LANDON WASHBURN, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Photo Courtesy of Jimmy DeBell
When we think of football, we think of the high-speed action and the bone-crushing hits. We all enjoy those types of plays, but they also make our hearts skip a beat. We sit in silence as we wait for both of the players to get up. Sometimes, they are unable to.
This offseason, the National Football League decided to make some changes to the game we all love. On March 26th, the NFL passed a one-year change for the kickoff play. Previously, on March 25th, the NFL banned the “hip-drop tackle.”
A hip-drop tackle is when a defensive player approaches from behind or the side and wraps his arms around the offensive player, becoming dead weight. NFL executive Jeff Miller states it poses a 25 times higher risk of injury than a normal tackle.
For the kickoff rule change, the ball will be kicked from your team’s 35-yard line, and safety kicks from your own 20, just like it is now. The kicking team will have ten players on the receiving team’s 40-yard line.
The receiving team must have at least nine players lined up between their 35- and 30-yard lines. There are no more fair catches. The ball must be returned if it lands between the receiving team’s goal line and the 20-yard line.
This is good for the NFL, teams and fans.
For the NFL, there will hopefully be fewer injuries throughout the game. The kickoff alone is one of the most dangerous plays in football. When a player gets tackled from behind, their legs roll up, which can be a serious injury. With the NFL having fewer injuries to players, more of the “stars” will play. When the “stars” play, the NFL gets more viewership and, therefore, more revenue. After all, it is a business.
For the teams and fans, a season can change in the blink of an eye with an injury.
It also adds more action to the game. The kickoff was almost deemed useless and unnecessary for the action-packed game. After week eight this past NFL season, 77.2% of kickoffs went for touchbacks.
This new rule gives teams so much more strategy to offer, not only for the receiving team but also for the kicking team.
Next season, the Miami Dolphins could put Tyreek Hill and De’Von Achane back to return kicks. Imagine trying to tackle those two when you have little to no momentum and 9-10 blockers in front of you; as a Buffalo Bills fan, that scares me.
Now, people say that these changes are bad for the game and that they’re taking away the football aspect. But this is a new era for football—a game that is safer with more star players playing and more scoring. This is a good chance for the NFL.
washbulj22@bonaventure.edu
