The Side Line

For years NFL teams have kicked off from the 30-yard line.

I’ve heard, “One second, I wanna’ see kickoff,” numerous times and I usually always agree: it’s one of the most exhilarating and fast-paced moments in American football. Drastic ball movement from one side of the field to the other is entrancing, anticipating a big run or great block.

In 2011, amid the confusion of the lockout and player changes, the NFL somehow saw it fit to move the kickoff spot up five yards, and lower the number of yards the kick coverage team is able to run before the kick from 15 to five yards. According to football enthusiast Brian Burke’s NFL statistics blog, since 2000, kickoff injuries have risen from 0.6 percent to 2 percent in 2010. Moving the spot up will increase the number of touchbacks and reduce kickoff injuries, as there will be less kickoff runs. But is taking one of the biggest excitements from the game right?

Does emphasis go into punts and punt returners if teams think they will be fielding more punts? Week one is over and teams are debating issues that should be an off-season worry, but are instead a week-two mystery. In 2008, pass and run plays had a higher injury rate than kickoff plays, but in 2009 and 2010, kickoffs surpassed run and pass plays in injury rates, thanks to the helmet-to-helmet rule discouraging players from taking questionable shots. Steeler’s linebacker James Harrison knows this rule well after being fined $125,000 for illegal hits and flagrant fouls in 2010.

Last October, the NFL implemented serious repercussions for head-to-head contact. One hundred and twenty five thousand dollars may not seem like a lot of money to a pro football player, but Harrison and many other players were irate at the high fines. As for the kickoffs, how about we keep the helmet-to-helmet rule, flagrant fouls, and illegal hits. All are necessary and have statistically reduced injuries.

Now, let’s scoot the kickoff spot back five yards to where it was and think about other ways to reduce injuries. It would look odd, but maybe the kicker could go back to the 30, and his special teams line remain at the 35? Players time to reach full speeds and power would lessen, but still allow for a returnable and watchable play.

A few years back, SportsCenter was all over Devin Hester and his kick returns in Chicago in 2006 and 2007. Now the NFL just made the field 15 yards shorter on special teams. Kick returners have to decide if they want to take the ball out from eight or nine yards deep now. Green Bay Packer rookie Randall Cobb disproved my point in the season opener by running a kickoff from deep in his end zone for a 108 yard touchdown, but watch this season and count the touchbacks.

Posted by Taylor Lamb on Sep 22 2011. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.