Bill Belichick slams NFL’s new Kickoff Rules, claims they are destined to fail

Bill Belichick slams NFL’s new Kickoff Rules, claims they are destined to fail


Bill Belichick may have been shown the door by the New England Patriots after a dismal 4-13 season, but don’t think for a second that the man’s voice doesn’t still carry weight in the NFL. When you’ve got six Super Bowl rings as a head coach-and eight in total-people listen when you talk football. And Belichick’s not too keen on the NFL’s new kickoff rules.

The NFL is shaking things up this year, rolling out new kickoff regulations they believe will not only increase the number of returns but also make the play safer. But if you ask Belichick, he’s not buying what they’re selling. He’s been around too long, seen too much, to believe these changes will have the desired effect.

So what’s all the fuss about? If you haven’t caught any preseason action, here’s the lowdown: the new rules are designed to encourage more returns by tweaking the spot of the ball on a touchback and giving teams a little more room to maneuver. Sounds good in theory, right? But as Belichick points out, there are some major flaws.

First off, moving the touchback spot to the 30-yard line from the 25 might sound like a decent deterrent, but for teams, the risk of a long return that could swing momentum-potentially even lead to a touchdown-isn’t worth the gamble. And with rosters being as tight as they are on gameday, the last thing teams want is a costly injury on special teams. So, why not just blast the ball out of the end zone and avoid the headache altogether?

Belichick breaks down why NFL’s kickoff experiment might fail

Belichick isn’t just spitballing here. He’s seen how teams handled these new rules during the preseason, and he wasn’t impressed. According to him, teams were testing the waters, not ready to fully commit to kicking it deep. But make no mistake, when the regular season kicks off, don’t expect him to put the ball in the hands of top returners like the Jaguars’ Devin Duvernay or the Cowboys’ KaVontae Turpin.

NFL’s Dynamic Kickoff Rules explainedTwitter @JeffDarlington

The legendary coach has a simple fix: move the kickoff spot back to the 20-yard line. While he didn’t go into specifics about whether he’d keep the other new rules intact, it’s clear he thinks a little more distance would do the trick.

In Belichick’s eyes, the NFL might be better off scrapping the kickoff altogether and just handing teams the ball at the 25-yard line. And if a team’s desperate to get the ball back in the final minutes? Make them convert a 4th-and-15 from their own 25 to keep the drive alive. Now, that’s a challenge.

As the season opener looms, all eyes will be on the NFL’s kickoff rule experiment. But don’t be surprised if Belichick’s skepticism proves right, leaving the league scrambling to clean up the mess when the new rules don’t live up to the hype.





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