OT: NFL Might Copy XFL Kickoffs
- Thread starter ashokan
- Start date
At this point I would just eliminate the kickoff and have teams start at the 25. Unless they want to onside kick, in which case adopt the XFL rule.
In 2022 (did not see stats for 2023), 60% of kickoffs were touchbacks. Some of those that weren't, were intentionally short of the end zone with the hope of tackling the returner inside the 25. But then the NFL legislated against that, with the new fair catch rule
My guess is that in 2023, only about a quarter of kickoffs were returned. It has evolved into a very boring play and a waste of time.
In 2022 (did not see stats for 2023), 60% of kickoffs were touchbacks. Some of those that weren't, were intentionally short of the end zone with the hope of tackling the returner inside the 25. But then the NFL legislated against that, with the new fair catch rule
My guess is that in 2023, only about a quarter of kickoffs were returned. It has evolved into a very boring play and a waste of time.
In the interest of players well-being, Schiano was far ahead of everyone else on making changes to kickofffs.
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Might be biased but feel like Schiano was the first guy to really talk about changing kickoffs. https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profo...nos-idea-for-kickoffs-traces-to-legrand-injur
I think very few people would say that kickoffs or punt returns in general are not exciting. The problem is that every year the NFL passes rules to make less and less incentive to even attempt to return a kickoff, making the play virtually meaningless. An XFL style kickoff can help bring that excitement back regularly.
I think its been a mistake to blame the play.
I used to be a wedge breaker - KOs are very adjustable as you're in them
You have space, time and vision to adjust approach.
A QB being blind sided, an OL being rolled-up by his own guys, a WR getting blasted over the middle - those plays are hard to control. I would go down the field on a kick-off before I would go across the middle.
I know RU has a horror KO play but that problem there was technique and EL has said so
"I've thought of that story often over the past year. On October 16, 2010, I was a junior playing special teams for Rutgers during a mid-season game against Army. We were playing at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., not far from our campus. With the game tied at 17 and about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, I ran downfield after a kickoff and collided with the returner, Malcolm Brown. I hit him pretty good -- I learned later that he broke his collarbone on the play. But I tucked my head."
I don't know it he forgot or if he was never taught well-enough, but putting head-down it the biggest mistake in football. I saw the replay during game and just cursed what I saw. I always thought it was a mistake for Schiano to blame the play. Dennis Byrd got hurt the same was - head down. Utley landed on his head blocking for a pass.
The two biggest weaknesses for a football player are knees only bending one way and necks having no compression strength. Its not any one play thats a problem
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The only thing I don't like about the XFL rule is that since it makes an onside kick impossible, the alternative they give to teams trying to retain possession is to run a 4th and 15 from their own 25. This is fine, except that it takes away the chance of catching your opponent off guard by attempting an onside kick (or its equivalent in this case) when they aren't expecting it. I think it would be better to just go with Schiano's idea and make every kickoff basically a 4th and 15. This way, you would almost always punt it (basically a safer kickoff), and it gives you the opportunity to try to keep possession without making it obvious to the defense. If the circumstances necessitate staying on offense, you can run a normal play to try to get the 15 yards, or if it's mid-game and you're trying to catch your opponent off guard, you can run a fake punt.
Why not just use punt as kickoff? Seems to statistically have less serious impacts and injuries . And if you fake it and make the 10 yards you retain possession.
Many of the statistical "injuries: on KOs are listed as concussions.
Concussions can be serious but most are just fleeting bell-rings that are nothing after the "protocols."
Concussions were graded by severity - then they were made all the same basically and it got crazy.
A nurse at a local HS with 1100 students told me they had 100 kids out with "concussions".
Most of them were just binks on the head but everyone had to CYA
It was a media created hysteria - the professional sports medicine research groups were not even on board with football causing a lot of concussion damage.
Concussion scares are the global warming of sports
Is an ankle sprain trauma?
Hitting a tree in a car can cause trauma
Getting stuffed on a 4th and 1 isn't the same
I don't dispute that some concussions are bad - some knees bend backwards too
VAST majority of concussions aren't traumatic really
Concussion Fiction:
IT'S ONLY A CONCUSSION IF YOU LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS.Data shows loss of consciousness actually occurs in less than 10 percent of concussions. “Concussion symptoms” are fairly nonspecific. Some common symptoms include temporary dizziness, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity, nausea or vomiting, fogginess in thinking, difficulty with attention and concentration, disorientation, balance problems, sleep disturbance, and irritability. That’s a lot of potential indicators, and not a single one of them, or even a certain combination of them, is 100 percent indicative of head trauma. Depression can be a symptom of a concussion or CTE, but as in the case of Todd Ewen, it may just mean the person needs treatment for depression.