Getty Image / Joseph Prezioso
Even though he was essentially fired by the New England Patriots following a disappointing 4-13 season last year, when Bill Belichick talks about football, people listen. When you’ve won six Super Bowls as a head coach and eight total, your opinion means quite a bit.
This year, the NFL is using entirely new kickoff rules in an attempt to increase the number of kickoff returns while making the play safer than it was previously. But, Bill Belichick doesn’t think their plan will work.
If you haven’t seen the new NFL kickoff because you don’t watch the preseason, here’s a good explanation.
@nfloncbs New NFL Kickoffs EXPLAINED 📝🏈 #nfl #nflkickoff #kickoffrule #rulechange #xfl
In theory, this should increase the number of kickoff returns after over 3/4ths of all kickoffs were touchbacks last year. But, there are some downfalls to the rules. A touchback being at the 30-yard line instead of the 25 is probably not big enough of a punishment for teams to avoid the risk of a long return that could result in good field position or even a touchdown. Plus, with NFL rosters only being 46 players on gameday, injuries on special teams are very costly. Just booting it out of the end zone eliminates injury risk, as well.
Bill Belichick is skeptical that the kickoffs will have the intended effect for the reasons said above. He spoke about it on the Pat McAfee Show.
"Once you get to the season I think we're still gonna see a lot of touchbacks with the new kickoff..
If you want kickoff returns just move the ball back" ~ Bill Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/el62PkEwJD
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 26, 2024
Belichick claims that we didn’t see a lot of teams just booting it into the end zone for touchbacks because teams wanted to feel the new rules out. But, he would not kick to the league’s top kick returners like Jaguar Devin Duvernay or Cowboy KeVontae Turpin
His solution is simple. Just move the spot from where the ball is actually kicked back to the 20-yard line. He doesn’t clarify if he would keep the remaining new rules, but that seems most likely what he meant.
Ultimately, the NFL may just be better off getting rid of the kickoff and giving teams the ball at the 25-yard line. If teams need to get the ball back late in the game, it’s been kicked around to make them convert a 4th-and-15 from their own 25 to keep possession. That seems fair.
Expect there to be a lot of egg on the faces of the NFL when the new rules fall flat when the season opens up.