AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The 2024 NFL season marks a big change for football - changes to the kickoff rule. It hit the rule books earlier this year, but preseason the last two weeks has seen it on the field. So to help us understand what is going on, we're joined now by David Dennis Jr., who writes for ESPN's Andscape. Hello.
DAVID DENNIS JR: Hey. How's it going?
CHANG: Good. I just want to warn you, I barely understand the rules of football, and that is why I need you right now to walk me through - very clearly - what we will see on the field that is different because of these rule changes.
DENNIS: OK. So this is probably the worst nightmare you can imagine for somebody who does not already understand football.
CHANG: Great.
DENNIS: So we're going to try our best. We're going to try to our best. We're going to make it work, OK? So kickoffs in football have generally happened beginning of the game, halftime and after somebody scores. And for the last few years, they've been pretty boring. They've been - you get the same thing every time a kicker kicks the ball, and it goes out of bounds on the other side of the end zone, or the player catches it in the end zone, and they take a knee, and the next play starts.
CHANG: Got it.
DENNIS: What had happened previously is that kickoffs are really, really exciting. Like, there would be returns. You could return the ball for 100 yards to score a touchdown. It's one of the most exciting plays in football. So the NFL is trying to bring that back but make it safer.
CHANG: Explain that. Why was it unsafe, and how is this change going to make things safer?
DENNIS: So it was unsafe because, if you think about the way that the kickoff formation is, you basically have nine or 10 guys on one side charging at nine or 10 guys on the other side as fast as humanly possible.
CHANG: (Laughter).
DENNIS: They have...
CHANG: OK.
DENNIS: ...Tens of yards of space to - of runway to just run into...
CHANG: Yeah.
DENNIS: ...Other people...
CHANG: Yeah.
DENNIS: ...As fast as possible. So you'll...
CHANG: OK.
DENNIS: ...See a lot of injuries. You know, not even with the player with the ball. You just see injuries all the time on kickoffs, and it leads to a lot of concussions and things like that. So they made it a little bit too, you know, restrictive, where you can't have a return. So now they're trying to find a middle ground which improves the chances of there actually being returns - you know, a player returning the ball - but then also making it a little bit more safe.
So one of the things they're doing is the kicker is behind everybody, and both teams sort of line up, like, right in front of each other. Sort of how you see offensive and defensive plays already, right?
CHANG: Right.
DENNIS: And the benefit of that is that you don't get that running start to have a head-on collision, OK?
CHANG: Got you.
DENNIS: And then you have a kicker now who has to kick the ball between the end zone and the 20-yard line, which encourages the offensive team to actually return the ball. And we've seen it work so far in the preseason. There have been - last season, there were 80% or so of the kickoffs resulted in touchbacks or no returns. And now, about 60% of the kicks are resulting in returns and actually exciting plays that also seem to be pretty safe so far.
CHANG: OK, OK. So I'm hearing more safety, possibly a little more excitement. But I understand that you are not a fan of this change. What's your problem (laughter)?
DENNIS: Yeah. So in case you can't tell, I find it a little complicated. Like...
CHANG: Yeah.
DENNIS: ...That's one of the issues I have. You have to explain to people what a restricted zone is, what a landing zone is. When can you kneel? When can you have - when is the setup zone? What's the restraining zone? I am slowly coming around to it based on what I've seen in the preseason, right? Yes, there's more strategy involved. There are different ways you can handle these things, different ways you can handle a kick. So now the kickoff is actually something you have to pay attention to, where in the last few years, when you've had a kickoff, that's just like a continuation of the commercial break.
CHANG: (Laughter).
DENNIS: You just go and, like, get your chips, and you just wait till the other team has the ball. And now, it's something you actually can pay attention to.
CHANG: Oh, my god. Well, this game is still all confusing to me. David Dennis Jr. writes for ESPN's Andscape. Thank you so much.
DENNIS: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST SONG, "CAN I KICK IT?") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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