This offseason the NFL implemented the largest change to kickoff rules ever. It completely alters the way teams cover and block on the play.
First of all, the setup has the coverage team lining up at the return team’s 40-yard line. The landing zone for the kick is between the 20-yard line and the end zone. The coverage team no longer moves with the kickoff of the ball. Now they can’t move until the ball reaches the landing zone.
This is similar to the rules the XFL used, including the removal of the fair catch.
Raiders special teams coordinator Tom McMahon is really excited about the possibilities of these new rules and the creativity they open up. Not to mention the increased value placed on special teams players.
“Very excited, and the players are excited,” said McMahon. “If you think about it, last year in the Super Bowl – I’ll just use that as an example – 13 touchbacks. Now it’s going to be 13 balls that are returned. So, returners are excited, and their value is going to skyrocket. … The value skyrockets for the position players because now they’re covering every rep. So, the leading tackler in the league is going to probably go back to the early 2000s with 36 tackles on special teams, whereas it was only 16 tackles this last year. So, their value goes way up.”
What the NFL is hoping will be way down with these new rules are injuries.
“It’s very awkward to watch a ball hit and then be able to go,” McMahon continued. “And just remember within this play, what we want to do is take away space and speed. So, the 25-yard run is gone. And if you really think about what’s the biggest difference, just remember that last year at the 40-yard line, guys are going 19 to 21 miles an hour. We’re going zero. We’re going to zero, so we’re starting at nothing and you’re right there at about five yards. You’re waiting there to block me, so the collisions are at 7 miles an hour versus 19-20. So, it’s a big difference.”
The new rules will come with a considerable learning curve. Alignments have already changed just from the beginning of the offseason program to now based on feedback McMahon has gotten from both kicker Daniel Carlson as well as the return specialists.
This process will continue to evolve throughout the season.
“I’ll be honest with you, [there will be adjustments] 100 percent of the season, because we’re going to steal ideas from other people,” said McMahon. “It’s brand new, it’s something nobody’s ever done. You’re going to steal from each other, you’re going to steal leverage from each other. I think it’ll go all the way through the Super Bowl on the last play.”
Carlson’s job on kickoffs will change a lot, mostly because blasting a kick out the back of the end zone is no longer the objective. Doing that will result in the opposing team getting the ball at their own 30-yard line. And without fair catches, moon shots are also no longer necessary. Now it’s all about precision and technique, which will make the kicker’s job a lot more interesting.
“He loves it. He’s competitive,” McMahon said of Carlson. “He wants to beat the returners every single day. ‘I’m going to go out there and I want to be 10-for-10 if we have 10 kickoffs. I don’t want them to touch the ball, I want it to go into the end zone and I want to get a 20-yard-line drive start, or I want them to have to come up and it hits and rolls and we’re going as the ball’s on the ground to give that kickoff team an advantage. But he loves the challenge.”
These rules will essentially mean different qualities will be more important when it comes to special teams players.
“I think on kickoff return, I think you’re going to need a little more length,” McMahon added. “And when I say more length, it doesn’t mean that a corner can’t do it. But you need somebody with a little bit longer arms to sustain the blocks, you know what I mean? So, it’s a little bit more length from a kickoff return standpoint, other than that, no. You’re only going to be able to dress – and I think you guys all understand that – you got three tight ends, you got five linebackers, you got maybe four safeties. You got to find those guys that can win at the point of attack.”
Most new rules the NFL implements come with the focus on limiting injuries. But in most cases they also come at the expense of the excitement of the game. This rule change may be one of those rare instances that achieves the objective while potentially making the game more exciting.
After all, as they say, “football is special teams.” And the new kickoff rules put more of the game in the hands of special teams, making the game more dynamic. For that reason you can certainly see the reason for the excitement.