Theory - Scoring Will Drop Noticeably This Season

[Wolfpack]

I never saw that happen, maybe once, so I think 'countless' is probably an exaggeration.

Well then I guess you just aren't watching as much football as I am because I saw it a whole bunch of times.

 

[JJDChE]

Well then I guess you just aren't watching as much football as I am because I saw it a whole bunch of times.

And you think these are intentional penalties? Why would they do that? Kicking from the 35 is a benefit to the kicking team.

 

[Wolfpack]

And you think these are intentional penalties? Why would they do that? Kicking from the 35 is a benefit to the kicking team.

Uh yeah, considering it happened like 5 times in one game to the same team (think it was the Jets) and the announcer actually pointed out that the coach was planning to do the intentional penalty on kickoffs.

The Bears started the trend in their game against Buffalo by kicking off from the 30 instead of the 35 but without any sort of penalty - they just moved the ball back 5 yards. When the league put a stop to that practice, you would see teams committing intentional penalties in order to get the same result.

 

[JoeSixPat]

The NFL changed the kickoff rules and based on pre-season results, it looks like there will be dramatically more offensive possessions that start from the 20 yard line. This is anywhere from 5 to 15 yards further back from where teams were accustomed to starting from last year. This might not seem like much, but 10 yards can make a dramatic difference in terms of offensive outcome and whether a team scores a touchdown, field goal, or has to punt.

Advanced NFL Stats: The Importance of Field Position

Advanced NFL Stats: Win Probability Calculator

One ramification raised by someone here before was the kick returner will now evolve from being just a speed guy to a player with more punt-return-like skills. I also think the punt returner will become increasingly important, because more offensive possessions will end up punting from deep in their own territory and allow for more punt returns (as opposed to touch backs off punts).

I've generally looked at this as impacting other teams much more than the Patriots

I don't think starting at the 20 is going to slow down Brady