Funny but the one kick I saw that Green Bay forced the Eagles to play, they tackled the returner at the 15 yard line.
Nobody has had to do actual coverage on a kickoff for so long most teams forgot it could be done…
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About That New Kickoff After Week 1
So overwhelmingly the new kickoff has either been a dud leading to simply more touchbacks,
or at times there was a fumble on the return like by the Bears,
or a blown coverage such as that by the Bills that led to the first-ever kickoff return for touchdown of the new kickoff by DeeJay Dallas of the Cardinals.
Either of those quirky plays could have happened via the old kickoff.
I have three observations that I think will pertain for the most part to this new kickoff through at least October:
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As noted above, in low-scoring games, there’s very little or no incentive for the kicking team to roll the dice for an extra five or ten yards of field position when a team’s defence is playing solidly and is likely to get the ball back.
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Teams are wary now of having players injured seriously early in the season, unlike perhaps once we get into November when the weather at some outdoor games is wetter, colder, and windier when perhaps the kicking team could have a greater advantage for covering kicks landing in the landing zone.
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For a team very late in the game with a lead of more than 3 points and some other perceived advantage such as the wind at their backs, there could be situations in which they would have more incentive to kick the ball into the landing zone so as to make the receiving team waste precious time with a return along with the chance of of the kicking team gaining precious field position beyond the 30-yard line. Note also that not only has the surprise onside kick been eliminated and the announced onside kick restricted, so has the squib kick in such situations, with either with the result the same as if the kickoff were to go out of bounds - receiving team ball at the 40! (with the lone exception of an announced onside kick in ONLY the fourth quarter and ONLY by the trailing team)
In addition, I have a feeling that indoor teams are less likely to even bother to not kick for touchback at all later in the season.
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It sure looked weird to me, like something from a Twilight Zone episode but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
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I’m cross-linking Dr. Goalpost’s new video here so that I will remember to view it when I have down time at work:
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They want the “Kickoff” as the ceremonial start of the game. But fans were saying why do we kick it off? Its a nothing play. Why not just start with the ball on the 20?
But “The ball will be on the 20 yard line at 1:15” is just not “Kickoff at 1:15”.
So we will get a committee of 40 to try to fix it… 
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Wonderful video and outstanding editing Dr. Goalposts! I concur.
Dr. Coach @pbatty what say perhaps you later this weekend? I know you have a big game tonight, of course. What is the prognosis? Do you concur?
On discussion of solutions, I shall hold off on ideas and restate one core point as noted above.
The new kickoff is not only merely on a one-year trial, but I see NOTHING changing short of some abrupt decision to abort early should something go very wrong. We will be having this conversation in 2025 in the NFL offseason in any case.
As I have stated, I do agree with Mike Florio and others that the NFL owners simply are NOT interested in substantially more kick returns regardless of the format.
One major reason is that the NFL owners have to pay over US $1 Billion for that massive NFL Concussion class action lawsuit a decade ago, plus untold legal and administrative costs well into tens of millions, which I think a few fans under a certain age know nothing about or have forgotten.
If you have ever paid overdue debts or taxes or have broken something and owe damages, you never, ever forget the pain of paying that money.
I made some payments as agreed and on schedule on some taxes in the last two weeks, for example. Contrary to pandered American belief, paying my taxes did not make me feel like Hulk Hogan body-slamming some annoying bojack. Flushing a toilet has a better feeling to it, but I digress.
Kicking Laboratory Report September 2024
/Clutches Lab Coat
//Grabs and Sips Glass of Wine
///Puts on Lab Glasses
- Trick Kicks - In lieu of no more element of surprise on onside kicks and no more squib kicks either, there is the potential and opportunity for some kickers to try certain tricky kicks into the landing zone as would have the element of surprise. Of course these kicks carry higher risk and reward for the kicking team and are akin to trick plays or gadget plays, so now this early in the season, coaches of course go with more conservative calls for various reasons beyond merely on special teams.
