NFL’s new touchback rule is backfiring and the Broncos are trying to adjust

[Denver Native (Carol)]

The last time the Broncos returned a kickoff for a touchdown feels like ancient history. Trindon Holliday, a 5-foot-5 mighty mite, ran 105 yards through a crowd of head-hunting Philadelphia Eagles defenders from deep in his end zone to the other coast in 2013. There were, amazingly, two kickoff returns longer than Holliday’s that season, a 109-yarder and another for 108.

Fans may never see it again.

If the NFL has its way, the return will go the way of leather helmets and a coach’s fedora, a relic of a long-ago game. Safety is the goal. Kickoffs are among the most dangerous plays in football, with two groups of 11 large men running full speed at each other, many of them young players trying to make a big hit to make a big impression on their coaches. So the NFL, for the second time in five years, tweaked its return rules.

But instead of eliminating the kickoff altogether, the NFL is trying to nudge teams into doing it themselves. And the idea is backfiring.

The NFL’s new kickoff rule — which moved touchbacks from the 20-yard line to the 25-yard line — is having the opposite effect of the league’s intended impact. Instead of kick returners staying in the end zone for a touchback, knowing the difficulty of getting a 25-yard return, early preseason games show kicking teams are not giving the kickers a choice. Kickers are using a higher, shorter “mortar kick” that lands inside the 10-yard line and forces a return.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/25/nfl-new-touchback-rule-broncos-trying-adjust/

[The Glue Factory]

The ONLY choice to make the kickoff return safe is to place the ball at the 20 after a score. Until the NFL makes that rule, teams will continue to figure out how to make KO returns "profitable".

[Northman]

with two groups of 11 large men running full speed at each other,

Meh, in heavy metal we call that the wall of death.

[Tned]

Pat Kirwin was talking about this in the offseason. He said that this rule change would increase the number of kickoffs. He talked about how accurate the kickers were, and pointed to one team (maybe Seahawks or Patriots or some other team I don't like) that already routinely used high kicks landing a few yards outside the goal line, or just inside, to regularly pin teams back around the 15. He said that making the touchback start at 25 would result in all teams moving to that approach and increase the number of returns, not decrease them.

[BroncoJoe]

Pat Kirwin was talking about this in the offseason. He said that this rule change would increase the number of kickoffs. He talked about how accurate the kickers were, and pointed to one team (maybe Seahawks or Patriots or some other team I don't like) that already routinely used high kicks landing a few yards outside the goal line, or just inside, to regularly pin teams back around the 15. He said that making the touchback start at 25 would result in all teams moving to that approach and increase the number of returns, not decrease them.

When we all heard of this earlier in the year, most on this board said the same thing.

[Joel]

Good. Statistically, 1st and 10 at ones own 20 has proven to be worth exactly 0 pts to BOTH teams, so the NFLs decision to give offense a free 5 yds (especially since all but 16 of the kickoffs a team fields each season is the result of SURRENDERING a score) was asinine. If coaches are sufficiently aware of that to prefer taking their chances forcing a return rather than giving away a free 5 yds (i.e. ½ pt, on average) that's exactly what they should do.

The only viable logical alternative is precisely what The Glue Factory said: Whenever a ball's returned to play (whether after a score or at the start of a half/OT) AUTOMATICALLY place it at one of the two possible truly and perfectly neutral sites (i.e. the 20 yd line of the with possession.) You could let the SCORING team retain the ball at its own 20; historically, it really doesn't matter, because each team would remain equally likely to score an equal number of points next.

In other words, if you want to ban kickoffs, have the balls and honesty to explicitly do so; if you can't do the second part, don't attempt the first (and not because it's guaranteed to fail miserably, though that's a great reason.)

[Poet]

Just get rid of the play altogether. Anything that reduces the 'worth' of kickers and special teams players is fine by me.

[Joel]

Just get rid of the play altogether. Anything that reduces the 'worth' of kickers and special teams players is fine by me.
I see: So special teamers are WORTH LESS THAN OTHER PEOPLE?! :mad: #KickerLivesMatter

[NightTerror218]

Specials temss is a huge part of the game. Can be a game changet, the x factor at times. I want it to stay.

[Poet]

But it's played by a bunch of guys who are awful at the game and are only there because ST exists. It's stupid when a game is decided by STs. Those guys are barely football players. It cheapens the real parts of the game.

[BroncoJoe]

But it's played by a bunch of guys who are awful at the game and are only there because ST exists. It's stupid when a game is decided by STs. Those guys are barely football players. It cheapens the real parts of the game.

Jesus, King. That's about the dumbest thing I've ever seen you post. And, that's saying a lot.

[slim]

Jesus, King. That's about the dumbest thing I've ever seen you post. And, that's saying a lot.

I guess Antonio Brown wouldn't have a job if not for special teams :noidea:

[Poet]

Jesus, King. That's about the dumbest thing I've ever seen you post. And, that's saying a lot.

Well it's based in fact. Most of those guys are bad at football by professional levels. The meat of the game is predicated on offense and defense. When STs makes a huge impact in the game, it invalidates the efforts of everyone else. Watch a hard fought game where the changing factor was a stupid kickoff for a score. Then actually think about that.

[Mike]

I guess Antonio Brown wouldn't have a job if not for special teams :noidea:

TD wouldn't have ever made the Broncos.....

