Danielle O’Malley, Editor-in-Chief
@domalley_
The opening whistle blew as the kicker raised his hand and ran towards the ball, wacking it to the opposite side of the field as his teammates charged to the receiving team. The crowd went wild as the kick returner stormed his way downfield, dodging defenders left and right, getting blocks that aided in his pursuit of the endzone. The stadium erupted when he was brought down at the hands of the kicking team, finally ending the thrilling opening play of the game.
Yeah, that doesn’t happen anymore. The NFL made what was once one of the most exciting plays of the game to, in my opinion, a total snoozefest. The new kickoff rules that are supposed to make the game “safer” and to encourage more touchbacks do just that. But truthfully, I’m just bored and at only five weeks into the season, I’m over it.
According to the NFL, the problem with the old kickoff rules was that they were more dangerous and left returners more susceptible to injuries, but more specifically, concussions. The old kickoff, which began at the 30 yard line, had the kicking team beginning their run right as the ball got kicked. However, this allowed for many high-speed collisions resulting in a concerning rise of concussions in the league.
With the new rules, the kickoff begins at the 35 yard line with the kicker standing on his own (yawn). The kicking and returning teams line up in a “setup zone” where they are not allowed a running start and can’t even begin moving until the ball has been received. The receiver stands in the “landing zone” which is between the 10 yard line and the end zone; if the ball is received in this zone, the returner is forced to run the ball out. However, I can count on two hands how many times I’ve actually seen the returner run out the ball as the ball is nearly always landing in the end zone.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: this is so completely boring and one of the coolest aspects of the game just got torn out of my hands. And I’m not the only one who feels this way. Many fans and even players have expressed their frustration with the new rules as the thrill and strategy that came with the play are now all gone. Critics of the rule argue that while safety is important, this extreme emphasis on it has watered down a dynamic aspect of football making the kickoff a much less impactful play on the game. Special teams players think this devalues their role on the field as they are doing significantly less than before since the frequency of meaningful returns has decreased.
I’m all for being safe and preventing injuries that can ruin both the career of a player but their life as well. However, there are other alternatives than taking away aspects of the game that have shaped it into what it is today. With the technology we have now and the amount of money the NFL has, there are other ways to ensure the safety of players on more dangerous plays. So, for the sake of maintaining the tradition of intense physicality, let’s stop creating rules that take away from what makes football football. If players are so concerned about their safety, they can throw on a guardian cap and any other protective gear and call it a day.
