In a TIME magazine article released on Thursday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell floated the possibility of eliminating the kickoff and using instead a fourth-and-15-from-the-30 scenario for the team that otherwise would be kicking.
And now we start the process of posting reactions to the news.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher, a member of the league’s Competition Committee, says that further discussion of the possible elimination of the kickoff is inevitable.
“I’m sure it will be something that will be addressed once the committee gets together in February,” Fisher said. “But that’s just . . . there’s been a lot of different things that have come up. Obviously, if you look at what we’ve done with the kickoff when we moved it up from the 30 to the 35 we haven’t had -- well, the injury numbers have gone down significantly since the move two years ago. There’s been some talk, I think [Giants co-owner John] Mara, may have mentioned over a period of time, maybe there will be some consideration that we’ll remove it from the game completely, but those things will be discussed during the offseason.”
Fisher shares Goodell’s concerns regarding the safety aspect of the kickoff. “It is an exciting part of the game, but it is -- from an injury standpoint -- the injury rate per play is highest on the kickoff,” Fisher said.
It’s our understanding that, for now, the only idea on the table is the one that Bucs coach Greg Schiano hatched, and that Goodell shared with Sean Gregory of TIME. And we (or at least I) like it.
What do you think? Cast your vote below, if you haven’t already.
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