How the NFL kickoff redesign changed the old play

HostIt used to be the perfect time to go grab a drink or check your phone. The kicker would boot the ball out of the end zone, the whistle would blow, and we would all wait for the real game to start. But now, when you watch a game, the kickoff looks like a completely different sport. People are standing in weird spots, nobody is moving, and then all of a sudden, it's a mess of bodies. What was the breaking point that made the league throw out a play they had used for a hundred years?

GuestIt came down to a simple but scary fact. For years, the kickoff was the most dangerous play in football. If you look at the numbers, a player was much more likely to get a head injury on a kickoff than on a regular play from the line of scrimmage. The reason for that's pretty easy to see if you think about the old way. You had guys on the kicking team who were world class sprinters. They would get a twenty yard running start and then fly forty yards down the field at top speed. On the other side, you had blockers running back to meet them. It was like two cars hitting each other at sixty miles an hour. These weren't just tackles. They were high speed crashes. The league tried to tweak it for years by moving the kick spot up or changing where the blockers could stand, but the head hits just stayed way too high.

HostBut if the goal was just to stop those big hits, why not just get rid of the play entirely? There were a lot of people saying they should just give the ball to the other team at the twenty five yard line and be done with it.

GuestThat was a real fear for fans who love the tradition of the game. But the league had another problem they had to solve at the same time. While the play was dangerous, it was also becoming boring. Because the league moved the kick spot up to the thirty five yard line a while back, most kickers could easily kick the ball through the uprights. Last year, almost eighty percent of kickoffs ended in a touchback. That meant the ball just went into the end zone and the play was over without anything happening. It was dead time. So, the league was in a spot where their most dangerous play was also their most pointless play. They wanted to find a way to make it worth watching again while taking the high speed crashes out of the picture. They ended up looking at what a smaller league, the XFL, was doing and basically copied their homework.

HostIt still feels like a lot to learn as a fan. Everyone is lined up way down the field now, and they're standing so close to each other. It looks like they're waiting for a bus. How does that change the safety part of it?

GuestThe biggest change is that running start. In the new version, the kicker is still back at his own thirty five yard line, but his ten teammates are way down at the other end of the field. They're lined up on the opponent's forty yard line. The blockers for the other team are standing just five yards away from them. This is the key. Since they're only five yards apart, nobody can build up that terrifying head of steam. You don't have those sixty mile an hour crashes anymore because nobody has the room to reach top speed. It turns the play into something that looks more like a run play at the line of scrimmage. It's more about shoving and positioning than about flying through the air like a human missile. Plus, nobody on those two lines can move until the ball is either caught or hits the ground. It keeps the whole thing under control until the last possible second.

HostI get the safety part of it, but does this actually make it more fun to watch? It seems like it might just be more clutter in the middle of the field.

GuestWell, the league added some rules to make sure the ball actually gets returned. They created what they call the landing zone. This is the area between the goal line and the twenty yard line. The kicker has to hit that spot. If he kicks it short of the twenty, it's a penalty and the other team gets the ball at the forty yard line. If he kicks it into the end zone for a touchback, the other team gets it at the thirty. That thirty yard line start is a big deal because it's better than what teams used to get. It's like the league is poking the kicker and saying, hey, don't just boot it out of bounds. Give the returner a chance to run. They want the ball in the hands of those fast players who can make a big play. They're betting that by making the touchback more costly, we'll see more returns, more highlights, and more excitement.

HostIt sounds like the kicker has a much harder job now. They used to just have to be strong. Now they have to be accurate, like they're playing golf with a football.

GuestThey really do. A kicker who just has a big leg isn't as useful anymore. Now, you need a guy who can hang the ball high in the air and land it right on the five yard line so the returner has to catch it. And there's a weird side effect. Since the kicker is the only one who can move before the ball is caught, he's often the first line of defense if the returner breaks through. We might actually see more kickers having to make real tackles this year. It turns them into an actual eleventh defender instead of just a guy who kicks and then hides.

HostThose kickers better start practicing their form if they don't want to get run over by a returner in the open field.

GuestThe kicker is definitely going to have more dirt on his jersey by the end of the game than he ever did under the old rules.

HostIt's a big shift, but maybe now we can actually stay on the couch instead of heading to the kitchen when the kicking team runs out.

GuestThe league is counting on the fact that a play with less speed can actually have more life.

HostThat snack break is going to have to wait for a time out.