[BroncoJoe]

Well it's based in fact. Most of those guys are bad at football by professional levels. The meat of the game is predicated on offense and defense. When STs makes a huge impact in the game, it invalidates the efforts of everyone else. Watch a hard fought game where the changing factor was a stupid kickoff for a score. Then actually think about that.


TD wouldn't have ever made the Broncos.....

/Kings Argument

[Poet]

Sigh.... Okay, guys, let's think this through. If those guys are great, and they are or were, and the coaches had less to worry about via shitty STs, those guys would have gotten more attention as there would be more competition for positions. Good lord. Joe and Slim, you get an F- for the day. Hit the bricks and do better tomorrow.

[BroncoJoe]

It's OK, King. Being an ex-Bengals fan, we'll cut you some slack. I'm sure your football knowledge will improve now that you're a Broncos' fan.

Slim and I are patient.

[Poet]

I literally just facepalmed.

[Timmy!]

Guys, i think king has a migraine, he's not thinking clearly.

[BroncoJoe]

Guys, i think king has a migraine, he's not thinking clearly.

Clearly.

[dogfish]

Well it's based in fact. Most of those guys are bad at football by professional levels. The meat of the game is predicated on offense and defense. When STs makes a huge impact in the game, it invalidates the efforts of everyone else. Watch a hard fought game where the changing factor was a stupid kickoff for a score. Then actually think about that.



did you start drinking early?


special teams are an important and fun part of the game. . . they're one aspect of the chess match that is NFL football-- a layer in the onion of the world's most complex and strategic sport. . . smart teams will focus on them, typically to their advantage. . . dumb coaches like martz ignore them, and suffer the consequences. . . seriously, the last decade or so would have been poorer without devin hester. . . even dante hall, despite the times he burned us. . .

wide right! romo's fumbled snap, the music city miracle, vinatieri's kicks to win the super bowls. . . these are iconic moments in NFL history-- they're a very legitimate part of the drama that is this game. . . you should have seen me jump off the couch when trindon holliday took those kicks back against baltimore. . . frankly, i don't know what you're thinking here. . .

[Poet]

Sweet -- shitty flukes deciding playoff games- thanks for that.

[I Eat Staples]

Well it's based in fact. Most of those guys are bad at football by professional levels. The meat of the game is predicated on offense and defense. When STs makes a huge impact in the game, it invalidates the efforts of everyone else. Watch a hard fought game where the changing factor was a stupid kickoff for a score. Then actually think about that.

That's how I felt in the NCAA Championship game. Clemson would have won if not for special teams.

[Mike]

Sweet -- shitty flukes deciding playoff games- thanks for that.

So they should eliminate trick plays for the offense too? What about Hail Mary's? I guess Tebow's spectacular pass to DT against Pittsburgh was a fluke too (seeing as how he never hit a player in stride like that), so maybe we ought to look at the forward pass and change that too?

[TXBRONC]

I literally just facepalmed.

I bet you do that a lot.

[Poet]

So they should eliminate trick plays for the offense too? What about Hail Mary's? I guess Tebow's spectacular pass to DT against Pittsburgh was a fluke too (seeing as how he never hit a player in stride like that), so maybe we ought to look at the forward pass and change that too?

This is a long list of false conflations, Mike. Because the trick play, whatever you want to qualify it as, still comes from the offense. The same holds true for that pass as well. But the offensive side of the ball doesn't squeak out almost pure nothingness to a game and then wildly decide it.

[AgentOrange]

If they just made everyone except the kicker face their own endzone, then after the kickoff, run backward down the field they'd solve this whole "big hit" problem.

There, problem solved.

[The Glue Factory]

This is a long list of false conflations, Mike. Because the trick play, whatever you want to qualify it as, still comes from the offense. The same holds true for that pass as well. But the offensive side of the ball doesn't squeak out almost pure nothingness to a game and then wildly decide it.

You are focusing on just one aspect of the return game. The "home run" play. There's many times where offense and defense are grinding away at each other and the ST slowly makes some headway against the other team. Returns for TDs are rare, the importance of the return game is in the yards that are acquired that the offense doesn't have to work to get. Besides, I bet for every TD on a return there's an equally bad result - turnover or return netting fewer than 1 yard. Usually it has little factor in the game, but there are games that ST play has a huge impact; even if there aren't any returns for a TD.

[CoachChaz]

I think the special teams can also act as a "minor leagues" for teams as well. Every team has players they want to keep and develop and not all of them can be exposed to waivers or placed on the practice squad. So, if you have a few guys you'd like to keep around and develop...you can stash them on ST for a season or so and see what happens.

That being said, I dont think I see the NFL getting rid of kick-offs altogether. Maybe a bit of a conspiracy theory, but I believe money plays a role in this. Any time a team scores, the game goes to commercial. Then we come back to watch a ball kicked out of the end zone...and then go back to commercial. If we eliminated the kickoff, there would only be one commercial spot after scores and not two and that would result in a loss of advertising opportunity. Or...it would have to be made up somewhere else during the more interesting portion of the game. But stations and the NFL could stand to lose money with less advertising opportunities available. Nothing to put them out of business, but certainly enough to make the VIP's of these entities maybe miss a yacht payment.