Who would go for a 4th and 15 on their own 30?

What's a way to make kickoffs safer? Is the speed gunners run downfield to kill the return that makes it so unsafe? Rhetorically speaking of course.

If I was commissioner, here's what I would do.

You make the field 70 yards long, but you have two fields in parallel. You then connect them with curves in the end zone to make the thing a big race track. If a guy scores standing up, he keeps running around the track. He gets more points for getting around the curve and reaching the second field, and even more points if he can traverse that entire field. He keeps going until someone finally brings him down. If he can make it fifty laps, his team is racking up points like a pinball machine.

Now, the defensive team can choose to chase the guy, or they can run around in the other direction to stop him on the other side. If a guy is really fast and he scores, some of the defenders may chase him and others will run the opposite direction so they can stop him on the next lap. Maybe you even have a rule where the defenders can throw another guy on the field every time an endzone is crossed.

It would be loads of fun.

If Schiano wants to improve player safety, how about not telling his D-line not to lunge at the knees of the opposing players when the game is essentially over?

A team down by 7 with 2:00 minutes remaining and a suspect defense? Then again, you have an onsides kick for that.

A team that's trailing by 7 late in the 4th quarter even after their score?

Just make it a 110 yard oval with two 5 yard end zones. You get 3 points every time you cross an end zone. The interior oval (non playing surface) is divided into two regions that replace the sidelines. Call it Trackball.

**** it, replace onsides kick situation with a rugby scrum (or ruck) with the same rules. Place the ball dead center of the 50 and let them maul it out. Once a side gets the ball they get to advance it as far as they want, then resume normal play rules.

It would basically replace the onside kick, and I think teams would convert more often on 4th and 15 than trying for an onside kick. Pretty gimmicky though.



And I agree with Talking Can and |Zach|... there might be one or two games per week that are really worth watching, whenever two elite QBs play each other... but, it's an incredibly mediocre league that's been going downhill for ~5 years now (at least that's when I first started noticing it). These days, it doesn't even start to get interesting until the 2nd round of the playoffs.

That works for me.

Maybe you don't even give up the ball when you score. You just keep pushing around the track until the other team can stop you.

This would also be a very fun system to watch on defensive turnovers. Some linebacker makes an interception and takes off running. How long does it take to catch him? I think it would be a blast.

Maybe we should invent a new league for this. I think it would surpass football pretty quickly.

Heard a guy on the radio make a great point.

You know why they'll never get rid of kickoffs? Because of commercials.

As it stands now...

TD!, extra point... Commercial

Kickoff.... Commercial.

Finally back to play.

Yeah, that's what I am thinking. Three points each time you have possession through the entire end zone. Passes out of bounds would be tricky. A QB could clip the interior oval on a pass, getting the ball to a receiver from outside of the field of play.

I know a lot of people disagree with this as old and behind the times and that is ok but I really miss running games. Hard hitting...really good run defenses. It just feels like a different game now and not for the better.

It is what it is I suppose....feeling apathetic though.

Without field goals it's even more challenging, since coaches have to actually, you know, call a play instead of resorting to pussy points.

The commercials would still be there.

TD! extra point...commercial

4th and 15 attempt

Commercial.