Game changer: the NFL's new kickoff rule

By Adam Cancryn

The NFL's shorter kickoff was universally panned during the first slate of preseason games, but maybe we should reserve judgment until teams have a few weeks to adapt to and exploit the new rule.

For those of us that don’t actually play professional football, the NFL preseason is only useful for a few reasons:

1. To give you just the tiniest taste of that sweet, sweet, habit-forming, life-consuming nectar we call real live football. 
2. To help identify that deep sleeper at running back you obsess over so much you end up overvaluing and taking six rounds too high in your fantasy draft. 
3. To make it sound like your Wednesday nights are very busy and important. 

These are the reasons.

But this year was different, you said. The NFL didn’t put you through that lockout mess for nothing. No, this year there are new players in new places, and controversial quarterback competitions…and Tarvaris Jackson…in…Seattle…annnnd…uh…RULE CHANGES! Yes, there are rule changes! Teams must now kick off from the 35-yard line, not the 30. It’s weak, but it will have to do. How will this change the NFL? Will we like it? Will we hate it?

And then you watched the first few games, and it’s safe to say that Deadspin contributor and senior gut reaction specialist Drew Magary summed up most fans’ reaction with just a few words:

The first three kickoffs of the Ravens-Eagles game were touchbacks. So were the first two of Chargers-Seahawks. Over the 15 games played this past week, teams kicked off 130 times, with 101 making it to the end zone and 43 taken as touchbacks. That’s 77.7% and 33.1% of all kickoffs, respectively. 

Compare that to 2010, when the ball only reached the end zone 40.3% of the time, with a relatively minuscule 16.5% touchback rate over the same number of games.

After a while, the kickers just started showing off. Anybody could put it in the back of the end zone, but can you boom it through the uprights? What about that guy in the third row wearing the jersey with his name on the back like he’s actually a part of the team, think you can hit him?

Meanwhile, the kick returners, glorified in recent years for their exhilarating and highly specialized ability to navigate through oncoming traffic, watched kick after kick soar over their heads. Their position, it appeared, was suddenly noncore to the team's success. Some began updating their resume right there on the field.

Watching from home, my gut reaction mirrored everyone else’s. The NFL would, at least in this particular situation, be reminiscent of pickup game full of guys trying to convince themselves they’ve still got it: No no, no need to kick it and go through all that running. We’ll just take it from the 20.

But when I let the situation marinate a little longer, and the shock of it all wore off, I found myself coming to a different conclusion. In fact, a conclusion that was the exact opposite of my initial reaction. The new kickoff rule wasn’t a horrible decision. It was, all things considered, a smart one. Even better, it provided an opportunity to drastically alter the game for the better.

The reasoning for this conclusion is twofold: (1) the new kickoff rule makes the game safer without compromising the competitiveness of the offense or defense, and (2) the rule will lead some teams to employ more complex strategies on special teams, strategies that will ultimately make kickoffs more exciting.

The safety aspect seems straightforward. It’s not even remotely safe for 200-plus pound, 4.4 40 athletes to sprint full speed at each other with the sole objective of putting the opposing side on its ass. It’s the equivalent of 22-car pileup, and it often yields similar, and in some cases much worse, injuries. Shortening the track, even by five yards, will save countless players from career-ending injuries. In the long run, that’s worth it.

Equally important, and a factor I’d like to think was partly the motivation for the rule (but probably not), is that the added safety benefits will primarily protect the bottom half of the league’s talent pool. These are second and third teamers that make up the most dangerous squad in football. They're the ones playing for their paycheck every day, the ones that could be cut loose at the slightest hint of a limp. Unlike the offensive and defensive starters, there is often no fallback plan and certainly not nearly enough of a nest egg. Half a million dollars might sound like a lot, but that only covers so many medical bills for a paralyzed or otherwise crippled 26-year-old.

For once, the NFL and the players put what’s right over what’s most entertaining. In that respect, the kickoff rule is a small bit of progress in a league that’s glossed over its players’ health issues for far too long.

The second ramification of the kickoff rule is what will be intriguing to watch for once the season officially gets started. 

So far, teams have been content to kick it out the back of the end zone and cede the 20 yards. But the game of football is won by finding even the slightest edge against your opponent and exploiting it, by winning the small battles. Field position is one of these small battles, and I doubt coaches will be content with spotting their opponent the 20-yard line. Sure, it’s a better defensive starting position than in the past, but it will now be closer to the norm for the league. 

The good teams will try to push that advantage and find a way to tilt the new norm even further in their favor. They’ll want their opponent starting on the 19 or 18-yard line rather than the 20, knowing those couple yards can make the difference between a game-winning 49-yard field goal that sneaks through the uprights or a 51-yarder that doesn’t.

To do that, teams have to force their opponents to return the ball in uncomfortable situations rather than just down it. This could mean squibbing the kickoff down the field, or planting it in the corner inside the five, or lofting a high hanger that gives tacklers time to get down there and bottle up the returner. In essence, kickoffs could become a lot more like punts. Sure, there’s more risk in not kicking it through the end zone, but in many cases potential reward will outweigh that.

This kind of strategy has never been a part of kickoffs, so for years the most coveted kickers have been those best suited to field goals: a strong leg with a penchant for kicking the ball straight. Directional kicking, though, requires an alternate skill set where accuracy and hang time is more valuable than length. It’s conceivable we could soon see a day when the special teams playbook consists of more than just kick the ball and run after it.

On the flip side, great kick returners are now more valuable than ever. There will be late-game situations when starting on the 20 is not an acceptable option, and players will have to run kicks back from eight or nine yards deep in the end zone. Doing that will take high-end returners like Devin Hester or Josh Cribbs. You can no longer throw anybody back there and expect to get decent field position.

Should teams begin to directionally kick or squib the ball more often, those skilled returners will also have the added responsibility of reacting to each situation and formulating a counterattack that doesn’t leave the offense backed up in their own end. It's a wrinkle that could spell the end of the traditional wedge return and the beginning of multiple choreographed plays coordinated on the fly. Returns for touchdowns wouldn’t just be the result of a fortunate crease or a missed tackle, it’d be the reward for superior strategy and execution. Football offenses and defenses have operated on that system since the game was invented, and maybe it’s time for special teams to follow suit. 

Granted, we haven’t seen this kind of cat-and-mouse game during the first week of preseason. But that’s not exactly surprising. Teams are known for hiding their best and most innovative plays until the games count. A complete reimagining of special teams would certainly qualify as top secret.

If there is one thing we can guarantee though, it’s that the NFL is a copycat league. Should one team successfully change its approach to the kicking game, everyone else will have some variation installed within days.

Remember that when watching these last three weeks of preseason ball. The new kickoff rule might not be enough to make them enjoyable, but when the season starts, it could be just one more reason you’ll be glued to the TV on a beautiful Sunday in fall.

Image via fantasyknuckleheads.com