Chiefs HC Andy Reid Is Very Concerned About The New Kickoff Rule Approved By NFL

The new kickoff rule, which permits offences to start from the 25-yard line if they call a fair catch from any position behind the line, has absolutely no support from Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid Is Very Concerned About The New Kickoff Rule Approved By NFL

At the league’s spring meetings, the NFL made some significant changes to how kickoffs will be handled. On kicks that are fairly caught inside the 25-yard line, the ball will now be deposited there.

“My thing is, where does it stop, right?” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday. “We’ll see how this goes. You don’t want to take too many pieces away and you’ll be playing flag football.”

Since the league relocated the touchback from the 20 to the 25-yard line, giving teams additional incentive to kneel the ball down after a kick, the kickoff-return percentage has been 38% in recent years.

The figures were horrifying. According to a league analysis, kickoffs were the cause of 12% of the concussions while making up just 6% of the plays. It’s hardly surprising that the NFL is aiming to eliminate kickoffs from the game after working so hard to cut down on concussions over the past ten years.

The NFL is still working to reduce the number of high-speed collisions that occur throughout the play. In an effort to reduce the number of concussions, the league has altered kickoffs in a variety of ways during the past ten years, including forbidding wedge blocks and preventing the kicking team from initiating rushing starts.

Reid isn’t the only one who doesn’t like the shift; Ravens coach John Harbaugh, a former special teams coordinator, isn’t either. He even claimed that the Ravens rejected it because they “thought there were better ideas.”

“The fair catch rule, we had a chance to weigh in on that with all the special teams coaches,” Harbaugh said, via Pro Football Talk. “We had a long talk and discussion about that. We weren’t for it. We voted against it. We think it’s going to create more high-speed head trauma than not having it in there. That’s our position on it. But we’ll see. They want to give it a shot and take a look at it.”

Dan Campbell, the head coach of the Lions, referred to the modification as “highly frustrating” and expressed open concern about the game’s identity.

“I hate that we continue to take away from the game,” Campbell added. “That’s what really worries me. We continue to bleed this. If we’re not careful, it won’t replenish at one point.”

The new kickoff rules undoubtedly have advantages and disadvantages. The rule change will likely result in fewer collisions on kickoff returns since it will undoubtedly reduce the number of returns, which is one of its key advantages. This is an important step in the league’s efforts to make the game safer.

 

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