{"id":327995,"date":"2011-03-21T23:53:17","date_gmt":"2011-03-21T23:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/21\/owners-mull-moving-kickoffs-touchbacks-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-21T23:53:17","modified_gmt":"2011-03-21T23:53:17","slug":"owners-mull-moving-kickoffs-touchbacks-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/21\/owners-mull-moving-kickoffs-touchbacks-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Owners mull moving kickoffs, touchbacks (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW ORLEANS (AP)\u2014Kickoff returns are among football\u2019s most popular and
\nexciting plays. The NFL\u2019s competition committee wants to make them safer.<\/p>\n

Committee chairman Rich McKay said Monday at the owners meetings that moving
\nkickoffs up to the 35-yard line and bringing touchbacks out to the 25 have
\nspurred \u201chealthy discussions\u201d among coaches and general managers. So much so
\nthat some alterations could be coming to proposed changes, which also include
\neliminating the blocking wedge and limiting coverage players from long run-ups.<\/p>\n

Owners will vote on those proposals Tuesday, along with amendments to
\ndefenseless player rules for receivers, and allowing the replay official to
\nreview all scoring plays at any time in games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a rule 100 percent based on player safety,\u201d said McKay, president
\nof the Atlanta Falcons<\/a>, referring to the kickoff proposals. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen higher
\nrates of injuries than we are comfortable with and we\u2019re trying to remedy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several coaches expressed concerns to the committee about so many changes to
\nsuch a \u201cgame-changing\u201d play. They worried that bringing touchbacks out to the
\n25 instead of the 20 would affect field position too much. They also fear an
\nincrease in touchbacks.<\/p>\n

McKay said there will be more meetings before Tuesday\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t blame anybody for saying this is a big change\u2014it is,\u201d McKay he
\nsaid. \u201cNor do I blame anyone for pushing back. That\u2019s good. They made a lot of
\ngood suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the committee\u2019s meetings last month with players in Indianapolis,
\nkickoffs drew much attention. McKay said players voiced their concerns, adding
\nthat video showed a rising rate of injury.<\/p>\n

The league reduced the number of players allowed in a blocking wedge to two
\nin 2009. Now, it wants the wedge gone altogether.<\/p>\n

Restricting how far coverage players can run up before the kickoff to 5
\nyards also is a safety measure.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Continue reading here:
\nOwners mull moving kickoffs, touchbacks (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW ORLEANS (AP)\u2014Kickoff returns are among football\u2019s most popular and exciting plays. The NFL\u2019s competition committee wants to make them safer. Committee chairman Rich McKay said Monday at the owners meetings that moving kickoffs up to the 35-yard line and bringing touchbacks out to the 25 have spurred \u201chealthy discussions\u201d among coaches and general managers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-327995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nOwners mull moving kickoffs, touchbacks (AP) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/21\/owners-mull-moving-kickoffs-touchbacks-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Owners mull moving kickoffs, touchbacks (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"NEW ORLEANS (AP)\u2014Kickoff returns are among football\u2019s most popular and exciting plays. 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