Goodell: Replacing Kickoffs with a Punt?

[BeerBaron]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...cing-kickoffs/

...one of the options being considered for replacing kickoffs entails giving the ball to the team that would have been kicking off at its own 30, automatically facing a fourth down and 15 yards to go. The team can then choose to punt or go for it, via fake punt or otherwise.

In other words, the kickoff would be replaced with the punt, and the onside kick would be replaced with a fourth-down conversion...

It is...interesting. I'd honestly make it even further than "4th and 15" though. It needs to be about as unlikely to succeed as regular onside kicks are now. I'd make it "4th and 20" and force them to get past midfield on one try.

So...thoughts?

[Jvig43]

Man does that give such an advantage to any team with a Manning Rodgers or Brady. The chances of them converting on that play if they had to get the ball back in the 4th is so much higher than the on sides kick. Personally as long as my team has Brady I'd be more than happy with this rule but as a fan of football and this seems to be the case with most of these rule changes, its ******* stupid.

[cmarq83]

Originally Posted by BeerBaron

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...cing-kickoffs/



It is...interesting. I'd honestly make it even further than "4th and 15" though. It needs to be about as unlikely to succeed as regular onside kicks are now. I'd make it "4th and 20" and force them to get past midfield on one try.

So...thoughts?

Hate it. Onside kicks are really difficult to get done for a reason. It involves flawless execution and so many things can go wrong during the attempt. 4th and 15 is a chipshot for a guy like Roethlisburger.

[K Train]

oh man big ben would be ******* awesome at 4th and 15 instead of kicking off.

[Jvig43]

The comments are hilarious

"Kick-offs should be like this: a table is placed on the 50 yard line with a pot of tea and cups & saucers. The teams each team picks a player from the other side to see who can drink the most tea the fastest. Then the winning team gets the ball at the 50."

"LOL Idea comes from Greg Schiano to avoid injuries. Like crashing Victory formations doesn’t injure players?"

And an actual really good point with the way PIs are called today

"So what if there is a pass interference call on the play if they go for it?"

Like seriously just hope for the PI and then you convert. This is really just a stupid solution the more you think about it.

[K Train]

no PI, this will be a no holds barred play from snap to finish


only in a perfect world

[AntoinCD]

It's not the worst idea they have come up with but there are a few holes in it

For example, can the punter directionally kick it out of bounds. It's a penalty if the kick off goes out of bounds, but what happens in this situation?

It's also going to pretty much guarantee good field position for the offense. Seldom do punters kick the ball 70 yards so you pretty much eliminate touchbacks. Even to kick the ball 55/60 yards you are pretty much always going to out kick the coverage. I understand wanting to do away with kickoff returns because they present a high risk of injury, but this almost employs more chance of a return.

Also, what happens if the returning team goes all out for the block and someone roughs the kicker. Do the kicking team get an automatic first down or do they just kick from the 45?

[Jvig43]

Originally Posted by K Train

no PI, this will be a no holds barred play from snap to finish


only in a perfect world

Yeah ok, then if Im the DC I'm just laying out the offenses wrs every time, Ty Law style. You just can't do this I'm sorry. Way too unfair, and I really hope teams dont vote for this, I would be so irritated as a football fan.

[K Train]

yeah uh i was kidding, like they would do anything like that with all the rules, lawsuits and concussions

[BeerBaron]

Originally Posted by Jvig43

Yeah ok, then if Im the DC I'm just laying out the offenses wrs every time, Ty Law style. You just can't do this I'm sorry. Way too unfair, and I really hope teams dont vote for this, I would be so irritated as a football fan.

I miss "Ty Law style." Marvin Harrison still probably has nightmares.

Anyway, could formations affect this perhaps? For example, in college and in high school, there are formation specific rules. One such rule is that a holder for for a FG attempt isn't rule down by contact by having his knee on the ground.

Maybe it could be 4th and 15 if the kicking team lines up in a punt formation with their standard punter in the game. Then it becomes 4th and 30 if the team lines up in a regular offense with relaxed contact rules for the defense? Converting a 4th and 30 with the defense more free would be about as unlikely as recovering an onsides kick nowadays.

