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NCAA Approves New Kickoff Rule

get'em_griz said:
:roll:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/NCAA_FCS/status/984876009936904192[/tweet]
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Might quibble with the yard line (20 might be better), but this one I have no particular problem with. Since a kickoff is a "live" ball, the receiver pretty much has to catch it wherever it comes down. But the temptation to field a ball, rather than call a fair catch, inside the 15-20 yard line has to be huge ... even though trying to run with it has a lot of injury risk. And I assume the rule does not say the receiver can't try to make a run-back ... if he thinks poor kick coverage allows it.
 
So fucking stupid.... Ruining the game... I retract my statement about it becoming soccer. Football is now becoming golf.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
And I assume the rule does not say the receiver can't try to make a run-back ... if he thinks poor kick coverage allows it.
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You do realize that if the return man does not signal for a fair catch he will probably attempt a run-back.
 
I'm guessing we're going to see a lot of low line drive kicks to prevent fair catches. The other side to this is if a team has a solid returner they are still going to turn them loose.
 
dirtysoup said:
I'm guessing we're going to see a lot of low line drive kicks to prevent fair catches. The other side to this is if a team has a solid returner they are still going to turn them loose.
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Agree with the second part ... that won't change. But would slightly change the wording to "solid return game," meaning a great return runner with solid ST play out in front.

The other part is more problematic, IMO. Unless you mean a low-enough line drive so the ball hits and skips high before it can be fielded. That would open up some good possibilities, but it also risks a bounce out of bounds and even better field position for the receiving team. A regular line drive that could be fielded cleanly would actually favor the receiver, since the team kicking off will have less time to get down in coverage.

As the rule stands now, it basically concedes the 25-yard line to the receiving team. It will be interesting to see how teams finally do deal with that.
 
I may not be understanding the rule, but it seems to me that it does away with a punter's ability to pin the receiving team deep in their own territory. This is always an exciting play, when a punt gives the ball to the receiving team on its own 5 or even 1-yard line.
 
Grizzoola said:
I may not be understanding the rule, but it seems to me that it does away with a punter's ability to pin the receiving team deep in their own territory. This is always an exciting play, when a punt gives the ball to the receiving team on its own 5 or even 1-yard line.
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Not totally sure, but the wording suggests that this rule applies to kickoffs, not punts.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
Grizzoola said:
I may not be understanding the rule, but it seems to me that it does away with a punter's ability to pin the receiving team deep in their own territory. This is always an exciting play, when a punt gives the ball to the receiving team on its own 5 or even 1-yard line.
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Not totally sure, but the wording suggests that this rule applies to kickoffs, not punts.
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Yeah I believe the new rule applies just to kickoffs. On punts, you at least have blockers at the line to give the returner time to return without having 11 guys running right at you full speed.
 
Hasn't a fair catch on a kick off always been legal? I could be wrong and like a good Canadian will accept my correction and say "sorry".
 
SaskGriz said:
Hasn't a fair catch on a kick off always been legal? I could be wrong and like a good Canadian will accept my correction and say "sorry".
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Yes, a fair catch has always been allowed on the kickoff. Before this change, the receiving team got the ball wherever the fair catch was made (like at the 5-yard line, or out at the 30) ... unless it was in the end zone for a touchback. On a touchback, the ball was brought out to the 25-yard line, where the offense would start (used to be the 20-yard line, but they changed that five or six years ago). Now, on any fair catch made inside the 25-yard line, the offense will start at the 25-yard line.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
SaskGriz said:
Hasn't a fair catch on a kick off always been legal? I could be wrong and like a good Canadian will accept my correction and say "sorry".
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Yes, a fair catch has always been allowed on the kickoff. Before this change, the receiving team got the ball wherever the fair catch was made (like at the 5-yard line, or out at the 30) ... unless it was in the end zone for a touchback. On a touchback, the ball was brought out to the 25-yard line, where the offense would start (used to be the 20-yard line, but they changed that five or six years ago). Now, on any fair catch made inside the 25-yard line, the offense will start at the 25-yard line.
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Thanks. I wonder how long it will be before teams start teaching their kickers to tee a ball high and try to hang it up between the 40 and 25 and let their guys go down and compete for it? Risk vs Reward.
 
SaskGriz said:
... Thanks. I wonder how long it will be before teams start teaching their kickers to tee a ball high and try to hang it up between the 40 and 25 and let their guys go down and compete for it? Risk vs Reward.
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Good point. The "high fly ball" has been a part of the on-side kick package for quite some time now. It would not surprise me to see more "long" on-side kicks tried. Either the "doink" that hits the ground hard and then tumbles high overhead, or the short loop aimed for a gap in the receiver formation. Since the receiving team will most often get the ball at the 25-yard line anyway, the risk of them getting at, say, the 30-35 yard line might be worth the chance for guys on the kicking team to recover it down there.
 
Another classic case of the NCAA (National Communists Against Athletes) trying to fix something that wasn't broken. How often does/will this occur? The only time I can see this being utilized is in the final minute of the first half and the receiving team is ready for halftime and is gonna take a knee anyways or late in the 4th with the winning team being conservative. Otherwise if you don't trust your KR to get the ball past the 25 after receiving the ball outside the End-Zone, he shouldn't be back there.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
"...but it also risks a bounce out of bounds and even better field position for the receiving team."
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The '97 Griz-cat game in Bozeman, the infamous 'Geoff Grochelle' play. Griz down by one, 22 seconds left. I remember it well. :lol:
 
statler & waldorf said:
IdaGriz01 said:
"...but it also risks a bounce out of bounds and even better field position for the receiving team."
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The '97 Griz-cat game in Bozeman, the infamous 'Geoff Grochelle' play. Griz down by one, 22 seconds left. I remember it well. :lol:
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I only remember that game as the "Kris Heppner" kick, and had long forgotten the loser MSU kicker that kicked it out of bounds, but I suppose Grochelle does deserve to be remembered for the dumbest moment in MSU history.
 
Idiotic rule. Things were ok. Like the punt, the kickoff could be used to nail a team as far back as possible. Hell, if safety of the players is the issue, do away w/ the kickoff. Just spot the ball on the 25 each time. Far as that goes, do away w/ ST play, entirely. Look at scrimmages open to public: no live STs play, but still fun to watch.
 
Grizzoola said:
Hell, if safety of the players is the issue, do away w/ the kickoff. Just spot the ball on the 25 each time. .
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That is the direction they are trying to go. It would seem they decided to take little steps to get there instead of diving in head first.
 
The evolution of modern football. Doing what it or may be required to make it safe Do wonder when the tipping point arrives creating “football” as a new sport. Soccer anyone?
 
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