New Kickoff/Return rules

I dig it! We actually ran our KO drills based on the XFL design last season. Being that I was the ST Coordinator, some of the guys on the staff balked at first, but after seeing it run...they liked that it limited the big hits in practice.

 

Did all your kids suddenly start wearing dresses and insisting you use the correct pronouns? I've been told repeatedly that is what always happens.

 

At least they're trying to keep it alive. I was wondering if they'd kill it and add a 6th eligible receiver to make up the roster numbers.

 

Under the new rules, Steve Smith would have scored 1-2 return TDs per game.

 

It's a great change compared to the dogshit system they've been using over the last several years, but that doesn't make it good. It just clears the very low bar we've set for the NFL. Any rule that still involves physical contact is now considered Chuck Bednarik-level badassery. This league is amazing at playing "just the tip" on us, which is why we'll continue to watch even as it evolves into flag football.


Also, Cyberjag is right about returns potentially getting out of hand, especially now that common forms of tackling are being outlawed. People who are loving this are going to start hating it very quickly if it's having an outsized impact on games. Fans and commentators are going to be apoplectic if Raheem Blackshear becomes a more valuable player than Bryce Young (or whichever quarterback the Panthers are using in two years). So, rather than a new kickoff, this feels more like the last stop before outlawing the play altogether.

 

The tackling rules are horseshit...but if you watched the XFL at all, this change isn't that bad. It takes away some high speed, high impact hits.
The way we did KOR was the front 8 would RETREAT, RESET AND ENGAGE at the 35...block the leverage you have and create running lanes for the return man. The XFL method eliminates the RETREAT and RESET phase.
We had more TD returns the previous year with a 4.4 40 guy back there. But, statistically, had better starting field position last season.

 

That's all good, but in the NFL, I think you're just going to see most coverage teams kicking it out of the endzone. The extra five yards on touchbacks isn't a major deal, and since NFL teams have limited practice time, it's going to be hard to institute new coverage rules. Better to just have a predictable opponent starting field position and then work on the more important stuff.

 

Someone said on a podcast that Rugby outlawed the hip drop tackle years ago, and it has been for the better. Can anyone verify that?

 

No one watches rugby

 

I played intramural rugby in college. Football itself is based a large part on the rugby form. Lots of 185 pound pro football players would never survive in rugby. The Tush Push is a paired down rugby scrum. The old school run game idea of "3 yards and a cloud of dust" is rugby.