ShareThisMoving kickoffs from the 30-yard-line to the 35 this season has put a lot more pressure on NFL kick returners to think before they run.
Most teams are coaching players not to return anything beyond 5 yards deep in the end zone. But there's been a lot of hesitation among returners because that's sometimes easier said than done.
"I know a lot of coaches go with that 5-yard-deep rule," said the Vikings' Percy Harvin. "But when the ball is in the air, you might not feel yourself drifting back. So you might end up at 7, 8 yards deep (and not realize it). Of course, by the time you catch the ball, the other team is already at the 10-yard line. It's just having to make decisions quicker on what to do."
Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell is amazed at how many returners are actually coming out of the end zone this season compared to past seasons.
"It's the oddest thing," Longwell said. "Teams would take a knee at 2 or 3 yards deep last year. Now, they're bringing balls out from 8 yards deep. And the coverage team is 5 yards closer, and a lot of times the balls are kicked a lot higher this year.
"That's the one curveball in this change that I don't think any of us understands yet."
Some bad decisions turn out quite well. Like when Packers rookie Randall Cobb brought a ball out from 8 yards deep en route to tying an NFL record with a 108-yard touchdown return in Week 1. The Jets' Joe McKnight added a 107-yard score in a loss at Baltimore Sunday night.
Other bad decisions come with a cost. Like when the Vikings' Lorenzo Booker brought the ball out from 6 yards deep and was dropped at the 9-yard line late in the Vikings' Week 2 loss to the Bucs.
A year ago, the Falcons ranked No. 1 in opponents' starting position at about the 22-yard line (22.2). This year, the NFL average is better (21.8 heading into Week 4 games).
"There's a lot more strategy kick to kick, game to game," Longwell said. "I don't think it's been as big a deal as everybody thought it was as far as every kick was going to be an automatic touchback. There have been a lot of touchbacks, but there have also been a lot of games where returners are being a lot more aggressive than they were in the past."
Last year, there were 416 touchbacks, which was 17 percent of all kickoffs. This year, the percentage of touchbacks is up to 51.9 percent, with the league on a pace for more than 1,300 for the season.
"It's pretty much all touchbacks," said Harvin, who opened the season with a 103-yard touchdown return. "We might get one or two opportunities, so there are decisions that need to be made."
There were 23 kick returns for touchdowns a year ago. There have been five this season, which is a pace that's close (21.3) to matching last season's total.
"The playmakers are going to make plays," said Harvin, "regardless of the rules (the league) comes up with."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit Minneapolis Star Tribune
