The NFL launched the dynamic kickoff rule this season in an effort to not solely enhance the variety of kickoff returns, however to additionally scale back accidents that occur on these performs. Commissioner Roger Goodell believes the change is engaged on each fronts.
Goodell mentioned the adjustments on Saturday at a fan discussion board in London forward of Sunday’s recreation between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears.
In keeping with Goodell, over 30% of the kickoffs within the NFL this season have resulted in a return, a rise from the 20% the league noticed a yr in the past. There have been different positives to return from the brand new guidelines, too.
“With that enhance in returns, it is giving us extra knowledge to find out whether or not we will do it extra safely,” Goodell defined. “It really is extremely promising. We’re seeing decrease impacts which have led to much less extreme accidents and fewer variety of accidents. So I feel it is working,”
The brand new kickoff guidelines have a number of adjustments, with essentially the most vital being the 2 groups lining up 5 yards from one another and never being allowed to run till the ball is caught by a returner.
The touchback line has additionally been moved to the 30-yard line as an alternative of the 25 to incentivize groups not simply kicking the ball via the top zone.
The change is a one-year trial and Goodell envisions some potential tweaks sooner or later that would contain both shifting the kickoff line again so it isn’t as simple to place the ball into the top zone, to even perhaps additional adjustments to the place touchbacks would go.
Kickoffs had been reaching some extent the place they didn’t occur steadily sufficient, robbing followers of some of the thrilling performs in a soccer recreation, whereas additionally nonetheless producing excessive numbers of accidents. Plainly the league has discovered a method to repair each issues on the identical time, even when there are room for some extra tweaks to it sooner or later.
