Comment on Why did the NFL change the kickoff rule and how will it be implemented?

The Associated Press, Denver Post: Sports
Tue, 03/26/2024 - 1:28pm

Why did the NFL change the kickoff rule and how will it be implemented?

By JOSH DUBOW (AP Pro Football Writer) NFL owners were busy this week, approving a series of rule changes that address player safety, overhaul the kickoff and expand the use of instant replay. While the changes were all overwhelmingly approved they don’t come without some level of controversy, with many players opposing the ban on the use of the “ swivel hip-drop” tackle and many questions about how the rules will be enforced and the impact they will have on games. The most significant change revolves around the kickoff that has gone from one of the more exciting plays with game-breakers like Devin Hester threatening to take a kick back 100 yards for a score to one with almost no action after most kicks resulted in no returns last season. Here’s an explanation of some of the rules that will be in place this fall. Basically everything. Owners agreed to a one-year trial of a radical change on kickoffs with a new system borrowed heavily from what was used in the XFL spring league. The changes were made in hopes of limiting the high-speed collisions that made kickoffs so dangerous while incentivizing more returns after a sharp rise in touchbacks in recent years. Standard kicks will still begin from the 35 but everything else will look different. The 10 kick coverage players will line up at the opposing 40, with five on each side of the field. The return team will have at least nine blockers lined up in the “set up zone” between the 30- and 35-yard line with at least seven of those players touching the 35.

 

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