Do we need an onsides kick replacement?

[Reverend Conehead]

Since rules changes in 2018, the percentage of onsides kicks being recovered has gone down from 21 percent to around 6 to 10 percent. It makes me wonder if the league should offer some other desperation option to keep the ball after you've scored. Here are some possibilities.

1. Let them convert a 4th and 40 play. If successful, they get to keep the ball on their own 10 yard line.
2. Convert a 60-yard field goal. This special type of field goal is not for points, but rather to keep the ball only. Make it, and you get no points, but you get a new drive on your own 10. If you miss it, your opponent gets the ball on their own 40. There are variations of these ones, and there are some others. You could adjust the length of the 4th and whatever or the long special field goal to whatever lengths are made about 21 percent of the time.

I saw one that would have your QB attempt to throw the ball through a hanging tire 40 yards away. I personally don't like this one. I have mixed feelings about any of them. Part of me would like them to just revert to the pre-2018 rules, but I know they changed those to try to prevent injuries.

I'm honestly not sure, but I would be interested in the opinions of others.

 

[plymkr]

I think they have to do something because the way the rule is now onside kicks are pretty obsolete. We need something to strategize with. I think announcing on side kicks should be changed. Maybe change to no announcement for an onside kick but you can only do 1 a game.

 

[sunalsorises]

Go back to the former kickoff rules. Touchbacks go out to the 20.

 

[ghst187]

Play red rover for the ball

 

[Coogiguy03]

Go back to the old system they're trying to make it fun because if the UFL. I hate the kick off and the onsides.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

Go back to the former kickoff rules. Touchbacks go out to the 20.

This

 

[Flamma]

I think they have to do something because the way the rule is now onside kicks are pretty obsolete. We need something to strategize with. I think announcing on side kicks should be changed. Maybe change to no announcement for an onside kick but you can only do 1 a game.

It's not possible to not announce it. You can't kick it onside from the kickoff formation. You're announcing it so the other team moves players up.

 

[Flamma]

Since rules changes in 2018, the percentage of onsides kicks being recovered has gone down from 21 percent to around 6 to 10 percent. It makes me wonder if the league should offer some other desperation option to keep the ball after you've scored. Here are some possibilities.

1. Let them convert a 4th and 40 play. If successful, they get to keep the ball on their own 10 yard line.
2. Convert a 60-yard field goal. This special type of field goal is not for points, but rather to keep the ball only. Make it, and you get no points, but you get a new drive on your own 10. If you miss it, your opponent gets the ball on their own 40. There are variations of these ones, and there are some others. You could adjust the length of the 4th and whatever or the long special field goal to whatever lengths are made about 21 percent of the time.

I saw one that would have your QB attempt to throw the ball through a hanging tire 40 yards away. I personally don't like this one. I have mixed feelings about any of them. Part of me would like them to just revert to the pre-2018 rules, but I know they changed those to try to prevent injuries.

I'm honestly not sure, but I would be interested in the opinions of others.

They screwed up the kickoff as it is, they don't need to add more gimmicks.

There's one simple fix. Even if you keep the crap kickoff the way it is, let them use the old onside kick formation.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Honestly, I think they should punt the ball rather than kick it.

 

[irishline]

Since rules changes in 2018, the percentage of onsides kicks being recovered has gone down from 21 percent to around 6 to 10 percent. It makes me wonder if the league should offer some other desperation option to keep the ball after you've scored. Here are some possibilities.

1. Let them convert a 4th and 40 play. If successful, they get to keep the ball on their own 10 yard line.
2. Convert a 60-yard field goal. This special type of field goal is not for points, but rather to keep the ball only. Make it, and you get no points, but you get a new drive on your own 10. If you miss it, your opponent gets the ball on their own 40. There are variations of these ones, and there are some others. You could adjust the length of the 4th and whatever or the long special field goal to whatever lengths are made about 21 percent of the time.

I saw one that would have your QB attempt to throw the ball through a hanging tire 40 yards away. I personally don't like this one. I have mixed feelings about any of them. Part of me would like them to just revert to the pre-2018 rules, but I know they changed those to try to prevent injuries.

I'm honestly not sure, but I would be interested in the opinions of others.

Rock, paper, scissors? Kinda where we're headed.

Truthfully, yes.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

It would be interesting to know whether the 2018 kickoff changes have actually resulted in the injury reduction they were after. If it hasn't, then they should probably just revert to the old kickoff rules. If it has, maybe it would still be possible to revert to the old rules, but modified in some way to make things safer. Prior to that, they eliminated wedge blocking and chop blocks. Those rule changes helped a lot, but I haven't heard if the new kickoffs rules have actually had the desired effect or not.

