OT NFL Changes Rules for Kickoffs and Reviews
The NFL has made some significant changes to their rules. Kickoffs will take place from the 35 yard line with 5 yard starts for members of the coverage team..
All scoring plays will be reviewed and confirmed by the official in the replay booth.
More reviews = more commercials
There are normally commercials after virutally all scores. I would be very surprised if more commercials are added as games, for the most part, must fit in a three hour broadcast window. That could change of course, but that might start introducing other problems. I don't think TV timeouts can increase too much more without impacting very negatively on the fan base.
"I don't think TV timeouts can increase too much more without impacting very negatively on the fan base."
Yes they can.
Signed,
The NCAA Tournament
Of course he probably found a way to blame that on liberals.
Will there be a kickoff that doesn't result in a touchback in the NFL now? Stupid change IMO
Well, your coverage has 5 fewer yards to run and the kicker can put more air under the ball. That means it is to the kick off team's benefit in most cases to try to get them to return the ball.
March 22nd, 2011 at 11:30 PM ^
There was nothing that said you had to get a 10 yard running start previously, so if it was an advantage to the kicking team to have five fewer yards to run by only taking a five yard running start, wouldn't they have been doing that already?
March 23rd, 2011 at 12:10 AM ^
Starting from the 35 yard line helps.
I'm just glad touchbacks didn't get moved to the 25, that would have seriously been weird.
people are complaining about these changes. With as many advantages as the offense has received, its about time the rules helped out the defense. This keeps the game safer, gives a much deserved advantage to the defense, and makes the job of a kicker strictly about the field goals now.
March 22nd, 2011 at 11:23 PM ^
If the goal was to make the kicker's job strictly about field goals and make the game safer, why not just put the ball on the twenty and eliminate the kickoff entirely? (Not that I think that is a good idea)
Great, they changed the rules. When will they reach a new contract?
I think this will not be that big of a deal in the end. Kickoff return TDS are so rare that you wont notice if they get cut down a bit. I do wish they would just keep it the same though. Maybe this means Hanson will for sure be back, because his kickoff ability is not that good anymore.
There were 12 in the first 5 games last year. Kickoff returns also do not have to be returned for touchdowns in order to be significant. One kickoff can change the momentum of the game. Football strategy is largely based on field position and this changes things. How much though is yet to be determined.
Good point. I just think that yes, it will affect the game, but you wont be watching and say "ahh! if he kicked that from 5 yards back we could have had a big return there!" It will affect the game in a more broad sense, rather than play to play.
True. I also the 5 yard move negated by not allowing the kicking team to get 10-15 yard running starts. It will take them an extra 5 yards to get up to top gear.
Onsides kicks are slightly less dangerous now, as the receiving team won't be starting quite as close to FG range if they recover.
is it 5 yards of advantage to the kickoff team now? from the 30 to the 35?
yes that could increase the number of kicks completely out of bounds, thus negating any chance of a return, also increase the number of times a decision between a return and taking it at the 20 safely, 5 yards forward shifts all the probabilities 5 yards.
The insignificant part is the team getting a 5 yard lead, assuming they will call it correctly. I think the line judges already allowed offsides by up to 5 yards for the past 10 years at least, if not 20 years, or maybe forever. The only time I've seen offsides called is at my highschool game 25 years ago, and once in the NFL during an onside kick.
oops, there's a sneaky little affect to the rule, does this mean more onside kicks? if the player only has to go 5 more yards, that could be pretty exciting!!!
Let's call this the "keep Peyton Manning/Tom Brady on the field" rule.
Now I know why they did it.
Any statistics hounds got the curves on kick-off and onside probabilities and care to guess at the effects of this change?
The rule change doesn't say you are allowed to be 5 yards offsides. It says that the kicking team can only live up a maximum of 5 yards behind the ball for the runup. This is to limit the guys that start from 15-20 yards back and get up a full head of steam at the kickoff. They are basically trying to slow everyone down to make it less dangerous...
March 22nd, 2011 at 11:38 PM ^
A five yard lead would have been interesting on on-sides kicks. As good as the pros are, it probably wouldn't happen, but it would be pretty funny if they did get a 5 yard lead and the kicker shanked one into the back of his own player's head.
March 23rd, 2011 at 11:40 AM ^
- I assume by "completely out of bounds" you mean through the endzone?. Out of bounds should still put it on the 40 so the shorter field should reduce out of bounds kicks.
- There has actually been an increase in offsides called on kicking teams in recent years - it has been a point of emphasis.
- An onsides kick still has to go ten yards - being 5 yards forward makes it more likely the kicking team will try it - if it doesn't work the receiving team is 5 yards further back
The NCAA finally moved kickoffs back to the 30 from the 35 a few years ago to match the pro game. Judging from their level of competence, they should get around to moving them back to the 35 by the end of the decade, hopefully.