Get rid of, or change kickoffs? Renamed with new editorial linked

[TheKillerNacho]

I don't like the idea of giving the team a point... but maybe make it a 15 yard (or 10 yard?) touchback instead? Would make teams want to try to go for it to give the opposing offense a long field.

 

EDIT: I see some people said the same thing I did already. I would highly prefer that.

[Bucketheadsdad]

http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/252003/its-time-for-the-nfl-kickoff-to-go

 

Concussion 5 seconds into the game.....Reward pounding the ball through the endzone or the uprights?  Get rid of it all together?

[bzane]

Edited for epicness

[Bucketheadsdad]

Figured this was worth bumping back to the top now that the league is looking at modifying kickoffs.....again.  

[EaglesPeteC]

Stock answer about how all change is bad and everything that gets changed will ruin the game.

[youngosu]

Better than eliminated the kick off but I think there are better ideas. 

I think the return team should only be allowed to block one on one, players that start at the 45 should only be allowed to retreat 10 yards before turning around and blocking,  and players that start behind midfield should not be allowed to retreat at all and have to move forward or stand their ground in order to block. 

These couple changes would drastically reduce the collisions seen on kick returns because it would be more difficult for people to get going full speed prior to contact. 

[Iamcanadian]

By the time the NFL gets through changing all its rules, we can even rename the sport to 'Made for TV' and go back to watching reruns of 50's to 80's games to remind us of what football was once all about, because today's game is already so watered down, that hardly anybody over 50 can recognize it now as the sport it once was.

Why not just change it to touch football and we will not have to worry about injuries at all???

[LaserFocus]

16 minutes ago, Iamcanadian said:

By the time the NFL gets through changing all its rules, we can even rename the sport to 'Made for TV' and go back to watching reruns of 50's to 80's games to remind us of what football was once all about, because today's game is already so watered down, that hardly anybody over 50 can recognize it now as the sport it once was.

Why not just change it to touch football and we will not have to worry about injuries at all???

Agreed, and the NFL will pay a huge price for these mistakes. Nobody enjoys seeing players get hurt, but the kickoff has virtually always been a part of the game. You don't abolish something just because the injury rate is high, other alternatives are available. Fans will protest by not watching as much, or attending games. 

 

 

[DingoLadd]

1 hour ago, Iamcanadian said:

By the time the NFL gets through changing all its rules, we can even rename the sport to 'Made for TV' and go back to watching reruns of 50's to 80's games to remind us of what football was once all about, because today's game is already so watered down, that hardly anybody over 50 can recognize it now as the sport it once was.

Why not just change it to touch football and we will not have to worry about injuries at all???

Generic "the NFL is ruining football from what it once was" I get it , it's changing and no one likes change but in the grand scheme of things the kickoff really doesn't matter anymore after they made the rule change so that 80% of kicks more or less become touchbacks.

1 hour ago, LaserFocus said:

Agreed, and the NFL will pay a huge price for these mistakes. Nobody enjoys seeing players get hurt, but the kickoff has virtually always been a part of the game. You don't abolish something just because the injury rate is high, other alternatives are available. Fans will protest by not watching as much, or attending games. 

 

 

No one who actually cares about their team will protest the loss of kickoffs, honestly what's the point of kickoffs anymore outside of the 1 in 1,000 amazing kickoff return for a TD? the risks outweigh the benefits at this point.

[Iamcanadian]

1 hour ago, DingoLadd said:

Generic "the NFL is ruining football from what it once was" I get it , it's changing and no one likes change but in the grand scheme of things the kickoff really doesn't matter anymore after they made the rule change so that 80% of kicks more or less become touchbacks.

No one who actually cares about their team will protest the loss of kickoffs, honestly what's the point of kickoffs anymore outside of the 1 in 1,000 amazing kickoff return for a TD? the risks outweigh the benefits at this point.

Kick off returns add a lot of excitement to the game and provide a lot of jobs for STers, without kickoff, the NFL will simply reduce rosters and thereby save a lot of money, which is probably their main reason for considering it. Rosters would be out by as many as 20 to 25 positions, saving the NFL millions of dollars. Injuries will play little part in this decision!!!

[DingoLadd]

6 minutes ago, Iamcanadian said:

Kick off returns add a lot of excitement to the game and provide a lot of jobs for STers, without kickoff, the NFL will simply reduce rosters and thereby save a lot of money, which is probably their main reason for considering it. Rosters would be out by as many as 20 to 25 positions, saving the NFL millions of dollars. Injuries will play little part in this decision!!!