[DiG]

Originally Posted by BeerBaron

Maybe it could be 4th and 15 if the kicking team lines up in a punt formation with their standard punter in the game. Then it becomes 4th and 30 if the team lines up in a regular offense with relaxed contact rules for the defense? Converting a 4th and 30 with the defense more free would be about as unlikely as recovering an onsides kick nowadays.

but what if you have ray rice?

[cmarq83]

Being on the Hands team sucks against onside kicks though. Roughly 100% of the time it ends up with somebody spearing you in the back. Especially when the guys who are supposed to form the wall to protect you decide that they're just going to try and catch the ball instead of doing what they're supposed to do.

God playing on kickoff return sucks. Playing on the Kickoff team is the most fun thing to do in football though.

[BeerBaron]

Yeah, PI would make it easy as well.

If it were the Bears, I'd just have Marshall run past the first down line and go up for a jump ball. He either catches or gets interfered with..either, way, it's a win.

It would definitely need some tweaking.

[WCH]

Originally Posted by BeerBaron

Yeah, PI would make it easy as well.

If it were the Bears, I'd just have Marshall run past the first down line and go up for a jump ball. He either catches or gets interfered with..either, way, it's a win.

It would definitely need some tweaking.

I could see elite passing teams deciding to just never punt, and basically turn it into a game of keep-away. I'd be surprised if Belichick didn't adopt that strategy.

Those 2007 Pats and 2004 Colts teams would have been scoring 40 points before halftime.

[Iamcanadian]

If they want to solve the concussion problem in the NFL, they need to go back to leather helmets, defensive players aren't going to lead and try to tackle with their heads with a leather helmet on unless they want to be carried off as well.

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by Iamcanadian

If they want to solve the concussion problem in the NFL, they need to go back to leather helmets, defensive players aren't going to lead and try to tackle with their heads with a leather helmet on unless they want to be carried off as well.

I like the idea of a grass roots campaign of removing pads from all levels of football before high school. Teach kids how to tackle properly from a young age and that will help.

Right now in the professional game I don't see any quick fix. Guys have been tackling like this their whole lives and aren't going to change

[Iamcanadian]

Originally Posted by AntoinCD

I like the idea of a grass roots campaign of removing pads from all levels of football before high school. Teach kids how to tackle properly from a young age and that will help.

Right now in the professional game I don't see any quick fix. Guys have been tackling like this their whole lives and aren't going to change

Believe me, after a few defensive players are carried off trying to lead with their heads, with leather helmets, you would be surprised how quickly they would adjust to a new tackling method, at least in my opinion.

[jrdrylie]

This sounds like some school yard football ****, not professional football. Man, I hope Goodell is the person involved in the prostitution ring so we can get rid of his ass.

[njx9]

it'd be great if they'd quit acting like their proposed changes have anything to do with injuries.

[y.f.s.]

Originally Posted by njx9

it'd be great if they'd quit acting like their proposed changes have anything to do with injuries.

ANYTHING TO STOP TERRORISM

...wait, I have my narratives mixed up.

[A Perfect Score]

Originally Posted by y.f.s.

ANYTHING TO STOP TERRORISM

...wait, I have my narratives mixed up.

God I missed you.

[LonghornsLegend]

Cool story. I can't wait until the rules change to do all Kickoffs like the XFL:

There is no coin toss to determine which team will get the ball first.

Instead of the coin toss, the action in the XFL will start before the game even kicks off. Player from each team will line up on the 35-yard line. The referee will blow the whistle and each player will dash to the 50-yard line where a ball will be placed. The team that recovers the ball has the choice to kick or receive.

[Bert Macklin]

I'll just leave this here because this is what we're getting.

[BloodBrother]

oh ffs if he's so adamant about removing kickoffs, just give teams the ball at their own 20 and stop the stupid charade.

better yet, just ******* leave well enough alone

[bucfan12]

League is becoming a joke and pretty much laughable. Goodell is looking for entertainment and high scoring contests. He doesn't care. If the amount of high scoring games are down he needs to find a way to boost the.

Let them play football te way it's supposed to be played.