In December, Rams coach Jeff Fisher, a member of the NFL Competition Committee, said he was sure that committee would examine the possibility of eliminating kickoffs from the NFL. But now Fisher says that’s not happening.
Fisher appeared on Mike and Mike in the Morning to discuss the rules changes the NFL adopted this month, but he also discussed one rule he doesn’t see being adopted: Fisher said that moving kickoffs up five yards has had the intended effect of reducing injuries without making the game any less exciting, and as a result he doesn’t see further changes.
“The kickoff thing comes up, but you know what? The numbers are way down,” Fisher said of injuries on kickoffs. “We moved the kickoff up, we increased the number of touchbacks. It’s still an exciting game. Look at the Super Bowl -- the ball is still coming out. But the injury numbers are way, way down after the change of two years ago.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell floated a new idea for eliminating kickoffs and replacing them with a fourth-and-15 play on which teams would usually punt. That generated a lot of debate, but it is apparently not being seriously discussed by the Competition Committee: Kickoff aren’t going anywhere.
At least not yet.