Seahawks HC explains kickoff approach following rule change
One of the biggest rule changes for the 2023 NFL season will impact kickoffs, and not everybody is happy about it. Especially the league's special teams coaches.
The rule will allow teams to fair catch any kickoff between the goal line and the 25-yard line and start their ensuing offensive possession on the 25.
The idea behind it is to cut down on the number of kickoffs and reduce injuries, as kickoffs are regarded as one of the most dangerous plays in football.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said on Thursday that his team is going to be very aggressive with the new rule.
“We’re going to compete with it,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll told reporters on Thursday. “We’re going to use it to our advantage. We’re pretty good in those areas. We like to think we’re a good return team and we can make things happen. It’ll depend. I think you’ll see an effect during the course of the season as the weather changes and stuff like that. I don’t think it’s going to be that dramatic a change. I think teams are going to want to compete and want to bring the ball out. That’s really all it is if you’re going to take it to the 25 or not. We’ll compete with it, see how we look, and see if our core group can continue to give us good work like we’ve always counted on. I’m not thinking we’re taking a knee on everything now. We’re going to be very aggressive about it.”
The Seahawks have been one of the best kick return teams in the league over the past two years and averaged close to 24 yards per return during the 2022 season.
There could be an advantage there for teams like them if they are able to squeeze out an extra few yards per possession while their opponents just take a knee and start at the 25 every time.
Carroll went on to say that he was not a fan of the new rule and that he fought against it.
This is going to be one of the more fascinating cat-and-mouse games in the NFL this season as teams try to work around it. You might have teams like Seattle that feel their kick return team is an advantage and try to run kicks back, ignoring the automatic placement at the 25-yard-line
You might also have kickoff teams trying to pin teams deep and utilizing squib kicks that force a return.
A few years back the NFL moved touchbacks from the 20-yard line to the 25-yard line in its initial effort to cut back on returns. Now it is giving teams the option to get that same placement on kicks that do not reach the end zone.
The NFL is trying to eliminate the kickoff in stages. All it has done so far for this season is make it more intriguing to see how teams combat the new rules.
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