NFL kickoff changes

[nittanyfan333]

approved by the owners and will go intro effect this season. thoughts?

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...undergoing-these-major-rule-changes-for-2018/

I think the big one is this one:

2017 rule: Kickoff team can set up five yards behind the line of scrimmage.
New rule: Kickoff team cannot line up for more than one yard from the line of scrimmage. (This eliminates running starts and means players would have to line up at the 34-yard line for a kickoff from the 35. Currently, players can go back to the 30.)

they want to take injuries out of the game, but wouldn't this cause more injuries? I've never played organized football, but I'd think that by starting from a dead stop, it would allow the returner more space to return the ball, instead of a running start that would allow the defenders to get to the returner faster. am I making sense here?

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

I think the rule has very little chance of lowering injuries very much. It seems to me that the hang time of the kick determines the time that the ball carrier is a sitting duck more than a running start of two steps for the kicking team.....

 

[NittPicker]

they want to take injuries out of the game, but wouldn't this cause more injuries? I've never played organized football, but I'd think that by starting from a dead stop, it would allow the returner more space to return the ball, instead of a running start that would allow the defenders to get to the returner faster. am I making sense here?

I get what you mean about space for the ball carrier but OTOH the blockers on the return team should be able to set up better blocks since they won't be back pedaling while trying to stop someone who had a running start. Which leads to the matter of different blocking schemes for the return team. Trying to block someone with a running start upfield isn't easy because the coverage man can make one juke and blow by the blocker. That's why we now see the blockers sprinting backward when the ball is kicked in order to get downfield to set up the blocking scheme. Now the upfield blockers have a better chance of stopping some of the coverage before it gets downfield. It'll be interesting to see how the special teams adapt.

Onside kicks will also be affected for the worse. No running start for the kicking team means the receiving team will have an extra split second or two to recover the ball before the opponent can get there.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Sorry to add on and didn't want to start a new thread (mods, delete if necessary), but also being discussed at the owner's meeting is how to address kneeling during the anthem. They will supposedly vote on one of the following:

Here’s the owners’ proposed list of solutions, from ESPN:

• Allow each team to implement its own policy
• Clear the field of all football personnel while the anthem is played
• Instruct players who don’t want to stand to remain in the locker room while the anthem is played
• Impose penalties on teams and players who do not stand, including a 15-yard penalty and/or fines
• Add contract language that requires players to stand
• Leave the current policy in place

Thoughts from ESPN writer Seth Wickersham:

 

[nittanyfan333]

I get what you mean about space for the ball carrier but OTOH the blockers on the return team should be able to set up better blocks since they won't be back pedaling while trying to stop someone who had a running start. Which leads to the matter of different blocking schemes for the return team. Trying to block someone with a running start upfield isn't easy because the coverage man can make one juke and blow by the blocker. That's why we now see the blockers sprinting backward when the ball is kicked in order to get downfield to set up the blocking scheme. Now the upfield blockers have a better chance of stopping some of the coverage before it gets downfield. It'll be interesting to see how the special teams adapt.

Onside kicks will also be affected for the worse. No running start for the kicking team means the receiving team will have an extra split second or two to recover the ball before the opponent can get there.

I think you're nit picking..... but I get what you're saying

In all seriousness, that's a good point regarding the blocking. easier to set up blocks.

Regarding the onside kicks, they changed the rule for the amount of players that can be on each side of the ball to 5 each, so no more offset lineups. That plus the 1 yard off line ups means basically onside kicks will never work anymore.

gonna be really interesting to see how this all shakes out. That said, remember when they moved the extra point to a 33 yard try, everyone was critical about it for the first few weeks but now no one talks about it anymore. might be the same thing here. Who knows

 

[nittanyfan333]

Sorry to add on and didn't want to start a new thread (mods, delete if necessary), but also being discussed at the owner's meeting is how to address kneeling during the anthem. They will supposedly vote on one of the following:

Here’s the owners’ proposed list of solutions, from ESPN:

• Allow each team to implement its own policy
• Clear the field of all football personnel while the anthem is played
• Instruct players who don’t want to stand to remain in the locker room while the anthem is played
• Impose penalties on teams and players who do not stand, including a 15-yard penalty and/or fines
• Add contract language that requires players to stand
• Leave the current policy in place

