Before this NFL season began, a rule was implemented into the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that moved kickoffs up to the 35-yard line with the intention of cutting down on the number of serious injuries that seemed to happen at least once in every game played.
Despite good intentions, fans and the media immediately jumped all over the new policy, angrily exclaiming that this new rule would ruin a part of the sport many find to be the most exciting aspect of the NFL.
Even some NFL players have voiced their disapproval of the new rule. Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears and Josh Cribbs of the Cleveland Browns, two of the most dynamic return men in the league, have been quite outspoken about their dislike of the new rule.
“They got a couple touchbacks, but you've still got guys bringing it out -- and at the end of the day that rule is pointless,” Hester said. “It’s not going to prevent concussions because guys are bringing it out five to eight yards deep in the end zone. We're still coming out with it. And that's taking away from some of the fun in the NFL because guys are going to bring it out regardless.”
Hester’s point: he believes the new rule is preventing dynamic playmakers like himself and Cribbs from doing their job. The problem with his argument, though, is that the number of returns for touchdowns in the first week of the season was the same this year (three) as it was last year.
And although Hester’s point about there being more touchbacks with this rule (49% of kickoffs resulted in touchbacks in Week 1), the three kickoff returns tied a record for most returns in one week, so the dynamic plays don’t seem to have disappeared like some thought they would.
Anyone who saw Green Bay rookie Randall Cobb’s 108-yard kickoff return on opening night against the New Orleans Saints should have a hard time believing the new kickoff rule has ruined the game. Actually, it seems to have made kickoffs more exciting.
Under the new rule, players have to decide whether they want to risk taking the ball out of the endzone or if they want to take the easy way out and kneel for a touchback. Obviously, touchbacks aren’t too exciting, but when a player does decide to take it out, that’s when the possibilities are endless.
The three kickoff returns we’ve seen this year have been three of the most exciting plays thus far in the young NFL season: Cobb’s was 108 yards, San Francisco 49er Ted Ginn Jr.’s was 102 yards and Minnesota Viking Percy Harvin’s was 103.
“I got an opportunity to go out and show what I had,” Ginn said. “It's great. You do it on the video game a lot, but you don't see it a lot in real life.”
Exactly. The new rule is forcing the players to catch the ball deeper in their endzone. Now they have to consider the risk.
But if they take that risk and return it 100+ yards to the end-zone, that’s the reward. For the players and the fans.