Bengals Embrace Implementing New Kickoff Rule: ‘It’s Something Completely Different’
The NFL’s new kickoff rule isn’t exactly the University of Cincinnati’s Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. But it is a journey into the unknown for Bengals’ long-time special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons as his players made the giant leap to the field this week.
“It’s invigorating to me because it’s something completely different,” said Simmons after viewing the rule for the initially used in a practice setting with his own players.
Born in April 1973, the month Major League Baseball introduced the designated hitter, the largest rule change in decades, Simmons had not even finished elementary school in Elkhart, Kansas, when Bengals founder Paul Brown persuaded the NFL to implement the “Isaac Curtis Rule.”
Simmons concurs that was significant. Football’s texture was altered and the passing game’s ascent was expedited by prohibiting a receiver from being touched five yards beyond the line of scrimmage. However, he thinks that in his lifetime, this is the largest change to the sport.
“The chuck rule was huge, but it more of a one-trick pony,” Simmons said. “Here, there are a lot of factors.”
Like these:
_The kicker is now penalized for drilling it into the end zone because the ball goes out to the receiving team’s 30.
“I’m used to kicking it as high as I can, as hard as I can. Now I have to throw it inside to the 5-yard line in specific areas,” says Bengals kicker Evan McPherson.
_Where once speed, elusiveness, and get-off were coveted on kickoffs, everyone must freeze until the ball is caught or lands inside the 20 while the two teams are eyeballing each other in a setup just five yards apart.
“I’m used to running back 20 yards as soon as the ball is kicked and come down and make a block,” says edge Myles Murphy. “But now when the ball is kicked, you have to stand still, then you run back maybe five yards and find your block.”
_Any kick that hits in the last 20 yards before the end zone must be returned. Any kick that hits in those 20 yards When enters the end zone, the receiving team must either return it or bring it down. The 20-yard line is the touchback if it is downed.
This indicates that there will be an approximate 90% increase in returns.
The most experienced kick returner for the Bengals, sixth-year running back Trayveon Williams, says, “It really is like a line-of-scrimmage play now.” “It seems like it’s a running back position. It’s most suited for a man who can make one cut and go on; once you hit the first crease, you have to move quickly.”
But hold on for a moment. Charlie Jones, a wide receiver with the Bengals and the first rookie from Cincinnati to return a punt for a score since Peter Warrick 23 years prior, is unsure about
“I could also see you arguing it’s kind of like a punt return. Catch the ball, find a little seam. And hit it,” Jones says. “I think it works either way. I think it’s something that is definitely going to take time. I think you’ll see people figuring out their own little new ways of doing it. You’ll just have to see how it plays out in preseason.”
Jones took in a high kick and had no trouble sizing up blocks from fellow rookies Andrei Iosivas and DJ Turner II before darting into the seam to score an 81-yard touchdown against the Ravens.
Will he receive that type of high-fiving kick, or even have that time now?
Jones asks, “Who knows?”
That’s basically Simmons’ perspective on the experiment as the NFL’s longest-tenured kicking game coach. He supported the idea of bringing back the return and was among those who conferred with the league office prior to the owners passing the regulation in March.
Regarding Wednesday’s optional exercise, Simmons remarked, “We’re only on our second day in helmets, and I haven’t even looked at the tape from today’s practice.” “So I’m not making any pronouncements.”
But Simmons might have some insights on individuals and tactics after spending this week on the field.
Simmons glanced to the edge rushers and stated, “This is just one play, so you have to balance it with the function of the rest of the team.” “The Jeff Gunters, Cedric Johnsons, Myles Murphys, and Joseph Ossais.” the ambivert kinds. larger, more mobile men. Those people are valuable assets. These days, you need men who are hold-the-point sorts but can also work the edges.”
