The New Kickoff Rules: After Further Review... They Suck!

[Lucky Luciano]

after watching these new kickoff rules for some time now i truly dislike them.

especially in tight games with time running out the field position caused by this new rule is atrocious. it starts teams out on a drive 2 first downs from kicking 60 yard plus field goals to win (somebody riddle me this... the nfl existed for 90+ years and a 50 yard field goal was considered nearly impossible. now it's almost like an extra point.).

add to that mess, it eliminates legitimate on side kicks with this nonsense. if they are worried about injuries, make a rule that all special team players have to wear those helmets that help protect against concussions. add to that if they want to make all ST players wear knee support or whatever else to limit injury.

thoughts?

 

[Mongo3451]

I don't like the onside kick, as it removed the running start.  The reason you are seeing monster field goals is due to the NFL letting teams break in the kicking balls.

[Stinger226]

It doesnt accomplish what the NFL wanted from the rules change. Im old fashion, my favorite player was Dick Butkus when I became a fan and loved the physicality of the game. He could not survive in todays rules. I get you need to protect the health of the players because they would make bad choices as far as taking care of themselves. So its just the game evolving and not necessary for the good the game. 

[AZ54]

I agree it’s far too easy to get a FG in todays game.  It’s time to narrow the goal posts to 8 yards.  

[BearFan2000]

I was commenting to my wife how much I hate the kickoff rules.  It literally takes away the advantage of having a late lead that is 3 pts or less giving your opponent a good shot to start their drive close to mid field only needing 2-3 first downs to have a realistic shot.  It puts more pressure on defenses at the end of the game to keep them out of range.  Gone are the days of pinning your opponent inside their 10 with a min and change and like 1 time out.  Even in a situation where your up by more than 3 points spotting your opponent that close to mid field makes it easier to get in range to score a TD.

 

 

[BearFan PHX]

I dont mind the dynamic kickoff, I get the safety issues.

But bringing the ball out to the 35 on a touchback etc is insane for all the reasons given above. You should be able to kick it out of the end zone and then the receiving team gets the ball on the 20.

I understand the NFL wants close games and last minute victories - but that also makes the allocation of victories more random and less about who was the better team, and thats awful. I mean, why not just not play the game at all and have a huge hyped up coin toss that determines who wins instead? Sheesh.