Bucketheadsdad Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 I posted this in the Browns forum, but thought it could use a wider distribution. OK....I've been thinking about this for a while, and I figured that I should go ahead and toss it out for a discussion. The league is seemingly all about preventing injuries as much as possible. (Nothing wrong with that, by the way.) One way to reduce the opportunities for injuries is to try and limit the length of games. One way is to try and prevent overtime games from occurring. We've lengthened the extra point, effectively turning it into a mid-range field goal. Some do get missed. My suggestion is this: What if we did something that is a little bit of a variance from what the CFL does. What if we awarded a team an additional point if their kick-off specialist was able to put the through the uprights on the kickoff? It makes kicking a bit more important, and will even help to cut down on kickoff returns, which the league has been pursuing for several years. One argument that was raised in our forum was this: “I don't like the idea as you're essentially giving a team a scoring opportunity that the other team doesn't have a chance to defend.” A very valid point. But it wouldn't be the only instance in which a team cannot defend against another team scoring. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_catch_kick Youtube videos of free kick situations: https://www.google.com/search?q=fair+catch+kick+nfl&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwih16H2k9LVAhUH2oMKHaWkDQgQ_AUICigB&biw=1280&bih=676 The league has done so much in recent years to minimize the impact of a kickoff return. This makes it a more exciting play, for obviously different reasons. Maybe something really interesting....If the kicker puts it through the uprights, the receiving team gets the ball at the 20. If it doesn't go through (and isn't returned, it goes to the 25 or maybe the 30), and if they return it, well, there's going to be an illegal block in the back penalty (THERE'S ALWAYS AN ILLEGAL BLOCK IN THE BACK PENALTY), so the team starts at the 14. That might make an interesting twist. What do you think? Am I crazy? (Don't ask my wife that question. I wouldn't like the answer.) If you read through the responses, you'll see that others have had some unique ideas to tweak this proposal even further. Some very good ideas, in fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmad Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 Do it. Tucker will be our entire offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucketheadsdad Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 14 minutes ago, OleXmad said: Do it. Tucker will be our entire offense. Yeah, but you'd have to score first.....unless it was the opening, or halftime kickoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INbengalfan Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 5 hours ago, Bucketheadsdad said: Yeah, but you'd have to score first.....unless it was the opening, or halftime kickoffs. Baltimore would practically be guaranteed 4 points for every field goal, at least in warmer weather. Two of those offsets a touchdown. No thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tugboat Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 There's no downside to that though. If you "miss", it's still just a touchback...which is pretty standard these days anyway. You'd have to do something to penalize "misses" for it to even begin to make any sense at all. Which would inherently have to run counter to the stated aim of reducing kickoff returns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INbengalfan Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 5 hours ago, Tugboat said: There's no downside to that though. If you "miss", it's still just a touchback...which is pretty standard these days anyway. You'd have to do something to penalize "misses" for it to even begin to make any sense at all. Which would inherently have to run counter to the stated aim of reducing kickoff returns. So they would put up nets behind the endzone (like the Arena League), just for kickoffs, and if the ball hits the net a team would be penalized? Like minus 1 point or add 5-10 yards to where the other team takes the ball? I'd still say "pass" on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Hard pass. This could potentially open the door up to more quirky ways of scoring (e.g. punting throughout the up rights, even a QB throwing a 65+ Yarder through the uprights, stuff like that), and that's completely getting away from the purpose of the game. And I know the NFL is a very complex sport, but I'd like to keep the scoring somewhat simple (I'm looking at you, 1 point safety). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucketheadsdad Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 That's why I mentioned the possiblity of having staggered placement for "touchbacks." You "reward" the kicking team for putting the ball through the uprights with the receiving team getting the ball at the 20. If it doesn't go through, and the returning team gets the ball at the 25 or 30. You wouldn't need to add netting or anything like that. As I mentioned above, depending on whether or not the kickoff goes through the uprights, you reward the kicking or receiving team accordingly. One thing that I failed to mention before is the possibility that making the kickers a more integral part of the scoring might help bring in more fans who are "soccer first" fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET80 Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 My OCD would drive me crazy with funky scores like 25-1 or 16-11. What could be cool - if you split the uprights on a kickoff, the touchback comes out to the 15 instead of the 25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucketheadsdad Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 30 minutes ago, EliteTexan80 said: My OCD would drive me crazy with funky scores like 25-1 or 16-11. What could be cool - if you split the uprights on a kickoff, the touchback comes out to the 15 instead of the 25. I think your OCD would be OK. The idea that you proposed might work too. It adds another element to the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelersFanMD Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 It would be very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gnat Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 I like the idea of if you get it through the uprights, the team gets the ball at the 15 instead of the 25 on the touchback. That would be better than the points I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INbengalfan Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 On 8/13/2017 at 10:45 AM, Bucketheadsdad said: That's why I mentioned the possiblity of having staggered placement for "touchbacks." You "reward" the kicking team for putting the ball through the uprights with the receiving team getting the ball at the 20. If it doesn't go through, and the returning team gets the ball at the 25 or 30. You wouldn't need to add netting or anything like that. As I mentioned above, depending on whether or not the kickoff goes through the uprights, you reward the kicking or receiving team accordingly. One thing that I failed to mention before is the possibility that making the kickers a more integral part of the scoring might help bring in more fans who are "soccer first" fans. I could get on board with this. But there's no way I would want points tied to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucketheadsdad Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 1 hour ago, INbengalfan said: I could get on board with this. But there's no way I would want points tied to it. Yeah, I don't know about the point idea either. I was just spitballing ideas to stimulate some conversation. Kickoffs have become rather uneventful, so I was looking for something to make it more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 I'm not a fan of that. But, how about we do like Aussie Rules Football and add in another set of goal posts outside of the current ones, so that you still get a point if the kicker can't get it in the smaller one? Just kidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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