 

[gimmesix]

It's not possible to not announce it. You can't kick it onside from the kickoff formation. You're announcing it so the other team moves players up.

Would be kind of funny to see the other team scramble to get lined up for it if it wasn't announced.

 

[speedkilz88]

I don't understand why they can't just have the team tell the ref that they want to onside kick and then set up both teams like they use to for a legitimate chance to recover. It's the only way for that to be a thing.

 

[gimmesix]

I think they have to do something because the way the rule is now onside kicks are pretty obsolete. We need something to strategize with. I think announcing on side kicks should be changed. Maybe change to no announcement for an onside kick but you can only do 1 a game.

Keep the teams where they are lined up now for the regular kickoff, but if the kicker lands the ball between the coverage team and the fielding team, it's an onside kick. There's an element of surprise that way. Let the coverage team pursue it when it hits the ground between the teams but it still has to go 10 yards or be touched by a member of the fielding team before it can be recovered.

Of course, that might encourage teams to do an onside kick on every return. How often is one of the blockers going to get a big return out of it? Maybe they'd have to limit the number of times a team is allowed to onside kick so you'd have to strategize with it.

 

[Cowboys5217]

Go back to the former kickoff rules. Touchbacks go out to the 20.

I would go back to the old rules, but I would have a kickoff downed in the end zone a touchback at the 20. A kickoff out of the back of the end zone is a touchback at the 30, and a kickoff out of bounds is a touchback at the 40.

Onside kicks would be restored to the old rules that worked just fine for decades.

 

[Kwyn]

The onside kick, and anything resembling it, is dead in the water. Any play that has two bunches of players sprinting from opposite directions to the same spot to dive onto a loose ball is too unsafe for the modern game. Not only a higher rate of concussions but also soft tissue injuries

Kickoffs in general had double the rate of injuries of all types but concussions in particular. Every single one of the new kickoff rules are the eventual outcome of the class action suit against the league to slow down concussions. The bill for the owners so far is nearly $2B

 

[Kwyn]

Since rules changes in 2018, the percentage of onsides kicks being recovered has gone down from 21 percent to around 6 to 10 percent. It makes me wonder if the league should offer some other desperation option to keep the ball after you've scored. Here are some possibilities.

1. Let them convert a 4th and 40 play. If successful, they get to keep the ball on their own 10 yard line.
2. Convert a 60-yard field goal. This special type of field goal is not for points, but rather to keep the ball only. Make it, and you get no points, but you get a new drive on your own 10. If you miss it, your opponent gets the ball on their own 40. There are variations of these ones, and there are some others. You could adjust the length of the 4th and whatever or the long special field goal to whatever lengths are made about 21 percent of the time.

I saw one that would have your QB attempt to throw the ball through a hanging tire 40 yards away. I personally don't like this one. I have mixed feelings about any of them. Part of me would like them to just revert to the pre-2018 rules, but I know they changed those to try to prevent injuries.

I'm honestly not sure, but I would be interested in the opinions of others.

Your first and forty is a good idea and is already a thing

It’s the “Fourth-and-Twenty” proposal

• Scoring team gets the ball at their own twenty yard line
• One play to get a first down. Proposals have been for either fifteen or twenty yards.
• Get the first and you keep the ball and can move down the field as normal
• Fail to get the first down and you lose it at the spot it was downed

They’ve been taking about it for years. It’s a safe play so it has a shot.

 

[plymkr]

Keep the teams where they are lined up now for the regular kickoff, but if the kicker lands the ball between the coverage team and the fielding team, it's an onside kick. There's an element of surprise that way. Let the coverage team pursue it when it hits the ground between the teams but it still has to go 10 yards or be touched by a member of the fielding team before it can be recovered.

Of course, that might encourage teams to do an onside kick on every return. How often is one of the blockers going to get a big return out of it? Maybe they'd have to limit the number of times a team is allowed to onside kick so you'd have to strategize with it.

I like that idea.

 

[erod]

They need to go back to the old kickoffs. My eyes aren't adjusting to this.

College kickoffs are refreshing to see.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

I don't understand why they can't just have the team tell the ref that they want to onside kick and then set up both teams like they use to for a legitimate chance to recover. It's the only way for that to be a thing.

They could do that, but then it makes a surprise onsides kick impossible. That was a dynamic part of the game that we've now lost. It was rare, and a major gamble, but sometimes teams would start the game or the second half with a surprise onsides kick. One team even did it in the Super Bowl, and successfully (the Saints, I think).