- Cardinals #31 on Kickoff Return for Touchdown - I think you missed something in part on this otherwise great analysis of the first-ever return for touchdown by DeeJay Dallas of the Cardinals via the new kickoff in the NFL! Indeed the Bills botched their coverage anyway and the second return man, Cardinals #31, indeed did not assist in an early block as did another Cardinals player; however, starting at 4:10 on a key block by Cardinals #16, you overlooked that Cardinals #31 did make not only the last block on Bills #21, who had speed and angle, but also was in the right position in the way of big and fast Bills #85, who was making heavy ground but obstructed. As a result after also outrunning the feisty Bills kicker #2 sprinting from behind, DeeJay Dallas had JUST ENOUGH yardage to perform a celebratory Superman dive into the end zone!
(Also noteworthy was the Bills kicker #2 going SPLAT out of bounds displaying his clear agony of defeat!)
*
- Background Music - I love the choice of “Soothing Surf” music, not to be confused with Yacht Rock. Screw that. And your volume was perfect too I thought! Whatever you are doing on audio, don’t change much or anything at all but for switching up the background music! Anyway, I know it’s hard to find open source sound so as to not have a copyright violation. Anyway, for what it’s worth, ride the wave.
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This is an awesome reply. Thanks so much for the kind words and extra analysis on that kickoff 
It’s tough to find constructive criticism these days and your points are extremely well thought out.
I’m also pretty happy with the audio. Not too shabby for a $40 mic off Amazon 
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Hello Guys,
Sorry for the delayed response to the question at hand. Coached an away game on Friday night and then had to turn around the next morning and drive 6 hours to my son’s college game for a 1pm kick off on Saturday. I made sure to include that word “kick off” because I know that means something in the football world. It is an essential part of the sport’s identity. I have had this conversation with many. One of the local college coaches I have talked to has predicted that someday he sees a football world in which their are no kick offs. I have a different opinion. Anyone who has been to a major college or professional game has felt the absolute energy and excitement that fills the stadium with the anticipated approach of a kick off to start the game. There is nothing like it. It is a primal, communal moment of unification. It is part of the humanity that makes the game so great and why I love it. With that being said, I cannot envision a football world in which kick offs are eliminated. I am inclined to believe that NFL rule that is currently in place is here to stay. There might be some minor adjustments down the road. I am very much convinced that my kicker son will play a college game with this rule in the near future. Although the sport of football can be at times progressive, I think that its nature is very conservative. (not talking politics) Football is slow to change even in the face science, business and economics. The kick off is part of the culture of football. How to tweak the current NFL rule so that everyone is happy? Mmmm. Not sure right now. The kick off though contributes too much to the culture of football and the culture of fandom. I cannot see it going away.
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Well for now at least the CFL and college and high school still have kickoffs the same and the UFL has them such that almost all kicks are returned, lest the kicker screw up and kick the ball out of bounds.
On with the rest of this for the NFL this season and beyond.
I agree with most that the kickoff should stay in place. I am concerned though because there are no guarantees.
One thing the NFL might do though is copy the CFL after field goals and have the ball placed at the 30-yard line. I’m not in favour of that move, but I would not be surprised.
One difference I would prefer, which is the case effectively now via easy touchbacks, is that if even if the default after a field goal were to the 30-yard line, the KICKING team would still retain the option to kickoff and it would NOT be the choice of the team who gave up the score.
I’m a big fan against free yardage at the option of a team giving up a score in American football. The scoring team should always have first choice to either kickoff or to scrimmage.
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“Needs more touchback”
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So the new rule to ban the hip-drop / swinging tackle has already run into problems.
Quite simply, it does not seem that most officials understand when to throw the flag.
Via the video in this CBS link, this tackle on which Houston RB Joe Mixon was seriously injured, that’s a textbook example yet there was no flag on the play.
Several hip-drop tackles have been spotted in games over the first two weeks of the season, but yellow handkerchiefs have remained in the zebras’ pockets. In fact, sources told CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones the league identified two hip-drop tackles that should have been called as penalties in Week 1.
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It was predicted by many that the officials would have some difficulty identifying hip drop tackles at game speed and that appears to be the case so far. If the rule is to be successful and fairly implemented I expect it will take some time. You can bet that all officials are being shown video of the missed calls this week and perhaps even being given an updated tutorial.
