New Proposed Kick-Off Rule

[milani]

I'll take 97% returns over 22 % any day. Way more excitement and way more potential for big plays. I don't get why its so laughable. Its different and its not what you are used to but to play the what if game what if this is the way it always was and they just switched to what we are all used to. Would that be laughable?

I keep going back to my premise that football is 80% the same game it was since any one of us started watching. Some minor rules changes and a few tweaks but the goal has never changed. I love a strong running game and good defense. I'm less enthused about the explosion of offense (although I understand why people like it) but what it has done is make me appreciate a really good running back (a Derrick Henry type) and a strong defense even more. Trends may have changed toward more offense and passing but IMO the game has not changed that much. Teams passed the ball 50 years ago, they just pass it more now.

Desmond Howard does not return the ball for the game icer in SB 31 with the current rule. When I saw those kickoffs Saturday I hearkened back to my youth of the early 60s playing in the front yard and kicking off between 2 driveways. Exciting. But if that is what they like so be it.

 

[sschind]

Desmond Howard does not return the ball for the game icer in SB 31 with the current rule. When I saw those kickoffs Saturday I hearkened back to my youth of the early 60s playing in the front yard and kicking off between 2 driveways. Exciting. But if that is what they like so be it.

I still think quadrupling the number of kickoffs is going to make the game more exciting.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I still think quadrupling the number of kickoffs is going to make the game more exciting.

If the Packers quadruple their number of kickoffs, that would be great, and a sign of them having one hell of a season! I just hope the opponents don't too!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Some changes to rules were made for 2025:

The kickoff format that we saw in 2024 will remain, but a touch back puts the ball at the 35. Appears they want to see more returns.

Also, the OT rules adopted for the playoffs, will go into effect for all regular season games as well. This being that the game doesn't end if the 1st team to possess the ball in OT scores a TD on that first drive.

Replay assist is being broadened, as well as they are finally using technology to determine if the ball is spotted for a first down or not. I would still like to see the ball be spotted correctly after every play, using technology to determine where that spot should be.

The Eagles T*sh Push was discussed, but at this time, no rule changes regarding it.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/01/sport/****-push-ban-eagles-nfl-owners-meeting-spt-intl/index.html

 

[Thirteen Below]

as well as they are finally using technology to determine if the ball is spotted for a first down or not.

Wow. What technology? Do you know? Cuz that's not going to be as easy a task as a lot of people think.

I guess I can just google....

Edit: Oh.... maybe not as high-tech as we thought.... all they're doing is getting rid of the chain gang, so no more manual measurements.

Now why the hell would they do that? That takes away a lot of the excitement. This one is just stupid and unnecessary, all so they can squeeze in 5 or 6 more commercials per game.

"The new system would not have altered that outcome, as referees will still have to use their own judgment to place the ball before the Hawk-Eye cameras can measure whether it reached a first down.


A technological system that can reliably and accurately place the ball does not yet exist, officials say. At a press conference in February, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said developing such a technology was "complicated."

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/01/nx-s1-5347990/nfl-first-downs-measurements-hawk-eye

 

[milani]

Wow. What technology? Do you know? Cuz that's not going to be as easy a task as a lot of people think.

I guess I can just google....

And how time consuming is it?

 

[El Guapo]

NFL announces use of virtual measurement technology for first downs

Initial ball placement will still remain in the hands of on-field referees, but six 8K cameras will now confirm the spot of the placement.

www.nytimes.com

According to the release, the full operational process takes 30 seconds, saving about 40 seconds off the manual chain measurement. The chain system will remain on the field “in a secondary capacity,” according to the NFL.

The move also coincides with the league’s decision to add an additional 12 fixed cameras along sidelines, end lines and goal lines to bolster the amount of angles for replay officials.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

NFL announces use of virtual measurement technology for first downs

Initial ball placement will still remain in the hands of on-field referees, but six 8K cameras will now confirm the spot of the placement.

www.nytimes.com

I worry just a bit about the "12 additional cameras", and if it's impact is to make review time even longer.

I would prefer adding a dedicated replay review referee in a booth somewhere who can look at the play in question and radio the call down to the field...It seems so often that viewers at home see the play two or three times and know what the call should be while the ref is still running over to the sideline to watch the play on some tiny little screen. Just not efficient.

 

[El Guapo]

Hopefully the 12 additional cameras means that we are more likely to get a good view relatively quickly. A few more seconds to find the right camera angle, but then time saved by not having to watch a marginal view repeatedly to determine the right call.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I worry just a bit about the "12 additional cameras", and if it's impact is to make review time even longer.

This seems to be a common fear of fans "Don't make the games longer". I guess I am fine if a game lasts an extra 15 minutes, if it means getting calls correct. That way I don't have to spend hours after the game, debating a bad call and its impact on the game.

Seriously though. There are so many ways that the NFL and broadcasters can keep the games to 3 hrs. or less, have better reviews AND still sneak in all the commercials to pay for the process. Networks have gotten lazy and rigid on the structure of when the ads are run. Think outside the box. They just need to run ads during some of the reviews, if there is a review that takes 2 minutes, then cut 1 upcoming "media timeout" after a punt or kickoff. Maybe cut the studio half time show down a bit and run ads instead.

Hockey is a sport without a lot of long stoppages in play. Yet, Hockey can still be enjoyed on Television and companies still pay to advertise. If you haven't watched a hockey game lately, check out the creative ways they bring in advertising revenue. Using the boards and ice to digitally produce their own ads on both surfaces. Baseball is doing the same things. I wonder when the NFL will follow and the field, for fans watching on TV, will be covered in ads.

A Hockey season is 82 games long, a brutal schedule and I think probably the most grueling, of the top 4 sports, on a players body. Yet, the top paid NHL players are "only" making $12-13M/year. NFL players have become overpaid and pampered.

 

[tynimiller]

I see more cameras as the likelihood of expediting most reviews actually...

 

[DoURant]

I worry just a bit about the "12 additional cameras", and if it's impact is to make review time even longer.

I would prefer adding a dedicated replay review referee in a booth somewhere who can look at the play in question and radio the call down to the field...It seems so often that viewers at home see the play two or three times and know what the call should be while the ref is still running over to the sideline to watch the play on some tiny little screen. Just not efficient.

As long as it doesn't turn into how the last 2 minutes of an NCAA Tournament basketball game is, where they have been looking at every whistle to make sure the clock is exactly right.... man those last two minutes feel like they are taking 20 to play.

 

[gopkrs]

I'm gonna miss the chain gang if that's what's happening