The NFLPA isn't going to vote yes on shrinking rosters, the NFL wouldn't save any money since they have to pay that money to players regardless, their main reason for getting rid of kickoffs is to prevent injuries and to change up the game because the NFL likes experimenting with things and acting like they care about player safety (they don't but they like to pretend they do)

Yeah no, 20-25 players is half the roster and many of those players are crucial backups who happen to play special teams and there are maybe 1-2 pure special teamers that make rosters nowadays outside the K,P and LS. 

If anything it would free up a roster spot or two for players who wouldn't have made the roster because they can't contribute on special teams. 

[Iamcanadian]

Just now, DingoLadd said:

The NFLPA isn't going to vote yes on shrinking rosters, the NFL wouldn't save any money since they have to pay that money to players regardless, their main reason for getting rid of kickoffs is to prevent injuries and to change up the game because the NFL likes experimenting with things and acting like they care about player safety (they don't but they like to pretend they do)

Yeah no, 20-25 players is half the roster and many of those players are crucial backups who happen to play special teams and there are maybe 1-2 pure special teamers that make rosters nowadays outside the K,P and LS. 

If anything it would free up a roster spot or two for players who wouldn't have made the roster because they can't contribute on special teams. 

IMO, it is utter  nonsense to ignore the money saving that would occur if the kickoff is done away with. The NFLPA is weak to begin with and how can they refuse to cut jobs if the jobs do not exist anymore. There is no union that can keep a company paying players who have no jobs any longer.

Are you kidding me, STers make up at least 98% of kickoff return teams. Few regulars are ever used on special teams except in a special game like the playoffs and only if the game is real close, might they be asked to play special teams.

If you cut 20 players, you still have 33 roster spots for 22 starters, leaving 11 spares to cover game injuries. 

H...mmm, the NFL can save 100 million dollars by cutting 20 jobs, yeah, they are only doing it for safety of the players, safety that they didn't give a damn about until the retired players sued them for billions, their bottom line never comes into the equation???

[DingoLadd]

6 minutes ago, Iamcanadian said:

IMO, it is utter  nonsense to ignore the money saving that would occur if the kickoff is done away with. The NFLPA is weak to begin with and how can they refuse to cut jobs if the jobs do not exist anymore. There is no union that can keep a company paying players who have no jobs any longer.

Are you kidding me, STers make up at least 98% of kickoff return teams. Few regulars are ever used on special teams except in a special game like the playoffs and only if the game is real close, might they be asked to play special teams.

If you cut 20 players, you still have 33 roster spots for 22 starters, leaving 11 spares to cover game injuries. 

H...mmm, the NFL can save 100 million dollars by cutting 20 jobs, yeah, they are only doing it for safety of the players, safety that they didn't give a damn about until the retired players sued them for billions, their bottom line never comes into the equation???

I'm not gonna bother continuing with this pointless argument, the NFL isn't cutting 1/3 of it's roster spots simple as that. 

[youngosu]

34 minutes ago, Iamcanadian said:

IMO, it is utter  nonsense to ignore the money saving that would occur if the kickoff is done away with. The NFLPA is weak to begin with and how can they refuse to cut jobs if the jobs do not exist anymore. There is no union that can keep a company paying players who have no jobs any longer.

Are you kidding me, STers make up at least 98% of kickoff return teams. Few regulars are ever used on special teams except in a special game like the playoffs and only if the game is real close, might they be asked to play special teams.

If you cut 20 players, you still have 33 roster spots for 22 starters, leaving 11 spares to cover game injuries. 

H...mmm, the NFL can save 100 million dollars by cutting 20 jobs, yeah, they are only doing it for safety of the players, safety that they didn't give a damn about until the retired players sued them for billions, their bottom line never comes into the equation???

Have you ever actually watched an NFL game before? 

This posts indicates you have not. 

[LaserFocus]

11 hours ago, DingoLadd said:

Generic "the NFL is ruining football from what it once was" I get it , it's changing and no one likes change but in the grand scheme of things the kickoff really doesn't matter anymore after they made the rule change so that 80% of kicks more or less become touchbacks.

No one who actually cares about their team will protest the loss of kickoffs, honestly what's the point of kickoffs anymore outside of the 1 in 1,000 amazing kickoff return for a TD? the risks outweigh the benefits at this point.

Real football fans do care about the overreach of the NFL with these pointless changes. The kickoff has been a staple of pro football for eons, with too many examples to list here. We also have to understand the folly of eliminating something just because of a higher rate of injury. It was a mistake to move up the kickoff line in the first place, we need more kickoff returns, not fewer. We are on a slippery slope for no reason, and everyone will lose in the end. It's not difficult to improve player safety without chipping away at the essence of the sport, and the dumb new rule about lowering the head will also alienate fans.