Former Super Bowl champion, longtime WR on new NFL kickoff rules: ‘You might see more superstar players out there’

NEW YORK — The most exciting game in football is back.

No longer will fans have to leave their seats to eat or go to the bathroom after a score. There will be no breaks in the action.

Kickoffs are important again in professional football. In one of the biggest rule changes the NFL has made in decades, the league has made significant changes to free kicks in order to bring returns back into the game after last season recorded the lowest return rate in the league’s 105-year history.

“It was one of those plays that really started to disappear in the game,” NFL Today on CBS analyst Nate Burleson told CBS Sports last month. “I was a kickoff returner, I remember playing out of halftime in Seattle. We get the ball and I take it to the house, 90 yards. I go to celebrate and look up and there’s a lot of empty seats. That’s what the kickoff return has become.

“This new format makes it even more entertaining. It also makes it safer. The audience has to play even more carefully now. There’s a lot more at stake.”

The ball is still kicked from the 35-yard line, but that is the only constant rule that remains with the new rules. All kicking team players except the kicker will line up with one foot on the receiving team’s 40-yard line, and the kicker cannot cross the 50-yard line until the ball touches the ground or a player in the landing zone or end zone. 10 Kicking team players cannot move until the ball touches the ground or a player in the landing zone or end zone.

There will be a setup zone for the receiving team, a five-yard area from the receiving team’s 30 to 35 yard line where at least nine receiving team players must be lined up. Seven players on the receiving team must have at least one foot on the 35 and all players in the setup zone cannot move until the kick hits the ground or hits a player in the landing zone or end zone.

A landing zone is created for the receiving team, which is between the receiving team’s goal line and 20-yard line. Up to two returners may line up in the landing zone and move forward at any time before or during a kick. Any kick that lands in the landing zone must be returned and any kick that lands short of the landing zone will be fielded at the receiving team’s 40-yard line (the play will be declared dead). Any ball kicked into the end zone will be a touchback at the receiving team’s 30-yard line.

The beginning looks and feels different, yet welcoming.

“I love it. No. 1, we’re trying to bring the returns back,” NFL Today on CBS analyst Bill Cowher said last month. “You had 13 kickoffs in the Super Bowl and not one of them was returned. I understand that part of it. It feels weird at first, but I’m excited for it. I’m hoping this brings the returns back and it’s safer.”

Super Bowl LVIII had 13 kickoffs in the game, yet all were kicked into the end zone for touchbacks and not a single one was returned. This prompted the NFL to make radical changes to the game that had been left out over the past decade. Gone are players like Brian Mitchell, Eric Metcalf, Donte Hall and Devin Hester – all of whom went on to have exceptional careers due to their return ability. The NFL vows to bring back those types of players with new returners.

“I’m not gonna lie, it was physically very tough,” Burleson said of the old format. “But I had the ball. I didn’t take a lot of big hits. There were some games when you catch the ball and look up and there’s bump after bump. It was like casualties of war all over the field, but that’s part of the game.”

“Now you get a condensed version of it. You still get the impact, still get the physicality. There are some windows and pockets for big returns. I like that. That’s going to be something that will make special teams a lot more exciting for the audience.”

With the new kickoff rules and return to play, there has been a significant shift in strategy. Suddenly the best athletes on the field will have another chance to make an impact.

“I would love to see Cheetah (Tyreek Hill) back there,” Burleson said of the freshman prospects. “He’s so explosive and he just needs an opportunity. I think because of the way they’ve condensed it, you’re going to see even more superstar players saying, ‘Coach, give me a chance.'”

“Because of the rules, you might get to see more superstar players there.”

Of course, the new rules are still a work in progress. Balls kicked into the end zone will go to the receiving team’s 30-yard line (in previous years it was 25). The NFL considered placing the ball at the 35-yard line, but put off that change for another year.

“I think you have to get some data. A lot of this is data-driven and that’s where change starts,” Cowher said. “I think they want to get some data about how much the returns have increased, what the result of just having 30 instead of 35 has been.

“Then I think kicking a touchback is more of a hindrance. Right now, I don’t think it is. The other thing is it gets the kicker more involved in the game, because now it’s mostly punt returns. I don’t think you want to risk a kick.”

“I think with 35, we’ll see more valuable returns. With 30, we’ll see.”

Early returns for the kickoff rule are positive. Strategy for kickoffs has come into play again, as teams aren’t giving anything away in August.

“We’ll see when the regular season starts,” Cowher said. “I don’t think you want to kick the ball out of the end zone because you want to see who can cover, who can’t, from a return standpoint. You want to see guys make plays.”

“It’ll be interesting to see once the season starts how much of a barrier the 30-yard line becomes. That’s the biggest question we have, risk versus reward. We’ll be watching with open eyes to see what certain teams do and what strategies they try to employ.”

The changes to the game start from Week 1. Kickoff is no longer an occasion for fans to leave their seats, which is exactly what the NFL wants.

“It gives me hope that football is back in terms of kickoffs,” Burleson said. “All of those factors are now back in play. I’m just hoping we get a big return. I’ve been missing that part of the game.”