Kickoff rule changes lower the excitement of football
Dan Groves
Football is a game of inches. It seems this statement is heard over and over again in the football world and it could not be any truer. A yard here, a first-down there; it all adds up over the course of a game. Special teams play a big part in this battle for field position, and ultimately who wins the game, so when I learned about all the recent changes made to the kickoffs at both the professional and college levels, I was rather upset. The rule changes have completely changed a major, if understated, part of the game.
For decades, the NFL and NCAA kicked off from the 30-yard line. This allowed for return men to do their job. As I know from personal experience, the guy catching the kickoff is generally one of the most explosive and exciting runners on the field.
The kickoff has produced many of the greatest moments in NFL history. Think of Devin Hester returning a record 18 kicks for a touchdown in a season, five being kickoffs and 13 punts.
Or you can remember the play known as the “Music City Miracle,” which saw the Tennessee Titans defeat the Buffalo Bills on a kickoff returned for a touchdown with only three seconds left in the game, sending the Titans on to the divisional playoff game in 2000.
In the college game, who could forget Ted Ginn, Jr. returning the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown in the 2007 BCS National Championship game for the Ohio State Buckeyes? Kickoffs have always had the ability to develop into one of the most exciting plays in the entire football game.
However, in the past few years, changes to the rules have almost completely eliminated kickoffs from the game. The NFL has moved its kickoffs to the 35-yard line, which means the return man is most likely going to catch the ball in the very back of the endzone and take a knee, or simply watch the football sail out of bounds.
There has even been talk of removing kickoffs from the game entirely, instead just starting each drive from the 20-yard line. College football has also moved the kickoff to the 35-yard line, but kicks that go deep into the endzone will discourage return men from taking a chance on the return, and touchbacks come out to the 25-yard line rather than the 20-yard line as it has been in the past.
These plays can lead to devastating injuries, such as the case with Rutgers linebacker Eric LeGrand who was paralyzed from the neck down in 2010 while making a tackle on a kickoff.
Most recently, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Cribbs was knocked out of a game against the Baltimore Ravens after being brutally demolished on a return last Thursday night.
But the catastrophic injuries are not a reason to completely eliminate kickoffs from the game, as these injuries are very rare, and an inevitable part of the game.
Ultimately, this rule change hurts the integrity and dampens the excitement of the game that we fans tune in to see every weekend.