As the Chiefs consider letting safety Justin Reid handle kickoffs in order to keep kicker Harrison Butker out of the hot tackle kitchen, one division rival is considering the downsides of such an approach.
“I don’t want one out of four players going to the 40-yard line because he kicked out of bounds, but he’s there to make the tackle,” the Washington coach said. Broncos Sean Payton to reporters Thursday. “I think you will see a lot of changes in all of us. I can’t wait to see it as much as you do. We’re trying to get through that. »
The most shocking aspect of the rule will be 19 or 20 players standing still after the kick is taken and until it is caught or hits the ground.
“(Special teams coordinator) Ben (Kotwica), our special teams coaches, we practice,” Payton said. “We had the officials over yesterday. They kind of went over all the rule changes, but more specifically, we spent probably half an hour on this, I’ll say one thing for you: the kick is performed, no one moves and when it’s caught, we all move, I would compare it to being at second base and I’m watching, I’m watching, and when the ball is caught, I can go to third So you’ll see. if you leave early, it would be very similar. Now, maybe a third of these guys played baseball. but I think that’s what the timing would look like waiting to move.”
Whatever happens, Payton is among those who think the approach will change as the year goes on.
“In the first year, what you see in Week 1 and what you see in Week 8 could be drastically different,” Payton said. “Now this will be the first year where – follow me – there are three kick scenarios that can’t be returned and the ball could go to the 20 (yard line), the 30 or the 40. Now there was always the history of our game only two scenarios We always knew 40 if it went out of bounds Then we went through 20 then 25 (on touchbacks). so it’ll take time for everyone to figure out so I think a lot of it will depend on what our structural goal is as far as putting him in the landing zone, and then who the player is that we’re talking about. you have this player, so yes, it’s a good idea.
This will be the key. Who hits the ball, then who throws it?
“Who catches it can change,” Payton said. “The decision-makers, the moment those balls come in — let’s say line drives — make the decision, ‘Is this going to go in the end zone?’ »
All of this adds up to a lot more time spent in training camp and during practice week on the game. Because it suddenly became both substantial and entirely new.
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