Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday the NFL's competition committee would consider in the offseason replacing the kickoff. The league previously had moved the kickoff from the 30- to 35-yard line to cut down on violent collisions.
Goodell and Rich McKay, the head of the league's competition committee, discussed an idea brought up by Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano in which a team, instead of kicking off, would get the ball at its own 30-yard line in a fourth-and-15 situation. The team then would punt the ball away or, to replace an onside kick, could go for it and, if it failed to get a first down, the opposing squad would start with great field position.
Schiano's plan, however, would eliminate kickoffs altogether. Goodell admitted to Time magazine that the proposal is "an off-the-wall idea."
"It's different and makes you think differently. It did me," Goodell said.
Bears kicker Robbie Gould said the proposed changes would impact teams' strategies.
"You're talking about starting off a game with a punt, not that there is anything bad about that, but if you have a strategy in getting the ball because you have a really good kick return team, now you are taking that out of the equation," Gould said. "You're talking about a whole different type of football game. You're talking about returners meaning more and less, punters are going to mean more and less, kickers are going to mean more and less.
"So the value of a player is going to go down drastically and the overall game will decrease if they change the kickoff rule to what they are thinking of."
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8720551/roger-goodell-says-nfl-competition-committee-consider-eliminating-kickoffs
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Goodell and Rich McKay, the head of the league's competition committee, discussed an idea brought up by Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano in which a team, instead of kicking off, would get the ball at its own 30-yard line in a fourth-and-15 situation. The team then would punt the ball away or, to replace an onside kick, could go for it and, if it failed to get a first down, the opposing squad would start with great field position.
Schiano's plan, however, would eliminate kickoffs altogether. Goodell admitted to Time magazine that the proposal is "an off-the-wall idea."
"It's different and makes you think differently. It did me," Goodell said.
Bears kicker Robbie Gould said the proposed changes would impact teams' strategies.
"You're talking about starting off a game with a punt, not that there is anything bad about that, but if you have a strategy in getting the ball because you have a really good kick return team, now you are taking that out of the equation," Gould said. "You're talking about a whole different type of football game. You're talking about returners meaning more and less, punters are going to mean more and less, kickers are going to mean more and less.
"So the value of a player is going to go down drastically and the overall game will decrease if they change the kickoff rule to what they are thinking of."
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8720551/roger-goodell-says-nfl-competition-committee-consider-eliminating-kickoffs
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