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Some open thinking on the future of the kickoff in gridiron football in general is at hand here.
I find it quite telling that a whole lot of fans here in the US expect the NFL to lead way on this front of safer play alone, which the NFL is doing regardless in its business and brand interests beyond safety considerations at hand, when otherwise we are not seeing changes made at the high school level or in the NCAA on this front for safer play on kickoffs.
Like I stated before, when anybody like the NFL owners have paid a very large bill of over $1B once already in their time for a legal settlement associated with concussions, that’s one experience they are quite simply NOT going to repeat as much as they can help it.
But that’s not the situation yet at a state at the high school level, and it’s still not the situation via the NCAA, though with the current bill of the House college athlete compensation case well into billions for the NCAA and the conferences, well they might have a change of heart before too long so as to mitigate legal liability. More is in the NCAA Pro Football thread on that matter.
Here’s a good summary of that NCAA case that will likely inspire many other changes by the NCAA, the conferences, and the schools to run like a professional league, which they have been for decades anyway:
As usual, some fans of those levels of play find it easy to wag the finger at the NFL about safer play because “it’s somebody else’s job before mine.”
To be clear, I personally favour only incremental changes to the existing standard kickoff with the jury still out for me on the current NFL experiment.
I can say already though that I do NOT favour the same style new kickoff, as under experiment in the NFL, in any other league.
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Wish List for 2025 NFL Kickoff (and Beyond)
Here’s my first take. I’m sure there will be changes later, especially in the next off-season.
If the new kickoff format currently under trial is NOT extended by the NFL,
here are the rules I would favour in the NFL and similarly at all other levels such as high school and college football.
In the end we have much of the same but even fewer kickoff returns than before, which of course is the main business, branding, and legal impetus for the NFL owners to have even bothered to make changes from back when the kickoff was at the 30-yard line and other changes ever since that time.
All Kickoffs from the 35-Yard Line
4th Quarter and Overtime Periods = Same As Old Rules,
Except for Safety Scored as Noted Below (note that a safety scored in overtime ends the game)
Opening Kickoff and Second Half Kickoff = Same As Old Rules
Here we preserve all the old strategy such as squib kicks and even a surprise onside kicks, which can also take place when possible as noted below.
Touchback At 25-Yard Line
1st, 2nd, 3rd Quarters
Field Goal Scored =
Team scored against gets ball at their own 25 OR
elects to receive kickoff
(most teams will elect to just take the ball)
Safety Scored =
Team scoring chooses to kick off from 20-yard line OR
elects non-scoring team to have ball at their own 35
(most teams will elect not to kickoff from their own 20)
Touchdown Scored and After Convert Attempt
Scoring team chooses whether to kickoff OR
team scored against gets ball at their own 25
A touchdown rewards the SCORING team with ALL options, including such as not having to kickoff into a strong wind and vice versa.
In the end, we will still have in aggregate fewer kickoffs without all these gimmicks.
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I’m cross-linking this one here. There is a long way to go on player safety beyond merely helmet improvements and changes in kickoffs and so forth.
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Cross-linking here
Replay Review On Catches Inbounds:
When It Worked Before Without It, and When It Does Not Work Now
I agree to a large degree. The officials are 99% correct on those calls - in every league.
The problem is - they show it in slow mo on TV and people don’t realize that in say 4k at 60 frames a second - that frame is 16 milliseconds and sometimes you could ask 5 guys for an opinion and get 5 answers.
But like the fumble or incompletion that was reviewed in the CFL this weekend, watch it at full speed and it’s hard to see anything that says it was a bad call on the field. Slow it down and start questioning did he secure the ball?
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I am torn on this one after watching the replay. The key thing to note is not in slow motion but at real speed, for the video clip as linked via Twitter is slowed down.
It could go either way via the official there, but it’s better to err on the side of no call on such a hit that is not above the shoulders, and the NFL agrees and admits the error.
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I’m going to cross-link this one here too:
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What they need is a few former film analysts instead of rules officials to do review. They can probably work in near real time reviewing the game…
And automated player count, false start and encroachment calls.
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