YoloinOhio Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 (edited) https://www.buffalobills.com/_mobileview/news/quick-hits-crossman-to-scout-kickoffs-intently-in-preseason Quote “This will be the most important preseason in terms of the kicking game in the 17 years I’ve been in the league,” said Crossman. “It’s going to be interesting and important to see what other teams are trying to do on kickoff and kickoff return. It’s going to be a completely different play. There will be a lot of the same things embedded in it, but a completely different play than we’ve seen in the past.” Edited August 2, 2018 by YoloinOhio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's No Moon Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Success is there to be had by those who can figure out how to exploit what is ALMOST illegal and who can be creative. To me some of the new rules seem a little bit contradictory in terms of safety. You have 8 guys penned up 10-15 yards from the kick who aren't allowed to block until the ball is caught or hits the ground. OK, well that means they will have to retreat on the kickoff and not block in that initial 10-15 yard area. Which gives the kicking team more time to run unimpeded down the field which will inevitably lead to a bigger collision. I would think, if you were wanting safety, that you'd force the kickoff team to engage inside that 10-15 yard box rather than not. That those players aren't allowed to block at all regardless of where they are until the ball is caught or lands also leads me to believe we will see a TON of mortar style kicks that are intended to land around the 15-20 yard line. If you have a group of fast players who can't be touched until the ball is caught you could force a fair catch on a kickoff if you did it correctly. On windy days this rule is going to be crazy. It also opens up a bunch of new surprise onside kick opportunities. Again, 8 guys have to be within 15 yards of the kick. They will need to have at least 1 man deep which means there will be, at most, two additional players between midfield and the goal line. That's an awful lot of space to lob a pooch kick into when your players can't be touched when the ball is in the air. When I saw these rules I thought that a guy like Steve Tasker would have devoured people in this scenario. It makes a guy like Marcus Easley from a couple years ago more valuable. I wonder how Robert Foster and Cam Phillips tackling is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 1 st preseason game tonight. Might be a lot of penalties for KO, KOR and new helmet rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts