Belichick right again

[TyronePoole]

last year Belichick said this:

Belichick says league wants to eliminate kickoffs | ProFootballTalk

“That’s what they told us,” Belichick said. “I’m not speaking for anyone else. That’s what they told us, that they want to eliminate the play.”

The league disagrees.

“[Chairman of the Competition Committee] Rich McKay and [NFL Vice President] Ray Anderson say that’s not accurate,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told Curran via e-mail. “They said the Competition Committee’s position was that they wanted to ‘shorten the field’ and that the movement of the kickoff line would potentially reduce the number of kickoffs to be returned. They said they are unaware of anyone saying that it was intended to ‘eliminate’ the kickoff return.”

and today Mara says this:

John Mara: NFL “evolving toward” eliminating kickoffs | ProFootballTalk

That’s the word from Giants owner John Mara, a Competition Committee member who says the conversations have already started about potentially taking the play that has started every football game in history out of the league for good.

“We had a lot of discussions about whether we should eliminate it and if we did what we could do in its place,” Mara told Giants.com. “There’s no consensus on it right now, but I could see the day in the future where that play could be taken out of the game. You see it evolving toward that.”

I for one am shocked that they were less than forthcoming about this last August...

 

[IcyPatriot]

I think once they eliminate it nobody will really care ... start the series after TD's on the 20 and start the series after a FG on the 25 or 30.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Maybe they can keep the kickoff, just have the receiving team wear 4 or so flags on their to down a player?

 

[Frezo]

Maybe they can keep the kickoff, just have the receiving team wear 4 or so flags on thei body tht can down a player

They could call it a kissoff.

 

[TyronePoole]

personally I couldn't care less about the kickoffs, I just think it's funny that they pretty much blatantly lied about it last August

 

[captain insano]

last year Belichick said this:

Belichick says league wants to eliminate kickoffs | ProFootballTalk



and today Mara says this:

John Mara: NFL “evolving toward” eliminating kickoffs | ProFootballTalk




I for one am shocked that they were less than forthcoming about this last August...

its just a matter of time before these idiots who run football ruin it. from eliminating kick offs to having teams in Europe they will ruin it sooner or latter. leave it alone already. its perfect the way it is.

 

[Joker]

its just a matter of time before these idiots who run football ruin it. from eliminating kick offs to having teams in Europe they will ruin it sooner or latter. leave it alone already. its perfect the way it is.

 

[Ring 6]

When you try to delete violent plays from a spot whose popularity is in large part due to its violence, you are changing the game for the worse.
Perhaps the consequences of the violence justify these decisions, but that doesn't change the fact the product on the field is suffering.

 

[TyronePoole]

When you try to delete violent plays from a spot whose popularity is in large part due to its violence, you are changing the game for the worse.
Perhaps the consequences of the violence justify these decisions, but that doesn't change the fact the product on the field is suffering.

yeah but people have been saying this since the dawn of sports, do you really like kickoffs that much? I wouldn't miss them at all, I'd definitely trade them away for having one or two more guys healthy all year

 

[Aßßynormal]

A better answer, the NFL needs political protection from Lawsuits. Part of the Commissioners activities should be directed at getting Tort restrictions for the League. I want to watch Football not Lawsuitamendedflagball. The players can get better future medical or whatever but Football is what it is.

What would the Romans say about these changes ...... no headbutting Spartacus!! keep that sword below the neck!!!

 

[TyronePoole]

There's already built in tort restrictions in the form of causation and assumption of risk. The only lawsuits that can potentially be won are ones that are able to overcome the causation problem AND prove that the NFL deliberately hid information about concussions. It's been pretty much already settled that there's an assumption of risk when it comes to injuries in pro sports.

 

[Fencer]

As a former physics major, I find it easy to believe that kickoffs are inherently more dangerous than other plays, because guys from opposite teams are running directly at each other at pretty high speeds before they collide.

If somebody thinks kickoffs need to be eliminated for reasons of safety, I'm fine with that.

 

[NePatriots]

One reason we probably won't see the end of kickoffs...

Networks will hate losing this --

Touchdown, Review, Commercial, Touchdown Confirmed, Commercial, Kickoff, Commercial

 

[A.C Vegas]

This also gets rid of the late game comebacks no more onside kicks to try to fight your way back in the game i am betting no one is thinking of this

 

[JoeSixPat]

its just a matter of time before these idiots who run football ruin it. from eliminating kick offs to having teams in Europe they will ruin it sooner or latter. leave it alone already. its perfect the way it is.

I would prefer to leave it as is myself.

But I see the reasons why this is under consideration.

Kickoffs require additional roster spots for special teamers and by the nature of what they do, plays players at higher risk... I wont minimize player injuries when someone's got 50 yards to build up momentum before a hit - but you could make the case that fewer special teamers results in more depth for offense and defense.

That might not be a bad thing.

 

[Joker]

Idiotic idea...idiotic Omissioner...here it is...football...a game played with 11 versus 11...starts with a KICKoff....has worked since its inception, as evidenced by the wild popularity of the game..enter Roger the primping, preening, egomaniacal little Lord Fauntleroy whose ham fisted, heavy handed decisions in tandem with his preposterously lenient sanctions against his ex-employer for violations of ANY decent person's code of conduct, to wit, open disgusting degeneracy, blatant glorification of gluttony,a perpetual avalanche of profanity and profane gestures...all this masking what seems to be a hijacking of the game itself by these billionaire blowboys who would pass out at the merest thought of involving themselves in anything more physical than moving integers around a balance sheet.

Football has always been the game of the common man, the masses...never fails...as soon as some megalomaniac with too much free time and wads of cash comes along...BING!..."I'm the ONE who is going to CHANGE THE GAME!!!!"...WHY?...who the eff knows...look. they can make a 240 MPH race car practically safe, they can certainly manage to engineer safer equipment...just leave the goddyamed game ALONE!!!

 

[TyronePoole]

I know it's easy to put a single evil face on all of this stuff, but Goodell is really just getting paid a lot to get hated by fans. I don't really think he's the driving force behind anything. Not that I like him though.

 

[Joker]

Hi, Neville Chamberlain!!

 

[Fencer]

This also gets rid of the late game comebacks no more onside kicks to try to fight your way back in the game i am betting no one is thinking of this

I bet a lot of people are, and that it's one of the reasons for not doing away with kickoffs altogether.

 

[Observer]

I personally would not mind having kickoffs go away entirely. I hate the back-to-back commercial breaks with one play in between.