FLOWERY BRANCH — Eric Weems is frustrated, and he’s not the only one.
The Falcons’ Pro Bowl returner doesn’t like the NFL’s new kickoff rule. The league moved kickoffs up to the 35-yard line, a spot from which most kickers are capable of booting the ball out of the end zone or too deep for a return.
“I didn’t think it was going to be that much of an impact, but five yards up is a great big impact on the game,” said Weems, who has returned one kickoff in two exhibition games. “Kickers might as well kick a field goal from there. They are kicking it through the uprights. It’s tough, but I have to deal with it.”
Others are also not impressed.
The Bears ignored the new rule in their first exhibition game and kicked off from the 30-yard line. They got away with it twice before NFL officials instructed the officiating crew to enforce the new rule.
The Browns’ Josh Cribbs, the NFL’s career leader with eight kickoff returns for touchdowns, said he’ll run back “anything,” even if it’s nine yards deep in the end zone.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick caused controversy when he said he was told the NFL eventually wants to eliminate kickoffs.
Tired of talking about the new rule and its impact, Falcons president Rich McKay refused to discuss it this week. McKay, who is chairman of the NFL’s competition committee, has stated previously that the change was intended to eliminate injuries caused by violent collisions during kickoffs.
“We’ve seen higher rates of injuries than we are comfortable with, and we’re trying to remedy it,” McKay said at the NFL owners meetings in March.
Many consider the kickoff the game’s most exciting play. Now, the TV viewer may have extra time at the refrigerator without missing a thing.
For Weems, and others around the league, the rule change is a hindrance to special teams, a valuable part of the game. Weems is in the NFL in large part because of his return ability. His skills in the area landed him in the Pro Bowl last season.
“The game is fast,” Weems said. “It’s a fast-paced game. Guys are going to hit. Guys are going to collide with each other regardless if they move [the kickoff] up five [yards] or back five [yards].”
Weems said Falcons returners, as a general rule, will not return any kick that is five yards deep in the end zone. The coaching staff does not want a short return that will put the offense in bad position to start a drive. Coach Mike Smith said hang time is also a variable for returners.
“Sometimes the ball is driven six or seven yards deep, but if there is not a lot of hang time on it, a 3.8 [second] hang time, we are going to bring it out,” Smith said. “The guys have to make those decisions on not only the depth, but the hang time as well. We’ve got some parameters that are set, and we’ve been working on them in the preseason in terms of whether he has the green light to go or not.”
This preseason, the Falcons have returned six of 10 kickoffs. Their opponents have returned nine of 10 kickoffs. In the Falcons’ exhibition opener, against the Dolphins, all 11 kickoffs were returned by both teams. The Falcons returned five kicks for a total of 84 yards, including Weems’ 17-yarder. The Dolphins returned all six kickoffs, five by Matt Bosher, for a total of 139 yards.
In the Falcons’ second exhibition game, against the Jaguars, they returned only one of five kickoffs. They fumbled the one attempt. The Jaguars returned three of four kickoffs for a total of 89 yards.
Teams, including the Falcons, have intentionally kicked some balls short of the end zone in order to evaluate special-teams players. During the regular season, that likely will change if a team has a kicker able to consistently kick the ball out of the end zone.
In another aspect of the rule change, no player other than the kicker may line up more than five yards behind the kickoff line. This prevents players from getting big running starts.
“It’s frustrating,” Weems said. “It’s taken out an important phase of our game. There are three phases — offense, defense and special teams. It’s an important part of the game, but something we have to live with.”
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