break. Limit possessions for both teams. That's why we play soft and don't blitz on third and long. Why we can't get off the field. He puts the onus on the defense to eventually get the TO so the other team loses the punting opportunity altogether. His philosophy is that his offense can't turn the ball over when they're not on the field. The downside? A tired defense in the fourth quarter. We've seen plenty of that over the years. And why Northwestern in particular has stolen more than one game from us over the years.
 


For those who see this rule change as a good idea, I would disagree. No coach is going have there return guys fair catch a kickoff in the field of play because a kickoff that doesn't reach the end zone gives the receiving team a better chance of surpassing the 25 yard line. To me, this will have zero effect. It really has no logical bearing at all.
 


I would tend to agree, though I have mixed feelings about it.

What we are seeing basically is a veiled attempt to do that anyway, so why not just be above-board and eliminate the kick-offs altogether? Watching a kick-off go through the end zone or players fair catch everything doesn't exactly add a lot of excitement anyway.

The only problem is that it would eliminate the concept of the on-side kick, something that I would hate to see go away. Also, it would eliminate the possibility of a muffed kick, which does add to the game somewhat.

This is where I am at; if you are going to minimize its importance this much, just get rid of it altogether.

Greg Schiano had an interesting proposal to replace kickoffs a few years back (recall, one of his players, Eric LeGrande, was paralyzed on a kickoff). I don't remember his specific parameters, but it went something like this: upon scoring a touchdown, the scoring team gets the ball at their own 30 with a 4th and 15. They can either punt from there, or they can go for it. That still gives the scoring team a chance to retain possession, and to do so with something much less flukey than an onside kick. And a punt play results in injury much less often than a kick return.
 


That's terrible. They might as well just start putting flag belts on the guys. Kick offs are a huge part of the game.

I know the pros are thinking about even doing away with kick offs. You can't hit anyone, can't tackle the QB, every play is reviewed. I hate the challenge flag. Might as well go back to watching baseball.
 


For those who see this rule change as a good idea, I would disagree. No coach is going have there return guys fair catch a kickoff in the field of play because a kickoff that doesn't reach the end zone gives the receiving team a better chance of surpassing the 25 yard line. To me, this will have zero effect. It really has no logical bearing at all.

Good idea for fans? Good idea for players?
 




I think they are half assing the rule they want to and eventually will end up passing and that's outlawing kickoffs all together. This is dumb. Being able to fair catch the ball at the 5 and you now get it at the 25.... Why even go through the dog and pony show of having kickoffs then. So are teams going to start squibbing/kicking them low so they bounce before getting to the returner? That's what I'd do. Get those returners fielding ground balls at the 8 and being able to pin them inside the 25 would be worth it.

Excellent answer
 




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