A new kickoff proposal

[dolphins4life]

I don't recall it being discussed in these forums, so I will post this. 

A college coach suggested that instead of having kickoffs, the team that scored gets the ball on the thirty five and put at fourth down and 15.

What do you think?

I am a former kicker, so I am biased and want kickoffs to stay.

[Spider-Dan]

So the team that scored keeps the ball?

I see no potential problems.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

So the team that scored keeps the ball?

I see no potential problems.

Not really.  Most of the time they punt.

Converting on 4 and 15 is as daunting a challenge as an onside kick.

[BigDaddyFin]

Didn't they suggest something similar to that once?  You could elect to have 4th and 15 in your own end or you could choose between giving the other team the ball at the 20 yard line or actually kicking?

[Dave Gray]

Interesting suggestion.   I like the kicking game, but as is, the kickoff game is pretty dumb.  It's mostly touchbacks and it's a high rate of injury.  I don't want them to have it at all if it's just a time-waster.

I'm all about bringing down the length of the games.  So much time is wasted on stupid crap.  Touchdown, Break, Extra point, Break, Kickoff, Break.  I get that they need to sell advertising, but media is getting away from that model and I fear that the NFL will get left behind by new generations not willing to put up with that crap.

Cut time down...get in and out in 2 hours.

[masterfins]

Didn't they suggest something similar to that once?  You could elect to have 4th and 15 in your own end or you could choose between giving the other team the ball at the 20 yard line or actually kicking?

Yes, I believe this was suggested in order to eliminate kickoffs, yet allow for an onsides kick replacement.

[masterfins]

I don't recall it being discussed in these forums, so I will post this. 

A college coach suggested that instead of having kickoffs, the team that scored gets the ball on the thirty five and put at fourth down and 15.

What do you think?

I am a former kicker, so I am biased and want kickoffs to stay.

As a former kick the can competitor, I would suggest putting the ball on the 50 yard line and having each team select one player to race at the ball from their own goal line.  Whoever kicks the ball first, and then recovers it gets possession.   

[Pappy13]

I don't recall it being discussed in these forums, so I will post this. 

A college coach suggested that instead of having kickoffs, the team that scored gets the ball on the thirty five and put at fourth down and 15.

What do you think?

I am a former kicker, so I am biased and want kickoffs to stay.

I'm trying to come up with a negative to this scenario and can't think of one off hand. Seems to check all the boxes.

1) Get rid of the kickoff with the players getting a running start.
2) Don't lose the excitement of change of possession after a score.
3) Allow for the scoring team to have a chance at keeping possession.

[Pappy13]

Converting on 4 and 15 is as daunting a challenge as an onside kick.

Not sure I would go that far. I'd MUCH rather have the ball at the 35 and 4th and 15 in the last minute of a game then have to try to recover an onside kick to get the ball. I'd say pretty much any decent passing team that's about 20% conversion rate especially with the defense having to be careful about giving up a long TD. That's got to be way better than the current onside kick conversion rate.

[Phishfan]

If i'm not mistaken, the 4th and 15 wasn't random. I thought I heard the first time this was floated around that they determined it had about the same statistical probability as an onside kick. My mind may be tricking me though.

[Pappy13]

That would be a big shock to me. Maybe I'm giving offenses too much credit or maybe the odds for an onsides recovery is a lot better then I think it is.

[fyo]

If i'm not mistaken, the 4th and 15 wasn't random. I thought I heard the first time this was floated around that they determined it had about the same statistical probability as an onside kick. My mind may be tricking me though.

I seem to recall there being a pretty significant difference between expected onside kicks and unexpected ones (with the latter bringing up the average quite a bit).

[Spider-Dan]

Wow, I'm surprised to see so many people taking this seriously.

The prospect of giving the ball back to the team that just scored turns the end of the game into nonsense.  If the receiving team commits a foul on the kickoff, the result is not that the kicking team gets the ball and a new set of downs... yet a defensive holding call on that 4th-and-15 would result in 1st-and-10 for the team that just scored.  Furthermore, kicking plays have a level of randomness that offensive plays do not, as it is much harder to precisely place a football with your foot than it is with your hand.

If I were to entertain this more seriously, I would execute it more like a 2-point attempt: after you score, you have the option to either give the opponent the ball at their 20, or take one untimed down to reach the end zone from the opponent's 15-yard-line.  If you choose the second option, whoever wins that possession gets 1st-and-10 on your 20 yard line.

[BigDaddyFin]

.

Cut time down...get in and out in 2 hours.

If you want to do that, you're going to have to eliminate a lot more than just kickoffs.  Like the commercials before and after change of possessions and maybe even going so far as having to eliminate time stoppages after incomplete passes and penalties.