Goodell considering doing away with kickoffs

[unothadeal]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...ating-kickoffs

When the NFL changed the line of scrimmage for kickoffs to increase touchbacks, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick derisively said that it was only a matter of time before the NFL eliminated kickoffs entirely. He believed that's what the NFL wanted to do.

Belichick might wind up being proven right.

Roger Goodell through the years
Take a look at photos of Roger Goodell through the years.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he's taken it under consideration to remove the kickoff entirely.

"It's an off-the-wall idea. It's different and makes you think differently. It did me," Goodell told TIME in a cover story for the Dec. 17 issue.

Even more intriguing is an alternative concept promoted by Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano. Goodell met with the NFL competition committee chairman about the concept.

"After a touchdown or field goal, instead of kicking off, a team would get the ball on its own 30-yard line, where it's fourth and 15," TIME's Sean Gregory writes. "The options are either to go for it and try to retain possession or punt. If you go for it and fall short, of course, the opposing team would take over with good field position. In essence, a punt replaces the kickoffs."

It's an interesting idea. We haven't seen the numbers that punts are that much safer than kickoffs, but the NFL must have the data to support the notion if they were considering it.

The implications for strategy are even more intriguing. If a team is trailing by more than one score very late in the fourth quarter, they likely would to try to go for it on fourth-and-15 instead of punting. That's not an easy situation to convert, but the concept would still make it easier to make a comeback without ever giving the ball back to an opponent.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Neuter defense.

Neuter special teams.

Only teams with QBs win.

GREAT LEAGUE

[Buzz_TinBalls]

FOOTball -- No KICKoffs.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by Dave

2002- 17
2003- 13
2004- 17
2005- 12
2006- 9
2007- 25
2008- 13
2009- 18
2010- 23
2011- 9
2012- 10

They haven't been neutered at all, really. It's been all over the place going back 10 yrs.

Comparing the 2009-2010 vs when they moved the kickoffs up in 2011 it has dropped almost in half.

It just seems to me every kickoff ends up in touchback and really is useless now for the most part.

JMHO

[BoneKrusher]

Originally Posted by Lou_Zare

FOOTball -- No KICKoffs.

really.
shaun smith would prefer TOUCHball.

[Buzz_TinBalls]

Originally Posted by Lou_Zare

FOOTball -- No KICKoffs.

they need to change the game's name to throwball now

what a POS goody goodell & his disney kiddy league is.

[Buzz_TinBalls]

Originally Posted by BoneKrusher

really.
shaun smith would prefer TOUCHball.

nice

[Dayze]

this is a horrible idea, and why the NFL has slowly fallen off my radar, with the exception of the Chiefs, since 2006. If NCAA gets a good playoff system, I'm pretty much done with the NFL. This just cements it.

but, while we're bitching....
I HATE the touchback. If that ****er lands in bounds....start running. and don't give the friggin' kicker a huge god damned kicking Tee.

[unothadeal]

A kickoff doesn't have to be returned for a touchdown to make it exciting. That's something that TDs:KO doesn't consider.

[Brock]

Goodell wants to get rid of the pro bowl and turn every game of the season into the pro bowl.

[C-Mac]

Technically its 4th and 10 on the kickoffs now, but the "QB" has to kick the ball.

I kinda like the concept, at least would like to see it played out in a preseason game or something.

[Dayze]

removing blitzing is next.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by listopencil

Should the corner kick be eliminated from soccer?

"The first step was to analyze data provided on the FIFA World Cup website. They provide videos of all goals scored as well as statistics on the number of corner kicks attempted. There were 145 goals scored in the World Cup. Of the 627 corner kicks that were attempted, 271 connected with an offensive player (43%). Of those, 9 goals were scored from a corner played into the penalty area resulting in a shot. That’s a ratio of 1 goal scored for every 70 corners taken. Part of the difficulty with this analysis is defining how a goal is scored from a corner kick. Many consider more than one pass beyond the corner kick as free play. Others consider any goal scored where the run of play was initiated with a corner to have resulted from the corner. For example, a poor clearance by a defender that results in a successful shot could be attributed to the corner kick. Likewise a short corner that is touched a few times then played into the box and headed in might also be considered. If you also count goals that resulted from poor clearances (5) and from short corners (2), a total of 14 goals resulted from corner kicks. This brings the ratio down to 1 goal for every 45 corners attempted.

Using this approach, corner kicks accounted for as few as 6% or many as 10% of the goals scored during the 2010 World Cup and corner kicks resulted in a goal once every 4.5 to 7 matches."

http://www.scienceofsocceronline.com...y-numbers.html

I don't know offhand how many matches were played in the World Cup. But that's 9 scores on 627 attempts, give or take.

If you want to fix soccer, just eliminate the offside rule, and things will get much better IMO. The one thing that kills most folks about soccer is the lack of scoring. We may not need to to be like basket ball and have a score every 12 seconds, but letting folks hang close, but out of the goal areas (but it'd be fine to be inside the penalty box), would go a long way to making the game better. Once again, just my opinion..

But back to football, JC, if they do this, it'll be horrible. Then again, with so many KOs having flags thrown, I'm not sure they're as exciting as they used to be...

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Dayze

this is a horrible idea, and why the NFL has slowly fallen off my radar, with the exception of the Chiefs, since 2006. If NCAA gets a good playoff system, I'm pretty much done with the NFL. This just cements it.

but, while we're bitching....
I HATE the touchback. If that ****er lands in bounds....start running. and don't give the friggin' kicker a huge god damned kicking Tee.

This...

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Dayze

removing blitzing is next.

They have in a way.. With all the holding that they don't "see" (because they're too focused on the QB and his safety evidently), I'm not sure if the blitz isn't going to become a thing of the past...

[htismaqe]

I don't really understand the outrage.

You're removing a kickoff, which almost ALWAYS ends in a touchback and the offense starting at the 20 yard line, and replacing it with a punt from the 30, which will almost ALWAYS end in a return and potentially an exciting play.

I think it's a GREAT IDEA.