New Kickoff Rule

[Khyber53]

Somewhere in a Denny's near Annapolis, MD, a disheveled and bedeviled Bill Bellichick is scribbling furiously in a big green spiralbound notebook, finding wrinkles to exploit in the new kickoff rules. 

His wife just rolls her eyes and orders another cup of coffee. It's going to be a long day for her.

[MHS831]

The way it is now:  22 men run on the field and the kicker kicks it out of the end zone.  you think they are safe when that happens, but they are still being blocked.

The way it is now with the new rule, there are plays you can run after catching the ball in play. 

Finally, if you have ever played on the kickoff team, when you are running full speed, watching the returner, staying in your lane, and the receiving team is basically blocking you by running at you at a 90 degree angle, sticking their helmets in your ear hole, you would appreciate this rule. 

It is different. and I always worry about NFL records.  But the more information that comes out about CTE and concussions, the more the game will change.  I realize the closest many of you come to getting injured on a kickoff is if you get a chicken nugget caught in your windpipe, but we want to see the best players on the field.  The data explains that the kickoff is the play with the highest concussion rates, so they addressed the problem.  These are not gladiators.  They are professional athletes and we came to see them play not get blue tented and it would be nice if they could function at the age of 50.

Edited March 27 by MHS831

[MHS831]

18 hours ago, RJK said:

This ain’t the football I remember 

If you played on a kickoff team, you probably would not remember it either.

[SmokinwithWilly]

34 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

The way it is now:  22 men run on the field and the kicker kicks it out of the end zone.  you think they are safe when that happens, but they are still being blocked.

The way it is now with the new rule, there are plays you can run after catching the ball in play. 

Finally, if you have ever played on the kickoff team, when you are running full speed, watching the returner, staying in your lane, and the receiving team is basically blocking you by running at you at a 90 degree angle, sticking their helmets in your ear hole, you would appreciate this rule. 

It is different. and I always worry about NFL records.  But the more information that comes out about CTE and concussions, the more the game will change.  I realize the closest many of you come to getting injured on a kickoff is if you get a chicken nugget caught in your windpipe, but we want to see the best players on the field.  The data explains that the kickoff is the play with the highest concussion rates, so they addressed the problem.  These are not gladiators.  They are professional athletes and we came to see them play not get blue tented and it would be nice if they could function at the age of 50.

One of the worst concussions I ever got was on a kickoff coverage. Me and another guy ran full speed into each other and I damn sure got my bell rung. Seemed like a good idea at the time but it was a dumb ass thing to do. Spent the next few minutes trying to get the world back into focus. 

[MHS831]

21 minutes ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

One of the worst concussions I ever got was on a kickoff coverage. Me and another guy ran full speed into each other and I damn sure got my bell rung. Seemed like a good idea at the time but it was a dumb ass thing to do. Spent the next few minutes trying to get the world back into focus. 

I had 2 concussions in high school--one was based on friendly fire when a teammate hit me in the side of the helmet making a tackle.  They other was on a kickoff.  I had amnesia for 2 days--When I realized what was going on, it was Sunday night--In college, I was put on the kickoff return team for a few weeks and hated it. 

The side of the helmet is where a lot of the concussions occur. My doctor said a concussion is basically due to your brain "sloshing" around during impact.  that is pretty scary. 

[frankw]

Just had an ESPN app notification about the change on my phone. The header for the accompanying article was "A lot safer". I laughed. If safety is the primary concern then switch to grass across all league venues you f*ckwits.

[MHS831]

1 hour ago, frankw said:

Just had an ESPN app notification about the change on my phone. The header for the accompanying article was "A lot safer". I laughed. If safety is the primary concern then switch to grass across all league venues you f*ckwits.

 

You just increased my vocabulary by one word.  Grass is indeed another issue, so I agree with you.