Starting this season, kickoffs were moved up 5 yards to the 35-yard line and, after a touchback, the offense will start at the 25. These changes are designed to reduce the number of high speed collisions and injuries on kickoff returns.
How will coaches approach this rule change? It's assumed that most coaches will order their kickers to blast away and simply take the easy touchback, choosing to play defense from the 25, rather than risk a big return. On the other hand, the average KO return is about 21-22 yards, so it's debatable whether giving up the 25-yard line is statistically correct, as a general rule. Moreover, we've all seen momentum swings in games when the kicking team pins the return team on the 12-yard line, or thereabouts.
Here's one discussion of this question:
The problem is that defense-oriented coaches such as Mendenhall, Utah’s Kyle Whittingham and Utah State’s Gary Andersen won’t like having opponents start at the 25. They’ll quickly come to view a touchback as a 5-yard penalty, and they’ll get creative.
Instead of having the kicker blast the ball deep into the end zone, they’ll order high, directional kicks in an effort to pin opponents inside the 25.
"That’s all predicated upon what kicker you have," said Jay Hill, Utah’s special teams coordinator. Nick Marsh, the Utes’ kickoff man, is adept at booting the ball high, enabling the coverage team to get downfield.
Auburn has one of the best kickers in the country in junior Cody Parkey. He led the nation last season in touchback percentage. That was from the 30. Kicking off from the 35, the fans in the first 20 rows behind the end zone should keep an eye out.
But do you want that?
“For us, having a touchback is not going to be very hard,” Boulware said. “If you drop that ball in the field of play, players are going to be more inclined to return that ball. A good return is 22, 23 yards. If you drop that ball on the goal line, that’s still not getting them out to the 25 even with a good return.”
That’s where some calculations that would make a calculus professor proud come into play.
What Boulware and the AU coaches have to determine from game to game — and maybe even kickoff to kickoff — is whether Parkey’s high, directional kickoffs are more or less risky than simply booting 15 rows deep. The outcome of that equation depends on the opposing return men, the playing conditions, the decreased running start for the coverage team and — because kicking seems to be as streaky as putting — how Parkey’s kicking on that particular day.
This past weekend, I attended a scrimmage of an upper-echelon program (not Ohio State), which is led by a highly-respected coach. In the scrimmage, the kickers blasted the ball deep into the EZ every time, while an assistant tossed an extra ball to the returner, so that they could practice both kicking the ball and the KO return game on the same plays. Not to read too far into a scrimmage, but either that coach will choose to "kick away" or will wait to practice the exotic "squib" and/or high, directional kickoffs later in camp before the season starts.
How will Ohio State approach the kicking game in response to this new rule?
The way I see this rule change is kickoff teams being 5 yards closer to killing someone.
when they first came out with the rule, I thought "This is ridiculous, people are just going to kick it high, not in the end zone, giving their time time to get down the field and stop them before the 20 more often. This is not going to reduce collisions.... It is going to increase them."
I think its stupid
I think the high directional kick is the way to go if you have a skilled enough kicker. If you dont have one you risk kicking it out of bounds and the ball ends up going on the 40 yard line instead, which blasting it into the end zone is a better strategy. With Drew Basil I think Meyer might try the former since Basil has some experience under his belt.
"if irony were made of strawberries, we' d all be drinking a lot of smoothies right now."
GaBuckeye: good point, but I forget to mention they also ruled no more 5-yard running starts for the kicking teams - so that also might cut down just a bit on the kill factor.
Maybe coaches that have players on KO defense who can sort of "get off the blocks" quickly, they'll be more likely to use the high, directional kicks instead of taking the easy touchback?
One of my favorite fball scenarios is when the Silver Bullets KO return team tears down the field and destroys a helpless KO returner on the 9, 11, 14 yard line, etc. (I know, JT would be proud). Will those moments be much rarer now?
A squib kick may become the more creative part of the kickoff scheme. With the Bucks having a great defense, I wouldn't mind seeing on-side kicks on each kick off. This won't happen this year, but some coaches will gamble more with this new rule change.
Will not change the injury factor one bit. Will increase IMO as the high kickoff, as others mentioned, will be used repeatedly. The only time it will save a return is when the return team has a Ted Ginn type returner they want no part of and kick it deep.
Personally, I'd have the kicker blast it out the back of the end zone. 2 reasons... 1) if it happens to roll/bounce out of bounds, the opponent starts on the 40, and 2) it eliminates any chance of a return that hurts you (either by scoring or setting up great field position for the opponent).
the best way to cut down on the collisions would have been to go to the 35 and keep the 20 for a touchback. then everyone would bomb it and there would be no returns. boring but effective. although that is exactly the rule as of 10-15 years ago so really it would have just been going back to the previous rule.
LOL at the people making this rule. I'd be high angle/directional kicking it everywhere, which defeats the purpose of trying to reduce collisions. It's silly - football is supposed to be a tough man's collision sport. Quit trying to turn the game into some pussy shit.
Class of 2010.
Out the back, take the 25 yard line.
This.
If a team has a good kicker, under typical conditions (i.e., not against a stud returner), I'd ask the kicker to hit the ball high and try to drop it on the 2-yd line. The returner will be instructed to field that ball, since they won't want to risk a bad bounce.
Every once in a while, the returner will make a big play, but he'll also occasionally turn the ball over, too.
"Angry" teams with chips-on-their-shoulders should be looking at KO return defense as an opportunity to destroy fools and crush their hearts.