Matthew Coller: Is the new kickoff going to be a game changer?
Nobody wants the new NFL kickoff to work more than me.
When I was growing up my older brother bought a kicking tee and we would play a game in the backyard where one of us would kick off to the other and we’d try to return it for a touchdown (i.e. past the end of my parents’ barn). Like the past NFL kickoff, it was dangerous as hell. One brother flying full speed at the other with no mercy involved whatsoever. We can pretty easily look back now and say that we should have invented a game a little bit less like a car crash.
The NFL’s attempt to create fewer car crashes over the last decade has resulted in snooze festivals instead. Rather than see seven seconds of sheer speed and chaos, a reporter up in the press box such as myself can wander over to the soda machine and grab a cookie during the kickoff. Fans watching at home also have plenty of time to procure a snack or fire off a few tweets with their free time.
In 2010 there were 10 players with at least 50 kick returns and 19 returners with at least 40 attempts to take one back to the house. In 2023, only two players had more than 20 returns. The play simply went poof into thin air within 15 years.
The death of the kickoff robbed fans of some of the coolest players on earth. Return specialists were dudes who had preposterous speed and agility but weren’t fit for the rigors of a regular job. You basically got to watch Carl Lewis out there four or five times per game. Players like Dante Hall, Josh Cribbs, Ted Ginn Jr., Tamarik Vanover and Mel Gray were must-see TV. Not to mention Cordarrelle Patterson and Percy Harvin. Heck, if you go back to the 60s and 70s there was a guy named Speedy Duncan who was a four-time Pro Bowl return specialist for San Diego and Washington. The game needs Speedy Freaking Duncan.
After years of complaining about the death of the kick return, the NFL listened to my cries and implemented something representing the XFL kickoff. Oh, you didn’t watch the XFL? Hm. Well, you should have. It was pretty fun. The kickoff was designed was to reduce high-speed contact by lining up the players close to each other at the kick rather than playing like we did in the backyard. After a few weeks teams got creative with their blocking and big plays followed.
The NFL is basically following the same model, kicking off from the 35 and having the coverage team line up across the 40-yard line and return team align their blockers between the 30 and 35-yard lines. The ball has to be kicked into the “landing zone” between the goal line and 20-yard line and the play begins when the ball is caught. If the ball hits the landing zone, it has to be returned but it can still be downed in the end zone if it bounces there. And the touchback is not dead, it just puts the return team at the 30-yard line now.
Got all that? On paper it sounds like it’s going to be more fun than Discovery Zone for 90s kids but after seeing some clips on Twitter of teams squib kicking and hearing rumors that some head coaches might still opt to kick the ball out of the back of the end zone, I’m a bit nervous that we aren’t going to get the magical return of Eric Metcalf types. Instead we might end up getting either a big nothing burger or a goofy mess with returners chasing the ball bouncing around like Rocky II running after the chicken.
Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels didn’t seem worried when we talked to him during OTAs.
“I love it,” Daniels said. “You have to be able to adapt, you have to be able to adjust. Being a new rule, no one has done it before and you really have to put your coaching hat on and get to work. There are going to be some things you might not like about it, some things you’ll love about it but we’ll work through it. It’s a one-year trial, we’ll see how it goes.”
So long as it doesn’t become the kickoff version of Fumblerooski, the strategic element could become incredibly interesting. Not that special teams coordinators’ roles weren’t important before but now they will have a chance to impact the game more, particularly if they can get creative. Daniels might use some starters on the coverage unit.
“The personnel is going to be huge in terms of who you can put out there, maybe you can get a Cam Bynum or Ivan Pace Jr., more starters because it’s close proximity, close-quarters combat and you don’t have to worry about those guys running down,” Daniels said. “You have to turn the focus to guys who can defeat blocks because of the proximity of the blockers only being five yards away.”
Daniels does think that the kick return stars of yesteryear might come back and the Vikings might have one of them. Kene Nwangwu averages 27.6 yards per return and has three career touchdowns. Coming out of college he ran an outrageous 4.31 40-yard dash at 210 pounds. That’s a recipe for something special to happen if opponents give him a chance. And the Vikings might be able to use Ty Chandler (4.38 40-yard dash) and/or other playmakers back there as well.
“The value of a returner now skyrockets,” Daniels said. “You might even have to have multiple returners based on what type of ball is being kicked…it’ll be interesting to see how coaches go about that.”
That doesn’t mean that the Vikings’ special teams coordinator is totally comfortable with the new return. He is concerned that, despite the overall safety being increased for the blockers and coverage players, it might be more dangerous for the actual returners as they get crunched by a mass of humanity trying to tackle them.
“The biggest concern is the unknown,” Daniels said.
Through the years the NFL has had some trial runs like this that worked and others that blew up in their face. Remember the calamity that was the pass interference review? Their heads were in the right place considering that interference has a massive impact on results but the implementation was brutal. Is that going to be the case here?
Hopefully the league gives it time and works out the kinks. If not it’s going to feel like an unsolvable problem that may result in banishing the kick return altogether. For the love of Speedy Duncan, let’s hope it works.