Thoughts from ESPN writer Seth Wickersham:

View embedded media

View embedded media

I saw this as well. everyone's gonna have their opinion, and I hope to god this thread doesn't turn political, but you know how these jackals are around here...

is there a right way to go about doing it? I dunno. maybe leave it up to the teams to make the call? leaving the players off the field could cause issues on one side, penalizing them would cause issues on the other side. seems like we're in a "let everyone do what they want" place right now, so it's really a lose-lose unless they leave it the way it is.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

I saw this as well. everyone's gonna have their opinion, and I hope to god this thread doesn't turn political, but you know how these jackals are around here...

is there a right way to go about doing it? I dunno. maybe leave it up to the teams to make the call? leaving the players off the field could cause issues on one side, penalizing them would cause issues on the other side. seems like we're in a "let everyone do what they want" place right now, so it's really a lose-lose unless they leave it the way it is.

My guess is whatever the NFL decides will be terrible for 50% of their fans, and the other 50% will love it. So, agree - lose/lose proposition for the most part.

 

[BBrown]

Sorry to add on and didn't want to start a new thread (mods, delete if necessary), but also being discussed at the owner's meeting is how to address kneeling during the anthem. They will supposedly vote on one of the following:

Here’s the owners’ proposed list of solutions, from ESPN:

• Allow each team to implement its own policy
• Clear the field of all football personnel while the anthem is played
• Instruct players who don’t want to stand to remain in the locker room while the anthem is played
• Impose penalties on teams and players who do not stand, including a 15-yard penalty and/or fines
• Add contract language that requires players to stand
• Leave the current policy in place

Thoughts from ESPN writer Seth Wickersham:

View embedded media

View embedded media

OMG I don't understand why this has turned into the fiasco it has.
Just play the Anthem before the players come out like they do at PSU.

But since we are now talking about giving the players a 15 yard penalty can we also dock the thousands of people still trying to find their seat, standing at the concession stand or texting on their phones?
Frankly I don't it should be played at all.

 

[stormingnorm]

I saw this as well. everyone's gonna have their opinion, and I hope to god this thread doesn't turn political, but you know how these jackals are around here...

is there a right way to go about doing it? I dunno. maybe leave it up to the teams to make the call? leaving the players off the field could cause issues on one side, penalizing them would cause issues on the other side. seems like we're in a "let everyone do what they want" place right now, so it's really a lose-lose unless they leave it the way it is.

Where are the players during the Anthem at college football games?
(Rhetorical - we all know the answer..... and thank goodness that is the case. The heads would explode around here if the college kids were in the same position as the NFLers).
Most times, the solutions to these problems are so simple it is mind-numbing that the things blow up into National Moral-Outrage-Mountain Issues.

FWIW, years ago (before this NFL stuff had exploded), a gentleman came to one of the PSU Board meetings - and complained about/made a suggestion that the Football Team should be on the field when the Anthem played. (disclaimer - this guy was a real nice fella', and I don't mean to disparage him in any way - I am sure he was well-meaning).

Aside from the fact that stuff like this has no business as a "Governance Issue" before the Board, I was just shaking my head (Nit1300) thinking - "Good Lord, lets hope no one takes up this banner - what an unnecessary clusterf^ck that would present."
Fortunately (in this case), no one on the Board even responded. I expect that most Trustees never even heard his comments (over the crunching coming from the various snack plates around the table).

 

[Op2]

OMG I don't understand why this has turned into the fiasco it has.
Just play the Anthem before the players come out like they do at PSU.

But since we are now talking about giving the players a 15 yard penalty can we also dock the thousands of people still trying to find their seat, standing at the concession stand or texting on their phones?
Frankly I don't it should be played at all.

Finally, someone that agrees with me on this. Don't play it at all or if you do play it then do it while the players are still in the locker room.

Personally, part of the reason I'm watching football is to get away from politics. If I wanted to talk politics (and sometimes I do) I'd be on one of the million TV stations or websites that talks politics instead of watching a football game.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

OMG I don't understand why this has turned into the fiasco it has.