So I'm picking the kids up from school today and listening to the am radio and they are discussing the fact that the NFL is considering nixing the kickoffs to start the game and after touchdowns due to injuries! I'm a big fan of not doing so, didn't hear exactly how it would work after touchdowns but apparently the scoring team would retain possession until they are stopped on downs. Starting back at their 20 or something. Anyway just wanted to see what others think of this.
NFL to do away with kickoffs!
- Thread starter James
- Start date
I will quit watching football if they stay screwing with the game. It is one thing to enforce rules, it is another thing to eliminate a part of the game. And a very exciting part to boot!
they've talked about it for the past couple years I believe. It'd be a stupid move, hopefully it continues to just be talk.
I've heard it on and off for a while now, but since other rule changes started happening maybe this will happen..... Idk
Greg
BoM October 2006
Simply put, it will ruin the game. There will be no more kick returns for TDs, probably the most exciting play in football, and no onside kicks, which are essential to late-game strategy.
I hadn't heard the part about the scoring team keeping the ball. The whole idea is ridiculous, but this part is the worst of the ideas. Any time I've heard the rumor it was speculated they'd go to a punt instead of a kickoff after scores and at the beginning of halves. Still don't like that but I could probably live with it as you could still have return TDs.
In many ways I wish football was more like baseball in that baseball fights change tooth and nail. I can understand safety concerns and making changes to protect players but the game has new rules every single year and it's frustrating at times. Eliminating the kicking game would change things completely and not for the better. My 2 cents.
Perhaps taking away gard body armour and crash helmets and going for a rugby style scrum cap instead may lesson some of the injuries.
Having all that may make the player feel invincible which may be why the injuries are rising.
But what do i know we play rugby this side of the pond !
Having all that may make the player feel invincible which may be why the injuries are rising.
But what do i know we play rugby this side of the pond !
For the most part, I'd argue that recent rule changes are for the better. 2-point conversions have added an extra layer to the game. Instant replay gives us, as fans, a better chance of seeing the game decided on the field as opposed to by bad calls. New defensive pass interference rules have invigorated the passing game and made the game more "dynamic".
Additionally, rules put in place to increase safety - hits to the head, hits to defenseless receivers, blows to a quarterback - are a necessary evil. These players have gotten too big and too strong and too fast to not put guidelines in place to protect their safety. There are ways to improve safety that would not impact gameplay - ie padded helmets, etc - but the NFL is actually too slow, IMO, to act because they like the "sounds of the NFL" and such.
There is actually strong arguments in favor of what you mention. The belief is that all the padding and helmets provide the player a sense of false security and by removing or reducing the padding and helmets, the players would be less likely to 'treat their body like a weapon'.