The NFL’s new kickoff rules are expected to bring back one of the game’s most exciting plays while reducing the risk of injury by reducing high-speed collisions. The plan is to use an XFL-style setup to provide possibilities for returning men.
Except not.
One factor that may limit the return team’s actions is that the NFL allows coverage units to start chasing the ball as soon as it hits the ground. or When the returner touches the ball (like XFL). The XFL has too many false starts and misjudgments of time of possession. Coverage teams will try to start the clock when the receiver catches the ball, but it often jumps early, disrupting the flow of the game.
“These rules basically incentivize you to make … the weirdest, weirdest kicks you can make,” one NFL special teams coach told The Athletic. “Any ball that can hit the ground now has artificial hang time. So these rules are incentivizing all kinds of different squibs and wild kicks. Things are going to be as — as shown.
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Learn about the NFL’s new kickoff rule and what it means for next season
Part of the reason for the big change to kickoff times is to make the game a spectacle again, but if teams can consistently put the ball in the ground and screw up games, the league may consider adjusting the rule. In practice, teams find it nearly impossible to block anyone when the ball hits the ground.
That’s part of the reason the Kansas City Chiefs are experimenting with former football star Louis Reese-Zammit and safety Justin Reid as kickers. The kick doesn’t have to be of high quality, if the kick lands in the right area it will create this artificial dwell time.
(Drew Jordan / athletics)
Another reason is that kickers are more involved in tackles. Longtime Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub estimates that XFL kickers are involved in 25 to 40 percent of the tackles on kickoffs — and even if they don’t make the tackle themselves, they still have to do their part. A force that causes the returner to change direction. Given the value of a good kicker, special teams coaches may want to keep them out of harm’s way.
The returning teams in the XFL have some creativity, but most are average and don’t have many big returns. Adding a second returner and having better players to work with could open up the possibility for more creativity. But once new rules are adopted, people may be less willing to deviate from regular returns. Special teams coaches are inherently conservative because their units’ mistakes are often magnified.
While the new rules may fail, there’s still plenty to be optimistic about as coaches use OTAs and will use training camps to find the best strategies. While some teams may want to play it safe, there are many who will try to find an advantage.
The team knew the new rules could open up a world of strategy. Special teams coaches will continue to work hard throughout the season, but one thing is for sure: everyone is learning. Post-OTA, the team knows more, but the experimentation and information-gathering process continues.
“Teams that can solve the problem of kickoffs and kickoff returns are going to be great early on,” Toub said in May. “We want to be that team.”
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The Chiefs embrace innovative thinking under head coach Andy Reid, which is why their signing of Reece Zammit is interesting. Toub said they have tried to use Rees-Zammit as kicker and Returner.
The new kickoff format requires a different type of returner. Returners are usually small, mobile and adept at moving in open spaces. Now, with every member of the coverage unit on a line, more running back body types will return the ball. The new returners must be able to get upfield, break arm tackles and get through the first level just like they did across the offensive line. Additionally, since the NFL allows two returners instead of one like the XFL, the returner who doesn’t get the ball has to be a good blocker.
The signing of Rees-Zammit got me thinking about whether some rugby strategies could be applied to the new kickoff returns. I contacted some football coaches and an NFL special teams coordinator to see if some of these ideas might work. I interviewed Golden State Retrievers head coach Kelly Griffin, former NFL head coach Gary Gold and former UK rugby star Mike Tindall.
The new kickoff format provides more space for receivers because the kickoff team can’t start until the ball is caught or dropped. So there’s an initial buffer period for some creative moves with the returners.
An interesting idea is to use so-called switches.
😍 Not much better than the classic Switch game ending!pic.twitter.com/8EtuOuuE8k
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) January 11, 2024
Griffin devised a play in which the return team would leave an interior defender unblocked, allow the returner to steer him in one direction, and then execute the switch. This is similar to the game of hook and ladder in football.
(Drew Jordan / athletics)
The first XFL touchdown return was essentially a conversion, but if you leave a coverage player unblocked like Griffin’s design did, you can get a double team at the point of attack, or get a kicker block. Additionally, this may be easier to execute for the second returner, as he will be closer to the receiving returner and may even be able to get into position for an option throw.
One NFL special teams coach I spoke with believes throwbacks will be more common.
“I like vintage because they’re very low-risk,” he said. “So I think you’re going to see more vintage pieces this year than in the last 20 years combined.”
It’s time for 𝕎𝕖𝕖𝕜 𝟙𝟚 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕖𝕖𝕜.
we give you @UMichFootballof @mikebarrett_MB1-arrive-@AJ Henning 3 Stunt kick returned for a TD. 💥
📍 @老trapper pic.twitter.com/91rqNCfqgm
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 21, 2021
If the return is poorly executed, the returner will have a longer recovery distance, but the front blocker’s job will be more confusing because once the coverage team starts, they will only be about 5 yards apart. There isn’t much time to deliver twists and switch versions.
“Every time we practice, we learn something new,” Toub said. “I write a script and it looks great on paper – but you can’t do it. You can’t get to certain neighborhoods you think you can get to, so you throw it away. That’s the next thing.
One coach compared trying to block covering teams to trying to cover receivers in the low red zone, where teams send out a lot of guys and have to have techniques or systems in place to deliver passes.
Blocking on the front end will be key to the team’s ability to be creative on the back end. Still, if the returner can get in position and everyone else can be reasonably blocked, the idea of giving one guy the freedom to make a potential lateral or option throw is interesting.
On the bright side, the team is getting a lot of reps in practice since kickoffs now have lower impact and shorter distances that players have to run. Special teams personnel who can figure out the most effective ways to kick, screen, block and return kicks will have a big advantage over teams that fall behind. The learning process will definitely continue throughout the season as well.
(Above: Dan Goldfarb / Competitor; Photos: Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection and Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)
